JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. consumer price index's year over year mark stands at 8.5%, a mark we haven't seen since 1981. Food, gas and other necessities that used to be after thoughts for Meli Feliciano are now splitting headaches.
"Lately what I used to buy for all of us I'm looking at the price, and I'm like what is going on here luckily it's just three of us if we had the rest of the tribe we'd be eating ramen noodles every night," Feliciano said.
The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices consumers pay for goods.
Feliciano is married and has four children, two of whom are out of the house, and is currently living with her husband and daughter in a one-bedroom apartment.
She says the rent is $600 more than the five-bedroom house she used to rent. Feliciano was forced to move in December 2021 because her landlord wanted to sell the home she's renting.
The trips to the grocery store have been most impactful on her wallet.
"I'm spending a good amount of money, but I feel like I'm not coming home with much of anything," she said.
Feliciano and millions of Americans are struggling with the rapid increase in prices the last year. But, there are ways to navigate the ballooning prices.
"I think having a good financial advisor or just a good coach with finances is critically important when you are making big decisions with money just so you have someone to kind of bounce ideas with," Ivan Gordon, a managing director at Raymond James & Associates in Jacksonville, said.
Hiring a financial advisor does cost money, but there are some other free options in your app store, such as Mint and Cleo, that can help you create your own custom budget.
For Feliciano and the millions who are trying to make ends meet, any help is huge.
"I'm grateful that we're ok right now it's not the greatest and ideal situation right now, but we're managing," Feliciano said.