Cost of Living
Grocery prices, gas prices, utility costs, inflation impacts on everyday expenses, consumer sentiment, and the real-world financial pressures facing households.
Latest in Cost of Living
Artificial intelligence is behind more than half of 2026’s layoffs, already 205,000 jobs
Reports tracking corporate layoff announcements now attribute job cuts affecting roughly 205,000 American workers in 2026 at least partly to artificial intelligence, with automation named...
Gas has hit $4.03 a gallon, the highest ever recorded this late in the year and up 30% from a year ago
The national average price of regular gasoline reached $4.03 a gallon on August 13, 2026, the highest level ever recorded this deep into a calendar...
Home insurance is climbing a fifth straight year toward about $3,057
Home insurance is on track for a fifth consecutive year of increases, with the average annual premium projected to reach about $3,057. For homeowners on...
The average new-car payment has hit a record $777 a month
The average monthly payment on a new car has climbed to a record $777, a figure that turns a routine purchase into a major line...
Inflation cooled to 3.4% in July, yet electricity still costs 4.2% more than a year ago
Consumer prices rose 3.4% over the year through July, a slight cooling from the prior month and a sign that the worst of the recent...
Trump’s tariffs are projected to cost the average household about $700 this year
Household budgets are absorbing a fresh hit from trade policy, and a new tally attaches a dollar figure to it. The Tax Foundation projects that...
LIHEAP helps low-income seniors pay part of their summer cooling bill
As summer electricity bills climb with each heat wave, a federal assistance program that most people associate only with winter heating quietly helps low-income seniors...
Grocery prices are up about 25% since 2019, and electricity has climbed 4% in just the past year
The official inflation rate has cooled, yet the checkout receipt tells a harsher story. Consumer prices rose 3.5% over the year ended June 2026, a...
Filing a homestead exemption can cut thousands off a retiree’s taxable home value
One of the simplest ways for a retiree to lower a property-tax bill costs nothing but a form, and millions of eligible homeowners never file...
Utilities often offer a low-income senior discount, but a retiree must ask for it
A monthly utility bill is one of the largest fixed costs in most retired households, and for many older customers a piece of it is...
Health-law subsidies expired, and most Marketplace enrollees faced higher net premiums in 2026
The temporary expansion of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits ended after 2025, and most Marketplace enrollees faced higher net premiums in 2026. The increase...
Many states let homeowners 65 and older defer property taxes until the home is sold
Older homeowners in several states can postpone some or all property taxes without giving up their homes. These programs do not erase the bill. Instead,...
A defensive-driving course can shave hundreds off a retiree’s car-insurance premium
Older drivers often watch their car-insurance premiums drift upward with age, yet one of the reliable ways to push the bill back down sits almost...
Many states bar utilities from shutting off heat or air conditioning in extreme weather, protecting seniors behind on the bill
In much of the country, a utility cannot legally cut off a household’s power during a dangerous heat wave or a hard winter freeze, even...
A federal program pays part of a low-income household’s summer cooling bill
As summer electric bills climb into triple digits across much of the country, a federal program stands ready to cover part of the tab for...
Homeowners 65 and older can cut hundreds off property taxes with a circuit-breaker rebate
Hundreds of dollars in property-tax relief slip past older homeowners every year, unclaimed by people who qualify for a “circuit breaker” and never file for...
Anyone on SNAP or Medicaid can cut a phone or internet bill by $9.25 a month through federal Lifeline
A federal subsidy can shave $9.25 off a phone or internet bill every single month, a break built for households living on tight fixed incomes...
Several states now freeze seniors’ property taxes, and New Jersey pays up to $6,500
Property taxes are one of the few retirement costs that keep climbing even after a mortgage is gone, and a growing set of state programs...
Illinois raised its senior property-tax freeze income limit to $75,000 for 2026
Illinois has lifted the income ceiling for its senior property-tax freeze to $75,000 for the 2026 tax year, up from $65,000, opening the benefit to...
Texas homeowners 65 and older can freeze school taxes and shield an extra $10,000
Texas offers homeowners a rare combination once they turn 65: a school-property-tax bill that stops rising and an additional slice of home value shielded from...