‘Goodbye 50, hello 100’
– Financial analyst, commenting on the expected Fed hike rate next week (in basis points)
Inflation was still above 8% in August, and pervasive, found in service sectors as well as consumer goods. Gas prices were down, but not nearly enough to offset the increases everywhere else.
I took the Wall Street Journal’s quick survey to estimate my personal inflation rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has a CPI basket of 80,000 items which are grouped into categories broad (such as food) and narrow (like bananas).
The BLS revises what it tracks every two years based on the spending habits of volunteers who keep a purchase diary. Everyone’s inflation rate is a little different, of course, because we buy different things and services.
Look at chicken (up 16.5% year-over-year), cheese (up 13.5%) and milk (up 17%). Yikes.