Gas prices that have been the biggest blow for Brown. 'The same ribeye steaks that I was paying $17 for two of them are now $32.' 'Steak, that's killing me,' said Steve Brown, 46, an optician in South Carolina who works at an independent eyeglass store, fitting people with frames. Because there's no avoiding paying for shelter, food and health insurance ( up 28.2%,the biggest jump on record) consumers have to find other places to cut back: everything from vacations to eating out to even giving up favorite activities or foods. Instead, it's been hanging around for months, destroying our peace of mind and stealing some joy out of life.

Inflation, too, is coming from inside the house: lurking inside a carton of eggs ( 30.5% more expensive than last year), crouching in your closet ( prices for women's suits are up 10%, men's suits are up 9.5%), or even hiding inside the walls ( utility gas up 33.1%).īut unlike the killer in When a Stranger Calls, inflation doesn't tend to get us with one deadly strike.

She finally has the call traced (this was waaaay back in the days of landlines) and the operator calls back with the terrifying news: The calls are coming from inside the house! Seeing as how it's spooky season, and the economy seems to be full of monsters, I thought it appropriate to invoke the classic horror film When a Stranger Calls (1979) - a terrifying tale of a woman babysitting a couple of kids who keeps getting calls from a creepy stranger. What was striking about the data was that a lot of the worst inflation is hitting us at home: rent was up 7.2%, electricity prices are up 15.5%, groceries are up 13%. The newest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows prices in September hit another 40 year high. Inflation is starting to seem like the horror movie monster that won't die.

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