Everyone I know who didn't go in to this with a lot of income above their spending level is struggling, mostly due to price increases in things they can't not spend money on. Housing's way up the list, and food, which, I dunno, maybe it's a local thing, but that's up a ton more than overall US inflation figures would lead one to guess. Utility prices are up, too. Basically the only things that are still cheap are optional crap. Extremely-low-paid (think: fast food worker) jobs saw a bump, but jobs above that aren't seeing a corresponding increase, so the bottom's basically just flattened and now a bunch more people are making the same money as fast food workers, which is about the same as they were making before, while their expenses are up a lot.

> overall US inflation figures would lead one to guess.

I think part of the problem is that people see rates of inflation in the news, but their mind thinks in terms of cumulative inflation. They think, "housing has gone up 30% since before the pandemic but the government says inflation is only 9%." Even though, 9% inflation per year over 3 years is 30% total.

Then there's the fact that inflation stats are an average of a "basket of goods". So housing might go up 15%, but that's offset by other items going up 2%. Then there is regional factors, and how inflation is mentally sticky (i.e., people making jokes about the price of eggs, even though wholes prices are down 80% over the past 4 months).

The big problem with food cost inflation is that it is extremely bimodal. Fresh and frozen green veggies are still around $1-$2 a pound. However, now a bag of chips is $5. If you weren't able to afford the time cost of making food from scratch before, you are taking the brunt of food cost increase. IMO, this is another reason to believe the "most inflation is from greed" line. Our farmers up north aren't paying more for illegal mexicans to pick the broccoli, and gas is the same price it was quite some time ago, so their produce isn't significantly more expensive and they aren't really even earning more money. Even beef in our local store is the same price it used to be, including the weekly cheap sale stuff.

But the big conglomerates that own all the branded products saw an opportunity to jack up prices without taking all the heat.

Speaking of which, if you grab a package of mccormick's chili seasoning off the shelf in your store, it will tell you to buy a 15 oz can of tomatoes. Cans of tomatoes have been 14.5oz for at least a decade, and this seasoning product has had that recipe on the back changed at least 4 times in as many years, yet they never admit to the shrinkflation that happened to those cans of tomatoes.