Kathryn Vaughn returned to work at a rural West Tennessee elementary school this autumn with a lot more stress on her plate than in previous years. The 46-year-old, like many Americans, is juggling how to provide for her family with rising costs of, as she described it, "everything". She spends her days working three different jobs to support her family of four, including as a primary school art teacher, as US inflation continues to rise.
Inflation in September was above forecasts. Over the past 12 months, prices rose by 3.7% - up from 3.4% in the 12 months to August, according to officials numbers released on Wednesday. High energy prices have driven up the cost of living in America as diesel prices have hit record highs and the price of gasoline has risen too, and all of this has landed on the shoulders of everyday Americans.
Once school finishes, Vaughn heads to her second job as a facilitator at an after-school programme for at-risk youth. Her five-year-old son can join too, reducing the need and cost of after-school care for Vaughn's family. "I have done some incredibly unhinged things to survive," she said.
"I hand-modeled for a local jewelry store, I sell everything that sits longer than ten minutes at my house on Facebook swap sites, I resell clothes on ThredUp and Poshmark." Vaughn even writes obituaries for people who have died to make extra money. And it is still not enough to support her family. Punal Bhavsar thought 2026 was going to be the year he saved enough money to purchase a home.
"I was thinking the interest rates would decrease and then I'd be able to purchase a house, but I don't think that's likely now," he said. The 39-year-old said the rise in the cost of goods has made saving money difficult. And the biggest burden for Bhavsar has become the price of gasoline.
"I drive a car that takes premium gas, and unfortunately, in California and the area that I live in, it's almost $6 (£4.5)," he said. Come November, when midterm elections happen and the economic tumult is bound to be on voters' minds, Bhavsar said he may become a single-issue voter: "For me, it's just like gas prices have got to be under control." He described the current economic outlook as bleak, and the numbers back him up. The Gallup Economic Confidence Index summarizes Americans' assessments of current economic conditions and economic outlook and puts them on a scale of -100 to +100.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
