cost of living

A new report from the Urban Institute found that one in five working-age renters struggled to pay rent last year. The share of middle-income renters that are facing these challenges grew by the biggest margin.

Diesel now exceeds $6 per gallon. And much of what you buy at the supermarket probably got there on a diesel-fueled truck.

A new Ipsos/Reuters poll finds three in four voters say their cost of living is heading in the wrong direction. Nearly half of registered voters call it their top issue, regardless of party.

A new study reaches that conclusion by comparing the U.S. to Belgium, where wages are indexed to inflation by law.

Our discretionary income has dropped by 13%, according to one analysis.

While such a proposal sounds equitable in theory, it would be politically unpopular.

“Businesses say they would have raised wages by roughly an additional percentage point” had it not been for rising health insurance costs, said senior economics contributor Chris Farrell.

The war in Iran has sent consumer sentiment diving 6%, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey.

Both Dollar Tree and Dollar General saw their same-store sales rise last year, but the outlook for 2026 is more subdued.

Consumers are feeling worse about the economy than they were at this time last year.