Creator Kiki Ruff teaches her viewers to cook on a budget using skills she learned during her time on food stamps. Along the way, she’s racked up over half a million followers.

Instead, it’s labor costs and the weather.

Energy and food are vital to the U.S. economy -- but they also complicate headline inflation numbers.

The climate crisis is raising costs for everything from housing to food.

Many Americans can’t shell out more as costs rise. As a result, some are cutting their meat consumption or going to restaurants less.

In the five years that Sam Newell and her husband have run Fruit Fair in Chicopee, Massachusetts, they haven’t had a profitable year.

The answer might disappoint you.

And consumers of all income levels are adopting creative strategies to make their dollars stretch farther.

Inflation has eased in many areas that had temporary spikes, from airfares to used cars. Persistent, underlying inflation is harder to tackle.

Voters will head to the polls on Sunday for the most crucial election in a generation as households continue to deal with inflation.