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Cost of Living & Inflation

What the inflation numbers measure, how the CPI is built and how prices and pay are compared over time.

8 articles

Newest first

Cost of Living & Inflation
Groceries Rose Less, But They Still Rose
A slower pace of grocery inflation means prices are still climbing, just more gently, and category averages can hide very different stories at the checkout.
Gloria PennickNov 3, 2026
Cost of Living & Inflation
How a Price Basket Gets Updated: The UK's 2026 Changes and What to Check for US CPI
The UK published a full list of its 2026 basket changes. For the US Consumer Price Index, the sources confirm that weights are revised, and this piece shows how to compare them with your own spending.
Gloria PennickOct 28, 2026
Cost of Living & Inflation
Why the Official Inflation Number Rarely Matches Your Grocery Bill
The national CPI averages spending across a typical basket, so a household's own cost changes can run noticeably above or below the headline.
Gloria PennickOct 21, 2026
Cost of Living & Inflation
Core Inflation Leaves Out Food and Energy, and That Changes What the Number Tells You
The core PCE index rose about 0.3 percent in September 2026, but reading that figure well means checking whether it is headline or core, PCE or CPI, and year-over-year or month-to-month.
Gloria PennickOct 14, 2026
Cost of Living & Inflation
How the CPI Measures the Rent You Pay and the Home You Own
Shelter makes up the largest slice of the consumer price index, and it is measured in ways that can feel far removed from a monthly rent check.
Gloria PennickOct 6, 2026
Cost of Living & Inflation
Which Dollars? Reading Gasoline Prices Across Inflation
A pump price means little until you know whether it is stated in nominal dollars or adjusted to a base month, and which series produced it.
Gloria PennickSep 29, 2026
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Cost of Living & Inflation
When the Loaf Changes: How Inflation Statistics Handle Quality
Statisticians strip out changes in size, features and cover so that a price index tracks genuine price movement, and that choice shapes the inflation figures you read.
Gloria PennickSep 22, 2026
Cost of Living & Inflation
Two Inflation Numbers, One Economy: Why CPI and PCE Disagree
The gap between the two most-cited U.S. price gauges comes down to who is counted, how items are weighted, and which formula does the math.
Gloria PennickSep 15, 2026

Groceries Rose Less, But They Still Rose

How a Price Basket Gets Updated: The UK's 2026 Changes and What to Check for US CPI

Why the Official Inflation Number Rarely Matches Your Grocery Bill

Core Inflation Leaves Out Food and Energy, and That Changes What the Number Tells You

How the CPI Measures the Rent You Pay and the Home You Own

Which Dollars? Reading Gasoline Prices Across Inflation

Desk notes, by text

When the Loaf Changes: How Inflation Statistics Handle Quality

Two Inflation Numbers, One Economy: Why CPI and PCE Disagree