ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Inflation -- it's something that hits every home, hitting 40-year highs of more than 9% in the summer of 2022.
For mom and associate professor of economics at Flagler College Blen Solomon, she says the cost increases in housing, food and transportation are still hitting her family.
“Inflation has come down considerably, right? It's 3.5% now. However we're still feeling the impacts,” she said.
And that 3.5% inflation rate from March is on top of the 5% inflation from March of last year, and the nearly 9% inflation rate the year before that. Add it all up and Solomon isn't the only one whose family is feeling the effects of surging inflation percentages nationwide.
“It has affected the lower-middle income brackets quite a bit more than the upper-middle income with the upper-middle class. And that's because when the pandemic hit, unemployment affected those brackets in the lower middle and middle income quite a bit,” Solomon explained.
With inflation impacting the income brackets used to designate the middle class, some families that were considered middle class back in 2020 aren't anymore.
“Those in the lower middle income category spend a larger portion of their income on necessities. So when the prices of those things go up, they are still spending them because they are necessities. So they don't have a lot left over,” she added.
According to Consumer Affairs, a Florida family of four needs to have a combined income of $67,835 at least.
That's $13,000 more than just five years ago and that's impacting what it costs to be an average middle class family.
The average median household income in the state for 2017-2021 was $61,777 from data from the U.S. census.
Making it difficult for some families to live not only in today's economy, but the future.
“And you're spending so much on these necessities you're not saving, and if you're not saving, your future is definitely impacted,” Solomon mentioned.
With the possibility of getting hit with another high inflation surge sometime in the future, Solomon's advice is to invest along with saving, no matter your age or how many people are in your household.