James PackardAs the little red numbers tick higher, the real-world consequences are hitting the lowest-income Americans the hardest and straining budgets for most everyone.
"Rent went up. Gas prices go up. Food cost goes up," Tennessee driver Stephon Hunter said. "Everything goes up, except my paycheck."
Already, the prices are forcing a Florida limo company owner to consider raising prices.
"We're not gaining anything from it," limo service owner Arnaldo Ricciulli said. "We're making less now."
And a plumber, Tom O'Hara, is paying more to get to jobs and watching inflation push his expenses higher.
"Whereas I used to give more discounts, I've just been kind of going with the regular rate because everybody is leaving me behind with prices," he said.
The same problem is causing auto shops to charge your insurance companies more for repairs, which in turn prompts higher insurance rates for you.
Rod Griffin is with the credit reporting company Experian.
"Use the tools that are available because that will again, help you save money, help you get better terms, better rates," he said.
Griffin says adding more of your payments to your credit portfolio can help.
Even your streaming service payments help these days.
"Who knew that on date night watching Netflix movies you could also help your credit score?" Griffin said.
Now, oil producers in the U.S. are increasing output to soften the blow but it'll take time to have an impact and it won't be a cure.
"Right now, across Texas, across the great plain states where we have a huge petroleum reserve, you're beginning to see pumps come back online, you're beginning to see refineries ramping up production," Ball State University Professor Michael Hicks said. "So those are all things that will moderate gasoline prices in the year to come."
And in the meantime, the financial crunch will persist — impacting the most vulnerable among us.
