GREENSBORO, N.C. — Have you noticed your everyday items are costing you more? You're not imagining it!
Money expert Ja'net Adams says the spike in costs is laying the groundwork for inflation, which by definition is a general increase in prices and a decrease in the purchasing value of money.
"We keep hearing the word inflation being thrown around by the Federal Reserve, Congress, and the White House, but people are more concerned about what it means to the average American and how it impacts our wallets," said Adams who wrote the book, The Money Attractor.
Adams shared three areas where prices are soaring and how to avoid paying too much.
Food prices:
"Food prices are on the rise! I went grocery shopping for the first time in a while and realized how much more some items are. Bacon is $5 a pound when it used to be $2.99," said Adams. "In order to avoid these higher prices, you should adjust your meal planning. That day in the grocery store instead of having chicken breasts which cost $3 more per pound, I bought the less expensive hamburger meat and we had spaghetti. I went from a more expensive one-night meal to a less expensive two-night meal," suggested Adams.
Gas prices:
"Right now gas prices are up all over the country. The high prices are making it more expensive for long drives and even going back and forth to work each day. It may take some time for gas prices to fall so in order to save money you can use the Gas Buddy app or the News 2 app which will show you where the least expensive gas is in your city," said Adams.
Also, when you find the gas station with the lowest price, you should make sure you fill your tank every time you are near that pump.
Travel prices:
"Everyone in the world is trying to escape through travel. Airports are packed, flights are expensive, hotel prices are up and Ubers are running non-stop. It's causing the price of travel to skyrocket," said Adams.
"If you want to save on travel and avoid these prices I suggest you wait until the fall to travel or wait until next year. By then kids will be back in school, workers will be back in the office with no more vacation time and you will be able to score some travel deals," said Adams.
Just to give you an idea, Adams recently paid $500 for her flight to Barcelona in the fall, saving $300 on her roundtrip fare.
