We got another inflation update and the country is still wondering about the price of everything.  After all, how can we feel that inflation is going down when gasoline is up again?  As a college professor once told me as gasoline goes so goes inflation.

So what's going on?  Check this out:   

US inflation has had a snowballing effect on family budgets.

The typical American household spent $709 more in July than they did two years ago to buy the same goods and services, according to Moody’s Analytics.

That figure underscores the cumulative impact high inflation has had on consumer finances -- even as price growth has cooled considerably in recent months.

“High inflation of the past 2 years has done lots of economic damage,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Most of that increase in spending is driven by housing costs, which have surged, Zandi told CNN in an email on Friday. He added that families are also spending more at the grocery store; on buying, maintaining and insuring vehicles and on recreational services like cable.

Of course, paychecks have also grown over the past two years -- but not by as much as the cost of living.

So here we go. Inflation is down but your monthly expenses are higher.

I remember the 1981-82 inflation experience. Inflation is a terrible to explain because you are talking about our wallets.  

The Dallas Morning News has an example of the contradictions:

The ingredients in a veggie omelet and side fruit salad still cost more than last summer, but the price of eggs is way down. Fruits and vegetable prices were 13.1% higher than last July as the only food category still posting increases in the plus 10% range.

So don't eat a veggie omelet and side fruit salad?  And stay away from fruits?  Bad presidency for people watching their calories.

No matter what, Biden has been tough for our wallets.

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Image: Marco Verch Professional Photographer