Where Your Dollar Is Shrinking: Key Categories Driving Persistent Inflation

Despite February’s Consumer Price Index showing a slight cooling to 2.8% year-over-year and 0.2% month-over-month, Americans continue to experience significant inflation in everyday essentials. Food prices remain particularly challenging, with eggs seeing a dramatic 59% annual increase, now costing $5.90 per dozen compared to $2.99 a year ago. Other breakfast staples like coffee and bacon have also risen, while meat prices continue upward with ground beef increasing 2.7% to $5.96 per pound. Restaurant dining is 3.7% more expensive than last year.

The healthcare sector shows no relief, with medical services up 3% annually and specific categories like home healthcare surging 5.6%. Hospital services increased 3.6%, nursing home care 4.1%, and health insurance premiums rose 3.9% compared to February 2024. Transportation costs remain problematic, with used car prices increasing 0.9% last month after January’s 2.2% jump. Auto insurance continues its two-year climb, now nearly 11% higher than a year ago, driven by three consecutive years of underwriting losses for insurers. The only bright spot is gasoline, which decreased slightly to a national average of $3.08 per gallon, down from $3.39 a year ago. With inflation still exceeding the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and uncertainty around tariffs, interest rates are expected to remain unchanged at the upcoming Fed meeting.