You may see more money disappearing from your wallet this year. The cost of living is on the rise. And as Contact 13 reports, many are wondering how to make ends meet.
"Prices for everything are going up, but my income is not," says valley resident, Kaylynn.
Everyone is feeling the pain. And it all starts at home. Rental prices are on the rise.
"That means I have to cut costs everywhere around, in order to meet my necessities, my rent," says Kaylynn.
According to the latest report from Zillow, the national median rental price is now $1,435 per month. The highest median rent Zillow has ever reported.
Here in Las Vegas, the median rental is nearly $1,300 a month. But it doesn't end there. Prices at the pump are up too.
"I'm a senior, and that cuts into my budget. Definitely," says local resident, Marvin.
AAA says gas prices usually drop as much as $0.20 in the first few weeks of January. But not in 2018. Federal estimates put the average price per gallon this year at $0.15 higher than last year.
Here in Las Vegas, the average price right now is $0.24 higher compared to last January. Finally, we may also experience a hike at the grocery store this year.
"With gas, groceries, rent all of that combined, it takes a bigger chunk out of the money that you have," says valley resident, Donna.
U.S. farmers and ranchers across the country continue to struggle. In fact, they accessed nearly $6 billion in new credit last year. In all, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's assisting more than 120,000 U.S. farmers.
And prices for things like beef could rise 2 percent to 3 percent this year. On top of that, it's getting more expensive to ship all that food, due to a severe shortage in big rig truck drivers.
In the end, all these price hikes have some locals making changes.
"I'm looking for a smaller house. I'm looking to not eat out as much. And I'm looking to get rid of one of my cars," says Marvin.
