Some inflated costs may be going down, but weary Americans can't control the prices of many necessities

As U.S. inflation slowly tracks downward, some painful increases remain difficult for Americans to afford. "Prices for many of the things that are hard to do without are still posting eye-watering increases. Rent and electricity bills are up 10% or more over the past two years, and car-insurance costs are up nearly 40%, according to the Labor Department’s index," report Hariett Torry and Terell Wright of The Wall Street Journal. "Shoppers might be able to trade down from prime steak to cheaper cuts of meat at the supermarket, but they can’t really do the same thing with the water bill."

While some citizens have made grocery store swaps, some have cut "luxuries" such as eating out or trimming kids' extracurricular activities. Still, Americans have costs such as housing, insurance and child care that are at historical highs but are also necessities. "In the Consumer Price Index, shelter costs — a measure of rent and the equivalent cost to homeowners, as well as lodging away from home and household insurance — have risen more than 13% in two years," Torry and Wright explain. "Child care costs have risen 6.4% over the past two years. . . . Because daycare bills can be as big as rent or a mortgage, even a relatively small increase can feel like a lot."

Getting to work to make money often means car ownership and the overhead that goes with it. "The cost of transportation services, which includes vehicle insurance and repair, has jumped more than 18% in the past two years, according to the CPI," the Journal reports. "An increasing number of cash-strapped Americans are choosing to drive without car insurance."

Single mom Jasmine Moore's experiences mirror that of many American workers. "Moore missed a payment on her auto insurance about six months ago. Now her monthly bill has doubled," Torry and Wright add. "She canceled her son’s math tutoring sessions and instead tutors him herself. Instead of Publix, she opts for discount grocery stores and food pantries." Moore told the Journal, "I have middle-class pay, but I feel like I’m lower income.”