JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Data from the Federal Reserve said that inflation rose for the third straight month in March, a 3.5% increase from 2023.
RELATED: Federal Reserve minutes: Some officials highlighted worsening inflation last month
Joy Shepard said she had to choose between paying for her cell phone and buying groceries for April.
“It’s hard because when you have a budget you don’t have the freedom to spend like you would normally do under different circumstances,” Shepard said.
The latest increase in inflation can be largely traced back to rising rent prices and the rising cost of gasoline. Money Management International said their average client in Florida has a monthly budget deficit of $500.
That means more people are reaching for their credit cards.
“So what happens is that as these expenses get higher and higher, we start treating our credit cards like an extension of our income, meaning we start putting more and more on our cards, and then we don’t pay them off every month and eventually that debt just snowballs,” Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator at Money Management International said.
Nitzsche helps people get out of debt or seek counseling when the stress is too much.
“The average Joe and the folks that are low to moderate income are really struggling with these costs, particularly with high-interest rates,” Nitzsche said. “It’s made housing more unaffordable, unattainable. And it really has increased the amount that somebody needs to make really, in order to be comfortable.”
The latest data from the Federal Reserve said that consumer anxiety over debt is the highest it’s been since the pandemic.
“It’s stressful being in debt and it’s even more stressful when you can’t see a way out,” Shepard said.
Nitzsche said the first step to managing their anxiety over debt is to accept that it’s a problem.
“Finding a place where you can just talk about it is really the first step and then creating a plan for it. ‘Hey, I know this is a problem. I’m accepting it, I’m talking about it, and what am I going to do about creating a plan?’ There really isn’t a financial challenge that doesn’t have a solution. It’s just finding which solution is right for you,” Nitzsche said.
If you need debt counseling or are looking for a way out of debt, Money Management has offices in Jacksonville and across the state where you can get help for free.
So, tell us, with inflation rising by 3.5% in March, how are you managing your debt?
Let us know below. Your response may be featured on a Channel 4 newscast.