First, yes, I am fortunate. I recognize that.
Yes, the plumber will charge me more. No, you would not be able to determine that if you had my financial records, because I don't spend an appreciable fraction of my income on plumbers (or lawn care, or electricians, or other home services outside of child care).
The same applies to electricity and gas; the expenses are there, but a 10% rise in all of my utilities is still not meaningful in my overall budget. For comparison, I can easily see a 10% swing in annual heating bills based solely on the average temperature during 3 months of the year.
Yes, I am impacted by all the same things you are. But my health insurance expense dropped 3% and that dwarfs all the other category increases. This is why the BLS weighs their basket.
Yes, the plumber will charge me more. No, you would not be able to determine that if you had my financial records, because I don't spend an appreciable fraction of my income on plumbers (or lawn care, or electricians, or other home services outside of child care).
The same applies to electricity and gas; the expenses are there, but a 10% rise in all of my utilities is still not meaningful in my overall budget. For comparison, I can easily see a 10% swing in annual heating bills based solely on the average temperature during 3 months of the year.
Yes, I am impacted by all the same things you are. But my health insurance expense dropped 3% and that dwarfs all the other category increases. This is why the BLS weighs their basket.