Over the past two years, people in the community have dealt with surging costs of living from gas prices to groceries, but experts say 2024 could bring some relief.
For shoppers in Santa Maria like Ernie Yeakey, increased costs have become the new normal.
“It has been kind of rough trying to adjust to it and adjust the budget. We have had to watch our dollars closer,” Yeakey said.
Others in the community, like Dionicia Schofield, say they have taken on multiple jobs just to keep up.
“It is really hard to try to get ahead or keep up with life and our lifestyles with rising prices,” she told KSBY.
However, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast for the coming year, consumer price hikes are expected to trend downward by .9%, with items at the grocery store seeing the slowest anticipated increases.
“That would be incredible. To be able to survive, it has been hard,” Schofield added.
Also looking forward to a slowdown in inflation next year, Gina Martin, owner of Gina’s Piece of Cake, says in 2023, her bakery saw expenses skyrocket like never before.
“Our cream cheese expenses went up,” Martin explained. “Butter, milk, all the things we use to bake products here, they all went up across the board.”
As a result of those inflated costs and the recent minimum wage increase that went into effect at the start of the year, she says that customers have had to pay more too.
“I haven’t increased our prices very much; but unfortunately, this coming year we will probably have to do a slight increase just to make up for the difference of what we are losing,” Martin said.
On the housing front, while median home prices are still expected to rise by 6.2% through next year, the California Association of Realtors projects mortgage interest rates could see a slight decline.
Community members we spoke with, meanwhile, say they are awaiting relief at the grocery store and the pump.
“I would be glad to see it come and see some prices go down, the food, as well as the gas. They have lowered some, but they need to go down more,” Yeakey said.
While price hikes may slow in 2024, experts say California’s unemployment rate is expected to remain nearly a percent higher than the national average.
