Your wallet will squeal more this year
Follow us on Twitter @AJCBiz
(Becky Stein, Special)
Your tax refund will be a little late this year, and more money is coming out of your paycheck to satisfy Uncle Sam. The last thing you’ll want to hear is that prices are going up on everything from sandwich meat to satellite TV, but brace yourself.
There are various reports out there on how much deeper you’ll be digging to make it through the year:
Food: Steak, hamburger, bacon and other favorite meats are expected to cost 3 percent to 4 percent more this year, according to CNN Money’s list of top price increases, citing forecasts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The meat price hikes result from lower livestock inventories and the higher cost for grains farmers use for feeding following last year’s U.S. drought, which also pushed prices higher for eggs, cheese and milk. The price of milk is expected to rise 3 to 4 percent this year.
College: Higher education in Georgia will cost more this fall. The State Board of Regents raised tuition by 2.5 percent for students attending 32 of the 35 colleges in the University System of Georgia. Georgia Tech will see the largest increase at 6 percent. Students will pay $3,859 per semester, a $218 bump. At the University of Georgia, a 5 percent increase awaits students, hiking their tuition by $182 to $3,823 per semester. Georgia State students will pay 3.5 percent more, with semester charges growing by $127 to $3,768. Georgia, however, isn’t alone, according to the the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, which says U.S. college students face paying nearly 5 percent more for in-state tuition and 4 percent more in fees this year.
Gas: The volatility of gas prices is expected to continue, depending on conflicts in the Middle East, disruptions due to hurricanes, seasonal fluctuations and the usual market speculation. The average price of regular unleaded Friday in metro Atlanta was around $3.34 a gallon, according to AAA. that’s up 4 cents from a week ago and up 10 cents from a year ago.
Health insurance: Health insurance premiums are expect to rise as much as 6 percent, thanks to Obamacare, and employers are expected to pass much of that cost on to their workers.
Cable, satellite TV: CNN Money reports satellite and cable TV will cost more, with DISH raising prices as much as $15 starting Jan. 17 and DirecTV raising average bills 4.5 percent starting Feb. 7.
Car prices: Automakers are hiking the prices of their vehicles, partly because of more stringent fuel-efficiency standards. Some Lexus models, for example, are going up as much as $3,000 while other Toyota models also seeing price hikes, like the $175 higher cost for a Camry.
Computers, smartphones: Electronic gadgets will cost more, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, and expect to pay more for laptops, tablets and smartphones as these become more sophisticated.
Stamps: Even the U.S. Post Office is getting in on the act, charging you a penny more to mail a standard letter as the price of a stamp rises to 46 cents starting Jan. 27. CNN points out that both Atlanta-based UPS and Fedex also have announced rate hikes for package deliveries averaging about 5 percent.
All this comes as millions of employees face more money being taken out of their paychecks to cover a 6.2 percent Social Security tax, instead of the 4.2 percent tax they paid in 2011 and 2012. Congress allowed a payroll tax cut, which saved the average household around $1,000 a year, to expire Dec. 31.
How will you cope?
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
96 comments Add your comment
OBAMA MAMA
January 4th, 2013
10:40 pm
OBAMA…Obnoxious, berating, arrogant, moron, antagonistic…Traits of Obama, and the people that voted for him. I forgot idiotic as well.
Ron Mexico
January 4th, 2013
11:22 pm
Add homeowners insurance to the list. With companies losing their butts to wind/hail and water claims the past 4 years you can count on a 10 to 15% increase this year…….
Pat
January 4th, 2013
11:34 pm
This is the fault of all you socialist America hating f-ing a-hole idiots that voted for that marxist muslim from kenya obama.
Glen
January 5th, 2013
12:00 am
This IS what the obama-zombies wanted when they re-elected him. We’d been warned about the possibility of a double-dib recession, and the democraps’ meddling with the economy have made it a certainty.
Laurie
January 5th, 2013
12:24 am
As consumers we can fight back on some of these issues. If your cable bill goes up, cut some of the servies to get it back down. If everyone does this, the cable companies will be forced to reduce their prices to bring profit levels back up. If gas prices go up, use public transportation, carpool, or simply cut back on travel. Gas prices will go back down. As for college tuition, my daughter will be spending her 1st 2 years at a community college, then transfer. No reason for us to waist our money overpaying adminstrator salaries at the big state schools before then. Money talks. Make them listen.
Hoohaa tickler
January 5th, 2013
12:49 am
Prices of hoohaa tickles going up too…
Atlanta is the chocolate mecca
January 5th, 2013
1:54 am
I izmso proud ofmprez obama. He be like my gardian angelz
Wildgator
January 5th, 2013
6:53 am
This is way we can’t move forward in this country, and why other countries are passing us. Let’s stop blaming Obama for everything, and come together, and move forward. Even if Romney would have won, the taxes were going to go up… That 2% tax break was set expire anyway.
And great post Laurie!
lewisbuzzard
January 5th, 2013
7:14 am
Pat are you the grand dragon because you sure post like you are.
e
January 5th, 2013
8:05 am
if everyone who would do their research on why your paychecks went down, it happened along time ago and was due to expire. when they lowered the percentage then, it didn’t do any good so they should have just kept it the same, then no one would complain. As much. Problems start by who we vote onto the hill. Once there, they just want their fancy lunches and fancy lifestyle that come along with their 175k a year plus perks.
Smug
January 5th, 2013
9:17 am
The people that elected His Highness Obama don’t pay taxes anyway. Our man in the DC hood has got to get the dough to support them from somewhere so it’s those who didn’t vote for him that’s gotta pay. Right on bro, keep stickin it to da peoples.
broke_as_hell
January 5th, 2013
9:50 am
Do people really think either parties really care about us?who ever you voted for they would raise our taxes.
brokenknuckle
January 5th, 2013
9:52 am
That liar mitt romney wanted to raise our taxes.
mitt was a liar too
January 5th, 2013
9:57 am
All you bitches stop crying.
blame congress..the house...
January 5th, 2013
10:02 am
They got America in this mess.
told u so long ago .....
January 5th, 2013
10:03 am
but yall still thought he was legit….
Bible Reader
January 5th, 2013
10:06 am
It seems that just is going to be the way things are–a steady decrease in income and a steady increase of prices. I’ve read a few of the comments on here, and many seem to be looking at it with a political eye. I truly can understand the frustration–in actuality, it really doesn’t matter who’s in office–Democrat or Republican, it’s still a MAN. And man can not fix these conditions that we’re living in. Jeremiah 10:23 says that man can not even direct his own step–so how can he possibly lead a nation? The only bit of comfort and solace that I’ve been able to receive is knowing that these problems are only temporary, and that one day soon God is going to alleviate all of these woes. The book of Isaiah talks about how the entire earth will be restored into a paradise, and that we will all have proper houses for dwelling, plenty of food to eat, and true peace and security. God’s Kingdom–the same one that we pray for when we pray the Lord’s prayer will eradicate all of the things that we see today. http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102001684?q=worrying&p=par
rammstein
January 5th, 2013
10:07 am
I called directv a few weeks ago to drop their service.they knocked $25.00 off my monthly bill and no increase and no New contract.
David Puddy
January 5th, 2013
10:12 am
“Just wait til you low-income-voters see your first check … you thought your taxes weren’t going to go up?? WRONG!!! suckers.”
Yes, at a minimum checks in January will have 2% more deductions. The Dem saviors kind of just forgot to mention that in their plans.
David Puddy
January 5th, 2013
10:14 am
“That liar mitt romney wanted to raise our taxes…………”
And then those deviant little democrats went out and increased your taxes 2% at a minimum. Did you forget to add this part?
told u so long ago .....
January 5th, 2013
10:16 am
This B.S. about going over the cliff, holding “his ‘ ground, not letting the middle class pay ANY MORE TAXES was a bold face lie.
What happened was what he planned.
And all the other executive orders that will fall in place (like dominoes) will smack you fools in your a$$es for the next 4 years.
SAY NO?
Hide and watch.. He has played you fools like a fine piano, made no waves when he was needing re-election. Now he’s got one way up in ya, so don’t scream, I for one DO NOT WANT TO HEAR “WHAT HAPPENED?”
You were warned, many months ago and it wasn’t important.
He was gonna ‘CUT LOOSE HIS STASH’, take care of his own. Told ‘Joe’ the plumber as much……
LOOKS LIKE HE LIED TO YALL , TOO…
Hurts, huh.
And it will from now on. Learn to live with it.
You have no choice because you made your choice.
Redcoat
January 5th, 2013
10:18 am
Various reasons were given for the listed increases except education…….what’s the reason there I wonder?
told u so long ago .....
January 5th, 2013
10:20 am
@ Bible Reader
@David Puddy
You both are 100% correct.
Redcoat
January 5th, 2013
10:22 am
so long as there are enough people to believe people like ted always “blaming” conservatives and G W Bush and no one else……….
told u so long ago .....
January 5th, 2013
10:27 am
And he tells you what he is going to do……LISTEN!!!
He wants unlimited spending. ………… LISTEN!!!!
He wants to rule the world ……… LISTEN !!!!!!!!!!!
He went back to low cost vacation in Hawaii ……LISTEN !!!
When he opens his mouth ……. LISTEN !!!!!!!
told u so long ago .....
January 5th, 2013
10:35 am
YES, YOU WERE TOLD, BUT ELECTED TO BE A DUMB AZZ
Redcoat
January 5th, 2013
10:35 am
In a system to tax by force coupled with a majority citizenry to always ask government for more but made to believe, by their elected representatives and media, that someone else will be paying for it equals…………..what we are getting now. How much longer will this last?
Independent
January 5th, 2013
11:07 am
the younger folks, women, and minorities… most of you voted for Obama… now you are hit the hardest by unemployment….wake up and smell the coffee… free market capitalism made this country… big gov’t is a killler …. look at Europe !!!!!
Gwinnett Fred
January 5th, 2013
11:08 am
I’m just going to go with the flow. By that I mean since the USA re-elected Obama, that says the majority of the citizens don’t mind being a drag on the economy and go on welfare, food stamps, and other government assistance programs.
So instead of fighting it and being a tax paying middle class putz, I’ll let the Democrats come to MY rescue for a change!
Not so Southern Belle
January 5th, 2013
12:48 pm
I did not vote for this president but I still respect the office and call him Mr. President Obama
Maybe it’s the younger generation that does not respect the highest office in our land.
shiri
January 5th, 2013
12:54 pm
Is any taxes coming out of Obama’s paycheck?. He is getting a raise too isn’t he ? Don’t worry, things will get worst…
KingLarry
January 5th, 2013
1:48 pm
Sure Obummer has increased jobs. Thanks to Obummercare, many employers are cutting back on their employee’s hours making them Part-time” and exempt from coverage, then hiring more part-time employees to fill the gap. So, in essence, the only thing that happened is that each full time job was cut in two to make two jobs at a lower cost and expense to the employee. As for employment rates, you will never get the straight truth as the figures are based on the number of unemployment claims made and paid during a certain period. It doesn’t take into account those who’s benefits have expired and fell off the stats.
VoiceOfReason
January 5th, 2013
1:50 pm
Forget Obama Bush Clinton Romney Boehner all of them. This is bigger than any ONE man. This country is Broke! We borrow money every minute of everyday. Yes goverment is TOO BIG and we spend too much. BUT where can you stop it? Tax the wealthy the ones who own everything and they make u pay by raising prices. Forget the thugs out on the corner, worry about the Thugs on WallStreet under big corporations. We need spending cuts bad. The big 3 Social Security Defense and Medicare eat up all the money. The logical cut would be to the Defense budget. But that’s not gonna happen since that falls under the big corporations. Slashing SS and Medicare is like a death sentence to those
who depend on it. Fraud and waste run rampant in this country, but thats only the tip of the problems. 18 trillion in Debt by June 1st and the most we cut in TEN years is 3 Trillion with massive reforms and cuts.Thats the REAL scary part!! This will be hopefully fixed ONE day, but I know for sure it won’t be in my lifetime.
Z
January 5th, 2013
2:33 pm
Republican’s can’t win on their failed policies, so they lie, cheat, suppress the vote, commit voter fraud, Gerrymander districts and now hold this country and the American people hostage over the debt ceiling and the deficit which they created. Who needs enemies when we have Republican’s in Congress such as these.
DawgNole
January 5th, 2013
2:38 pm
Laurie
January 5th, 2013
12:24 am
As consumers we can fight back on some of these issues . . . If gas prices go up, use public transportation, carpool, or simply cut back on travel. Gas prices will go back down.
__________________
That’s total BS on gas prices. Demand has dropped for several years running–for the first time in history. Have gas prices dropped correspondingly? Absolutely not!
DawgNole
January 5th, 2013
3:54 pm
rammstein
January 5th, 2013
10:07 am
I called directv a few weeks ago to drop their service.they knocked $25.00 off my monthly bill and no increase and no New contract.
_________________
True. With either cable or satellite, just call them and moan about their bloated charges–and threaten to drop them. They’ll usually come around, or get you someone in “Customer Retention” or “Customer Loyalty” who’s authorized to discount your rate.
black girls are funny
January 5th, 2013
9:48 pm
I see that the semi-literate Black Girl managed to whine enough to get my factual comments deleted. Black Girl, here’s a hint: might help in the future to think before you attempt with lame insults. I mean, it’s kinda funny when a person tries to hurl lame insults about lack of education when the insulter has the reading comprehension of a mouse, with 3rd grade command of the English language. LOL.
dcb
January 8th, 2013
8:54 am
Well as a senior citizen in his seventies with a fixed income, guess there just won’t be as many restaurant and other elective recreational outings as this past year. Likewise, birthday and Christmas gifts will simply be less expensive ones. With ObamaCare entering the picture causing increased health insurance prices, and the other normal required living expenses such as food, gas, housing and daily personal hygiene needs going up, the social security income increase that is supposed to reflect a cost-of-living adjustment is a joke, especially when it excludes increased costs of gas and food. But as Harry Reid says – “hey, its just politics”.
dcb
January 8th, 2013
9:06 am
And to Z above, your comment reminds me of the quote from Thomas Jefferson that “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
I’m no longer a proponent of the GOP because of their political strategies of these last few years. But for that matter, certainly not of the Dems either. I do believe our American freedoms and ability to improve our way of life through sweat and hard work is threatened by an out-of-control bureaucracy and gift-giving to those not living in our country legally.
na
January 8th, 2013
9:07 am
All of those things going up can be attributed to all the geniuses who relected the community organizer to run an entire country into the ground.
He says he is President of 100% of the people, he can not be President for some—————— obviously his disdain for most people is larger than even he said, as he negatively effects most people.
His Tax Relief Act is a joke because it does not have Relief
His affordable heatth care act is not affordable
The wealthy must pay their fair share——— he does not understand the words wealthy, fair or share and I am concerned the words The and Pay are not understandable by him either.
I want to tax millionaires and billionaires——- he has a hard time with numbers because he thinks $200,000 is a million dollars——— see the debt he created and he can only blame George Bush for so long, it has been 4 years but again he has no concept of time either so I guess blaming someone else forever is ok in his mind.
Teflon President—- he must be
Caring Father———— does not know those words either or he would not dump the tax burden he is putting on his kids.
I think the guy was just smoking so much dope in college it screwed up his ability to think————– good thing he was voted in again——– he could have never gotten a job in the real world
na
January 8th, 2013
9:37 am
dcb———— Harry Reid should never have been relected either, nor Nancy Peolosi————– it is these type of people who are killing what this country used to be——— they grew up in a free capitlistic country and it is their intent to turn it socialistic and destroy it………. sorry after all your years that it comes down to this.
SMH
January 8th, 2013
9:46 am
Thatta boy, Obama. Way to start a whole new wave of Inflation!!! SMH…
Jeb
January 8th, 2013
10:11 am
How does this affect the Dawgs’ 2013 recruiting class?
Anita
January 8th, 2013
11:01 am
As always, blame Obama for this mess that the wealthy Republicans put us in. It always his fault instead of the wealthy greedy individuals who don’t pay their fair share of taxes due to all of the tax cuts that they receive. GIVE ME A BREAK!!
Here we go
January 8th, 2013
11:25 am
You Lost. President Obama won, get over it
Your Wallet Will Squeal More This Year | Possibility Unlimited
January 8th, 2013
9:56 pm
[...] http://blogs.ajc.com/business-beat/2013/01/04/your-wallet-will-squeal-more-this-year/ [...]