By Andrea Stevens
AFRO Staff Writer
astevens@afro.com
In cities across the country, many Black households say rising prices are reshaping their daily routines. Costs for food, housing and health care continue to rise faster than wages. People are now making difficult choices about expenses that once felt ordinary.
According to the September 2025 Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans are paying more for gasoline, energy, food and the price increases don’t stop there. The latest report shows an uptick in costs associated with “shelter, airline fares, recreation, household furnishings and operations, and apparel.”
For a Prince George’s county native Sydney Robinson, a single woman with an associates degree and a career in finance, the shift has been sharp. Yet even with making changes, the reality of inflation hits her in small– but painful–ways.
“I’ve opened a high yield savings account to stack my savings in order to grow my money faster,” she said. “I have had to cut back on some of my simple pleasures like solo dates, eating out and beauty supply trips. I tend to wear longer lasting hairstyles instead of switching it up like I used to.”
For Robinson, the most immovable cost is health care.
“Health insurance has been the biggest most important cost that I have to maintain no matter what. It is not something you can’t compromise on because of the risk that comes with not having it,” she said.
She said the gap between her pay and expenses continues to widen.
“My income has increased, but not as much as the cost of living. I work more to maintain the same standard of living I already had,” she said.
Like Robinson, Olivia Dreux, a junior at Morgan State University, is also cutting where she can from her budget. The 22-year-old Baltimore native purchased her first home this year. Dreux said rising prices forced her to tighten her budget. She has made changes to how she maintains her appearance. What was once routine maintenance has turned into a category many now treat as a luxury.
“I have been doing my own hair a lot more. Spending money on my hair had to go,” she said. “It shocked me how something that used to be simple now feels like a financial decision.”
Dreux said the housing market offered another surprise when she was required to put down more money than planned. Family inheritance helped, but she noted that her situation was rare.
“It is not realistic anymore to see people in their early 20s move out,” she said. “Rent prices are out of this world.”
For Baltimore locals Rya and Eric Greene, as newly weds, new parents and homeowners, rising prices forced a similar reset. Eating out was the first cut.
“One thing we have changed is how we use consumer credit and how we save. We had to make sure we had enough accessible funds in case of an emergency,” Rya said. “Meals at home can be just as good and much more budget friendly,” she said.
Rya added that she wishes she had been taught more about financial tools earlier in life.
“I would have liked better guidance on responsible credit card use and the value of maintaining a strong savings account,” she said.
Many Black families are rethinking the basics and wondering how much further they can stretch, but across different households the message remains consistent: Everyday costs are rising faster than wages.