Cost of living increases force everyone to find ways to make ends meet
Paul Resnick waited in a line of more than 200 vehicles before snaking his way through a monthly food distribution at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer.
“I’d starve without it,” Resnick said. “Everyone in every realm that I know is up against it.”
With prices ticking upward on groceries, household goods and almost everything else, the food giveaway by the Harrison-based Allegheny Valley Association of Churches is invaluable, Resnick said.
Jordan Hartman, distributions manager for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, said the event serves about 350 to 400 families a month, which is up slightly over last year.
“I think people are leaning on us a bit more to help stretch their budgets,” Hartman said.
The increase in demand for food comes as gloomy economic news is grabbing national attention. The stock market plunged Tuesday as the federal Consumer Price Index report for August showed inflation increasing despite President Joe Biden’s administration celebrating the passage of its Inflation Reduction Act.
Inflation rose 0.1% in August, reaching 8.3% and fueling fears the Federal Reserve will aggressively hike interest rates this year to stop inflation but putting the economy further into recession. Continued decline in gasoline prices appeared to be the only highlight of the economic news.
The situation is forcing people to adapt to economic conditions not seen since the 1970s and ’80s.
Here’s how a sampling of people from around the region say they are coping with inflation.
Less travel
Business owner Danielle Colecchi, 61, of Allegheny Township had to cancel a much anticipated two-week vacation because of soaring fuel costs.
“We were taking our kids out west, to South Dakota, on a camping vacation, and we had planned it eight months in advance,” Colecchi said.
Luke Kerstetter, 40, of Rostraver said less travel is one of the changes he has made over the past year to try to keep some extra money in his pocket.
“I’m driving a lot less,” the retail manager said outside GetGo in Hempfield. “It is just to work and back for the most part.”
University of Pittsburgh student Evelyn Capobianco said she used to fill her car with gas more frequently but now finds herself waiting until the tank is almost empty to visit the gas station.
Tabatha Flanick of Oakmont, owner of Oakmont Candle Works, and her husband, Joe, make the best of things for their four children.
“We cut trips out,” she said. “We walk more instead of driving just because of gas. We keep our air at a certain temp instead of freezing. You just got to make it work without letting it stress you out. I try to take it with a grain of salt because this is the world we live in now, and I don’t think me stressing out about it will make it change.”
Likewise for Henry Moore, 60, a lawyer from North Huntingdon.
Moore said he has traveled less this summer because of inflation, but his major concession to rising prices has been his comfort at home.
“I conserve a little bit more. I raised my air conditioner temperature up to 75 (degrees) so it doesn’t come on as much this summer. I’ll probably lower my heat this winter too,” Moore said.
Eat less
The Colecchi family grocery budget has been hit hard by rising food costs.
“We’re watching what we buy from the grocery store. The personal impact this year in 2022 has literally been as hard as the pandemic, and the prices of everything are going up and it feels like there’s no end in sight,” Colecchi said.
“I have started shopping around more for food,”said Kerstetter. I love nice cuts of steak, but the prices are sometimes crazy. So I have been looking for more deals.”
Capobianco, who is originally from King of Prussia, said high prices keep her from buying anything she doesn’t need right now.
“I don’t buy anything other than necessities anymore because I can’t afford to buy anything other than necessities,” she said.
Though she hopes inflation ends soon, Capobianco isn’t confident that it will.
Inflation also has been factored into Moore’s decision-making at the grocery store. He said he buys less and has been a bit more selective in making his purchases.
“The buggy has been a little bit skimpier,” Moore said.
Jerry Cicchitto, 64, of Brookline, said he, too, is taking notice of inflation at the grocery store.
“Food shopping is so high — $100 is nothing to buy food,” he said. “I cut back a lot. I try to buy things on sale.”
Verona resident Timothy Long said prices have hit his wallet and those of his two roommates.
“We just buy a little less of everything,” he said. “I don’t go on vacations. I haven’t left Verona further than Pittsburgh or surrounding areas in 30 years. We really don’t have time or money.
“Gas is definitely a big jump. We went from spending $20 a week to spending $60 a week just in changing vehicles. When food started going up, we just started buying a little less.”
Long said he also ate more at a local restaurant where he worked to help make groceries last longer. He hopes federal leaders can find a way to make things more affordable.
“I’m not that deep into politics to say what can be done to lower inflation,” he said. “It’s just (about) trying to find things you can do that cost nothing.”
Work harder
Colecchi, who co-owns a Minuteman Press franchise in Allegheny Township, said the economy has impacted the business.
“We’re working harder, 50 hours a week. We’re unsure we should be hiring because everything is slowing down,” Colecchi said.
She said the lead time for products that previously were delivered in a day or two has grown significantly.
For example, envelopes that once shipped overnight from downtown Pittsburgh now take up to six weeks to arrive.
“It’s stressful. We and customers are dealing with feeling supply-chain shortages and price increases, and everyone is having to wait longer,” Colecchi said.
Flanick also said inflation and supply-chain issues have greatly impacted her business.
Shipping costs have doubled primarily because of gas prices, with costs going from $20 to $50 for most things.
Flanick said sending 8 pounds of candles from her shop to Robinson went from $14 to about $25.
The cost of a box of 8-ounce jars went from $2.25 to $6.50, and that does not include wax, lids or fragrance. The price of 10- to 12-ounce candles went up $2 each.
“The worst thing you want to do is raise prices when everything is going up,” Flanick said. “People are coming in more, looking around. A lot of people are more acceptable of you raising your prices because they get it.”
Online sales are down from 25 orders per week to 10.
“We had to drop certain glass vendors because they were just outrageous to ship,” the owner said. “We had to change wick vendors because it’s hard to get the all cotton wicks when you want something all natural.”
Still, some things are continuing despite inflation.
Long, of Verona, said inflation has not had much impact on his charity work as president of the Lower Valley Athletic Association.
The association puts on youth sports leagues as well as gaming activities and Battle in the Borough, an annual professional wrestling event at Cribbs Field in cooperation with Verona Parks and Recreation.
“We’re small, and we only buy things that we need when we need them,” Long said. “I haven’t really noticed a huge hike in the things we buy for the foundation. We don’t really spend a whole lot of money on Movies in the Park.”
Get a side gig
Clyde Chafer of Reserve Township has supplemented his income for two years by delivering food for Door Dash.
But with increased fuel costs, Chafer, 67, said he has had to cut back on the number of deliveries during each shift.
“People aren’t tipping as good as they used to,” Chafer said.
Chafer’s fuel costs are up more than $20 per fill-up in his 2010 Nissan Rogue.
He said he is earning about $200 less weekly at Door Dash and only accepts about three of every 10 meal order requests.
“I turn them down because they’re too far, with gas prices,” Chafer said.
For Chafer, the decrease in income is offset by his other job as a regional psychic fair promoter.
“It concerns everybody – young, old, in between,” said Tony Pascale, 67, of Brookline.
Pascale said he’s concerned by the ever-increasing costs of just about everything, from gas and food to rent and even his health insurance.
Pascale, who is retired, has been working for his son’s cement business to earn extra cash as his expenses climb.
“I need the extra money,” he said.
Staff writers Maddie Aiken, Rich Cholodofsky, Mike DiVittorio, Joyce Hanz, Tawnya Panizzi, Julia Felton and Dan Sleva contributed.
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