Employers are expected to give workers an average 3 percent pay raise next year, which should help workers absorb the impact of inflation-- also forecast to increase a modest 3 percent next year.
That would follow a year in which consumer prices remained relatively stagnant. The CPI inched up just 1 percent in the 12 months ending in October, the smallest 12-month increase since October 2009.
View our slideshow: 8 Things That Will Cost You More in 2014
Inflation’s effect is much more pronounced on the least wealthy Americans, who have less of a financial cushion with which to deal with rising costs, and whose incomes have stagnated since the Great Recession even as the highest earners have seen their wages rise. Between 1992 and 2012, the gap between the highest and lowest earners aged 35 to 44 jumped by 21 percent, according to an analysis by Bankrate.com.
Any increase in prices can have an impact on the economy, since consumer spending typically accounts for two-thirds of the U.S. economy. U.S. GDP is expected to expand at about 3 percent next year. In the third quarter of this year, GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.6 percent, following a 2.9 percent increase in the second quarter.
Of course, there are certain items that may see a cost increase far beyond the 3 percent inflation, and many of them are things you use every day. Here’s a list of 8 things that will get more expensive in 2014.
