RICHFIELD, Wisc. — People continued to pay more for goods and services in February, according to a report released by the Labor Department Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday.
The report revealed the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.8% last month, marking a 7.9% jump compared to the same time last year.
It comes as gas prices continue to rise. According to AAA, the national average price of regular gas reached $4.31 on Thursday, which is up from $4.25 on Wednesday. The national average cost of diesel hit $5.05, it was $4.88 a day earlier.
In Wisconsin, the average prices were a little less on Thursday at $4.04 for regular unleaded gas and $4.75 for diesel.
The rising prices have forced people and businesses to rethink their habits.
"The fact that it's changing every single day is big because we're used to it fluctuating maybe a cent or two once a week not $0.80 in one week," said Pamela Polyak, owner of Polyak Trucking in Milwaukee.
Polyak said their company is doing fine, but the biggest issue is keeping up with costs rising quickly.
As the team moves groceries along with dry and household goods, Polyak said each truck has been averaging about $300 more to fill up compared to last month, even with their bulk discount.
"We're going to manage the heck out of costs, I mean we have to. We're gonna watch the expenses that we can control at this point, downtime, load rates, toll costs," Polyak said.
At a gas station in Richfield, people said increasing costs fueled changes to their lives, whether it is spending more time at home or prioritizing when they hit the road.
"I do budget for gas now. It's something I didn't think about previous to the gas prices being very high," said Glynis Payne-Walker.
"I'm just gonna limit everything and try to save money in other places too. Costs are rising everywhere besides just gas," said truck driver Llona Bowen.
