5 Costs That Are Going Down For Those Living On Social Security
Written by
Andrew Lisa
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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When people read good news about falling inflation, economists are quick to throw cold water on their optimism by reminding them that lower inflation doesn’t mean prices are going down. It just means they’re rising by less.
But some products and services aren’t just experiencing slowing inflation. They’re experiencing deflation, which means that they actually cost less than before.
The message for fixed-income retirees living on Social Security is that it’s not all doom and gloom.
Here’s a look at the items that are giving retirees some breathing room in their budgets and propping up their purchasing power.
Also see expenses retirees can cut to save up to $29,000 a year.
Gas
In June, just as the busy summer travel season was getting underway, AAA reported that fuel demand was “tepid” and gasoline reserves were up. The result was a $0.17 month-over-month price decrease that put the national average price per gallon at $3.48. The price had fallen by $0.06 since June of the previous year.
Two months later, on Aug. 12, AAA reported that the national average price per gallon had fallen another $0.04 to $3.44 per gallon, with several Southern states under $3.10 — or, in the case of Mississippi, back down into the high-$2s.
Used Vehicles
Not only is it easier for retirees on the go to buy gas, but they now might be able to find the perfect previously owned car, truck or SUV they can afford for that ultimate road trip on a budget.
In July, CarEdge reported that “the used car market is collapsing.” That same month, the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that the average price of used cars and trucks had fallen by 10.1% over the past year, the most significant decline of any major category the CPI measures and the only one in the double digits.
Around the same time last month, Kelley Blue Book (KBB) reported that the average used car listed for $25,251 — $400 less than the month before and $1,700 less than the same time last year — as used-market demand continued to wane.
Apples
In November 2023, NPR reported that hungry families received millions of apples that were doomed to rot due to a glut of supply and anemic demand. With bumper crops in America’s orchards and foreign tariffs constricting exports, there were simply too many apples and not enough buyers.
By July of this year, little had changed.
Last month, the Missouri Business Alert reported that Washington, which produces 66% of America’s apples, saw radically improved weather and bountiful harvests, which pushed down the price of apples, even those grown in other states.
The most recent CPI data shows that apple prices fell by 12% year over year, which puts it in a tie for the steepest price decrease of any individual CPI expenditure category.
Televisions
The most recent CPI data shows that the average price of televisions has fallen by 5.6% over the last year, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Several categories of products and services are experiencing deflation, but most decreases occurred during the last year or so as prices fell from peak-inflation highs. However, according to CNBC, televisions are one of the few products that now cost less than before the pandemic.
The publication reports that rapid advances in smart TV manufacturing have created a level of production parity that makes it difficult for sellers to compete on features. Instead, they compete on price by selling just above cost — flooding the market with cheap TVs — and making up for it with increases in secondary revenue streams.
Computers and Smartphones
In 2022, just as inflation was around its 40-year peak high, Marketplace.org explained: “Computer pricing is disinflationary because it adheres to Moore’s Law, named after Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore, who described how advances in semiconductor technology reduce the cost of computing power.”
Over time, scientists and engineers learn how to pack more and more transistors onto chips, enabling sellers to offer the same amount of computing power for less, or more sophisticated devices for the same price. The same goes for smartphones — and today is no different.
The most recent CPI data shows that computer prices have fallen by 4.2% since last year and smartphones have dropped by a whopping 12% — tied only with apples for the fastest-falling prices.
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