DC, Baltimore among cities impacted most by inflation

WASHINGTON - A new study by WalletHub says the D.C. and Baltimore regions are seeing some of the highest levels of inflation.

The D.C./Arlington/Alexandria region is ranked 21 nationwide while the Baltimore/Columbia/Towson region is fifth.

FOX 5 spoke to financial expert Dan Varroney, President & CEO of Potomac Core Consulting, who said he doesn't expect inflation to ease any time this year. He said he also anticipates the Federal Reserve will again raise interest rates in November or December.

"I'm going to tell you that has implications for all of your viewers in terms of what they're going to pay on their credit card interest fees, what people will pay for home loans and what people will pay for automobile loans," Varroney said. "So right now we're looking at high costs through the end of the year and this would get into next year. I don't think that inflation is going to get under control anytime soon."

New data out last week showed inflation jumped 8.2 percent from last year, largely driven by rising food, energy and housing costs.

Also last week, the Producer Price Index showed a strong indication inflation hasn't peaked yet.

Over the summer, we got an up close look at how exactly inflation is measured.

FOX 5 teamed up with economists from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics who are constantly measuring prices of every product, good and service you can imagine.

Everyone is now watching their work closely each month as they report the latest inflation data.

"I think people should know that we're all in for a rough ride," said Varroney. "And it's important that people do the following. One: save their money and make sure that you've got up to six months money saved in case whatever the worst happens, you want to have a cushion. The other thing is to look at things like Gas Buddy. They offer different opportunities to get lower gas prices and always be shopping either online or in store, trying to get the best deals you can."

He said people are feeling rising costs most at the grocery store where items like meats, fish and eggs are up between 9 and 15 percent over last year.