Americans’ cost of living remains a massive headache, even as recession fears fade

Allison Powell knew it wouldn’t be easy to raise a family and buy a home. But she didn’t think it would be this hard.

The long-rumored recession has been postponed – or perhaps cancelled altogether. The soft-landing vibes are real. Inflation is cooling. The economy is growing at a shockingly strong pace. And unemployment hasn’t been this low for this long since the late 1960s. And yet, hidden behind these boomy-economic indicators, a frustrating reality persists: Life is far too expensive for far too many. From the historically unaffordable housing market and budget-breaking day care rates to high car prices, the United States has a cost of living problem many years in the making. Parents of young children are making difficult choices to afford child care — or they’re opting to evade it by dropping out of the workforce altogether. Parents are also struggling to buy bigger cars to haul around their growing families while simultaneously socking away some money in college savings plans.