Answer: 6.2% 

This chart shows that many grocery prices have risen even more: 

Questions:

• Have you noticed inflation (the increases in prices) in items that you or your family purchase in your own lives? 
• How much do you think that prices have to go up before it impacts consumer behavior and their purchase decisions?  
• What do you think are the causes behind this spike in inflation? 

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from CNBC):

Inflation across a broad swath of products that consumers buy every day was even worse than expected in October, hitting its highest point in more than 30 years, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The consumer price index, which is a basket of products ranging from gasoline and health care to groceries and rents, rose 6.2% from a year ago, the most since December 1990.

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Wondering who won NGPF's Estimate the Monthly Jobs Report contest? Find out here and look out for another opportunity for your class to win a $100 Amazon gift card for guessing the number of jobs created in November. Details coming soon in the blog. 

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Want to learn more about CPI and other inflation measures? Check out NGPF's On-Demand (for teachers): Inflation: Will It Stay or Will It Go? 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.