Prices on everyday expenses keep going up. Ive listened to many people in the community recently about it.Everything has increased. Its terrible, said Sandy Sherk, who lives in Pinellas County.You have eggs thats going up, milk is going up, everything. So its been a struggle here, said Samara Adderley, who lives in Hillsborough County.WATCH Latest CPI report shows inflation cooled, but experts warn prices are still high Latest CPU report shows inflation cooled, but experts warn prices are still highEverything has gone up, like some stuff are almost double, said Kerisse Sentino, who lives in Hillsborough County.Its why Ive been keeping track of updates to the inflation rate.The latest Consumer Price Index report shows that the inflation rate dropped to 3.5% from 4.2%.However, just because inflation cooled does not mean most of your everyday expenses are any cheaper.Prices are still going up; theyre just not as fast as they were before If you couldnt afford groceries last month, you still cant afford them this month because prices still went up, said Thomas Stockwell, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa.The recent decrease in the inflation rate is largely credited to fuel and energy costs.We saw that reflected at the gas pump this past month with lower prices. However, as the war with Iran moves back to rocky territory, the price of gas is starting to increase again.Theres a decent chance that we see those energy prices go right back up next month, said Stockwell.Which means budgets will remain tight for now.Some people cant afford it. Some people cant even afford food, said Sentino.Its just very difficult to budget, said Sherk.People told Tampa Bay 28 theyre looking for relief.[Its] pretty difficult when youre paying rent, when youre paying a car note, car insurance, everything has been going up. And you barely have enough for groceries, said Adderley.While a lower inflation rate is a move in the right direction, experts warn we still need more time to monitor if this downward trend will continue.Keep in mind the Federal Reserve thinks 2% inflation is what stable inflation is so were still above that 2% mark but it is a move in the right direction, said Stockwell.This is one data point. And one data point does not mean that all of a sudden all of our lives are going to get better and prices are going down. We are still fighting the war on inflation, he added. ...read more read less