(Undated) -- Midwest shoppers say they're looking for ways to keep their grocery bills down.
Prices are up 7.5% over a year ago. That's the biggest increase in inflation in 40 years. Some people say they're giving up grocery items that have gotten too expensive. Some products are being made smaller, but the prices are the same or higher. That's called "shrinkflation".
Some parts of the country are likely to feel the effects of inflation more than others--including where we live...
"It tends to hit those of us who live in this part of the country," says Creighton University Economist Ernie Goss. "We typically consume more gasoline, for example, because we don't have as much public transportation."
Goss says he would have predicted inflation to ease up in the second half of this year--that was before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Goss says the longer the conflict goes on in Ukraine, the longer inflation is likely to effect the U-S economy.