It’s seen everywhere in America: Americans everywhere are taken aback as their usual grocery trip gets more expensive than the last. People are stressed out about the rise of everyday products like milk, butter, margarine, and even gas.

Over the past year prices for nearly half of items have risen, leaving the national inflation rate standing at 8.3%. However, grocery stores are taking the biggest hit on this issue.

Grocery store prices are measured by the USDA through a system called food-at-home index. The food-at-home index gets measured year round and tracks the rising price in meat, produce, dairy and cereals. Additionally, the food-at-home-index tracked a 13.5% increase in our everyday items.

“My grocery bills went up a lot. Everything is way more expensive,” expressed Christine Morill, journalism teacher at Manchester High School. “Especially eggs. I haven’t been buying them at all because I don’t use them enough and I can’t justify spending $6 on a carton of eggs.”

This price rise isn’t completely in Morill’s head. Egg prices have increased by 39.8% within the past twelve months. These increased prices can even be spotted at pet stores, which could impact your pet. Customers at Pet Supplies Plus are also dealing with these high prices for their pet food.

“Mostly [customers get upset at these prices because] how much dog foods and cat foods gone up and they end up getting upset, ” explained Jim Mccaffrey, a supervisor at Pet Supplies Plus. ‘’Some will order on Chewy instead now because some prices have gone up by $15-$20 on a bag of food. This effect makes it tough on a lot of people to get what they need for their pets.”

In response to these raised prices some people might think about investing in stocks to make money at this time. Although, in the end, this will not work out for most Americans.

“It would depend on someone’s financial situation if they should invest right now,” described Shawn McClory, a Manchester High School math teacher. “If they think they are still purchasing a stock that is going to continue to rise and have the financial flexibility to take a risk they can but at some point indicators would be that it needs to slow down.”

Even if someone is financially stable right now it won’t provide immediate relief in the fight against inflation. There are very few solutions, making Americans pretty much helpless.

“Investing in stocks could help protect certain factors of inflation but it would be over a long period of time and not an immediate solution,” McClory clarified. “Many consumers are having a difficult time covering expenses with inflation and do not have the income available to invest right now.”