9 Things That Are Actually Getting Cheaper

After more than a year of significantly elevated prices, inflation might feel like a fact of life we’ll never escape. But as we anxiously watch the price of many goods rise, the cost of other items is actually falling.

Hard as it may be to believe, a handful of items have gotten cheaper over the past year or the past month — or both, in many cases.

The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Consumer Price Index, which reflects August data, reveals that these items are bucking the trend of escalating costs, taking some of the sting out of rising prices elsewhere.

For comparison, the price index as a whole increased 8.3% from August 2021 to this August, and increased 0.1% from July 2022 to August 2022.

9. Wireless phone services

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 0.6% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): None

8. Recorded music and music subscriptions

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 0.6% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): 0.5% decrease

7. Uncooked beef steaks

While the price of uncooked beef steaks went down in August, the bad news is this was the sole grocery category that did not see a year-over-year or month-over-month increase. As a whole, grocery prices rose 13.5% over the past year and 0.7% over the past month.

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 3% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): None

6. Computers, peripherals and smart home assistants

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 4.3% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): 0.6% decrease

5. Car and truck rentals

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 6.2% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): 0.5% decrease

4. Admission to sporting events

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 6.7% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): 2.8% decrease

3. Telephone hardware, calculators and other consumer information items

This category does not include smartphones — which have seen an even steeper annual decrease, as we’ll get to in a moment.

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 13.8% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): 1.3% decrease

2. Televisions

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 19.1% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): 3.0% decrease

1. Smartphones

Price change from August 2021 to this August: 20.4% decrease

Price change from July 2022 to August 2022 (seasonally adjusted): 0.7% decrease

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