Inflation may be less, but everything still seems to be going up in price. Verizon just increased my cell phone bill by $5 per month. My monthly bills have gone up by at least $200 per month since 2020. That doesn't include the high cost of food. It doesn't help that my wages are 15% less than they would be if they had kept up with inflation since I started in 2001. I track the price of Frito-Lay party size snacks at Walmart. The price just jumped up almost 10% more in the past couple of weeks. They had been under $4 at beginning of 2020 and the price is just about $6 now.
I am not sure how I am going to buy a replacement vehicle in three to five years. My vehicle has been paid off since early 2020. A new minivan has doubled in price since I bought mine in 2016. Part of the increase is due to no more stripped down base models like mine. I would like electric, but the VW electric minivan looks like it will be over $50,000 and not eligible for federal tax credits. In Minnesota rust is the biggest reason to need a replacement vehicle. My 2016 Grand Caravan is starting to have rust on the back side of the liftgate which eventually will eat through the liftgate. My parents had a 2000 Grand Caravan that they had to send to the scrapyard at 133,000 miles as the top of the strut towers were dangerously rusted. I am already at 96,000 miles and I feel certain my vehicle will make it past 133,000 miles.
