If it feels like everything costs more lately, we’re not imagining it. This week the government reported that inflation reached 3.7% last month, with gas, clothing, and airfares leading the way. Wholesale prices, which are what businesses pay before goods ever reach our shelves, jumped 6.3% from a year ago, the fastest pace since late 2022.

For many of our families, fuel is the biggest piece of the puzzle. Diesel is averaging about $6.32 a gallon, compared with $3.66 a year ago, and that shows up everywhere from the cost of trucking our groceries to the price of a plane ticket. Retail sales rose 0.8% in September, but a good chunk of that was simply spent filling up the tank. And after accounting for inflation, average weekly paychecks fell compared with a year ago for the first time since May.

There is one bit of help for our seniors. The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2027 has been set at 3.6%, adding a little more than $900 next year. Medicare open enrollment has also begun, and it’s worth sitting down with a trusted family member to compare plans, since costs and benefits change from year to year.

Closer to home for some of us, a measles outbreak centered in Pennsylvania has passed 1,100 cases there and more than 4,000 across the country this year, the largest in 35 years. Doctors say the vast majority of those who got sick were not vaccinated. If you have questions about the MMR vaccine, your family doctor or pediatrician is the best place to start, especially if there are babies or people with weakened immune systems in your circle.

None of this is easy, but we’ve been through tough stretches before, and we’ve come out the other side by looking out for each other. Check in on a neighbor on a fixed income, share a ride to the store, trade a tip on where gas is cheaper. Small kindnesses add up, and they’re free.