Six things that will cost you more in 2012

Dollar signs floating in the skyDollar signs floating in the sky
Dollar signs floating in the sky

You can expect to see some increases in what you pay for certain things in 2012, according to the shopping deals site dealnews.com, which forecasts price increases in everyday items such as food, water and gas, as well as airfare, shipping and municipality fees.

Here is a list of six things that will cost you more in 2012, based on a report by dealnews:

  1. Airfare: Plane tickets will most likely cost you more in 2012, as fewer seats are available despite growing demand. The prediction by dealnews cites American Express, which forecasts airfare prices in the U.S. to increase up to about 5 percent for coach and up to about 7 percent for business class.

  2. Food: Retailers have said that food prices are rising and that those increases will be reflected in the price you pay at checkout. Food costs rose 6 percent last year, and will likely go up at least 2 percent more in 2012, according to dealnews.

  3. Municipality fees: As cities and towns look to make up deficits and budget shortfalls, you may see fees increase for things like parking rates and vehicle registration. Dealnews reports that "In Chicago for example, a non-registered dog can elicit a $500 fine, while parking fines in Portland are going up 18 percent as the city tries to make up a $16 billion transportation budget deficit."

  4. Tap water: Many U.S. communities will face water rate hikes this year, according to dealnews. Like the fees mentioned above, for the most part, this increase is the result of cities and towns needing to increase revenue to balance their budgets.

  5. Gas: Fuel prices inched up before the holidays, and 2012 is on track to be another budget-breaking year at the pump, dealnews reports, with prices predicted to reach beyond $4 per gallon.

  6. Shipping: The U.S. Postal Service will raise its rates by about 4.6 percent in 2012, while both FedEx and UPS follow suit with plans to hike small package rates by 4.9 percent.

The original dealnews list of things expected to increase in price next year also included items such as desktop computers and gold, among others. For the full and detailed list visit 11 Things That Will Be More Expensive in 2012 [dealnews].

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