10 Things That Will Be More Expensive in 2012

Posted by Mike Tirone - Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Last Saturday we took a cup of kindness and we sang “Auld Lang Syne” to joyfully say 'buh-bye' to 2011 and welcome a new year.

We set resolutions and now we pray and hope that the new year will be better than the last. Every one of us could go for a better year when referring to the ol' Greenback. So let us welcome you to 2012, and guide your wallet in the right direction with Wealth Wire's two part series, Consumer Guidance: What's More Expensive & Cheaper in 2012. We'll give you reason to avoid certain products and guide you towards the ones that you may get more bang for your buck.
Price adjustments come with the territory of a new year and some are almost customary, such as gas-prices, but according to DealNews.com, there are new items to this year's list. Take a look for yourself.

10 Things That Will Be More Expensive in 2012:

New Digital Camera Models

Due to smartphones and their ability to take excellent photographs comparable to point-and-shoot cameras, manufactures and retailers are focusing more on higher-end digital SLRs. Consumers will be struggling to find newly-released digital cameras at cheap prices since the market is moving rapidly into feature-rich products.

Water

Hikes in water prices will be a common occurrence throughout the U.S., even in places that are rich with H20. Cities like Denver and the Greater Chicago area will be seeing water rates increase due to cities needing to increase revenue to balance their budgets. Which leads us to...

City-Enforced Fees

Things like dog licenses to vehicle registration or even parking rates are all going up in 2012. Portland is bumping their parking fines up by 18% this year as they look to make up for a $16 million transportation budget deficit, while Hoboken continues to give out up to $5,000 fines during it's famously drunken, annual, St. Patrick's Day parade.

Hard Drives and Desktop Computers

Hard drives supply has dropped significantly due to the massive floods in Thailand in 2011 and the shortages are expected to continue into 2012, therefore prices will keep going up as the demand grows. Expect average selling prices for desktop computers to increase around 30% on new ones.

Food for Home Preparation

Most retailers have reported that food prices are rising and those increases are being passed along to shoppers. Food costs rose 6% last year and plan to rise at least 2% more this year. “Increases are likely to affect food eaten at home, rather than restaurants where those costs are easier to absorb when combined with sales of liquor, says Harry Balzer, Chief Industry Analyst for the NPD Group.”

Mobile Device Data Plans

No surprise here, as iPads and more 4G services are flooding the market, data plans looks to be one of the largest growers on our list. Carriers are expanding their 4G services and unfortuantely, look to move away from unlimited plans, which means data is set to become even more expensive this year.

Shipping

The world may be getting smaller because of the shipping industry but that doesn't mean the price is going to be as well. Due to the instability with the U.S. Postal Service and their $9 billion deficit in 2011, rates will be rising (and some say significantly). But according to experts the average hike will be 4.6% in 2012, while UPS and FedEx are raising small package rates by nearly 5%. Online shoppers will not enjoy these hikes while personal shippers it looks like their rates will continue to rise as well.

Gas

Like we mentioned, this was almost certain that fuel prices would keep their pre-holiday trends upward. 2012 is looking no different than last year, when tears were shed and wallets were emptied at the gas pumps. This year expect $4 per gallon or higher.

Gold

When you go ten consecutive years growing, the likelihood of an 11th year of growth is high, especially with how weak the fiat currencies of the world are today. Yes, gold prices were up-and-down in the second half of 2011, but conservative analysts expect an average of 12% rise this year, that is not to say that it won't be crushing that number in 2012.
We understand this isn't the kind of list you were hoping for to start out the year, but remember with every rise in prices comes a drop in other items. Let Wealth Wire wipe those financial tears away with our 10 Things That Will Be Cheaper in 2012 list being published tomorrow...

http://www.wealthwire.com/news/economy/2461?r=1