7 Things That Are Finally Getting Cheaper

3. Lettuce 

Average price: $2.85 per pound 

Decrease: Month over month, in March prices are down 5.6 percent. 

The price of lettuce hit a record high in late 2022 as a virus spread through crops, hurting production. Since then prices are almost 80 percent off their peak, says Bailey. That may be short-lived. Production is moving back to California at the same time that record rainfalls are hurting farmers’ ability to plant. That, says Bailey, could send prices for lettuce back up in the weeks to come.

4. Fresh fruit 

Average price: $0.32 to $4 per pound

Decrease: Month over month, in March fresh fruit prices are down 1.5 percent. ​

The weather is improving and fertilizer commodity prices are dropping, making it cheaper for consumers to purchase fresh fruit, especially citrus fruits such as oranges and tangerines. Citrus fruit prices overall are down 3.7 percent, while oranges are 3.1 percent cheaper. ​

5. Bacon

Average price: $6.61 per pound 

Decrease: Year over year, in March bacon prices are down 5.7 percent. 

Prices for bacon soared last year, forcing consumers to find lower-cost alternatives. That has impacted demand, sending prices lower. Ham and hot dogs also got cheaper month over month in March, down 1.6 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. 

6. Used cars and trucks 

Average price: $26,510

Decrease: Year over year, in March used car and truck prices are 11.2 percent lower. 

Used car and truck prices have been falling ever since the start of the year as supply improves. During the pandemic there was a dearth of new cars, which spilled over into the used vehicle market. With dealers getting more new vehicles in their showrooms, some of the pricing pressures seen in the used car market have been alleviated and thus prices have fallen. ​

“The leading reason for the drop in used car prices is the increased supply of new cars,” says Dvorkin. “The lack of new car inventory drove up all car prices, and on top of that, the shortages of parts and computer chips stalled new car production in 2022.”

7. Gasoline 

Average price: $3.645 per gallon

Decrease: Year over year, in March gas prices are down 17.4 percent. 

Gasoline prices have been declining largely because the supply situation has remained stable despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and fears of supply shocks haven’t fully materialized, says Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. But they may not stay down for too much longer, given that we are heading into the summer, when demand tends to pick up due to road trips. As the weather gets warmer, refiners also switch to summer blends of gasoline, which have lower vapor pressure, helping to prevent the evaporation of gas in the summer sun. These blends also costs more, which puts further upward pressure on gasoline prices. “In the past few weeks, gas prices have started their seasonal rise, and likely will continue trending up over the next four to six weeks before peaking between mid-May and mid-June or so,” he says. ​