Primerica Inc. announced the latest results for its Household Budget Index™ (HBI™), which measures how inflation and wage trends impact the ability of middle-income families to afford everyday necessities. The HBI™ is estimated at 100.4% for September, marking a 0.2% increase from the previous month and a 0.6% rise compared to a year ago. The Consumer Price Index $(CPI)$ for September showed a 3.0% year-over-year increase, the highest rate since June 2024. When adjusted for middle-income families' spending patterns, inflation rose to 3.4% year over year, and the cost of necessity items tracked by the HBI™-including food, utilities, gas, auto insurance, and health care-increased by 3.2% over the same period. Due to the government shutdown starting October 1, 2025, Primerica noted that no new HBI™ data will be available for November, as key government data sources are currently unavailable.