What goes up, won't go down this year

Just keep that wallet handy.

Whipsawed consumers — facing a 66 percent Illinois income tax increase just as the nation climbs out of recession — now need to brace for price increases.

From food on the table, to vacation costs, to home sweet money pit, consumers can expect to pay more for products and services in 2011.

Here's a sampling:

On the road

Say goodbye to deep discounts from desperate hotel and transportation companies. That family vacation is going to cost more, mostly due to the biggest culprit: the soaring price of a barrel of crude oil.

• Gasoline for your vehicle will continue its climb due to demand, taxes and that ever-climbing price of a barrel of crude oil, experts said. In several news reports, the former president of Shell Oil said a gallon will rise through 2012, when it could hit $5.

• United, Delta and Continental Airlines all announced ticket increases on domestic routes by $10 one way and $20 round trip. Expect to pay 3 percent to 5 percent more for an airline ticket, at least through the first half of this year, due to the higher price of fuel, said airline analyst Mike Boyd of the Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo.

Fees to check baggage, move to the front of the boarding line, get extra leg room and other services also could go up. “Nothing indicates that anything is going down,” Boyd said.

• Expect the cost of train and bus tickets and auto rentals to increase.

• The price of hotel rooms, overall, likely will go up about 8 percent in downtown locations, 7 percent away from downtown, and 5 percent outside a city, said hotel analyst and researcher Ted Mandigo, director of Elmhurst-based T.R. Mandigo & Co.

You'll likely see more hotel packages that include meals and events, but don't expect the deep discounts of the past two years, he said.

“Business has improved, so hotels have gotten more bold in pricing and stopped the giveaways and deals,” Mandigo said.

In the pantry

• Fruits and vegetables have continued to inch up in price due to economic conditions, increased shipping and other costs. Increases ranged from 1.7 percent to 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2010, according to Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh Foundation. And this year, they will be more costly, considering many growing regions experienced freezes or other extreme weather. A foundation spokesman did not provide forecasts, but other reports showed that prices will continue to climb.

• Meat prices also will rise this year, including pork as much as 5.5 percent and beef up to 3.5 percent, according to a U.S.DA report.

• Food producers, including General Mills, Sara Lee, J.M. Smucker, Kraft Foods, Starbucks and others, have reported that they intend to increase prices of their products this year. The increases are due to raw product increases, especially those grown in fields, such as wheat, coffee and fruit. Also chocolate is at an all-time high and demand is growing worldwide, so expect smaller boxes or fancier presentations, according to DealNews.com.

On the home front

• Mortgage rates are expected to continue inching up this year and likely will end 2011 much higher than now, said Dennis Papiernik of Naperville, president of Lombard-based Illinois Association of Mortgage Professionals.

A 30-year fixed rate is hovering in the high 4 percent range, so don't expect it to stay there much longer. “The economy and inflation are its biggest enemies,” Papiernik said.

If you are getting a new mortgage or refinancing, be prepared to pay higher fees or additional fees. A new $75 fee started Jan. 1 on the Cost Protection Act, where letters are issued on closing costs. By April 1, you could expect other fees associated with the implementation of the new Federal Reserve loan officer compensation law. While amounts aren't known yet, the new law will likely force up rates or fees.

• For inside the home and for yourself, the price of cotton has gone up due to higher demand worldwide and to unusual dry spells during the growing seasons in the United States last year. This could affect the price of cotton clothing, towels and other household goods, according to some reports.

Elsewhere

• The rising cost of crude oil also will contribute to rising costs in products using derivatives, such as plastics in toys, household containers and auto parts, experts said.

• If you plan to visit Chicago, parking at downtown street meters went up Jan. 1 to $5, an 18 percent increase from $4.25 per hour. Other downtown parking away from the Loop rose from $2.50 to $3 per hour, and neighborhood parking rose from $1.25 to $1.50 per hour.

• Shipping by truck also likely will increase and trickle down into the prices of products, said Joseph Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University in Chicago.

• The U.S. Postal Service's shipping rates have already changed starting Jan. 2. Priority Mail, Express Mail, Global Express Guarnateed, Express Mail International, Priority Mail International, Parcel Select and Parcel Return Service have gone up 3.5 percent to 3.6 percent.

• Bank fees continue to climb. New customers of Chase's Total Checking accounts will get $12 monthly maintenance fees starting Feb. 8. Bank of America said it would start fees ranging from $8.95 to $25 on checking accounts later this year, according to CNNMoney. Stay tuned.