There are two stories about the American family budget this week.

One says families could eventually have $36,000 more income if America gets its debt under control.

The other says gasoline is already costing more.

Only one of them is happening to the household this month.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget published a report today arguing that reducing America's debt could eventually lift household incomes. Its estimate is $36,000.

That's a big number.

It's also a long way away.

It depends on the government doing something it isn't doing. Cutting deficits.

There's already a number at the pump, though.

US gasoline prices have risen sharply as the Iran conflict and uncertainty around shipping through the Strait of Hormuz push energy costs higher.

That money doesn't stop at the petrol station.

It travels.

A delivery van costs more to run.

A truck costs more to move food.

A business paying more for energy has another cost to recover.

Eventually, some of that can reach the shelf.

And then there's the other bill.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate last week to 3.75%–4.00%.

So the household isn't dealing with just a more expensive tank of petrol.

New borrowing is more expensive too.

A car loan.

A credit-card balance.

A mortgage.

Different bills.

Same family income.

One is a calculation about what could happen if government changes course.

The other is already sitting in the household budget.

And for a Nigerian family in America, there is another line underneath both.

Money going home.

The petrol bill doesn't know you're sending dollars to Lagos.

The car loan doesn't know someone in Enugu is waiting for the transfer.

But the household budget knows.

Every extra dollar spent here is a dollar that cannot be spent somewhere else.

The $36,000 is a possibility.

The petrol bill is a fact.

And the family has to pay the fact.