Where are you noticing inflation the most?

[Anonymous]

I remember reading how Coke had been wanting for years to raise their prices but couldn't because of how used to the low prices consumers had gotten. But they are absolutely using this time to raise their prices and establish a new floor, that will not go down even when inflation goes down.

The price of Coke is on its way to becoming double what they were a couple of years ago.

[Anonymous]

Utility trailers -- Basically doubled in price from a year ago for the same model.

[Anonymous]

I went to Costco and felt like I had to skip my yearly tin of Walkers Shortbread. At $24 it’s just too much of a splurge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Food. Like just grocery store items. But I'm not UMC, I'm middle class and have always budgeted groceries (bought on sales, used coupons, price compared to buy items with the lower unit price, etc.). But there are a number of things where I've seen a 40%+ increase over this time last year. You especially notice it in anything packaged and the more processed, the higher the price -- cereal, crackers, frozen foods. I think one reason I notice this in particular is that as a parent who has always budged for groceries, packaged food has often been a way to save money. Like I tend to buy a lot of frozen fruits, which have about the same nutrition as fresh fruit but don't go bad quickly and can be used more easily in items that pack more nutritional bang for their buck, like smoothies or breakfast bars or muffins. But frozen fruit has skyrocketed in price and fresh fruit less so -- even pricy fruits like berries are now more economical fresh. I used to be able to buy a bag of frozen mango or mixed berries for $4 or less (the higher price would be for organic or higher quality). Now they can cost $7-8 for the same bag.

Bread, cereal, crackers -- we're really seeing the pinch there as well. Also baking supplies -- flour, sugar, yeast, salt and other seasonings. Much higher.

Interestingly, the places where I've seen smaller increases, aside from produce, are meats and dairy.

We have not substantially changed how we eat but I have been doing things like cutting the amount of a more expensive ingredient in a dish by half and supplementing with something like beans or vegetables to fill it out. We try not to skimp on seasoning so our food always tastes good.

The biggest impact is just the stress I now feel around meal planning and grocery shopping. The budget has gotten very tight. It's a bit of an exercise in self-denial. Whereas I used to go with my budgeted list an, if I found good deals on things (which I often did by shopping carefully and using coupons), I could splurge on things like ice cream or buying expensive fruit or getting something from the bakery. I never do that anymore, and I'm frequently over budget even sticking to bare bones.

I hope it gets better soon.

Thank you for your wonderful, realistic post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food. I spent $12 on hotdogs last week! The type of milk we buy is now $16 a gallon. Insane.

what kind of milk is that?

Organic grassmilk is $7.99 for a half gallon

You know there's this thing called the internet now so we can easily call out your BS....

It's $5.99 at Safeway https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960267156.html?cmpid=ps_swy_eas_ecom_goo_20200924_71700000073036112_58700007749751637_92700070342783072&gclid=CjwKCAjwtp2bBhAGEiwAOZZTuBofGWkPjtBd7B8aol_863SWo8Li8ECO4lNvroUHCMaYF4zQ6Fz1ThoC-gcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

$5.37 at Walmart https://www.walmart.com/ip/Organic-Valley-Whole-Grassmilk-64-Fl-Oz/561812565?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5941&adid=22222222277561812565_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=aud-1651068665186:pla-294505072980&wl5=9008168&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=561812565&wl13=5941&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=CjwKCAjwtp2bBhAGEiwAOZZTuG3WazMbjFSt11w-CtdX5QAYlymDDqaXYUO2i1BAjM6iGClgCrcauRoCfcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’m not that posted but here in LA that milk is $7

[Anonymous]

Month end credit card bills seems to be about 10-15% higher. I think it's mostly groceries, but everything is up

[Anonymous]

Groceries and restaurants. Our grocery bill doubled compared to 2019. We buy identical staples at Costco every week, so the comparison is very simple. Restaurant prices went up as well, but it was a bit hard to compare based on budgets. But now I have the proof. We had a work dinner at the same restaurant in 2019 and one again this year and the prices literally doubled (I still had the prefix menu quote and receipts from the last time).

[Anonymous]

We are UMC- for us, inflation has hit the most in groceries, car insurance and travel. We decided not to travel over winter break due to high airfare, even though we could have used points for hotel/resort, it did not seem worth it. I have a 21- and 19-year-old boys, their car insurance has gone up significantly and no accidents or tickets. Also my grocery bill is very high for just 2 adults. We work at home and don't eat out much, but it is much higher than 2 years ago. Luckily we don't have any debt and bought our home in 2020.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Food. Like just grocery store items. But I'm not UMC, I'm middle class and have always budgeted groceries (bought on sales, used coupons, price compared to buy items with the lower unit price, etc.). But there are a number of things where I've seen a 40%+ increase over this time last year. You especially notice it in anything packaged and the more processed, the higher the price -- cereal, crackers, frozen foods. I think one reason I notice this in particular is that as a parent who has always budged for groceries, packaged food has often been a way to save money. Like I tend to buy a lot of frozen fruits, which have about the same nutrition as fresh fruit but don't go bad quickly and can be used more easily in items that pack more nutritional bang for their buck, like smoothies or breakfast bars or muffins. But frozen fruit has skyrocketed in price and fresh fruit less so -- even pricy fruits like berries are now more economical fresh. I used to be able to buy a bag of frozen mango or mixed berries for $4 or less (the higher price would be for organic or higher quality). Now they can cost $7-8 for the same bag.

Bread, cereal, crackers -- we're really seeing the pinch there as well. Also baking supplies -- flour, sugar, yeast, salt and other seasonings. Much higher.

Interestingly, the places where I've seen smaller increases, aside from produce, are meats and dairy.

We have not substantially changed how we eat but I have been doing things like cutting the amount of a more expensive ingredient in a dish by half and supplementing with something like beans or vegetables to fill it out. We try not to skimp on seasoning so our food always tastes good.

The biggest impact is just the stress I now feel around meal planning and grocery shopping. The budget has gotten very tight. It's a bit of an exercise in self-denial. Whereas I used to go with my budgeted list an, if I found good deals on things (which I often did by shopping carefully and using coupons), I could splurge on things like ice cream or buying expensive fruit or getting something from the bakery. I never do that anymore, and I'm frequently over budget even sticking to bare bones.

I hope it gets better soon.

Thank you for this detailed post, PP. Will you share more information? What are your go-to inexpensive grocery items nowadays?

[Anonymous]

https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/fvwretail.pdf

Friday November 4, 2022

The following are the prices of major advertised items (3,000 plus ads) this week, compared to the same week last year. Significant increases in price for fruit this week included Gala apples (3 lb. bag) at 33%, apple juice at 23%, pomegranates at 19%, blackberries at 11%, Bartlett pears at 11%, mangoes at 10%, and organic avocados at 10%.
There were no significant decreases.

Significant increases in price for potatoes and onions this week included 5 lb. bags of potatoes (Russet at 46%
and yellow at 25%). There were no significant decreases.

Significant increases in price for vegetables included cucumbers at 27% and winter squash(butternut at 22%, acorn at 23%, and spaghetti at 25%). There were no significant decreases.

Detailed price comparison of prices today versus one year ago for many common types of produce.

[Anonymous]

Grocery store and new cars.

[Anonymous]

Coke a cola

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Food. I spent $12 on hotdogs last week! The type of milk we buy is now $16 a gallon. Insane.

what kind of milk is that?

Organic grassmilk is $7.99 for a half gallon

You know there's this thing called the internet now so we can easily call out your BS....

It's $5.99 at Safeway https://www.safeway.com/shop/product-details.960267156.html?cmpid=ps_swy_eas_ecom_goo_20200924_71700000073036112_58700007749751637_92700070342783072&gclid=CjwKCAjwtp2bBhAGEiwAOZZTuBofGWkPjtBd7B8aol_863SWo8Li8ECO4lNvroUHCMaYF4zQ6Fz1ThoC-gcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

$5.37 at Walmart https://www.walmart.com/ip/Organic-Valley-Whole-Grassmilk-64-Fl-Oz/561812565?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5941&adid=22222222277561812565_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=aud-1651068665186:pla-294505072980&wl5=9008168&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=561812565&wl13=5941&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=CjwKCAjwtp2bBhAGEiwAOZZTuG3WazMbjFSt11w-CtdX5QAYlymDDqaXYUO2i1BAjM6iGClgCrcauRoCfcgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’m not that posted but here in LA that milk is $7

Yes because your voting habits are horrendous. That’s your own fault.

[Anonymous]

Travel, it’s INSANE. For the first time we aren’t going anywhere for Christmas or spring break.

[Anonymous]

Stop drinking Coke. That burn is arsenic. I am NOT lying.
Home insurance has exploded.