Recently I went to the supermarket to pick up some general provisions. Given the nature of previously predicted food price increases, and proactive measures to mitigate the predictable prices, I haven’t needed to purchase basic foodstuffs in a while. Yikes! The prices… Wow.
Since we originally warned in ’21 about the waves of food price inflation that were coming, the prices have more than tripled on many food commodities. That part is not as surprising in current review; however, the prices of processed foodstuffs is, well, quite frankly astounding.
I am left to wonder how working-class people are able to afford the jaw dropping price increases in highly processed food products like condiments (mayo, ketchup, mustard, etc), and even coffee and milk. I knew the processing costs would drive those prices, but the scale is just astounding.
Beyond the foodstuff, what was truly stunning was the current price of non-food items at the store. Items like chemical cleaners, soaps, aluminum foil, trash bags, Styrofoam products, ziploc bags, paper goods, etc. I mean seriously, $8 for a box of trash bags, good grief.
After a review of the non-food item prices, I went back to the recent BLS report [DATA HERE] to look at the producer price index to see if the data reflected the scale of the processing cost that I was reviewing across a broad spectrum of goods.
Are consumers getting gouged by manufacturers who are taking advantage of the price shock inside the ongoing inflation?
Or are the processing costs, mostly driven by energy price increases, really that big a factor in the end product as it is generated?
In the topline final demand Producer Price Index [Table A above] you can see how we are cycling through the second wave of inflation that hit in the spring of 2022. The rate of price increase is lower, but the prices are still rising. That means the prior massive price increase is now baked into the product, and the current price will never decline. Instead, it will just increase at a slower rate than before.
However, that’s not the full story… and that is not the data I was most curious about.
The intermediate product costs are really where the story is found.
Table B [DATA HERE] Tells us a remarkable story.
Raw materials (unprocessed goods) are essentially in a deflationary status [-19.2% in April]. Meaning demand for the raw material has dropped well below the available supply. However, look at how much of the deflationary price is consumed in the processing of the raw materials.
A full 16% is consumed by processing cost increases [energy, physical plant, transit, production costs etc]. That is remarkable.
A random example might be citric acid. The price of the citrus base drops 19.2%, but the processing of the base into the intermediate good phase chews up 16% of the drop in raw material price and exits processing only 3.2% lower in price than a year prior.
Another example might be found in plastics. The petroleum base, and/or a combination of each material additive, might be 19.2% lower than prior year, but processing negates the lower raw material price, and exits into intermediate essentially even -.04, and then toward the ending +2.3% final demand change in the rate of price increase.
The PPI data is essentially showing the flow of costs of production as reflected in the impact during processing. We can assume mostly increases in energy, transport and distribution costs to bring the raw material forward to final good status.
Key takeaway, the demand side of the raw material is diminished. There is less raw material demand. However, processing costs are continuing to drive the final production price of goods that head into the hands of wholesalers who then bring the product to market.
The outcome of this are the prices of processed goods as noted in the products on the shelves.
QUESTION: Are you noticing rather remarkable price increases in non-food goods during your store visits?
The depression era saying “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” is becoming more applicable everyday.
My motto for years!
It is amazing how much stuff you do not need. I could fill pages with details but the bottom line is that yes – lifestyle has changed and is not coming back. We avoid processed foods and just do with less. Still, the prices shock me every week. Avoid processed foods, cook at home, a few chickens keep us in eggs, but $6.25 for a half gallon of organic milk for my daughter ? The co-op prices direct from the farmer are cheaper than the store, but it’s still sticker shock. There are lots of Amish around here and I take notes.
I am so very grateful for my local farmers market that continues year round, even in the western Maine frigid winters. Half gallon whole raw milk is $4.00, dozen eggs $6.00 and a bounty of root veggies, mushrooms, jams, jellies, baked goods, and coffee. Now that the market has moved outdoors and is in full swing with fresh veggies, maple syrup, garden plants in addition to the other items!!! We have Amish families in the area that are vendors at the farmers market but only when it is outside. They have recently built a large post and beam super market that I have yet to visit. There are other Amish enclaves farther north that are doing well. May God bless them all.
What an ideal place for the Amish.
Mainers are still into bartering . Or were back into the late 80’s anyway, the last time I lived there full time.
Used to barter with the Dentist for my Dental Bill, of all things. (!) Among many other things.
Also, much of these areas in Maine are kind of like food deserts, and I’m sure people welcome the chance to get produce and other goods from more local sources. The more the merrier, and massive canning projects ain’t fun after a certain age!
And a lot of people up there don’t have things like indoor toilets, push button heat, etc. so they fit right in.
And plenty of fresh spring water just about everywhere.
Haven’t lived up there for years, and haven’t even visited for 10 years. This is the 1st I’ve heard of it. Gotta ask the relatives about this.
Hubby’s (nearly) only processed food weakness was Ruffles potato chips.
Used to get the big bag for $1.99.
Later it went up to $2.49.
Before covid it had reached $3.99.
But last week it was $5.99 and hubby put it back on the shelf saying, I’m not paying that much for that!
I can’t make potato chips but tortilla chips are easy and actually taste better.
Having been thru the 17% inflation of Jimmy Carter, I can honestly say these days are worse.
ditto on chips from Dallas, medium bag of Fritos is $5.99…..i’ll wait till Labor day and see if 2 for 1, otherwise let ‘‘em rot on the shelve. Will make our own baked potato chips in the air fryer…
Chef John on the Youtube channel Food Wishes has a video on making potato chips in the microwave. He calls them the best potato chips you’ll ever taste.
You might want to try them.
Yes. We are becoming very creative in ways of re-using stuff.
I now rarely use a garbage bag. Anything that comes in a plastic bag such as bread and home-delivered weekly flyer bags, I now use as a garbage bag. In my garbage bin, I no longer have one big bag but rather small tightened plastic bags. They all end up in a hole in the ground, anyway.
My toilet paper usage is at a strict minimum. I have a 16-ounce glass that I fill up with warm water and down and back it is poured onto my privates over the toilet bowl. I finish off with a light soapy sponge (disinfected daily) and I’m super clean. I actually feel cleaner this way.
Instead of paper towels, I now keep my used Kleenex and teabags as well as cut-up grocery flyers (stuff like that) that would normally end up in the trash and they have a new secondary purpose, that of absorbing cooking oil and wiping the excess off my cooking pans and dinnerware. Only after do they go in the trash. Not to worry, I use dish soap to finish off. I’ve become Bounty and Palmolive’s worse customer and a plastic bottle of dish soap will last me for many months.
Processed foods, I avoid. The price of fresh fish/seafood, beef, and chicken are unaffordable. They’ve almost doubled in the past 18 months, so I wait for price slashing and buy the past-due BB which I then freeze. When I cook, it’s for a few days’ worth, and I eat slower and smaller portions.
We’ve become a spoiled society, we’re now realizing it. And it’s not a bad thing as many of our newly acquired multi-usage habits will remain with us.
You can buy real wild alaskan seafood from 10th & M. They ship. If you put together one order for a 6 month supply it makes the shipping costs reasonable. Then you have fresh real food in your freezer — you save on trips to the store, extra sales tax, etc. It pays for itself. I try – depending on my schedule – to buy once or twice a year. We are up north so knowing there is enough food on the farm to make it through the winter is important. The only thing is ensuring power supply in the summer, but a small generator and a few cans of gas can give you the security to know your freezer is backed up. I think in terms of annual food expenditures.
It’s important to have a full freezer. The more food in there and the less energy it consumes. About one month ago, my area lost its power due to a storm. Almost three days with no power but surprisingly, the food in the freezer was still frozen. A small gas burner outside turned out very handy.
This makes me feel better about my jammed freezer, which seems to p*$$ me off every time I open it to search for something.
Three days is a long time!
Even the freezer compartment in a newer home fridge will hold stuff below 20F for 36 hours or so. Just do NOT open it to “check” … have faith that it’s cold, because it IS.
I am in the Midwest and I am blessed to live under several large trees and as long as I keep all of my windows shut, it stays cool nearly all summer in my home. Only when it hits the 90’s with humidity do I have to turn on the air conditioner and usually only fit a short time.
Each of us have so much to be thankful for. I give praise to our great God!
🙌🏼🙏🏼🙌🏼
$9 for a box of Keebler Townhouse crackers!
Color me not surprised. Processed food costs are ridiculous now. If I buy cereal, it’s from Costco.
Local sausage and biskits: Price of that fantastic filling breakfast has gone up less than 25% in the past two years.
Most grocery stores post a sneak peak of their weekly sales on Tuesday. I start making my weekly lists with those. For the stores that don’t do that, I signed up for their Wed. morning sale flyer by email. I take advantage of bogos and will map out a 4 stop trip to buy everything we need. I take an insulated bag with ice for meats, etc. Upright freezer purchase was a must, and ours is full. I buy 20 lb bags of rice and 10 lb bags of flour, then put smaller amounts into freezer bags, which I reuse. I added shelves to my laundry room and pantry, so I have room to stock up on sale items. I added a curtain rod to my laundry room shelf, so I could hang a load of clothes to dry. Another poster made an excellent comment about “use by” or “sell by” dates. I ignore those on eggs and milk. The milk in our refrigerator is dated 5/8, but it still smells and tastes fine. It takes some effort, but I mostly pay pre-Covid prices for food and goods.
If the milk goes sour, you can still use it for pancakes😀.
Or scones!
Or biscuits. Mom and grandma made great biscuits with it.
freeze and thaw for later
I too rarely use my dryer. House needs the extra humidity during the winter months so I have 4 of the folding wooden racks for smaller items. Use my loft railing for big items like sheets, bedspread, etc. The rack of wet clothes, put in front of the coal or wood stove, dries everything in a day. Electricity is stupid expensive and the heater for my whole house generator battery uses a lot of of it. So I conserve where I can.
Some grocers also have “senior discount” early morning deals.
Grocery bought eggs can be kept for 9 months by coating in mineral oil. Easy. This is why I missed the overpriced eggs. I was experimenting. Ate December’s mineral oil dipped eggs this week. Totally fresh, a bit messier.
Milwaukee area – Picknsave – Krogers.
Observations.
1) Jan 1, 2023 electric prices went up 14.6%.. Shock to the grocery stores who are huge consumers of electricity. About mid January I noticed nearly ALL sales prices were removed from the store. Accountants finely started reviewing their costs.
2) Then in Feb some items started going back on “sale” but the new sale price was at or above the old list price. I talked to several key department people and they said “nobody was buying anything unless it was listed as on sale”
3) overall the prices keep going up. Since I have been stocking up during sales – pantry or freezers, when my stocks get used to where I need to buy again – it is truly sticker shock all over. If I have to buy items at a not at sale price it is really hard for me to get everything I want.
4) Often they have some specials on a few cereals. But as I bought cereal on special price, I then looked at price of sugar and milk, etc. They were not discounted and prices had gone up. Smart store management – cereal gets a buy and then sells much more other high profit items.
I figured that others were doing like me. Simply not buying things that got too crazy expensive – like mayo. I find that waiting it out works, so far, because then they have too much product backed up and it goes on sale.
The basic problem is the artificial scarcity and increased costs imposed immediately by feckless Joe Biden and his handlers from the moment he was sworn into office, and to an increased ectent, while he was bloviating about what he would do right after the election.
Increased energy and regulations makes the transportation of EVERYTHING more expensive. It also makes the manufacture of everything domestically more expensive. ALL of this is by design to damage and destroy America.
I don’t generally buy non food items at the grocery store, Publix or WinnDixie for me.
One thing I did notice – I bought 4 cereal bowls at Publix 4 years ago because I needed some and the patterns were fun, colors were great. They were around $5 each. The same bowls are over $12 each now.
I also don’t buy much processed food. I make my own ketchup and mustard. I do buy relish as I love tuna with relish. That’s up at least double over the last 2 years.
I don’t buy frozen food other than the occasional frozen pizza, and now that that’s $10-12 I’ll just buy a large at the local joint and freeze it in meal sized portions.
I used to get out of the grocery store on weekly trips for around $65 2 years ago. I now don’t leave the store for less than $128 and I’m buying fewer things and going less often. Fresh produce is shockingly expensive. I’ve expanded my garden significantly this year.
At Sundance’s warning over a year ago I stocked up on laundry detergent, paper towels, tp, bulk items like rice and beans, olive oil, grass fed butter, and canned goods, especially tomatoes. I make sourdough bread and add seeds. I also bought a Gardyn hydroponics system that gives fresh salads every day.
It hasn’t made my food bill smaller than before, but it’s a lot less than others are paying. I only go to the grocery store every 2 weeks and I buy less. I shop in my pantry and large freezer.
Tell me about your Farden Hydroponics system please!
Gardyn: Hydroponic Indoor Garden System, Growing Vegetables, Herbs & Flowers
Thanks for this tip, Cirlin!
We eat salads every day and produce is so expensive now.
Number of DIY versions of Gardyn on Youtube
I tried one of those. Unless every square millimeter is opaque, you get algae in Florida. I also have trouble with the hydroponics system my son bought me, but the fertilizer is expensive and I haven’t figured it out either. I had some plants flourish while others looked fried. It’s in a window sill and there is no rhyme or reason to which plants did well and which died that I could figure out.
On the other hand, picking up romaine sets from Walmart and/or Home Depot and transplanting into my Greenstalk Leaf vertical planters kept me in lettuce daily for months and months. It’s too hot to plant lettuce outside right now. Maybe I need an indoor greenstalk. Hmmm
I buy paper products, cleaning supplies and vegetables, fruits, eggs, fresh meat and some canned goods at Sams Club. In our area of MN, sams has best produce, meat, dairy, non-perishable on selections and prices. I go to local grocery for what I can’t get at sams.
My mother was diagnosed hypothyroid (it’s hereditary) when I was young and diet prescribed to support thryroid replacement was low carb, higher protein and balance of fruit, vegetables and dairy. Never changed my diet, was diagnosed 35 years age. No money wasted on junk food, which my kids hated growing up…lol
Rarely eat processed food and never fast food. Noticed cost of these basics has steadily risen monthly since covid began, even shopping sales. Really appreciate all the advice and suggestions to survive under these conditions from Sundance and all the people sharing here. Thanks to all of you.
I usually bake my own bread, which is a considerable savings.
I plan on enlarging my garden and raising more corn and sunflower seeds for my chickens.
Hope to order a quarter beef and a quarter pig, too, as they are grass/pasture fed and are locally raised, at a price comparable to what the grocery stores charge.
I do go to Costco and can make a $5 rotisserie chicken stretch for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week: quiche, salad and soup.
Plan on raising my own lettuce and wax beans and mini bell peppers indoors all year round, too. Good video on the Youtube channel: The Provident Prepper, on how to do so.
I stock up on sweetened condensed milk and chocolate baking chips during the holiday sales and make microwave fudge to satisfy my sweet tooth.
I can’t get my hydroponics to work, the seeds sprout, the plants get a few inches high, then, they start to die off in the heat. I tried to transplant some from small hydroponics to larger that had wilted, they developed algae. I need to grow lettuce indoors in summer. I also find the fertilizer extremely expensive. I prefer the solid fertilizer.
Taxes are what is killing us. I live in a safe neighborhood in a safer mid sized city in a blue state and people want to move here. When we bought our prooerty 32 years ago, we could afford it. Now the RE taxes are astronomical…most going for schools which wers closed for a year and which many serve as welfare annexes anyway (free breakfast, free lunch etc) which I thought my fed and state welfare taxes were supposed to provide. Some of our schools are fine, some ok, others useless. I am not getting my money’s worth! So far as food, ig is just one more gool for the Maoist Biden Admin to use in their cultural great reset.
You must live in Texas.
Check out the teacher / administrator ratio since when you bought. Besides the ever-declining quality of “teachers” spewing forth from “teachers colleges,” schools have been larded-up with ever-growing ranks of administrators. The latest being the Marxist Commissars, err, I mean DEI Officers.
Please! go to school Board meetings! Let them – and parents with children there- know that you’re paying attention. The current push is to add social workers and other “mental health” positions. Pseudo-psych testing through surveys that are not disclosed. The schools and school boards want parents separated from their children. Vote down the school budgets.
Doesn’t seem to matter.
People with children in school seem to automatically vote for every levy no matter how insane…
I’m on the ballot as a write in candidate for school board..our school taxes are one of the highest in the county.
The bigger question is… Why do we put up with the crappy quality product they give us?? Year after year, sticking their paws in our pockets, endlessly demanding more $$, for crap.
Check out the website:
Bondsforthewin
to learn how to legally go after corrupt school boards.
Thomas Wigand: Same with colleges and universities. A whole new cadre of “Diveristy Officers,” “Transformation Officers,” “Mental Health Counselors,” “Director of Sustainability,” and on it goes; all an outgrowth of BS federal regulations and grant funding program requirements.
Our educational system is chock-full of political commissars who run everything.
Communist takeover. We must stop it.
The DISD public school is about 30% first generation immigrants. Likely illegals, or children of illegals.
It’s the working class who suffer from the Democrat policies. Rich folks avoid the consequences of their Democrat vote.
That said, the Republicans are feckless. They could shutdown the flood of illegals if a week. Republican Congress could stop funding the DHS/DOJ and remove all tax exemptions to the charities that work to undermine our country.
let me help
unsuccessful
inefficient
ineffectual
counterproductive
ineffective
worthless
useless
pointless
futile
inexpedient
unprofitable
abortive
inefficacious
unavailing
hamstrung
nonproductive
unproductive
fruitless
bootless
profitless
You forgot:
complicit.
CRIMINAL
Most of those “charities” are actually government contractors. The dems figured out long ago if they just contract out the dirt work to organizations the public generally likes, it flies under the radar.
Mimbler: Exactly.
Taxes and insurance increases!!! My utility bills killed me last winter..We have rentals and airbnb properties..I’m ready to sell all our PA properties..
This crap is a “takings” of your private property. Its ALL that gov’ts do … Take, steal, lie. Take more. Then threaten you when you object.
Thugs.
Someone I know was feeling proud and secure to have paid off her mortgage on an apartment (called condo.). Now the HOA has demanded almost $9K increase. The residents are in terror to even enter or exit their units due to the homeless all around and I assume that most are senior or close to it because of needing to downsize on home care. IDK how this is legal. I’m hanging on to my rental for dear life but the landlord is now forcing me to pay repairs that are his responsibility. Eventually this will force us out because the property is old and things break but there’s truly no affordable place for us. There’s been a lot of criminal behavior in mortgages in our area over the years and no way to prosecute unless you are super human because I don’t know any attorney will touch it so you have to keep working AND learn how to do it yourself. (The lawsuit.). I wasn’t able. They know that most are like me.
You can get an assist from a lawyer assistant to file a lawsuit pro se and you can read about it. There probably isn’t enough money in it for the lawyers, but you can do it yourself with guidance. I once went to court pro se during a long and expensive custody battle and saw the judge in chambers who ruled in my favor. I saved thousands. My ex’s attorney was morbidly obese and wore custom made suits. It helps if you have a printer. Make sure a judge SIGNS all orders and you get a copy. Read anything that your legal assistant recommends. It is CRITICAL to know the laws that apply in your specific jurisdiction (geographic location) and to your specific type of case.
Probably better do it quickly. Pretty soon it may be difficult to sell anything. That is how it is in the UK right now. I heard Michelle Bauchman talking about it this weekend
Kitty litter and canned cat food (if you can get it)
FUBAR!!!
Actual Northern CA(not the bay area). The only way to shop is to get things on sale. If you just go in with a list you better bring your wallet because a cart is going to run about $500.
Makes sense. About $350 SWOhio
Fortunately, we eat very little processed food. I have noticed the high prices on it but it’s not on our menu. Mayo is easy to make but doesn’t store too long so we eat more mustard – easy to make, keeps a long time and is better for you anyway. But things like pasta can be bought in bulk cases and store the extra in a tote with a gasketed lid. Same goes for beans and other whole grains. Corn meal and flour in 25lb bags that are stored in half gallon mason jars under vacuum seal (use a jar attachment for your food saver) will last more than a year with no change in quality – just keep them in a dark place.
Paper products are stupid expensive. The paper towels are now in the pantry and used only for messy cleaning jobs like raw meat juices. Dish towels are the cheaper replacement. One hangs near the sink for hand drying. In a day or two it moves to the counter for cleaning and then it hits the laundry pile. Three or four dish towels a week in the laundry is a no brainer now that paper towels are $3 per roll and we used to use 3 rolls per week.
Citrus, sweet potatoes and onions are bought by the bag, not loose. Save quite a bit that way. We don’t drink soda but for someone trying to cut that cost, we make a gallon of water with a cheap cucumber thinly sliced. Add in a lemon or a lime if you want. It’s very refreshing.
Your $3/roll is about mid-range for my area. Paper towels in Central NY are all over the map. There’s one place I can buy for $1. Another store just jumped from $1 to $1.39 to $1.49/roll since January for the cheapest option –am guessing they had cleared out all their lower priced inventory. Other area stores: $8-12 for a two-pack w no singles avail.
Paying 1.91 per roll at Costco for their store brand here in Texas.
I cut up old bath towels to use in the kitchen instead of so much paper towels…I probably wash 5+ kitchen towels per day
I used to wonder how my mother-in-law could possibly use so many tea towels. Her laundry was filled with them. Now I know.
I moved our paper towels to the dining room. Rags under the sink. I cut up tee shirts and sweat pants. I use a dish cloth for washing dishes and get a clean one for each meal. The slightly dirty one is used to wipe down the counters or stove.
I change the kitchen hand towel daily. The amount of laundry is tiny and they get washed in the next load… because that is where they get tossed.
Not only is processed food expensive, it’s contains outrageous amounts of salt. Simple cooking is not hard to do, it tastes a lot better and it’s healthier. Use as many herbs and spices are you like! And fire up the grill if you can!
Soda Stream is good for making your own soda. You can use their mixes or your own fruit juice.
It is better for you to stay away from processed food as much as possible anyways. Was gaining way too much weight. Lost 20 pounds and need to keep it off for my soon to be total hip replacement. The middle of grocery stores is bad for you.
Just like the Biden administration is bad for you!
Yep, this administration is also deadly.
Processed foods are full of salt. A killer.
Worse yet, processed foods are full of sugar, a killer!
The Marxists are winning. I can list a few examples.
Gasoline -(Houston Area) on election day 2020, $1.54 per gallon. Today $2.99 per gallon, so almost double.
I make English Muffin breakfast sandwiches using frozen Turkey sausage patties from Kroger. Prior to the bRibem administration, they were typically $5.49. Currently, $9.49.
Prior to the election, I could purchase Prime grade Filet Mignon at H-E-B for $24.99 per pound. Currently, $41.59 per pound. What was a weekly dinner treat, is now once every 6 weeks or so.
Of course, my pay has not changed to help the situation. Companies everywhere are struggling to survive.
While it’s obvious that the regime was installed using ballots, vs. votes, it’s amazing that anyone continues to vote for this disaster.
We arrived in FL 4/17…gas was 3.29..a month later it’s 3.80 a gallon. Groceries were much cheaper in central FL..we are now NE of Jacksonville and I’m noticing major price increases.
Yep, the WEF manifesto says meat should be an occasional treat and it’s bugs, bugs for every meal.
Italy recently banned the use of cricket flour in food. It’s already in use in Europe. Wonder what euphemism will be used on the label in the U.S.
Recently I purchased Pecan Sandies as a treat thinking that soon they’ll be “Cricket” Sandies!
Our home insurance just increased 2.6 times that of last year to a jaw-dropping $10,000. We’re told it’s due to the increased cost of materials and the shortage of skilled labor.
Our sympathetic insurance agent actually gave us the name of another company which might give us a better deal. Solid guy!
After contacting our district rep at the state, we were sent a “nothing burger” website with tips for lowering rates which listed nothing more than the “discounts” ( i.e. no claims, long-time customer, bundle, etc) we’re already receiving. Not helpful!
Now we must scale back/ drop coverage and pray we won’t need it as we’re retired and can’t afford this increase.
When my property owner insurance went to $3500 year, (10 years ago) I thought about all the people who pay high insurance…….for what? Just in case the house burns down or heavy winds? I live in a very weather moderate area. I decided to self-fund and “suck-it-up” if stats went against me. I do not think I would ever pay this rip off again.
This is so high I am trying to understand? Do you live at the beach? A tornado or flood zone? On a California cliff prone to earthquakes?
Many companies won’t allow you to drop the amount of your coverage, especially if you have a mortgage. The lenders insist.
Go to Elephant Insurance website. You can get an online quote for Homeowners Insurance. It’s affordable, and it’s who we switched to when our rates suddenly went up with no explanation. Never filed an insurance claim for anything during the 15 years we had our former insurance but yet last year it went up $7,000.00. Hope this helps. I’m retired too.
Thanks
Been flying naked on insurance for quite a number of years now. Was not happy with their under bids on damage in 2004 because everyone had claims. It was probably 2014/2016 timeframe when I let my insurance lapse. When you really need it, it isn’t there if the whole area has been hit. It helps but it does not make you whole. So, impact windows plus shutters and I don’t care what the neighbors think. I’m not replacing these impact windows because they are triple what single panes run. To make insurance work after a hurricane, you need riders for every valuable (antique furniture, costumes, jewelry, coins, computers) and you need to buy all the different coverages available and then you can get them to pay in full for a fire if you threaten with lawsuits. With hurricanes that do a lot of damage, you are still going to be low-balled.
Here in CSprings, no matter the grocery outlet, I don’t see as many even 3/4 full carts. Mostly bottom layer and more use of the half carts.
But the new liquor aisle is fully stocked!
I have noticed that too in Arizona.
The only full carts are buyers for group homes. (I asked.)
absolutely…so demand is low but prices are high because of middle men….gouging us? So the war on Capitalism continues.
Lower demand did not bring prices down…so what is next?
I design and manufacture American OEM durable goods and energy costs are primary drivers of inflation.
Yet energy policy is NEVER MENTIONED by any analyst addressing inflation and “what to DO?” Raising interest rates will do nothing to cure a ruinous energy policy. The policy really is “No new power, ever, nowhere, none. And especially not nuclear.”
exactly
One day I was filling my tank and it struck me, if your take home pay is 600$ and you spend 80$ in fuel that’s a big chunk. I now fill tanks as a bonus. We run a lot of gas and it’s an easy increase of pay without the bookwork and taxes.
Good on you Buckwheat. Trade goods for services. Our great, great, greats did it!
My greats did.
Deep in Idaho mountains. Local Albertsons in a small ski town. Butter, cream cheeese, cottage cheese on average 50-60% more than last summer. Milk roughly 30-40%. Bread almost 100% more. Veggies and fruit easily 50% more.
Disgusting!!
Wanted to buy celery root for a pot of soup. The softball size root would have cost $10. Thanks Joe,
Victor, Id??
Grapes are not processed food, but my mom wanted some grapes so I bought them for her. They were green seedless grapes and $4.99 lb! $12.00 for a small bag of grapes and I live in an area where they grow them! The price will come down as the harvest comes in, but that was outrageous.
Now they are transported – think fuel cost – from somewhere else.
that is a particularly vexing situation.
a fruit of the vine case of “so close, and yet so far”.
the vidalia farmers got it right and trademarked their product.
only specific areas of specific counties in georgia
can label their sweet onions as “vidalia” (and they ARE better!😁)
kinda like the champagne producers of the loire valley in france.
if the grapes aren’t grown in the specified regions, you can’t label it “champagne”.
the “california avocado” ad campaign of many years past was headed in the right direction,
but that seemed to fizzle out.
if this is what it takes to recapture our american food supply, so be it.
absolutely Vidalia’s are so worth it but sometimes not available in Central FL
Recapture is not part of the WEF/globalist plan. Going to have to make some serious changes if that’s what the American people want.
We eat fruit seasonally. You can usually tell what is in season because they are on sale. Mostly we eat bananas 33¢ a pound and apples for 69¢ or less a pound. Other fruit when it’s a buck a pound.
If my mom wanted grapes, I’d buy her grapes, sadly she’s been gone for decades. She was budget conscious so she bought in season.
My kids and husband… they wait for a sale, except for birthdays.
Prices for groceries have increased dramatically, and product availability for certain brands has become unreliable. Produce shows a decrease in quality control and signs of early harvesting and/or harvest end-end produce that in times past would never make it to retail sales. But my own particular addition to the overall feel of the marketplace has been the two-part dishonesty of “shrinkflation” and portion dilution. Reliable name brands now have cut corners on portion size, the percentages of expensive ingredients and spices. Manufacturers are destroying brand loyalty though cheap cost cutting to save tiny amounts per item (Stouffer’s Frozen Foods, I’m looking at you), even as they raise prices routinely. Near-sighted management is destroying brand reputation and they don’t even know it.
They may know. I think Bud Light knew, but did not foresee. Surely Target knew but did not care.
The United States has been imposing sanctions on less powerful countries all over the globe for over a century to creat the same conditions we are suffering in order to accomplish the same goal which is of course to extract resources and wealth.
Why would anyone think we are off limits to TPTB simply because we are Americans.
In addition perhaps Americans will now take notice the military budget which is nearly 1 trillion dollars can’t even come close to producing enough hardware to supply our proxy war in Ukraine. Actually it’s worse the combined Western nations can not supply enough munitions nor equipment to fight against one country, Russia.
But then Russian took a stand against the radical left ideology didn’t it?
Reminds me of a song:
Tens of millions are gonna find out how it feels to be stripped of everything, learning to live out on the streets; no country no home like a complete unknown.
Unfortunately, a lot of truth in what you said. Tragic, it did not have to be this way.
I knew it was coming but had to restock oatmeal. A 50 pound bag was $24 in 2020, $26 in 2021 and 2022. This year $40 for the same bag. From 52¢ a pound to 80¢. What is that a 65% increase?
Hopefully it will go down with the harvest. I could pay more, but I know the cheapest places. ;).
Since I retired, I quit driving except to the grocery store. My gasoline bill went way down. My wife had a knee replacement and now I drive every other day to the hospital for her to get infusions of antibiotic. All of a sudden I was using a lot more gas and went to fill up.
$50.00 for 3/4 of a tank of gas in a small SUV. I rarely get out of the grocery store for under 200 bucks now.
I think the price of energy is driving costs at so many levels. Not just fuel for vehicles but commercial equipment using natural gas and the cost of plastics which affects everything we buy and use. I don’t throw anything away now. I get paper bags at the grocery store and use them for everything. I delayed the purchase of an HVAC system because the type of coolant being used is about to change and the price of coolant for an existing system will skyrocket, just as freon did when it was outlawed. Won’t make that mistake again! I thank my lucky stars that we saved and invested for the last 20 years. If we had to live off of our retirement from the government, we’d be eating at the food bank.
Yes, we are getting gouged. The Biden regime gave their donor class the green light to screw us on day one. Here in the PNW there is no shortage of Douglas fir, logs were piled at the mills as far as you could see, yet the price of lumber skyrocketed after the punch drunk imbecile took office. I was building a house at the time and the price of framing material increased 30k! How could I predict that? Thank God I had a bank contingency fund of 15k, but I still had to eat 15k on just lumber alone as the price of everything else increased as I was building the house. I had my BEST 4 YEARS EVER UNDER TRUMP. I despise these people because I know this was all planned and intentional. It was punishment for voting Trump in. The globalists are taking back everything Trump gave us. How dare Trump throw the peasants a few crumbs! So now I’m leaving the house I built with my own hands and moving to Idaho because Oregon is being run by a crazy whacko fruitcake leftist woman. I will no pay for bums! I’ve crawled through muddy ditches laying conduit, jacked walls, set beams and trusses in the cold NW rain for decades. I refuse to give money to druggie losers unwilling to work. FK them. I am heartbroken to leave the home my wife and I designed and I took a year off work to build. We saved our money for 20 years to build our dream house, but we see the writing on the wall. Bum encampments are too close and getting closer. We need to get out before we can’t sell. I am beyond pissed off.
Hang in there. Left my beach condo of 2o years with views to die for of Atlantic and the river. But I saw condo assessments that I could not afford on SS in my future. Sold at the high and transplanted 5 minutes from my grandchildren. There will be a blessing in the next place God plants you. But, yea, if only the communist coup d’état had failed, none of this was necessary. Trump would never have funded Ukraine.
https://elizabethnickson.substack.com/p/klaus-to-the-world-were-taking-everything?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
This is relevant from ABSURDISTAN …..energy pricing and the HIGH COST of goods…..
We no longer use paper towels. Instead, I bought 12 of these Bar Towels (2 sets- white and greys).
They are incredibly absorbent! One a day and they go in the laundry.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-6-Piece-Bar-Mop-Kitchen-Towel-Set-Solid-White/37948412?athbdg=L1100&from=/search
Just got back from Wally world, have to go back for unmentionables and bar towels.
Wyoming: everything is up higher than I’ve ever seen it. And when prices go up, they tend to stay up. It is very difficult to buy anything at all with a single dollar.
I’ve seen a single ear of corn for $1.
When I was a kid there was a joke:
What’s a buccaneer?
A heck of a lot to pay for corn!
I do all the shopping and usually visit three different grocery stores depending on the sales/coupons available. Everything is higher. I’d say some of the processed stuff-like potato chips-have doubled in price. What used to be $2.50 is now $5–peanut butter, mayonnaise. I really don’t keep track of a lot of specifics because if I need it I buy it, but I do pay attention to totals. What was a $40 shopping trip is now a minimum of $70.
There was controversy and hearings about Safeway/Albertsons merger. Yesterday my trip to Albertsons was put in bags labeled “Safeway.” I don’t expect the Albertsons special deals to last much longer. Now there’s talk of Albertsons/Kroger merger and Kroger prices just jumped. All the gas here costs $4.99 gallon.
$5 does not transport goods very far or workers to work.
Shocking, absolutely shocking how prices have increased so dramatically over the past few years.
For example, I, as the Congressman from the great state of Potemkin, am paying 5-10% more at the commissary for necessities like 20 year old scotch, and good quality caviar (which I don’t eat btw, it is merely for the parties we have to convince those evil lobbyists they shouldn’t gouge you commoners, uh I mean constituents).
I was also very troubled that on my last all expense paid junket to that fabulous ski resort in er, well it was nice anyway. But it was simply ridiculous that I had to pay an up charge to get adjoining rooms, one for my wife and one for that hot new assistant we just hired, oh I mean the new staffer because I’m assigned to the new abuse by government committee (or whatever) I just kissed the Speakers ass for. How humiliating that was, I tell you what. But no worries, we will be doing great things there!
Enough about my huge problems though, be assured we are discussing these issues nearly every day, trying to find the best way to fix thing for you the plebes, er I mean people of our once great nation.
Oh dear, it appears the limo has been waiting for me so we can make our weekly appearance at church. Can’t wait until that new preacher I recommended starts.
Signed,
Congressman Blowhard
not seeing yuge changes in HEB brand products in their TX stores
My Central Ohio Kroger has a decent sized clearance area. That’s my first stop when I start my shopping trip. They also have an end cap freezer for markdowns. I don’t buy too many frozen items anymore except pizza, but I did buy chicken nuggets that were marked down to $2.99 from $13. Hubby didn’t notice they were Dino shapes because I chopped them up for a salad topper lol.
I have also noticed shrinkflation with shredded cheese bags and cheese slices. Used to be 8 0z are now 6 oz.
The last bag of chips we bought for March Madness was half full and chips are off our radar now.
I paid under $3 for an 18 ct. large egg carton this week.
I have also noticed people buying way less these days- me included.
Always buy dino and other shapes for the grandchildren, you know!!!
We go shopping once a month and buy what we need and want. It’s $300-$400 a pop in TN. A year ago in CA, the same was $500+. I don’t pay much attention to the details. We have cut back on steaks and only buy on sale. We’ve been eating a lot of pork roasts because they go on sale for under $5 a pound.
Galveston, Texas…fresh vegtables up between 30 to 200 percent. i.e. Green bell Peppers from .50 to .69. Asparagus from 1.00 per lb. to 2.99. Massive pull forward marketing of processed foods, boxed cereals, juices, soda, processed meats, candy,, basically Crap food. Eggs are getting better, scored grade A large, 60 count at 1.72 a dz.
Wife just got back from grocery store and she was apoplectic. Some things are 200%+ higher. A spice that was $2.99 not long ago was $8.00 now.
I FEEL her. Last time I bought garbanzo (chick peas) beans from Wally, I paid 89 a can, now 1.50ish. We are talking 6 months or less. That and eggs are cheapest protein you can buy. Coffee beans used to be $8 last time I bought (2 years?) now almost $20. I still have several of the cheaper/older bags, but I wanted to fill the gap. We just aren’t going to talk about the fact that chuck steak instead of filet mignon has become my go-to luxury steak purchase or that I had quit buying hamburger because of mad cow, but I can’t afford not to anymore.
I live swamp-adjacent. Prices here are high but for the most part not shocking. Did notice during my last trip to Harris Teeter, there was a fair amount of empty shelf space. As for non-food purchases, I buy used, primarily on ebay. I don’t like the guy running the operation, but the sellers are very accommodating small business people. As a semi-retired individual, I live in jeans and t-shirts (broken-in jeans are the best) and can find what would cost close to $100 at Macy’s for around $25 in near new condition. If I suddenly landed a lucrative job, not likely because of age, I’d likely keep buying pre-owned clothing and household items.
I just finished a healthy drink made with one apple, one clove of garlic, juice from 1/2 fresh lemon, 1 teaspoon of EVO, 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, pinch of cayenne and 1/2 cup of water. Blend it on high and you have one serious healthy, artery unclogging elixir. We abandoned all TV 12+ years ago and are rapidly eliminating all processed foods and learning more about the hidden poisons they’ve hammered us with. Anyone paying attention to MALTODEXTRIN? 3 times more damaging than refined sugar yet it is hidden in everything (check your supplements too!) and they somehow manage to call it a CARB v. SUGAR? There’s our girth problem, diabetic America!
Refined sugar is a drug.
Carbs are sugar equivalents.
I have to try that drink recipe. Sounds exhilarating!
But, what is EVO?
Never mind, I found it: Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with mother before each meal lowers insulin spikes by 30%. I drink coffee. EVO, pepper, cayenne, garlic, (lemon juice or ACV) go on about every thing I eat.
Big Factor in prices is labor – warehouse workers averaging $22 -$25 per hour – hourly workers in Grocery Stores have received higher pay increases in 2022 – we are paying for this
Also Transportation Costs have gone way up – from Drivers Pay to Fuel Costs to the Cost of the equipment. California is leading the way on all of these increased costs that are passed down directly to the consumer.
Retired Magistrate here: Here in Delaware County, Ohio most processed food prices have stabilized. Kroger has a locked in price for foods that it produces. We are close to the Kroger Distribution Center so that helps. Several days ago I got a “good customer” packet of coupons totaling over $30, which of course I will use.
We have been doing more shopping at Aldi’s: a dozen large eggs are $2.22, white bread is $1.12, wheat bread $1.79, brownie mix (which is excellent) $1.89 and other deals. If I see something on closeout, I buy it whether we need it now or not. Mrs. Meyers Clean Day cleaning products on closeout at Kroger’s for $2.49; they had been over $5.00. I stocked up.
We found a good local meat market and purchase some meat there; they are more expensive, but the farmers are local and don’t inject their stock with a bunch of chemicals. It takes more time but you can still eat well.
I was excited to shop Aldi’s having read of it here. The store near me took forever to build and the prices on the fliers haven’t enticed me 🥴
Went to get some non-farmed salmon at Wegmans. $40.00 a pound. So, we went with shrimp for half the price.
Who in the world would buy salmon ( or *anything*) for $40 a pound?
Hard to believe they can even sell that before it goes bad.
Used to feel stocking up and making sure at all times I can make it a couple of months or more in case of a financial or weather emergency was a bit crazy.
Actually the only crazy part is seeing my sticker shocked face when I go to the store about every 3 weeks or so & have to restock certain supplies when I realize I am using my reserves. Seems almost every month items in the super market go up. Just as you get used to the new price of ??, another item you need has now gone up 20% or some.
Seems that what they call sale price now a days are prices that are 10 to 30% more then their shelf price a year ago. Due to the cost of gas, one can’t go ad shopping like I used to when my kids were little, especially when the stores are spaced quite a ways apart. When I kids where little I’d check the store ads for sales so I could get the things I needed at cheaper prices. Well not really a a savings if you using extra gas getting around to all the stores.
We can now be more selective about what we buy because we have stocked up on all things when prices were much lower. Thank you Sundance and CTH!
Exactly and for many of us, because we stocked up we do not have to go without.
Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper, large package of 96, is now $33. We are needing a new roof on our house. Got the quote yesterday for $96,000. Insanity.
On top of that the roll became about an inch shorter during the COVID mess.
Yes! I have switched to cottonelle going forward in two of our three bathrooms. It’s not as soft as the Charmin but it’s much cheaper and I’ve found we’re all mostly ok with it and anyone who isn’t can use the master bathroom where I still use my long stockpiled Charmin ultra soft.
LOL LOL
Charming on sale at Sams is usually in 20s and sometimes under.
How many rolls?
I’m a bulk shopper myself (we belong to BJ’s and Costco) and I only buy either Charmin Ultra Soft or Cottonelle when it’s on sale at BJ’s. Right now, at BJ’s I can get 32 rolls of Charmin for $20.79. It’s one of the rare times that Charmin Ultra Soft is actually cheaper than Cottonelle. But I think this deal will be short lived. I believe it is P&G throwing everything they can at trying to maintain toilet paper market share.
96,000 for a new roof? Wow! That is crazy. Where do you live and how much is your house worth? Over $750K?
It depends on the square feet and on the design of the roof, if it is complicated and multipart, it really increases the cost.
WOW, my new metal roof (1150 sf) A frame was 20K in Feb/Mar 2022.
My uncle, who is 92 years old, uses the Walmart brand of depends. Was $15 for 40 napkins, now $20 for 36 napkins. The elderly and the young suffer the most. So sad.
And, certain items are never stocked enough so if you grab everything, knowing that it will not even last a week, you risk some self righteous psychofant shaming you (me) for taking all or you just know that your time and gas will be wasted in another couple of days. Diapers and Alka Seltzer are in that category.
The price of eating out is terribly expensive.
I bought a salad and a drink at McAlister’s this past week for $16. Then I went to a local Mexican restaurant later in the week and got a salad with water and it was $18.
I tend not to look at the individual prices of the items I buy, because I need and/or want them, and knock on wood, I’m not yet on a fixed income and can afford them. I shop at Walmart for non-grocery items, Smith’s grocery for food, and Costco for a variety of things, including TP, Kleenex, and paper towels. I think I can safely say that in all three stores, my receipts are now just about double what they were before this whole disaster-in-progress began.
Yes, it seems the non-food items at Publix and elsewhere are going up dramatically.
“QUESTION: Are you noticing rather remarkable price increases in non-food goods during your store visits?”
In my part of Canada, food price increases are similar to those mentioned in sundance’s “Processed Goods” article. But I was very surprised when I visited my favorite appliance/furniture store for “a non-food good.”
I mentioned to the manager that I was glad I had bought a new cooking range and clothes washer when the 1st hints of inflation were being uttered. He educated and surprised me when he compared the price I paid for both units well over a year ago to the sticker price today.
All my former purchases were on the computer and they were the same price as the store’s sticker price today for the same appliances. sundance could explain this better but I suspect one reason is the demand for these items has fallen due to less disposable income available for potential customers.
Of course Trudeau’s Canada is mostly a warehouse economy that fills its warehouses with Chinese goods mostly but I always try to find U.S. or Japanese alternatives. But they are difficult to find. I remember a time when everything seemed to made in Japan and when most items had “Made in the USA” labels.
These are the times forthcoming that test our survival skills…like camping everyday……what we can make do with……or without
Outside the greater Kansas City metro area, saw 12 packs of Coke cans for $8.99! Smaller bag of Ruffles (not party size, and smaller than it used to be) potato chips was $4.99. The Freschetta gluten-free pizza that used to be $7.99 is now $13.99! A frozen Amy’s gluten-free dairy-free single mac and cheeze was $6.79! We are buying way fewer processed foods, and a lot less meat. We’re going to try vegan meals/recipes for the next 30 days. Should save us some money. As far as non-food, I buy mostly in bulk from Costco or Azure Standard, and just keep replenishing as we use stuff. Prices are double what they were in 2021.