Yesterday I posed this question on Facebook:
I hopefully enter the grocery store each week. Then I see the prices, mark several things off my list, and go home angry and depressed. Is it just me?
There were 42 comments on my question; here are some of them:
I don't blame you, the price of some items is ridiculous. I either get the store brand or get something else if what I want is too expensive.
No! The other day when my son went to Wal Mart prices had gone up again.
No. This happens to me every shopping trip.
It's crazy. It's nearly $7 for a jar of name brand mayo! I've even quit putting as much on the table for supper any more... especially during summer. We eat a lot of what we've grown and little else other than meat. Snack stuff is getting astronomical.
I always start out grocery shopping with our meal plans and needed items on the list...by the end of it, half of the meals have changed and we are making due with a different substituted meal in it's place. I too leave angry and disappointed at how much more we are spending on everything. Especially when you see the price has nearly doubled from one week to the next!
Nope, it pisses us off also. But our SS check next year won't have nearly enough increase to offset it.
Not only have prices went up, there is less product along with a higher price. 14 and 12 ounces of bacon instead of a pound. Hamburger buns are smaller.
Nope - me too especially since I am on Long Term Disability insurance and I am getting only 55% of my salary - but I guess 55% of something is better than 55% of nothing.
Nope not just you! Between the price of gas and food, no one can afford to live anymore. We are in a silent depression.
It's not just you! FOOD PRICES ARE OUTRAGEOUS, GAS IS OUTRAGEOUS, INS, TAXES AND UTILITIES KEEP GOING UP TOO.
It seems for us that in just the last two weeks our groceries went up almost $100. We didn’t even get that much.
Food is our second highest bill currently, after medical crap. Then college expenses.
I can’t believe how much everything has gone up. I sound like the grouchy old Nana every weekend at the lake, or when my grandson’s come to my house with friend’s.(They always take friend’s to the lake too.) I find half full bottles of water, soda, Gatorade… and waisted food. It is nothing to spend $3-400.00 a weekend on food. We just can’t do it anymore! These are teenagers!
There was one comment telling me to blame the Democrats, but I told that fellow I often unfriend people who try to force me into talking politics on Facebook. My opinions are in in the minority compared with the social media crowd, and I'm not getting into that mess.
Also, those of us on fixed incomes have this to think about. The cost of living increase for our Social Security direct deposit account is supposed to be around 3% this year... unless a lot of hurricanes show up in the coming months. If so, we may get a little more. Shall I start praying for more hurricanes? Anyone who goes shopping or drives a car knows the inflation rate has been more than three per cent.
Fortunately we have always been big savers, "paying ourselves" first before spending a dime on other things, so we haven't had to not get something at the grocery store. But I have noticed how much less I have in my cart that adds up to a $100 than a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteMy generation is known for it's pitiful savings rate and high debt, especially on credit cards. When we reach official retirement age, I think we will see a lot of people hurting by not being able to afford necessities like groceries.
I don't actually have to edit my shopping list, it's just that the prices are increasing so fast, it makes me mad and I refuse to buy certain things. I do appreciate Walmart for having off-brand foods for sometimes half the price. And if this inflation keeps rising, I WILL have to stop buying certain things.
DeleteIt saddens (and angers) me that seniors who are on Social Security will only get a 3 percent increase in 2024. That's a slap in the face! I could cry for all of us, but it wouldn't do any good.
ReplyDeleteI'm just hoping we can keep social security; there are politicians who would like to take it away, lower it or bump up the age--or all those things. I don't know if the higher prices are a function of price gouging by businesses (we know that they have been doing that) or because many of our top producing agricultural areas have been hard hit by labor shortages and weather issues, like California. It's probably a combination of both those things.
ReplyDeleteSocial Security is all we have coming in. We've always been poor, so we know how to get along in touch times. If they end Social Security, there would be a lot of old people trying to find someone to take them in.
DeleteSo, it would go back to those "good old days" that too many romanticize. I don't remember the names of which people plan on getting rid of or curtailing SS (if they can) but I do remember which party they are.
DeleteI know which one also.
DeleteDo you have Aldi there? Their prices are lower and most of their products good. I don't know who to blame, if anyone, it seems the whole world has gone mad. At least we can get groceries, but there is great wisdom in having a garden and chickens. Neither of which I do, but I do try to cook at home more.
ReplyDeleteI love Aldi, but our nearest one is 25 miles away, and the gas used takes away the savings. However, my husband has a sister to visit sometimes in Blue Springs where Aldi is, and we sometimes have Dr. appointments that take us close to Aldi. Those are the times I shop at Aldi.
DeleteI do not go to the grocery store with a list. I plan my meals based on the sale items. I also buy a a lot of things from the Amish produce stands and use an Amish grocery store.
ReplyDeleteI love the Amish stores, but the closest Amish/Mennonites to us (the two always seem to be nearby one another in Missouri) are 100 miles away. We usually take a day trip up to Jamesport at least once a year. In the spring they have the nicest vegetable plants to put in my garden, and much cheaper than anywhere else.
DeleteThere are a lot of factors that go into the increase of food prices, blaming an entire political group (democrats) is just a lazy way of assigning blame instead of investigating the situation.
ReplyDelete