Inflaaaaaaaation

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

How are you dealing with the pinch?

I know that eggs have jumped up, partly due to the bird flu outbreak last year, but I found a source of cheaper eggs- my local Farmer's Market (oddly enough). Our local big box food store has store-brand (large white) for $5.29 a dozen. My Farmer's Market was selling them for $3.49 a dozen (large, cage-free and brown).

Natural gas has jumped, of course, and I locked in a rate a few months ago before things really went sideways. Still, our bill was $60 higher than I had budgeted and our usage had gone up. I blame the icky weather and I despise being cold. I've started using my portable electric heater and a heating pad/electric blanket to keep myself cozy on the couch, or in my office. Our electric bill was about $14 higher than this time last year. I didn't check the usage, but I can deal with $14.

Anyone else keep an eyeball on utility usage? Do you keep a spreadsheet for your monthly budget like me? Am I just a giant spreadsheet and numbers nerd?

[Thursday's_Child]

After egg prices started climbing I noticed that medium eggs are much cheaper.  They're not that much smaller than large ones, so it won't matter for most recipes.

[Juvenal]

I have a heat pump and can hardly believe that it's much more efficient than my oil furnace.  But of late the HP has been whispering and the oil furnace kicks in only to keep hot water available (difficult to get clean in the warm air from the HP).  Last oil bill was about $1K.  I do keep a cool house, but still.

Eggs?  Down a bit.  Do I begrudge the Hen Union its windfall?  Not really.  Eggs are the least of things costly (well, nearly so) in this present time for me.  As I edge close to eighty, it's not buying things that vexes; it's getting rid of stuff.

[clean]

I d say Everything has gone up, and while eggs have, surprisingly, chicken has not really. 

The news indicated that the bird flu mostly hit the egg laying houses.  The meat chickens were younger and fared better. 

Pork and Beef prices are lower or stable as well, (according to the news), though this will turn.  With the drought, and covid and such, ranchers/pig growers have been sending critters to market sooner and in larger quantities.  (So those prices should be lower, BUT will be higher soon enough).


I like to eat chips with my sandwiches.  A bag of Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar chips (or Doritos) has risen to nearly $5!   And while I shouldnt eat them (and have not bought any since Christmas) even Oreos are close to $5 a package.

Ben and Jerry's is pushing $5 a pint too.  (I liked New York chocolate or something) 

Fortunately (Inter-thread alert) Gas Prices are 2.89 again, locally. 

McDonalds or even Whataburger lunches are pushing $9  (and though it was long ago, a Big Mac Meal in Graduate school was $2.99!)
I stopped at Jersey Mikes last week and that sub (#2, medium) was over $9. 


My Bride and I are using Blue Apron for 3 meals a week.  My Bride is learning to cook.  Blue Apron buys everything and ships it to you with a recipe card. Ideally she will see what to buy, and we will have a stockpile of recipe cards to use.  (The downside is that they have packages of spices or sauces that they have already prepared, and I dont know that we could replicate those, yet... Ive been too busy to try to figure out what is in them) .  I can happily report that she is getting much better at cooking and particularly timing the cook... (You dont start the grits which take 20 minutes, because I dont skimp and get Quick Grits, AFTER you have fried the eggs!) 
Bottom line, is that I dont THINK that Blue Apron has raised the prices much.  I think it is still about $69 a box

I like Cereal as an occasional dinner.   Especially when My Bride is away helping her family in Cancer Hospital City.  I have switched to Store Brand frosted, shredded mini wheats and Raisin Bran. 

Anyway, I have typed for too long.... Suffice it to say that I am shocked when I go to the grocery store these day...

Oh, yesterday I went to Walmart to stock up on Orville Redenbacker Popcorn.  I like the Pour Over Butter ones. it is a 2 pack box.  I believe that they are now $2.69!  The last time I picked any up I was mad that they were over $2 a box, meaning slightly more than $1 a bag!

And there was an Edmonds pie 2 pack in the frozen food section.  If I recall I would balk at paying over $2.25 a box (of 2) and now they are well over $3


So how do I deal with it? 
I balk at them most of the time, but on occasion, I just 'dont look at the price' and splurge out! 

[Parasaurolophus]

Everything here was already prohibitively expensive. Now it's worse.

There isn't really anything to be done about it, short of somehow increasing my income (I already have a second, part-time, job, and a couple small freelance contracts). Our faculty contract is being renovated, so I look forward to a COL 3% increase, or some such BS.

[Ruralguy]

I feel like *services* have gone up more than food, but then I avoid eggs and almost all dairy besides a bit of skim milk in cereal and coffee. As an example. a privately recycler/composting service I used for some things went up about 25% in each of the last 3 years. Really insane. Sorry, Planet, but I think I am just going to just trash everything if "doing the right thing" is going to cost me that much more every year.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

After egg prices started climbing I noticed that medium eggs are much cheaper.  They're not that much smaller than large ones, so it won't matter for most recipes.

The store near me that has large white store-brand eggs for $5.29/dozen has the same type, but medium, for $5.19/dozen.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Everything here was already prohibitively expensive. Now it's worse.

There isn't really anything to be done about it, short of somehow increasing my income (I already have a second, part-time, job, and a couple small freelance contracts). Our faculty contract is being renovated, so I look forward to a COL 3% increase, or some such BS.

I used to do some editing on the side, but stopped after awhile. I'm considering a 2nd income stream.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

...
Ben and Jerry's is pushing $5 a pint too.  (I liked New York chocolate or something) 
...

It's $5/pint here, on sale.

[dismalist]

After egg prices started climbing I noticed that medium eggs are much cheaper.  They're not that much smaller than large ones, so it won't matter for most recipes.

The store near me that has large white store-brand eggs for $5.29/dozen has the same type, but medium, for $5.19/dozen.

What's an egg?

The weight of a large egg is about 0.25 oz more than a medium egg, or ca 14% more. The price reported here is ca 2% more. Hence, the egg by weight is cheaper in the large size, by about 12%!

Just means to be careful about what a quantity means. :-)

[Anselm]

I was shocked at the price of stick deodorant.  $8 to mask my body's natural odors?  Yikes.

I went back to having a baked potato for dinner.   I live simply and have everything I need so I am not affected too much by inflation.  Our raise for this year was 3.5%, much less than the state inflation rate.   I wonder how much longer they will get away with this.  I believe that back in the Carter years people got 10% raises to match inflation.   

[Thursday's_Child]

After egg prices started climbing I noticed that medium eggs are much cheaper.  They're not that much smaller than large ones, so it won't matter for most recipes.

The store near me that has large white store-brand eggs for $5.29/dozen has the same type, but medium, for $5.19/dozen.

Ouch!  I've been finding medium for a bit over half the cost of large.  Must be a regional thing, maybe?

ETA:  excellent point, Dismalist!

[lightning]

I have been doing something that I used to do when I lived in a place that had grocery stores on the way home from my train/walking commute.

Instead of taking one trip and stocking up for 7 days worth of stuff, I shop for 1-2 days, stopping briefly on the way home every other day at a grocery store, and ONLY buying stuff that is marked down and making sure to reject anything that I feel is priced too high, whether I want/need it or not. There are always alternative choices, and until people start availing themselves of alternatives, we will continue to be gouged.

[Parasaurolophus]

...
Ben and Jerry's is pushing $5 a pint too.  (I liked New York chocolate or something) 
...

It's $5/pint here, on sale.

Regular ice cream here is 13.99. B&J's, 15.99.

[secundem_artem]

Groceries and incidentals today were $260.  No alcohol, not a lot of meat.  But we are not too price sensitive in our shopping so I'm sure there would be a cheaper way to do that if we wanted too.  Might just be less expensive to eat money.