Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Mar 10, 2022 11:21:27 GMT -5
Have you started "panic" buying of consumer goods or food in an effort to avoid paying even higher prices in the future as inflation ramps up? I have not. I have started my traditional "spring stock" up - as I've used up most of the "food" and other products I bought for the winter stock up (done back in sept/oct 2021). I'm not buying more than I would typically buy. And here's the long story: My youtube feed has started cycling in suggests for videos from "preppers" and people starting to say - stock up now! before it's too expense to buy the stuff you need for everyday life! I guess the youtube algorithm is going off of my viewing of "frugal" shoppper/frugal living videos. The Youtube algorithm always seems to throw in some "panic! the world is ending!" type videos based on my interests - for example if I show an interest in homemade butter - I'll get reasonable video suggestions but then there will be some with a definite slant towards "hysteria and panic" - about how what the cows are eating is poisoning us! and the videos are produced in that standard "scary" way - which makes me wonder if it's suppose to be humorous of if it's really serious... Makes me wonder if "panic buying " is setting in and if we will see empty store shelves again.... (I have to admit - I still wonder about the beginning of the Pandemic March 2020 -- who bought all the canned meat (fish and others) at Aldi and if they ever actually ate it... I wonder how much of the "food" people panic bought went to waste. )
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Mar 10, 2022 11:52:57 GMT -5
I moved to a small town in a rural area at the beginning of December. There have been shortages and empty shelves of various items ever since I moved here. This week when I did my shopping there was only 4 packages of pasta on the shelves. I bought two of them. One week they didn't have any milk in the case. It was a Sunday and they said they would probably get more on Tuesday. So yes I have been starting to stock up on items that I use regularly and to also have supplies on hand to be able to make bread etc if needed. There was a period of time when I made all the bread we ate so it isn't a new concept for me. My concern isn't so much the higher prices, although if I can avoid it that would also be good, but if it isn't on the shelves it doesn't matter what it costs.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Mar 10, 2022 11:58:45 GMT -5
Will start of add Cheerios and flour as these both keep and will be eaten. Prices of these will probably start to increase Ukraine normally produces large amounts of wheat for the world but surely will decrease this year.
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cooper88
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Post by cooper88 on Mar 10, 2022 12:00:18 GMT -5
I live in a smaller town also and have those same issues. I do keep a lot of non-perishable food in the house. I stock up when something's on sale, date it and rotate it. I haven't started buying anything extra over fears of inflation. I get the same thing in my Youtube algorithm. I start with maybe a gardening video then all these "grow your own food or you're going to die" videos come up.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Mar 10, 2022 12:02:26 GMT -5
DSIL is a farmer and he has talked about trying to get the various chemicals and fertilizers that they use. He says there is a real shortage right now. I noticed it even for my home gardening chemicals. I couldn't find any copper for my fruit trees or dormant spray for my roses. He said he expects crop production to be down.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Mar 10, 2022 12:07:05 GMT -5
Fertilizer nitrogen comes at present from natural gas. With less use the price and availability are decreasing. Lots of implications to the transition away from carbon based energy.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Mar 10, 2022 12:08:25 GMT -5
I'm finding myself buying more laundry soap than I need but not because I fear that its price will go up. I buy it because I fear that the price of everything else will go up and buying laundry soap will force me to put something else back onto the shelf. It has always been this way for me. That is, laundry soap has always been the most expensive item in the cart and since my need for it is irregular, it has the potential to blow my budget. Buying it in advance lessens the pain and makes me feel secure.
I'm handling inflated prices on other items by not buying them, or delaying buying them. I eating a whole lot more eggs and cheese these days and have discovered that if I avoid buying meat, good Parmesan cheese suddenly becomes very affordable. I had forgotten how good that stuff is.
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laterbloomer
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Post by laterbloomer on Mar 10, 2022 12:11:47 GMT -5
I have gone in the opposite direction, cutting out waste and buying less, being even more strict about buying on sale.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Mar 10, 2022 12:28:15 GMT -5
I'm simply filling my gas tank sooner rather than later. Intermittent shortages in stores have been happening for years now, so we no longer wait for sales (that are barely happening anyway).
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Mar 10, 2022 12:51:19 GMT -5
The weird thing I'm having trouble getting is cat food. My one cat has decided after getting her teeth pulled that she really likes wet food (never would eat it before) while the other one still won't, which is perfect since he needs to lose a lot of weight... Anyhow, canned cat food shelves at the farm supply and Hyvee are really bare. I went to Chewy to order a case of the stuff she seems really partial to, and it was marked as "temporarily out of stock". Might have to buy a crap ton if I find it somewhere.
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pooks
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Post by pooks on Mar 10, 2022 12:56:22 GMT -5
I think we are finally buying an extra freezer. They were so hard to find during the early days of the pandemic, that we muddled through with just the refrigerator freezer (8.9 cu ft). This will allow us to bulk buy when things are on sale and maybe get 1/4 of a cow.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Mar 10, 2022 12:57:05 GMT -5
My brother trained me years ago to get gas at half a tank. And usually when I don't, I end up needing gas at the worst possible time when I have to be somewhere and the weather is awful.
Even before covid broke the supply chain, I tried to keep at least one extra of non perishables on hand. Sales are pretty dismal these days. I usually do a bigger grocery shopping trip once a month. If it's in stock and we have no extras on hand, I buy it. I buy what we regularly use.
I think we run a decently stocked pantry/freezer so I'm not running out to buy more.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Mar 10, 2022 13:00:28 GMT -5
I have seen empty cat food shelves around town. I'm not sure why it's in such short supply.
Walmart had no pasta last time. Someone said they lost their vendor. I guess it could be true?
Distilled water has disappeared. I use it in the Keurig and humidifier as our water is super hard and will kill both appliances.
And frozen potatoes of all varieties seem to be just gone.
Its pretty hard to stock up to beat inflation when you can't find the stuff.
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Sharon
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Post by Sharon on Mar 10, 2022 13:03:29 GMT -5
The weird thing I'm having trouble getting is cat food. My one cat has decided after getting her teeth pulled that she really likes wet food (never would eat it before) while the other one still won't, which is perfect since he needs to lose a lot of weight... Anyhow, canned cat food shelves at the farm supply and Hyvee are really bare. I went to Chewy to order a case of the stuff she seems really partial to, and it was marked as "temporarily out of stock". Might have to buy a crap ton if I find it somewhere.
I've noticed that canned cat food has been in short supply for some time, at least Science Diet has been. My elderly cat isn't happy about it either.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 10, 2022 13:07:33 GMT -5
I have seen empty cat food shelves around town. I'm not sure why it's in such short supply. Walmart had no pasta last time. Someone said they lost their vendor. I guess it could be true? Distilled water has disappeared. I use it in the Keurig and humidifier as our water is super hard and will kill both appliances. And frozen potatoes of all varieties seem to be just gone. Its pretty hard to stock up to beat inflation when you can't find the stuff. Frozen potatoes were low yesterday. Not sure if part of that was delaying deliveries because rain & snow were expected here b4 8AM and lasting until after 6PM. I hope its improving now, I noticed Walmart was also low on stock.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Mar 10, 2022 13:08:55 GMT -5
My brother trained me years ago to get gas at half a tank. And usually when I don't, I end up needing gas at the worst possible time when I have to be somewhere and the weather is awful. Even before covid broke the supply chain, I tried to keep at least one extra of non perishables on hand. Sales are pretty dismal these days. I usually do a bigger grocery shopping trip once a month. If it's in stock and we have no extras on hand, I buy it. I buy what we regularly use. I think we run a decently stocked pantry/freezer so I'm not running out to buy more. I want to get gas today or tomorrow. I am above a half tank but below 3/4, which is where I like to be with my old car during winter.
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Mar 10, 2022 13:15:58 GMT -5
I brought 1/2 a cow last month, although I won't actually get it until the end of July group because of traveling, it will end up being 1000 dollars (800 for the half of cow/200 processing), they say a minimum of 140lbs. I also will get the tongue, live, heart bones and all of that stuff too. Trying to decide if I want to do a garden, but again with traveling in June and July just not so sure. Some of the girls stuff I stay stocked up for a week or 2 in advance.
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kadee79
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Post by kadee79 on Mar 10, 2022 13:18:45 GMT -5
I've been having trouble getting canned cat food for over a year now. Normally, Sam's carries 2 varieties of Friskies...shreds/bits & pate in 60 ct.cases. But recently I've been lucky to find even 1 case of either. I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Chewy cause when I went to Walmart web site, nearly everything was "out of stock" there. Haven't been able to get 9 Lives tuna/egg in over 2 yrs. now. I know it was processed & canned over seas, but don't remember where. So supply chain might be the problem there.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2022 13:41:57 GMT -5
Nothing, really. I see some things disappear, especially at Costco, then reappear. I can always find substitutes. Last week Costco had no bananas (and now the refrain from "Yes, we have no bananas" is stuck in my head ). My local grocery had them yesterday at 19 cents/lb. although the sale prices was on the first 2 lbs. only. Even if I look back at the TP situation during the pandemic, I was never in danger of running out or paying extortionate prices. It helps, of course, that I live alone so I don't use much. But, I work around whatever scarcities I find since they always seem to be temporary. I AM patting myself on the back for my airfare shopping spree a couple of weeks ago. Unless something awful happens with COVID, travel is going to come roaring back and now the price of fuel is up, which will also raise the price of tickets.
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daisylu
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Post by daisylu on Mar 10, 2022 14:47:41 GMT -5
Yup, canned cat food has been difficult for a while now. I ended up ordering some from Amazon.
We have also had a hard time finding distilled water, which we run in the humidifiers, and we live very close to a major manufacturer.
And the frozen potatoes were limping for a while, but the seem to be getting at least half stocked lately.
And that cheap ass Ramen soup in a bag that DS eats has been gone lately.
We live so far from the grocery store. The rule in my house is if you open the last (i.e. peanut butter, jelly, condiments) it goes on the list on the fridge. I like to have 1 extra of everything. So I am in no rush to buy anything.
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Mar 10, 2022 14:54:43 GMT -5
We have a good sized pantry and a chest freezer, so our habits haven't really changed. We stock up on what we'll use when it goes on sale. The sales aren't as frequent, so if it's a good one, I buy extra. We've been eating a lot of pork and chicken the past eight years because I can get them for less than $2 per pound. When I get a sale on pork loin of $1.47 per pound, I usually buy three or four, cut them up, and then freeze them. I'm still able to find steaks on sale once in a while for $6.99 per pound. We've cut down on ground beef use.
Pasta goes in and out of stock. Again, I buy extra when it's in stock so I have it when I want it. That's probably the main thing we buy that has been routinely out of stock. Frozen potatoes seem to be in and out, but we don't use many of them anyway. I can always wait a couple of weeks for them if necessary.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Mar 10, 2022 15:12:52 GMT -5
Like buystoys , we have a decent sized freezer and pantry. I try to stock up when the price drops, but don’t go too crazy. My last shopping trip was $$$$, more than I have ever spent. However, bags of flash frozen shrimp and pork tenderloins were buy one, get one free and NY strip steaks were $8/lb. My pasta supplies are dwindling and I’ve not seen it on sale recently. Right now, the price of what I buy is 79% higher than normal. Ouch! I may have to bite the bullet and pay more….or start making my own. I picked up cat food right before we took off for Calgary. Last time I bought it was in May (the cat was kenneled a total of 13 weeks between May and Feb). I paid $33 in May, $44 a few weeks ago. Not sure what’s happening with dog food as we usually pick this up at Costco.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Mar 10, 2022 15:21:43 GMT -5
I noticed the shortage of cat food at Walmart last weekend when I was shopping for kitty litter, so I ordered another 5 12-packs of his canned cat food from petco.com. We still have 4 packs left from the last order, but I don't want to take a chance with his food. We get the Wholehearted brand, which is the Petco store brand and seems to be in good supply.
We also had our central air conditioning installed sooner than I anticipated. My husband got all paranoid about inflation and lack of parts (the house has never had air conditioning so we needed air ducts and vents as well as the two hvac units). I had expected us to schedule something in May so I would have a little more time to cash flow it, but he was super motivated and got it scheduled the first week of March. I had to sell some mutual funds that I wasn't planning to sell in order to avoid depleting our buffer in the checking account.
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Mar 10, 2022 16:31:16 GMT -5
Most stuff here if it is out one day, the next trip it is stocked. I have a stand up freezer and pantry too so stay decently stocked. The cow was something I have been thinking about for years, just seemed like a good day to do it. But I think we may be pretty early on in the supply chain so things get to us and run out farther down the line. I am really interested in how shortages effect the farmer markets. When it comes to the local farm stands, egg and meat sellers, and local butcher shops there really hasn't been much of an increase in price. They were always a decent amount higher then the stores, but now just not as much higher.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Mar 10, 2022 17:01:00 GMT -5
The weird thing I'm having trouble getting is cat food. My one cat has decided after getting her teeth pulled that she really likes wet food (never would eat it before) while the other one still won't, which is perfect since he needs to lose a lot of weight... Anyhow, canned cat food shelves at the farm supply and Hyvee are really bare. I went to Chewy to order a case of the stuff she seems really partial to, and it was marked as "temporarily out of stock". Might have to buy a crap ton if I find it somewhere.
All of the cat people I follow on Instagram are having problems finding wet food. The issue is with the cans, not the food. I know from Lucy that Chewy prioritizes it's autoship customers before it fills one off orders. Some of the orders for her canned food were delayed by a week or two but always showed up.
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susana1954
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Post by susana1954 on Mar 10, 2022 18:03:36 GMT -5
I bought some extra kitchen garbage bags at Costco. I usually wait until the box has been half-used before buying a new one, but I went ahead. My garbage collectors won't pick the can up to empty it. No mechanical arm here. So garbage bags are important to me.
I bought 4 four-packs (so 16 cans!) of Campbell's chicken noodle soup because they are still marked $4 (so $1 a can) on the shelf at WM. The price has gone up 50 cents, but they honored it. I like this as a standby.
Penny has an extra bag of food as well. Publix runs her food BOGO periodically, and I like to make sure I have enough stocked up to get me to the next sale. It has already gone up in price, but the BOGO helps.
I've always stocked up on stuff I use when there are sales so I am in good shape overall.
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MN-Investor
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Post by MN-Investor on Mar 10, 2022 18:12:53 GMT -5
Not everything is increasing in price. Stocks are falling right now. Will it continue? I have some dividends which I haven't invested yet. Buy now? Wait?
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Mar 10, 2022 18:34:08 GMT -5
The weird thing I'm having trouble getting is cat food. My one cat has decided after getting her teeth pulled that she really likes wet food (never would eat it before) while the other one still won't, which is perfect since he needs to lose a lot of weight... Anyhow, canned cat food shelves at the farm supply and Hyvee are really bare. I went to Chewy to order a case of the stuff she seems really partial to, and it was marked as "temporarily out of stock". Might have to buy a crap ton if I find it somewhere.
I've been having the same issue with cat food. I've pretty much switched 100% to chewy even though I have access to a dozen Big Box pet stores within a 10 mile radius of my house. The stores carry what I want but I can only buy 5 cans or 6 cans. I've stopped in the stores but the shelves have the 5 or 6 cans I would have purchased online (and picked up in the store.). At Chewy if you take the option to "notify you when it's back in stock" - you'll get an email. I've had good luck with that. Usually a day or two later I can get an order in as the product has come back in stock. It's weird.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2022 18:41:41 GMT -5
I've pretty much switched 100% to chewy even though I have access to a dozen Big Box pet stores within a 10 mile radius of my house. The stores carry what I want but I can only buy 5 cans or 6 cans. I've stopped in the stores but the shelves have the 5 or 6 cans I would have purchased online (and picked up in the store.). At Chewy if you take the option to "notify you when it's back in stock" - you'll get an email. I've had good luck with that. Usually a day or two later I can get an order in as the product has come back in stock. It's weird. I wonder if there's some incentive for the manufacturers to sell to Chewy rather than the stores. Maybe cheaper for them to ship mass quantities to one warehouse and let Chewy deal with further distribution? I just hate to see more shipping boxes at curbs. Yeah, you can recycle but it's even better to "reduce".
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2022 18:44:06 GMT -5
The weird thing I'm having trouble getting is cat food. My one cat has decided after getting her teeth pulled that she really likes wet food (never would eat it before) while the other one still won't, which is perfect since he needs to lose a lot of weight... Anyhow, canned cat food shelves at the farm supply and Hyvee are really bare. I went to Chewy to order a case of the stuff she seems really partial to, and it was marked as "temporarily out of stock". Might have to buy a crap ton if I find it somewhere.
I've noticed that canned cat food has been in short supply for some time, at least Science Diet has been. My elderly cat isn't happy about it either. And don't count on that Chewy "we will email you when it comes back in stock" because they won't. I'm dependent on Science Diet dry and wet for our ancient kitty and Chewy hasn't been helpful lately
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