NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 9, 2022 13:04:35 GMT -5
Gas in my Coastal Bay Area town is crossing the $7.00 mark. Coastal CA pricing is probably the highest in the country. I still think I can get regular at Costco for under $6.50 but I'll find out tomorrow. According to a news article I saw a few days ago we now how the highest prices in the country and that includes Hawaii! So what can we do? I have said it before and I will say it again: I am glad I retired and don't have a daily commute. For the rest as long as I can afford what I need and some wants I refuse to worry about it since I cannot change inflation anyway
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tallguy
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Post by tallguy on Jun 9, 2022 13:05:51 GMT -5
Why are you buying cans? Two-liter bottles go on sale regularly, sometimes for 89 or 99 cents. Store brands are even less if you like those. Two of those bottles are almost equivalent to a 12-pack of cans so you are then well under 4/$10. If you really need them "on the go" then use a refillable bottle. You weren't asking me but: 12 can cases of name brand soda is now $5.00 and up per case. A local store is advertising 12 packs on sale buy 3 cases and get the sale price of $6.99 per case. Buy one or two cases and pay $7.99 per case. 2lt bottle prices are all over the board - I've seen prices between 2.49 and up to $3.49 a bottle. Sales are usually you must buy 3 bottles to get all three for $5.00 (so $1.66 per bottle) This 3 for $5 seems to be the new "lowest sale price" I tend to go with cans because I feel aluminum is more 'recycleable' (and more likely to be recycled) than plastic bottles and I don't like the soda after the bottle has been opened for 24 hours... cans are always "fresh" - ok carbonated and fizzy. The price of name brand soda at sale prices stayed the same for more than 10 years. The non-sale prices slowly crept up - but it was always offered on sale for a steady price no matter how expensive it was off sale. It's only since the pandemic that the sale price of brand name soda has gone up and the regular price has jumped up in leaps and bounds. This history made me think that soda was really cheap to produce so even the steady never changing low sale price was making a profit - and the everyday price was what was lining the soda companies pockets with gold... I have several grocery stores nearby, so perhaps that makes a difference with rotating sales. At one store last week we had one national brand "family" at 99 cents while another was at $1.29. Both were if you buy four or more. Still, I don't think I have ever paid more than $1.00 for a bottle, and certainly not more than $1.29. Ever. I finished one bottle yesterday that I got for 88 cents and have three more sitting in the refrigerator unopened. I got a rain check a couple days ago for four at 99 cents. They get finished within a few days of opening, so a degradation in taste is minimized. Back years ago I would pay up to $4.99 for a case of 24 cans. I cannot imagine paying more than that now for 12! Yes, with inflation it may be closer to equal in terms of what the money can actually buy, but the number itself is galling. Either way, it does not compensate for the increased cost over bottles.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jun 9, 2022 15:32:09 GMT -5
One of the few good things to come out of my gallbladder attacks several years ago is I no longer drink soda.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jun 9, 2022 16:13:09 GMT -5
Gas in my Coastal Bay Area town is crossing the $7.00 mark. Coastal CA pricing is probably the highest in the country. I still think I can get regular at Costco for under $6.50 but I'll find out tomorrow. According to a news article I saw a few days ago we now how the highest prices in the country and that includes Hawaii! So what can we do? I have said it before and I will say it again: I am glad I retired and don't have a daily commute. For the rest as long as I can afford what I need and some wants I refuse to worry about it since I cannot change inflation anyway I told my girlfriend that I'm finally over mourning for my old 4Runner. It's been almost two years. I loved that truck but I would imagine it would now cost over $100 to fill up. It averaged about 22mpg.
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Jun 9, 2022 16:38:41 GMT -5
I stil miss my little Nissan Versa which was totalled 3 years ago but not because of its fuel efficiency - though it did better than my Rogue. I just liked that car a lot.
To put this in perspective: while cleaning out the guest room I found some paperwork related to the Rogue which I bought used. In the past 37 months I have put ~ 8000 miles on that car. And over 6000 of those were in the first 10 months. I have been driving somewhat more this year but still not nearly enough to make the gas prices hurt. Ask me again in a month though as DSis2 and I have a road trip planned...
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jun 9, 2022 17:29:07 GMT -5
If I am not traveling, I buy one tank of gas a month.
Gas was all over the place price was when I went to Toronto. Definitely most expensive in Canada.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2022 8:48:15 GMT -5
I've been watching sales taxes creep up over the years. In MO foods are taxed at 6.35% and everything else at a higher rate, which includes local taxes and varies by area. A year ago the tax on non-foods at Costco was 8.85%. Now it's 9.35%. While that doesn't add a big dollar amount to the bill, the gubmint just raised its sales tax revenue by 5.6% BEFORE any inflation in the costs of the stuff you bought.
I'm sure the voters approved it but this is at a Costco which gets people from all over and I don't live in that town.
And that 6.35% on foods used to be 5.6% a few years ago.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jun 10, 2022 9:30:36 GMT -5
Gas at Costco yesterday was $6.19.9 for regular.
Sales tax on non groceries is 9.875.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jun 10, 2022 9:57:59 GMT -5
I made a grocery run yesterday - and all of the gas stations along the route (about 2 miles maybe just under 3) had gas prices over $6.00 dollars (the lowest price was $6.00 and 9 tenths). The prices vary dramatically because of the "zones" and/or suburb the station is in... so gas stations in 4 different suburbs (and I think 3 different "special" tax zones) along with the requisite county(all in the same county), state and federal taxes...
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jun 10, 2022 10:01:46 GMT -5
I'll be honest - I don't see how gas prices are indicative of "inflation" even if I knew the "base price" before all the taxes and what not were added. Gas prices are dependent on "supply and demand" - and who ever controls the production or the delivery of it can influence prices.
When a hurricane shuts down the Gulf of Mexico oil drilling and production and gas prices go up - we don't call that inflation...
Eggs and milk are another one of those things.
I hear the long running draught in California (and their water issues) will soon effect the price of all the produce that is produced in California (I think they are the #1 producer of "citrus" <-- whatever that means...) So we will probably be seeing higher prices for "citrus" stuff...
I think we are just getting hit with rising costs across the board - lots of things going up in price.
Which, ok, that is "inflation"...
sorry just trying to work out the semantics and nuances of what people mean when they say "inflation".
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Jun 10, 2022 10:17:48 GMT -5
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Jun 10, 2022 10:56:12 GMT -5
there is good support for the dow at around 30k. if it breaks that, all bets are off.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Jun 10, 2022 14:22:31 GMT -5
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Jun 10, 2022 15:07:12 GMT -5
base inflation is holding steady at around 6%
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Jun 10, 2022 15:09:00 GMT -5
base inflation is holding steady at around 6% Yes but food and gas affects most folks and they’re not in the ‘base inflation
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Jun 10, 2022 18:57:22 GMT -5
base inflation is holding steady at around 6% Yes but food and gas affects most folks and they’re not in the ‘base inflation i agree. but my point is that food and energy tend to be the most dynamic variables. they might fall 10% next month, for example. there is a reason why core inflation is quoted and watched.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Jun 10, 2022 20:16:11 GMT -5
Yes but food and gas affects most folks and they’re not in the ‘base inflation i agree. but my point is that food and energy tend to be the most dynamic variables. they might fall 10% next month, for example. there is a reason why core inflation is quoted and watched. Yes I also know that
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Jun 12, 2022 14:26:30 GMT -5
I have to say I'm finally seeing inflation up close and personal. Some prices had increased a couple of months ago, but nothing major. Then I went on vacation and now that I'm back there's no escaping it. My grocery bill has gone up and not because I'm buying different items. Eggs, for instance, were $1.92 when I left on vacation Yesterday they were $2.62. Everything increased and it adds up. I'll put gas on my car tomorrow, and then I'll know how expensive it is around here
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Jun 14, 2022 5:23:50 GMT -5
Gas/diesel is starting to cut into other budget line items. I'm now deferring some wants. For gas, we’re at $5.65/gallon. For diesel, it’s now costing $130 to fill our truck.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2022 19:40:43 GMT -5
Mister said he filled his car up today with gas and it cost $70. He has a Honda Accord. His plan was to come home and take the Tahoe to fill it up too, but after it cost so much for the Honda, he didn’t want to see how much it would cost for the Tahoe. I have a Honda Accord coupe, but I think Mister’s gas tank is bigger than mine. His is a newer sedan. But still, when I filled my car up last week, it cost $53. When I bought it new in 2003, it cost $19 or $20 to fill it up. The Jeep was just under 1/4 tank when I filled it up last week, and that was another $50 for me. Are horses really expensive to buy and take good care of? I’m asking for a friend.
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jerseygirl
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Post by jerseygirl on Jun 15, 2022 20:00:14 GMT -5
Oh you’d be happy to fill your gas tank compared to expenses of a horse My DIL has horses. some she’s raised since birth. She describes young horses as always trying to commit expensive suicide - cutting legs on wire, swallowing dead frogs, eating too much and requiring surgery multiple times
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Post by minnesotapaintlady on Jun 15, 2022 20:12:24 GMT -5
If you have your own land/barn and can grow your own hay they're really no worse than a dog as far as cost, but of course the land/barn and growing your own hay isn't cheap either. I was always pretty lucky with medical issues with my horses over the years. I had one that colicked frequently, but never to the point of needing surgery, once I brought her home and turned her out and she wasn't stalled all the time, I never had an issue again. Pasture horses are much healthier. It's not natural for them to be in a stall all the time and eating two meals a day.
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daisylu
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Post by daisylu on Jun 16, 2022 6:07:05 GMT -5
Gas here has been steady at $4.59 for about a week. I try to fill up at 1/2 tank. Last night, it was $38 for less than 9 gallons.
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djAdvocate
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Post by djAdvocate on Jun 16, 2022 12:52:21 GMT -5
i think everyone should keep something in mind. the 100 year average for inflation is 3.27% from 1920-1982, the RMS inflation rate steadily ROSE. in 1982, that trend reversed, and we had a 40 year stretch where RMS inflation steadily FELL. tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi#:~:text=Inflation%20Rate%20in%20the%20United,percent%20in%20June%20of%201921. although we occasionally had inflation over 3.5% since 1990, it has been EXTREMELY RARE. the result is that most people in the US don't even think about inflation- or haven't. it would take 30% above RMS inflation to return to the average rate that we had only 10 years ago. in other words, if we had 8% inflation for SIX YEARS, it would get us back to the 2012 100 year CPI. we have been living in a glorious time for inflation for a GENERATION. what we have now is probably more "normal" than "exceptional".
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Jun 16, 2022 13:56:58 GMT -5
Gas just hit $5.00 a gallon here. A few weeks ago, NY instituted a "tax holiday" on gas and removed a state $0.16 tax per gallon. The price went down the 16 cents one day, from $4.89 to $4.73. The next day it rose 10 cents a gallon to $4.83. Oil companies have record profits right now. I know companies are in business to make a buck, but geez, we don't need record profits every year, and I say this as an Exxon shareholder. Did your county cap its gas sales tax, too? My county capped it at the first $3/gal, and the county portion is 4% here, so at around $5/gal that's another $.08 drop. Erie Co. capped it at $2. I couldn't figure out what my local gas station was doing with it - gas had been $4.89 before the cap went in place. Next day, the sign showed $4.63, that night it was back to $4.89. Over the next few days, it went back and forth between full price/lower price, as if they had to keep overriding the preprogrammed full tax formula. Sometimes gas was higher price, diesel was at lower price. Once they figured it out, the price popped up to $4.83, and then $4.99. We've gone back to getting it at the Rez, when the $.75 price gap made it worth the trip. With the state/county tax cap, it will be interesting to see if the price gap shrinks (after all, the lack of US taxes is why the Rez can sell it cheaper). Gas Buddy says its running $4.60 on the Rez now, probably the cash price, so add another .05 for credit. As far as grocery prices, Aldi prices used to be pretty stable. A few months ago certain items would suddenly jump, $.25 or $.50 or $1. Sometimes those jumps were 25%, or 50%, or double the regular price. As several other posters mentioned, not the normal $.05 increase. There's still some supply chain issues - certain items have/had been bare shelves for a while. Raisin Bran cereal (now back for a few months, but +50% increase in price), chewy granola bars (just one kind back this week, +40%), tissues (came back one week, gone again, +16%). Some things I refuse to buy at jacked up prices (especially junk food, we don't need it). Some I just can't find - cookies were bare shelves last week. I've noticed that Tops is beating Aldi on some items, mostly loss leaders. Aldi really isn't doing sale prices right now at all, but I can occasionally catch a sale at Tops for stuff. Like broccoli crowns - Tops has them at $1.28/lb every so often, Aldi's regular price is now $2.78/lb (and that's for a package that used to be priced .99/ pkg, but shifted to /lb). It's pretty bad if Tops has a better price than Aldi! Some things that used to be cheap are not anymore. I started buying Aldi's frozen ground turkey to replace ground beef when it was $.44/lb. Over the years it crept up to .88, .99, 1.29, 1.59, and was sitting at 1.89 thru Covid. Due to a windfall of venison, I haven't bought any since November, but I keep checking the price. It's now $2.99.
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Jun 23, 2022 9:11:35 GMT -5
Inflation is forcing Americans to change their diets (I have found using invisible mode lets me open the link) I found this interesting, but mostly this line stood out to me, Among those who reported changing their eating habits, nearly half said they were buying more pre-packaged or frozen food to mitigate the higher costs. I have found that pre-package stuff normally cost more, not less.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jun 23, 2022 11:11:27 GMT -5
This always make me scratch my head... that if "there is no meat - we aren't able to make an actual meal" state of mind. Like this person can't conceptualize adding some pasta and/or a can of white beans to that vegetable soup. Maybe vegetable soup is a code word for something else and I'm being too literal? Is this kind of like when people think that they could never be a vegetarian because the only meals they can think of that don't have meat are mac and cheese and PB&Js Sorry... that sentence in the article "triggered me".
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jun 23, 2022 11:17:31 GMT -5
Inflation is forcing Americans to change their diets (I have found using invisible mode lets me open the link) I found this interesting, but mostly this line stood out to me, Among those who reported changing their eating habits, nearly half said they were buying more pre-packaged or frozen food to mitigate the higher costs. I have found that pre-package stuff normally cost more, not less. I agree. The only frozen foods that can be cheaper than fresh are frozen out of season veggies and fruits. On the other hand - there's usually more frozen "meat" than fresh meat (mostly chicken or turkey). It's not really less expensive - it's just more available. I don't eat out much - but maybe a box of frozen hamburgers and frozen pizza is less expensive than going to a restaurant? Maybe it's cheaper to eat microwaveable fast food from the freezer section than to go out to eat? OK, what does "prepackaged" mean - is 3 heads of romaine lettuce in a plastic bag - pre-packaged? Is buying 2 pre-made hamburgers (for a total of 1 pound) in the meat section (cause it's sooooo hard to make homemade burgers) considered pre-packaged? (in the past I'd buy these burgers because of a sale (and being able to buy 1 Pound - and I would then use the ground beef to make 4 homemade burgers. I'm single. buying the "family packs" of anything is a challenge to use up...
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pulmonarymd
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Post by pulmonarymd on Jun 23, 2022 12:30:32 GMT -5
When people cut back on alcohol and cigarettes is when I will pay attention
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daisylu
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Post by daisylu on Jun 23, 2022 13:00:52 GMT -5
Inflation is forcing Americans to change their diets (I have found using invisible mode lets me open the link) I found this interesting, but mostly this line stood out to me, Among those who reported changing their eating habits, nearly half said they were buying more pre-packaged or frozen food to mitigate the higher costs. I have found that pre-package stuff normally cost more, not less. This is not ALWAYS true. A 1lb bag of frozen strawberries (no additives) is currently $2.99 at my local grocery, 1lb of fresh(generic) is $4.99. There are farms that will allow you to pick your own that usually come in around $5/lb, even though it is nearing the end of strawberry season here. This is common pricing in this area among items that can be purchased fresh or frozen. Plus, the frozen is usually in bigger packages and lasts longer. And farmer's markets around here have gotten ridiculous. Everybody wanting to switch to locally grown, sourced, etc, have really driven the prices up the last few years. ETA: Yes, I live in a food desert. I am lucky enough to have reliable transportation to get me to other places. Though gas prices being what they are that is not a whole lot help either.
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