Let's talk Recession

[Tiny]

First a definition:     a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.

And it seems we have had 2 quarters of declining GDP. 

I think this  recession seems weird - unemployment is low and consumers are still consuming fast food/restaurants and consumer goods.   
We have crazy inflation on goods and services and gas prices are only now starting to drop (mine are 5 above or 5 below $5.00  after being $6 or above for a month).   I'm seeing sales on "stuff" at stores/online and I'm receiving coupons in the mail/email again.   

As of today - I don't have a connection to anyone who has lost a job (because of the recession).    I don't know of anyone who's making dramatic changes to their plans (I've got parties, outings, and weddings to attend thru December 2022 at this point.)  

TLDR;
What industries do you think will be effected by this Recession? 
What's the word on your street? What types of positions (jobs) are being shed?
Or
What types of positions (jobs) do you think will be hit the hardest by the Recession??

[tskeeter]

I think people are reducing spending, causing the decline in GDP.  For example, the high cost of gasoline has reduced consumption by about 7.25% compared to a year ago.  Similar things are happening in other industries.  I’m seeing reports that Target and some other retailers are reducing prices in order to move merchandise that is building up in their stores and warehouses.  Rising interest rates are putting pressure on home construction and real estate sales.  Zillow indicates that the value of our home has declined by about 3% over the last 90 days as a bigger portion of buyers payments must be devoted to interest payment, leaving less money available for principle reduction.  Increasing interest expenses are also depressing profitability of technology companies that depend on borrowing for operational financing.  This causes belt tightening by much of the population as they watch the value of their retirement accounts dwindle.

This economic contraction appears to be pretty wide spread, impacting a wide variety of industries and job classifications.

[wvugurl26]

Grocery prices are also way up. And they were going up before fuel costs skyrocketed. People have to eat and have to get to work. There's only so much combining errands and choosing cheaper proteins you can do. The money has to come from somewhere.

Pre covid DH and I were expected to be in our office daily. I teleworked occasionally due to weather or online training but it was not weekly. That combined 150 miles a day in different directions was a much bigger impact on our fuel usage than me going to the store 3 miles away twice in a week.

I'm still at home full time until the end of this month and DH has been going in twice a week since mid April.

Higher interest rates, high grocery prices and high fuel prices all mean that people have less money available for other things. If the necessities take a bigger chunk than in the past of course spending slows down.

[nidena]

I think the mortgage industry will see a hit from this recession.  The increased rates have already slowed the housing market some so if folx were hired to handle the increased purchases from last year, they're going to be the first to be let go this year and beyond.

I don't think the food industry will see any layoffs but I do think the clothing supply chain will.

However, if the article I read in Business Insider is to be believed, there will be increased hiring in corporate construction as companies bring their manufacturing plants back to the States to avoid the bottlenecks that were experienced during the lock downs at outsourced locations.

[giramomma]

Well, I work in higher ed.

You know the joke, when a recession hits, more folks to back to school..I'm not seeing that.

I am seeing our numbers take a nose dive.

Covid really isn't making a difference. In the side of business that wasn't affected directly by Covid, our numbers are down about 25-30% from normal. Now, if you look at what the manager was hired to do, numbers are down over 50% from the manager's targets when they were hired.

In the side that was directly affected by Covid, well, we have to triple our numbers to get to the goal that was set forth as part of our unit's 5 year plan.

We're just hitting our first wave of less college bound kids because of low birth rate in 2003-2004. There's about 10% younger folks to even apply. Those low numbers are going to trickle down to my unit by the time I retire.

[dondub]

Not yet. The job market is too strong. I saw a heavyweight economist say when job growth is 100,000/Mo. we are in one. Of course the Repo/cons have already pounced calling it the Biden Recession. Of course they also want inflation to drop and for the moon to be green cheese.

[tskeeter]

Aug 3, 2022 14:07:19 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Well, I work in higher ed.

You know the joke, when a recession hits, more folks to back to school..I'm not seeing that.

I am seeing our numbers take a nose dive.

Covid really isn't making a difference. In the side of business that wasn't affected directly by Covid, our numbers are down about 25-30% from normal. Now, if you look at what the manager was hired to do, numbers are down over 50% from the manager's targets when they were hired.

In the side that was directly affected by Covid, well, we have to triple our numbers to get to the goal that was set forth as part of our unit's 5 year plan.

We're just hitting our first wave of less college bound kids because of low birth rate in 2003-2004. There's about 10% younger folks to even apply. Those low numbers are going to trickle down to my unit by the time I retire.

One of the things that is different about this recession is that we have not had large scale layoffs, yet.  A layoff is what causes many people to go back to school.  After a layoff, people decide to improve their skill set to improve their employment opportunities, or they pursue education to facilitate a career change.  And, after a layoff, many people find they now have the time available to go back to school.  With low unemployment and relatively low workforce participation numbers, lack of employment opportunities isn’t a significant factor encouraging people to go back to school.

[bean29]

I'm 58 if I need retraining and it takes a significant amount of time, I will be that much closer to retirement.  I used to think I would retire at 68, but truthfully I am sick of working, so I now plan to work till 65 or 66 I will decide how much I want to keep working once I qualify for Medicare.  The only reason I would work another year, is DH is a year younger than me.  But I think once I qualify for Medicare and start collecting SS, we can pay for coverage for one of us in the Marketplace for a year.

We had a lot of flex in our budget before costs skyrocketed.  I am really trying to keep the lights turned down, and we are leaving the windows open at night rather than run the A/C.  We don't eat out a lot, we buy whatever groceries we want, including higher end stuff, but DH cooks mostly from scratch, so our food budget is higher but not unreasonable.  

I get my hair colored every 4 weeks and Manicure every 3-4 weeks and Pedicure every other month.  I can pare the schedule back if need be, but we will probably be fine.  I am seriously thinking to go ahead an remodel the house.  Bad timing, but que sera.  We will get some bids then decide.

Edit to comment:  I think the nail salon I got to has less business, but there are quite a few salons in the area, so don't know if it is competition, or people are cutting back.

The Beauticians in the salon I go to are mostly in Mid-to late 40's to my age.  None work Saturdays.  They work the hours they want.  My understanding is if they want more hours they have customer calling looking to book appointments.

I think it will be the Nail Salons, Beauty Salons, lawn services that will see loss of business.  I agree people will cut back on the clothing budgets, and probably travel, but airlines right now have more business than they can handle.

We have to eat, we have to have our cars and buy gas to get to work.

I agree that if job market keeps steady, we will not go into recession.  Baby boomers are set to start retiring in big numbers so entirely possible that we will not fall into recession.

[finnime]

So the job market is booming, the highest rate since we had the Apollo space program, I read. Unemployment is at 3.5%. Definitely not recession numbers. And gas prices are dropping quickly. Half of the country is seeing prices under $4/gallon.

Inflation lingers, but I find it difficult to get excited about it since I was a young adult in the Reagan years. My first mortgage was 17.5%, and that was not a high risk mortgage. It just was what was normal in 1982.

[busymom]

Nope, not in a "real" recession.  Like finnime , I remember the 80's, and THAT really s*cked!  Long lines applying for a single available job.  The current situation isn't even close, and there are plenty of jobs available here.  The only thing I don't like right now is the price of food, but we're just cutting back on favorites.  We'll be fine.  Oh, and the value of stock at DH's company has rebounded nicely.  

[dondub]

Not a recession until job growth is 100,000/Mo.

It’s now possible the Fed has over tightened.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

So - we're technically in a recession - seeing as that phrase is directed specifically to the GDP as Tiny indicated.

Everyone is hit with inflation - but if everyone also keeps employed then for most it is a matter of cutting back in some sense. I'm sure there are some on the edge in lower wage jobs that may be facing serious consequences to inflation, and I don't mean to discount their struggles, but as stated throughout this thread - this is a vastly different scenario than previous recessions. There are jobs. Recessions all have their unique characteristics, so this is it for this one I suppose. 

I am truly blessed in my current financial situation, and am very thankful for it. I am in my peak earning years/decade, and I haven't changed my spending patterns. My habits are such that even when I am spending pretty indiscriminately (for me!), there is always money for the bills. So - I haven't made any changes due to inflation. If at some point I need to cut back, honestly it will be savings not spending that gets cut. 

Basically - as long as the job endures, I won't be making any changes because I'm not splurging on anything that I'm willing to give up (i.e. organic produce).

Hope I do not seem pompous here. I've lived through very lean times. I sympathize with those who are going through that currently, but I plan on enjoying not stressing about money right now and keeping to my creature comforts. They are small compared to most peoples! And I always think to environment effects for every purchase I make, and in that vein, I spend a good deal more than on the cheaper stuff. As an example, I needed a mesh barrier for some brassicas for the fall veggie garden. Nylon was on sale for .99/yard, but I opted for 100% cotton for 6.99/yard. not even sure it will do the trick, but really trying to eliminate or reduce all nondegradable purchases. I needed new sheets for my bed earlier this year, and bought 100% organic cotton ones.

Some people don't have the luxury to make choose the better environmental choices over cheaper alternatives, so I do think my privledge to do so is also a responsibility to do it. 

[trimatty471]

Aug 2, 2022 13:25:04 GMT -5 Tiny said:

First a definition:     a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.

And it seems we have had 2 quarters of declining GDP. 

I think this  recession seems weird - unemployment is low and consumers are still consuming fast food/restaurants and consumer goods.   
We have crazy inflation on goods and services and gas prices are only now starting to drop (mine are 5 above or 5 below $5.00  after being $6 or above for a month).   I'm seeing sales on "stuff" at stores/online and I'm receiving coupons in the mail/email again.   

As of today - I don't have a connection to anyone who has lost a job (because of the recession).    I don't know of anyone who's making dramatic changes to their plans (I've got parties, outings, and weddings to attend thru December 2022 at this point.)  

TLDR;
What industries do you think will be effected by this Recession? 
What's the word on your street? What types of positions (jobs) are being shed?
Or
What types of positions (jobs) do you think will be hit the hardest by the Recession??

There just seems to be a lot of layoffs in tech.

[Deleted]

Aug 6, 2022 13:43:05 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

So - we're technically in a recession - seeing as that phrase is directed specifically to the GDP as Tiny indicated.

Everyone is hit with inflation - but if everyone also keeps employed then for most it is a matter of cutting back in some sense. I'm sure there are some on the edge in lower wage jobs that may be facing serious consequences to inflation, and I don't mean to discount their struggles, but as stated throughout this thread - this is a vastly different scenario than previous recessions. There are jobs. Recessions all have their unique characteristics, so this is it for this one I suppose. 

I am truly blessed in my current financial situation, and am very thankful for it. I am in my peak earning years/decade, and I haven't changed my spending patterns. My habits are such that even when I am spending pretty indiscriminately (for me!), there is always money for the bills. So - I haven't made any changes due to inflation. If at some point I need to cut back, honestly it will be savings not spending that gets cut. 

Basically - as long as the job endures, I won't be making any changes because I'm not splurging on anything that I'm willing to give up (i.e. organic produce).

Hope I do not seem pompous here. I've lived through very lean times. I sympathize with those who are going through that currently, but I plan on enjoying not stressing about money right now and keeping to my creature comforts. They are small compared to most peoples! And I always think to environment effects for every purchase I make, and in that vein, I spend a good deal more than on the cheaper stuff. As an example, I needed a mesh barrier for some brassicas for the fall veggie garden. Nylon was on sale for .99/yard, but I opted for 100% cotton for 6.99/yard. not even sure it will do the trick, but really trying to eliminate or reduce all nondegradable purchases. I needed new sheets for my bed earlier this year, and bought 100% organic cotton ones.

Some people don't have the luxury to make choose the better environmental choices over cheaper alternatives, so I do think my privledge to do so is also a responsibility to do it. 

No, you do not seem pompous. You’ve worked very hard and overcome some obstacles to get to where you are now. You might have had some help and good luck along the way, but the fact still remains that you worked hard to be successful. No need to ever apologize for that.

It speaks to who you are, that you remember the lean times in your life and can sympathize with people that don’t have the resources you do, instead of believing you are better than all of them in some way. As far environmental choices, you seem to understand that “to him whom much is given, much is expected”. Not that you’ve been “given” anything…. I hope you understand what I mean by that quote.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Thanks Pink!

[Tiny]

"It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose your own.”

― Harry S. Truman


And then there's this: 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that U.S. employers expanded payrolls by 528,000 jobs in July.

But there are also reports of layoffs -  I think mostly for higher paid workers and maybe some management positions. 
I guess it all depends on what kind of pay the 525K plus jobs command - I'm guessing they are mostly low  or middle paid jobs  (in retail, travel/entertainment)  which seems like it would be a good thing. 

I was thinking about how 15% of 1,000.00 was 150.00   (I read that's how much a household spends on groceries)  and is that really enough to hurt the families that could seemingly easily afford 1K in groceries before 2020?   I'm kinda of the opinion that it would only take a few habit changes to get that kind of a grocery bill back under control... but then I can't image having a 1K per month grocery bill...   

I can see how gas prices really pinched people...  say a 40 mile commute m-f  and then another 100 miles on the weekend (or evenings)  that's 300 miles a week * 25mpg = 12 gallons a week (a tank of fuel - well, my car's tank) .  I can see gas going from $4.00 to $5.00 to $6.00   takes a  bite...  estimate high with 50 gals per month - that' $200, $250, $300.00.   And there's probably NOT a whole lot of ways to spend less if you have to drive to work.   
 
I'd guess that if people need to cut back on spending - they aren't eating out or vacationing or 'entertaining themselves'    I really need to looking into where all those July jobs were created...   

I also read that the people who have money are still spending it on "luxury" stuff   (not sure if that means 30K Birken bags  and $500 shoes   or if eating out and vacations and entertainment stuff are "luxury" stuff...) 


The only big change I've made in my grocery spending is to cut back on Diet Coke. I drink a LOT of diet coke.  I'm struggling to replace some of the liquid I drink every day with atleast one plain glass of water and then home made Ice Tea  (I like making tea and then putting one of those "flavor your bottle of water" lemonade mixes into 2 quarts of tea...  makes a kind of Arnold Palmer.     I can get myself to drink this... so that's good.   )  

I've been eating "frugal" for a lot of years...  maybe "price conscious and nutrient conscious"  are better words - frugal means a lot of different things to different people.     That said, I have seen some areas of my 'food budget' go up -  the chicken I buy and cook for my cats has gone up astronomically - it's not out of my price range yet - as a little goes a long ways.   Eggs went up too.  I switched over to the "organic eggs" or whatever they are because they just arent' that much more expensive than the regular eggs - and eggs aren't a big part of my spending.          

I have noticed shrinkflation on lots of foods - bags of frozen veggies  and fresh produce.      
I don't expect to notice higher prices/shrinkflation until next Feb/March/April - when I have to "restock" a heck ton of everyday products that don't go bad.       

In the meantime - it's really been the price of canned/dry cat food and Kitty Litter that has hit my pocketbook the hardest over the last 18 months.        It seems to have stabilized the last 3 months (and now I'm starting to see sales that are actually sales and some price drops.... so will have to see where those prices end up. 


Maybe the recession will end with a softer landing than expected.... 

[Tiny]

TLDR;     Any of you preparing for next winter's Natural Gas bills?    Anyone hear what the prediction for costs of NG will be??   the predictions usually happen in August early September


I checked my "natural gas bills" for last winter and saw that I spent $350.00 more than I typically "budget".   

I do a self managed "budget plan" for natural gas - in the past I would pay the same amount every month (that I carefully figured out based on past usage and ng prices and come up with a total and divide by 12).   This actually worked well and wasn't all that hard to manage - because ng prices didn't vary much for many years.    

Last winter left my balance  amount with the gas company was basically 0$ at the end of the heating season as I had to keep up with "paying in full" each month.  Since I started out so low this spring,  I bumped up my monthly payments for the summer to build up my balance (for use in the winter).   
  
I'm trying to figure out how much more I should bump up my "budget payment" to help me set a steady amount to pay each month (for August thru next April).    

I HATE it when my natural gas bill skyrockets in the winter and I have to "find" money to pay it (especially during December and January) - building up a balance during the non-heating season helps keep what I need to pay each month during heating season steady.    

[billisonboard]

I can see how gas prices really pinched people.

I used this as my main point when negotiating a pay rate for this next school year. "I need this much more to just break even on coming to work. Now on top of that, we should discuss a real raise based on my proven value."

[jeffreymo]

We’ve seen big increases in groceries, restaurant meals, utilities, gas.

We did see more deals this year for back to school shopping. Shoes were about 20% cheaper this year.

[teen persuasion]

Aug 8, 2022 14:54:43 GMT -5 Tiny said:

TLDR;     Any of you preparing for next winter's Natural Gas bills?    Anyone hear what the prediction for costs of NG will be??   the predictions usually happen in August early September


I checked my "natural gas bills" for last winter and saw that I spent $350.00 more than I typically "budget".   

I do a self managed "budget plan" for natural gas - in the past I would pay the same amount every month (that I carefully figured out based on past usage and ng prices and come up with a total and divide by 12).   This actually worked well and wasn't all that hard to manage - because ng prices didn't vary much for many years.    

Last winter left my balance  amount with the gas company was basically 0$ at the end of the heating season as I had to keep up with "paying in full" each month.  Since I started out so low this spring,  I bumped up my monthly payments for the summer to build up my balance (for use in the winter).   
  
I'm trying to figure out how much more I should bump up my "budget payment" to help me set a steady amount to pay each month (for August thru next April).    

I HATE it when my natural gas bill skyrockets in the winter and I have to "find" money to pay it (especially during December and January) - building up a balance during the non-heating season helps keep what I need to pay each month during heating season steady.    

I'm dreading where heating oil will be this fall (we pre-buy).  We paid $3.399 last fall, IIRC.  Now I see NYSERDA says current average is $5.24, down from a peak of $6.30!  Hope it keeps falling before Oct when I typically pre-buy.

I'm confused by local gas prices.  Before the current run-up, we typically matched pretty closely to the national average.  Now we are $.65 above national average, plus the state enacted a gas tax holiday which is an extra discount of $.25 or .30.  So we are almost $1 higher than the national average right now.  We've been getting gas on the Rez, because even with the high base price, the spread makes it worth it; when the tax holiday went into effect, I thought the spread would collapse, but it is STILL at least $.60/gal.  Last week, DS2 was visiting, and was shocked to see that gas was $.20 cheaper HERE than in his city, which is the reverse of norm. 

[Tiny]

Aug 9, 2022 9:08:47 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

I'm dreading where heating oil will be this fall (we pre-buy).  We paid $3.399 last fall, IIRC.  Now I see NYSERDA says current average is $5.24, down from a peak of $6.30!  Hope it keeps falling before Oct when I typically pre-buy.

I'm confused by local gas prices.  Before the current run-up, we typically matched pretty closely to the national average.  Now we are $.65 above national average, plus the state enacted a gas tax holiday which is an extra discount of $.25 or .30.  So we are almost $1 higher than the national average right now.  We've been getting gas on the Rez, because even with the high base price, the spread makes it worth it; when the tax holiday went into effect, I thought the spread would collapse, but it is STILL at least $.60/gal.  Last week, DS2 was visiting, and was shocked to see that gas was $.20 cheaper HERE than in his city, which is the reverse of norm. 

Yeah, I gave up trying to figure out the pricing rules for gas in my area - the prices are all over the board (with a 60 cent spread!) the last time I did a long errand loop when I bought gas on July 30th.
I was back out on a long errand loop on Aug 7th and saw that gas was pretty much in a .10 cents spread in prices - across all the suburbs I drove thru. Over all gas prices are under $5.00 here. or atleast it's easy to find a station under $5.00.

I've never paid much attention to the national average - because there are so many taxes applied to gas - based on State, County, Suburb, taxing area within a suburb, and sometimes there are "sub taxing areas" with a taxing area... I have better luck when I can keep in mind which gas stations will have the highest price (no matter what the actual price of gas is) based on the taxing area/sub taxing area it's in... so I can avoid those stations even if the price "looks good" compared to previous prices I've paid. Impulse choosing a gas station because the price "looks good" isn't a winning strategy.

[nidena]

My first year's bill in this house, the NG bills were $40/mo for 12 months on budget billing.  Currently, they are $53/mo and this will be until April 2023.  My electric bills average around $50 with a catch up of $70 in January. I currently have a credit on it due to the budget billing amount.  My account shows increased usage in Sept 2021 but I think I was having some renovations done in my house and the guys were using power tools.

I can't say that I'm doing anything special to accommodate or prepare for a recession.

[Tiny]

I must really be unAmerican -  I don't buy bacon (and usually avoid it in general).    It MIGHT be a migraine trigger (or perhaps there are just some types/kinds that are and I can't tell for sure if I'm gonna regret eating it so I just choose not to.)    I also find it messy to prepare and sometimes just not worth the cleanup.   There are different brands/types of "breakfast sausage" I'd much rather have than bacon (and the handful of one's I like do not come any migraine "after shock".  )   I've got a couple packs of chicken breakfast sausage in the freezer.  It's one of "brands" I don't care how much it cost.    

I'm seeing lots of complaints (in real life and online)  about the cost of bacon - cause I guess maybe people eat it every day or in large quantities?     

I'm an now very aware of how "weird" my eating habits must seem to other people -  my grocery bills have gone up a bit  but not enough to make me change my shopping habits. I was already at the lowest grocery expense I was willing to go pre pandemic.  I'm not down grading the handful of products I buy that are name brand or just regularly "expensive" - they aren't things I buy often.   And I've already got my "go to typically lowest priced and tastiest to me" ingredient foods... I'm not sure I can "downgrade" any of them without really also noticing a unappealing change in taste/texture/presentation. 

OK, this doesn't include Dt. Coke.  I have cut back on my diet soda consumption.  The cost of Dt Coke was becoming a larger and larger part of my grocery expense.  

I'm not changing any spending habits at this time due to the "recession" - the couple of big ticket spends I had planned for this summer/fall will happen as planned - I have the $$ ready to go.  

Hopefully the majority of people will get the "soft landing" that's being hoped for.    I know not everyone will have a good outcome from this.     If it's short, hopefully the people hurt by it will recover quickly.   

[minnesotapaintlady]

I pre-bought my LP for the Winter and did a summer fill when it was cheap which I don't normally do, so I'm set until next Fall.  I'm kicking myself a little because the price has been dropping quite a bit the past few weeks. 

[minnesotapaintlady]

Aug 9, 2022 12:13:51 GMT -5 nidena said:

My first year's bill in this house, the NG bills were $40/mo for 12 months on budget billing.  Currently, they are $53/mo and this will be until April 2023.  My electric bills average around $50 with a catch up of $70 in January. I currently have a credit on it due to the budget billing amount.  My account shows increased usage in Sept 2021 but I think I was having some renovations done in my house and the guys were using power tools.

I can't say that I'm doing anything special to accommodate or prepare for a recession.

Man, I pay $40/month just as a service charge to HAVE electric even if there is no usage whatsoever.

Total bills average $150/month for electric and while it used to be about $100/month average for LP that's more like $150/month for this coming year.  I think I'm going to arrive at spring with some extra though.  

[TheOtherMe]

My gas and electric are from two providers so I get two bills.

The gas bill for this month shows $20 to receive service, over $9 for the Polar Vortex surcharge.  The total was just over $35.  I don't use much gas this time of year, but I paid $29 just for the service.  I hate the Polar Vortex surcharge.  Texas needs to solve it's own problems.

[jerseygirl]

Bought prepared potato salad today, 1.1 lbs and it cost $6.65!! Usually make it and now certainly will.
Store potato salad is not very good but it’s easy meal with a rotisserie chicken and a green salad
Chicken actually was only $5.99 and always tasty. Price up $1 but still a good deal
Don’t drink Diet Coke anymore , it’s about $2 liter and not healthy. I’ve been drinking flavored seltzer and not missing Coke

[Opti]

Anyone noticing crazy prices for corn chips and chips that are not potato chips? I think my grocery store is partially experimenting to see if some people notice prices at all. I saw one variety priced at $8.39 and all the other flavors of that type of chip priced I think around $3.99 to $5. Do not remember. 

Regular prices are now between $3.99 and $5.39 for some reason. Some of these bags are only 5 to 6 oz. 

[wvugurl26]

Tostitos chips were $5.99 for the regular size bag at Publix in Kitty Hawk, NC. I nearly died. I normally buy huge bags at Sam's Club for $4.

I don't buy a ton of bacon. It's generally a weekend thing and I throw a couple slices in when cooking fresh green beans. I usually buy a big package of thick cut bacon at Sam's and divide it out into smaller portions. It's over $20 for 4 pounds.

I agree the sales at stores aren't very good these days. The ads around here got very thin after covid and haven't changed. Target in particular, their sales are non existent. They have zero soda deals these days.

[saveinla]

Eating out is where I am seeing very high prices. We went to a tapas place over the weekend near the beach and they added a 18% gratuity for 4 people and then asked for extra tips.