How are You Fighting Inflation?

[DCLMP]

If I hadn't sold my house and moved in with my daughter and her family, even with a paid off mortgage, I couldn't afford to live in my home. I'm on a fixed income now, so that doesn't budge. I did have a small part time job but that was getting to be too much. A mother-in-law apartment saved this little old retiree. My new next plan is to start buying dried beans and peas for winter soups. They keep for a long time and are really tasty. Even if you just add a small amount of ham to spice them up a bit, it will still be a savings. And....who knows what the shelves are going to look like this winter. I feel like I'm heading down the prepper path!

It's great that you were able to do that. I'm sure they appreciate having you there.

 

[qle]

Use credit card points to travel vs. real money, asked the boss to allow me to WFH more days, and used less energy during peak times

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

All I'm doing to fight inflation is complaining. A lot.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Not sure I'm reading your post right, but if retired or of a certain age, have you looked into your county to see if they give a break?

In our county I think it's 65 but can't remember for sure. It removes the school part of the property taxes and basically cut my mom's in half.

We don't qualify as our income is too high. My parents are in their 80's and their income is also too high for any breaks. I can see the inflation rate perhaps changing their *numbers* in the future. They should get a tax break based on their age anyway but NH is stingy with any tax breaks as we don't have sales or income tax.

We've always paid, never taken and don't want to. It seems *the system* is steering people into that category from all sides like it or not. A few years of 20% inflation??? Money doesn't grow on trees, right?

 

[MomToOne]

i've found that despite some cat food/supply items showing as out of stock on chewy at a given time i will still get the identical items via the auto ship i've got set up with them. i suspect they may keep a separate invantory for their auto ship orders so you might give that a try (they notify you well ahead of time of a shipment so you can always push it out days/weeks/months if you don't need it).

Just know that sometimes they even run out for autoship customers. I had that problem last year - it was awful. There are two main brands of special kidney prescription diets, and the one our cat would eat ran out EVERYWHERE. No place had it. I had to temporarily switch to the other brand, which our cat does not like. And because the switch over was sudden, she got horrible constipation. Ah, the joys of cat ownership LOL

If you use auto-ship, I also suggest setting your order date to be a week or even a few days more before you need it. Chewy often uses FedEx, which has had some real issues handling their volume, so packages that used to get here in 2 days now can take a week or more. It's not always - but always seems to happen when you cut it the closest!

 

[Beezle2]

If you haven't heard of it yet look for the Flashfood app in your area. I am able to get good size boxes of fruits and veggies for
$5. I am loving it.

 

[ThistleMae]

Just know that sometimes they even run out for autoship customers. I had that problem last year - it was awful. There are two main brands of special kidney prescription diets, and the one our cat would eat ran out EVERYWHERE. No place had it. I had to temporarily switch to the other brand, which our cat does not like. And because the switch over was sudden, she got horrible constipation. Ah, the joys of cat ownership LOL

If you use auto-ship, I also suggest setting your order date to be a week or even a few days more before you need it. Chewy often uses FedEx, which has had some real issues handling their volume, so packages that used to get here in 2 days now can take a week or more. It's not always - but always seems to happen when you cut it the closest!

I hear you, I switched to every two weeks thinking I'd get the shipment exactly at the two week mark. But nope....had to wait three more days and had to go out and buy more food to cover those days.

 

[ThistleMae]

I usually get a roommate for my Disney trip, as a single person, but this round no one else can go. So I have to foot the whole bill this time around. I have to dip into my savings to do it, but this is my Great Grandbaby's first trip so I'm digging into it. I'll try and save by bringing granola bars for breakfast and being really careful what I spend on meals. Only counter service and sometimes a snack for lunch, or skip lunch. Maybe I'll lose some weight...LOL!

 

[barkley]

Just know that sometimes they even run out for autoship customers. I had that problem last year - it was awful. There are two main brands of special kidney prescription diets, and the one our cat would eat ran out EVERYWHERE. No place had it. I had to temporarily switch to the other brand, which our cat does not like. And because the switch over was sudden, she got horrible constipation. Ah, the joys of cat ownership LOL

If you use auto-ship, I also suggest setting your order date to be a week or even a few days more before you need it. Chewy often uses FedEx, which has had some real issues handling their volume, so packages that used to get here in 2 days now can take a week or more. It's not always - but always seems to happen when you cut it the closest!

great point. i get my shipments 4x per year and time it at least a month before i will come close to being out. the issue i've had with fedex on them is they keep dropping the boxes that hold the cat litter so when we go to open them it's spilled and we can't use the plastic tub. to chewy's credit they've resent us duplicate tubs for each one that's arrived broken. i personally think they should do as a couple of other places we've ordered cat litter from-slap the shipping label on the big plastic container and just ship it that way (then fed ex picks it up by the handle so no damage).

 

[punkin]

I don't think there's anything to be done realistically to combat the 9.1% inflation they just reported. Buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy several years!

 

[mom2missmous]

great point. i get my shipments 4x per year and time it at least a month before i will come close to being out. the issue i've had with fedex on them is they keep dropping the boxes that hold the cat litter so when we go to open them it's spilled and we can't use the plastic tub. to chewy's credit they've resent us duplicate tubs for each one that's arrived broken. i personally think they should do as a couple of other places we've ordered cat litter from-slap the shipping label on the big plastic container and just ship it that way (then fed ex picks it up by the handle so no damage).

we now have to order our canned and dry food from chewy and cat litter from petsmart so they come sepertately! Petsmart just couldn't figure out after three tries that putting cans of cat food and bags that can burst in SAME GIANT box with FOUR bags of Fresh step litter was NOT a good idea( cans were received dented /crushed every time!)

 

[disneyseniors]

I usually get a roommate for my Disney trip, as a single person, but this round no one else can go. So I have to foot the whole bill this time around. I have to dip into my savings to do it, but this is my Great Grandbaby's first trip so I'm digging into it. I'll try and save by bringing granola bars for breakfast and being really careful what I spend on meals. Only counter service and sometimes a snack for lunch, or skip lunch. Maybe I'll lose some weight...LOL!

I hear you. We have a new great grand son. Congratulations on your new great grandchild. They are wonderful.
I know how you are trying to save at disney, but I am wondering if it is even remotely possible to save on food while at disney. It seems their QS is costly, as are snacks. I dont' know what the answer is, but eating granola bars for breakfast sounds good. Disney has a captive audience and can charge what they want. I guess I would drink water (not costly drinks) and if you are a small eater, order kids meals. My husband and I usually eat kids meals (or at least I do) because there was too much food with regular meals for me. That might help.
Have a wonderful time

 

[AnnaS]

It happened again with yesterday's groceries.

Not only do we need to worry about inflation - but every week there is an error with the grocery bill. Human or computer (which is still a human who must enter info).

I have to check my receipt all the time. Hard to follow the cashier ringing when I am trying to bag groceries. The time that I remember to do a quick check of the receipt while leaving, usually no error. When I wait until I get home - always an error.

Most recent examples - I bought peaches on sale. They did not have a code. Apparently there were two peaches mixed in there with a code that were the expensive ones. I ended up paying for the entire batch the higher price and not the sale price. Would not have bought so many or bought the expensive ones.

Bought vitamins on sale 50% off. Usually no problem. Well it did not ring at 50% - I sent my husband back (I have broken foot and have not shopped in almost 4 weeks) to double check in case he made a mistake (can happen) and he was reimbursed $6. When he got home, I said, neither one of you knows math? The credit should have been $8.99.

Another pet peeve - and also about a month ago, I noticed the cashier holding on the the produce bag a little too much when she had the bag on the scale. . I questioned the weight. She told me the weight. I said, yes, I realize that but can you please weigh the apples again. Does not seem like 4 small apples weigh almost 2 pounds. I was very nice. I did not want to call her out on it. Sure enough it was much less than what rang up. She had to get an override since she cold not seem to take off original one. On my way out, I saw the front end person who did the override and told her - wether or not it's intentional, she is in a hurry or sloppy, she should not be doing what she is doing. Had I not questioned it, I would have paid a few dollars more with all more produce.

I bought a dip that I thought was a $1 off. I get home and it rang up the regular price.

Just some examples - I have not gone back for many things. I let so many things go - but it does add up.


This should probably be a whole other thread - but lately just getting frustrated that I need to have 5 eyes and look at the receipt over and over

I think I will start throwing everything in the wagon after cashier rings it up so I can pay attention to the screen. Pack it up when I get to the car.

 

[Lisa_lvspplmvr]

You have to watch your produce items at Walmart. I did self checkout and it double charged me for apples . It does it quick before you can get them off the scale . It did it another time too . Be careful of that .

 

[lockets]

Not only do we need to worry about inflation - but every week there is an error with the grocery bill. Human or computer (which is still a human who must enter info).

Got charged for 24 lemons instead of 2 lemons. Didn't realize till I got home and started thinking "wait. why was that trip so expensive. there's no way..." Received credit next time I shopped there. In this case one worker was ringing up my items (lemons are rung up by hand) while another worker was standing next to her gossiping about something (distracting her) and not working at all. (Now opening the floor to any "when life gives you lemons..." jokes lol)

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

Officially going back to $9 boxed hair color vs. highlights, lol - this summer was a whole debacle where they looked horrible the first time, had to be fixed at another salon and I ended up paying like $500 on summer hair alone. It pains me to even type that. Hello, Natural Instincts!!

Also think I may part ways with Adobe Illustrator for my side hustle on Teachers Pay Teachers, although I keep going back and forth on that. I really really wish they had a stripped down version for people like me who want to use it for super basic stuff. It's hard to justify $30 a month to pull the white background off a few vector files and hit "export as JPEG" so that I can put a cute picture in a product. The only issue is that I can't find a cheap alternative that works really well - no idea why. I've tried a couple and they are just nowhere near as intuitive or easy to use for a non-techie like me.

 

[PHXscuba]

Officially going back to $9 boxed hair color vs. highlights, lol - this summer was a whole debacle where they looked horrible the first time, had to be fixed at another salon and I ended up paying like $500 on summer hair alone. It pains me to even type that. Hello, Natural Instincts!!

Also think I may part ways with Adobe Illustrator for my side hustle on Teachers Pay Teachers, although I keep going back and forth on that. I really really wish they had a stripped down version for people like me who want to use it for super basic stuff. It's hard to justify $30 a month to pull the white background off a few vector files and hit "export as JPEG" so that I can put a cute picture in a product. The only issue is that I can't find a cheap alternative that works really well - no idea why. I've tried a couple and they are just nowhere near as intuitive or easy to use for a non-techie like me.

For $30/month it's probably worth learning a to use a cheap/free version of something. The teacher I work with uses "remove dot bg" to make the background transparent.

I think a lot of us are going to be You-tubing and learning new skills to avoid paying for something. And going over those auto-payments we've never questioned

PHXscuba

 

[RamblingMad]

I don't think there's anything to be done realistically to combat the 9.1% inflation they just reported. Buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy several years!

Let's see how Disney's vacancy looks next year.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

For $30/month it's probably worth learning a to use a cheap/free version of something. The teacher I work with uses "remove dot bg" to make the background transparent.

I think a lot of us are going to be You-tubing and learning new skills to avoid paying for something. And going over those auto-payments we've never questioned

PHXscuba

Yeah, good point. When I first signed up I thought I would be making lots of picture scene based materials but those ended up not selling well. Now I do mostly text based materials and just use Adobe to make cover and border art, which isn’t really worth the $30 a month. Time to start You-tubing!

 

[barkley]

prices are glad i stocked up on a few items previously-boxed pasta i bought for $1 per pound box about a month ago are now 'on sale' at 3 for $5! just walking down the aisles i realized that not counting the cost of milk-for a person to make a single box of hamburger helper would run over $7 (that's with a lousy grade of ground meat on sale today for close to $5 per pound)

even if there's a dramatic change in the economy it won't change prices for quite some time so i just went ahead and did an online order w/ walmart and amazon. got a few shelf stable items i use for thanksgiving/christmas before they (1) go up even higher in price and/or (2) disappear from the shelves (i saw halloween candy on the shelves today which i'm guessing will be gone by september so i'm going to grab my jarred and boxed stuff now).

stay strong all!!!!