How are you handling rising food and energy costs?

[Pink Partridge]

It could be the end of the temporary Covid emergency SNAP increase - that was always intended to be temporary...but then again, no one saw inflation, particularly on food, would be this bad when the Covid emergency funds stopped...

This is what I thought. Like the students that were getting free lunches at school. That has sadly ended. And rather abruptly in some districts.

 

[Pink Partridge]

.......but I'm getting to know the upside of a kid who doesn't eat cereal, peanut butter, lunch meat, etc. because I don't buy a lot of the things that have posted headline-grabbing price increases this year.

But they aren't just headline-grabbing price increases. Meat, eggs, vegetables, butter, etc. They have all increased in price. Where do you live that these things have stayed the same price?

 

[TwoMisfits]

As for the exterior of the market not mirroring the interior, prices there are horrible, too. But it's easier to make substitutions of produce and meats (apples for clementines and chicken for salmon - and I do subs ALL the time now) than it is to sub singular products like peanut butter - especially if you were always buying generic peanut butter to start with. Instead, like me, you just don't buy...and then your kids adapt to the fact that if they eat all the cereal week 1 and there's none in the next week sale, there's none in the house for a week.

 

[mrs. magoo]

I really try to menu plan but I am not the best. I try to keep it under 200 a week but it is not always possible. As for heating prices I am so nervous about it. We keep our house at 64 for the winter. It is never warm in my house and even at that temperature we have 350 - 400 bills in the winter. I fully expect to have some 600 - 700 bills this winter. The house needs better insulation but that would cost me almost 25,000 since there could be asbestos in the insulation that was used in the 1970s. It is so frustrating.

 

[Moliphino]

As far as gas for the cars, I use the Gas Buddy app to see which stations are lowest. I don’t go out of my way to find the cheapest gas, but if a station is on my way somewhere, I’ll stop and fill up.

When I know I need to stop for gas I use Gas Buddy to check all the stations along my way. It used to be the same stations that were always cheaper, but this year things have been all over the place and sometimes the normally cheap places were the highest for a while.

 

[Colleen27]

But they aren't just headline-grabbing price increases. Meat, eggs, vegetables, butter, etc. They have all increased in price. Where do you live that these things have stayed the same price?

Rural Michigan, though I think it is how I shop rather than where I live that makes the biggest difference. My eggs come from a farm that has been charging the same $3/doz for years. They went up from $2 to $3 about a decade ago, I think - not long after I started buying there - but have stayed the same since. There was a time when that was 2-3x as much as Kroger sale prices, now it is cheaper than any of the groceries. I also have two neighbors who bring me eggs when their hens lay more than they can use, so I don't always have to buy them at all. Vegetables at the farm markets have been pretty stable too, though that's another place where I was probably accustomed to spending more than grocery store sale prices that has only very recently become a "bargain". I'm used to some ups and downs because some years are just better than others for growing certain things, but didn't notice any big bumps this season. And my garden is still producing a bit, two weeks after I'd normally have put it to bed for the season, so I haven't had to shift to buying things at the store for the winter yet.

But for the things I get at the grocery, it seems like the price increases are worst on national brands and that local brands have been less impacted. Our local store (independent, Spartan-affiliated) is still running $3/lb sales on butter, my favorite brand of Michigan-made ice cream is on sale this week for $4 and it is still a whole half-gallon, and I paid $2/lb for both pork chops and a pork shoulder big enough to do BBQ one night and tacos another. Milk is weird - a gallon is cheaper than a half gallon right now, which I hate because I know a good share of that bottle will go to waste. Beef is definitely more expensive than it used to be; I paid a full dollar a pound more for my annual Halloween beef roast/stew than I'm used to, and ground beef is 50% higher than the sale price that used to be my cue to stock up. But again I think I'm used to paying more and that's moderated my experience of the overall trend - I frequently can't be bothered to drive the 20ish mile round trip to shop the nearest major-chain grocery, preferring to spend a little more for the convenience of shopping the store that's only a mile from my house, and I don't think their prices have gone up as much as Krogers have because I'm starting to see people in local social media groups who used to say it was too expensive to shop locally talking about our local store's sales and service now. The only thing I'll leave town to save money on is gas - it is generally 30 to 50 cents a gallon more at the one station in my town than it is in suburbia, but since my trips around town are mostly under 2 miles and I do venture into the city semi-regularly, it is easy enough only to fill up when I'm somewhere with more reasonable prices.

 

[Shadeaux]

Wow - we'll check it out. We are looking at Stone Creek in Ocala (our #1 choice) and The Villages (a maybe). Prices went from 250K to 450K in the past two years and we had given up, but prices are finally dropping. We hope to pay cash so may have some negotiating power. Both areas seem to be mostly seniors. Thanks for the info - great info while we do our research.

Off topic, but we have friends who moved to Stone Creek from Del Webb Orlando a couple years ago and they love it there. They moved right before the prices jumped.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I handle it by praying for the change of administration.

 

[FQLover]

"It could be the end of the temporary Covid emergency SNAP increase - that was always intended to be temporary...but then again, no one saw inflation, particularly on food, would be this bad when the Covid emergency funds stopped..."

@TwoMisfits --yes, this is what the social worker who was working with my brother explained it as. My state cut the assistance faster than most. Now my siblings and I are buying his food in addition to supplementing his apartment rent since it went up from $725 to $928 on 10/1. His SSDI is $1200. The proverbial blood from a turnip, sadly.

 

[TwoMisfits]

"It could be the end of the temporary Covid emergency SNAP increase - that was always intended to be temporary...but then again, no one saw inflation, particularly on food, would be this bad when the Covid emergency funds stopped..."

@TwoMisfits --yes, this is what the social worker who was working with my brother explained it as. My state cut the assistance faster than most. Now my siblings and I are buying his food in addition to supplementing his apartment rent since it went up from $725 to $928 on 10/1. His SSDI is $1200. The proverbial blood from a turnip, sadly.

Damn, 28% rental rate hike in one year - that sucks!

 

[Southernmiss]

We forget, prices are a world wide issue.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Off topic, but we have friends who moved to Stone Creek from Del Webb Orlando a couple years ago and they love it there. They moved right before the prices jumped.

It is a gorgeous neighborhood - more like a resort. We toured a villa which had been totally renovated and has all exterior maintenance included including roof and painting. New builds have nice touches

Your friends were smart to jump right in! Prices on new builds are dropping and incentives are increasing so we will figure out which floor plans we like and what features we want. Prices here are holding well so the math continues to get better.

 

[Kennywood]

Because of our ability but unwillingness to tap our own energy sources, natural gas, propane and home heating oil prices are expected to increase by as much as 30% this winter.

Also, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated the U.S. had only a 25-day supply of distillates on hand, raising the possibility of shortages before the end of the year. A shortage of diesel fuel could result in fewer deliveries of the products consumers purchase every day.

My, how things have drastically changed in only a couple of years.

 

[RedAngie]

I just willingly pay whatever outrageous prices they’re extorting from me.

But there are limits. I passed on the Oscar Mayer bacon for $10.29.

 

[White Cat]

Just pay up. What else.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Because of our ability but unwillingness to tap our own energy sources, natural gas, propane and home heating oil prices are expected to increase by as much as 30% this winter.

But, they're not 'our' resources are they? The oil and gas under public US soil belong to Exxon, BP, or whoever has leased the drilling rights. Not US citizens.

Unless, are you advocating we switch to a state-owned oil and gas company as Venezuela does?

 

[mrodgers]

Condescending and false all in one tightly wrapped package. Nice!

Huh?

 

[Christine]

But they aren't just headline-grabbing price increases. Meat, eggs, vegetables, butter, etc. They have all increased in price. Where do you live that these things have stayed the same price?

I know you didn't ask me but, I live on the east coast/Virginia. For years I've bought the Eggland's Best Eggs. I think the cheapest regular price for them was always $3.19 a dozen. They did have sale prices occasionally that made them lower. They are up to $3.99 (and I get them lower occasionally). Yes the price is higher but it's not shockingly higher.

 

[Christine]

But, they're not 'our' resources are they? The oil and gas under public US soil belong to Exxon, BP, or whoever has leased the drilling rights. Not US citizens.

Unless, are you advocating we switch to a state-owned oil and gas company as Venezuela does?

A lot of people are really misinformed about this. We really don't control it as a government entity. I only recently learned about it so it's about drilling rights and who drills. Apparently them major companies use listed aren't even drilling to the capacity they've been allowed.

 

[georgina]

A change in administration is not going to help inflation, probably make it worse.

A lot of people are really misinformed about this. We really don't control it as a government entity. I only recently learned about it so it's about drilling rights and who drills. Apparently them major companies use listed aren't even drilling to the capacity they've been allowed.

They don't need to when they can up the price and make record-breaking profits, as are food companies like Pepsico.