How are you handling rising food and energy costs?

[DCLMP]

You're really focused on blaming lower-income and struggling workers not only for their own struggles but to some degree for everyone else's as well (since you seem to lay inflation squarely at the feet of wage growth without even acknowledging the role of record profits, skyrocketing executive compensation, etc), but the fact is even if every single person in our society did everything perfect, we'd still need about a third of the workforce in jobs like fast food, retail, etc. Because that's the economy we have, and because that's the economy we have, the people who keep it running - all of them, not just the ones who didn't have kids and went to college and stayed out of trouble - need a wage that can support a basic lifestyle. Not only is it morally right, it is more efficient economically because for millions, various taxpayer subsidies cover at least part of the gap between their earned wage and the actual cost of a bare-bones standard of living. When taxpayers shell out billions every year to help feed Walmart (just picking on them because of their size and universal recognition, plenty of others so the same) employees while they maintain low wages and post billions in annual profits, that's you and me subsidizing Walmart's shareholders.

I’m sorry but I do not believe wage growth is a cause of inflation. Im not sure where you pulled that from. I believe inflation is due to bad monetary policy and supply issues. The discussion got off track when someone brought up a livable wage. Wage growth is just a symptom not a cause.

 

[DCLMP]

This.

I happen to have 3 kids in entry-level jobs right now. The younger two are both baristas (different coffee chains), while DS25 works for Fed Ex. With tips, the baristas are pulling down at least $20/hr--not bad for 16 and 19. The Starbucks worker has benefits--I think they start at a 20-hour work week. She doesn't need the health benefits, but utilizes the Roth 401k (with company match).

Meanwhile, the Fedex kid is sort-of full-time (~30 hours a week, it varies), and also has benefits. They want him to work more hours. He's autistic and has anxiety and depression, so it's a different circumstance, but the point is, his employers love him--he's steady and dependable, even if he's not super fast. He also goes to college part time. Last semester, they let him leave early on class days. This semester, he's officially in a 10:30 class, but the professor teaches the same class at 9:30--if he gets out early, he can take the earlier class.

All three kids have asked for and gotten approval to take a week off at Christmas for a family vacation. They also all got the time off to go to Hawaii for 2 weeks, this past summer. Because they're good employees, their companies are all willing to work with them. In return, my kids volunteered to work as much as possible over Thanksgiving, and the Fedex kid will be going in super early to support the shipping rush in the weeks before Christmas.

My points are: (1) If you're a good worker, you shouldn't be making minimum wage for very long. (2) If you're a good worker, your company is likely to work with you on things like school schedules and time off. (3) These things are true, even for entry-level people. These are the first jobs for all three of my kids.

I’m glad to hear your kids are doing well. I have a teen son with similar issues as yours maybe he should look into something like Fed ex. The fast food thing was a little to fast paced for him.

I agree at that level most employers will work with you on time off and schedules. I worked a number of minimum wage jobs as a young adult and they always accommodated my school schedule.

I feel like the higher up you get the harder is to get time off. I just got denied some time off and I’m not too happy about it.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I’m glad to hear your kids are doing well. I have a teen son with similar issues as yours maybe he should look into something like Fed ex. The fast food thing was a little to fast paced for him.

I agree at that level most employers will work with you on time off and schedules. I worked a number of minimum wage jobs as a young adult and they always accommodated my school schedule.

I feel like the higher up you get the harder is to get time off. I just got denied some time off and I’m not too happy about it.

Fast food, or any customer-service type position, would have been a disaster for my son. Fedex has worked out really well for him--packages, he can handle. The hours are kind of weird, though.

 

[PezRuth]

What in the world????

Unless you live on the top of Mount Washington there is no where in NH that has -20 degrees for weeks in a row!!!

Yeah I live in New Hampshire as well and was going to say the exact same thing.

 

[mrodgers]

I must live a very frugal lifestyle because I've noticed some increases here and there, but I'm not seeing anything like some of you are describing here. It really must depend on where you live or how you live.

Somewhat similar. I am seeing price increases, but I can't do what everyone suggests as I've always done that.

Besides, I don't find paying for a garbage product to be any cheaper because of the garbage product you now have to use or eat.

My mother said one day recently as I took her to the local farm market, "You don't pay any attention to prices, do you?" That's because I was buying the heck out of the peppers and garlic to use for winter and they were not cheap. My thought is, the price is what it is because I can not get this product anywhere else cheaper. I will do without peppers as buying flavorless peppers in a grocery store is useless to me. If I can't afford the peppers from the farmers, I go without rather than get a bad product I don't want and can't use and pay less.

 

[DisneyHardin]

The one item that will be expensive for me this year is the turkey. It could cost twice as much. Target put them on sale today, for twenty cents a pound more than the sale last year, but they must have had very low stock, as I was at one store when they opened and then went to two others because they were all gone. A full price bird will be twice what I paid last year, if I can’t get my hands on a sale, but the gas it takes to drive to stores that are ten, twenty, or more miles away, over multiple days, starts to wipe out the savings after a while. I tried to do an online pick up order, but it said not available for online order, probably due to the small quantity available.

I go to my parent's house for Thanksgiving, so I haven't really had to compare prices on Thanksgiving staples. But, my stepmother was telling me Saturday about the cost of turkeys this year. She said they were a decent price at Kroger last week, so she went ahead and picked one up so she didn't have to worry about it, but that it was more than she's paid in years past.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Lidl has turkeys this week, $0.49/lb with $25 purchase. Not the dirt cheapest I've ever seen, but not bad. The other local grocery stores should put them on sale, starting Wed. (sales here go Wed.-Tues.). Publix had them out, but for $1.99/lb--no way am I paying that!

Bonus for me, a new grocery store opened, so several stores sent me "Save $10 when you spend $50" coupons, including Publix, so I may be able to stack the discounts.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Lidl has turkeys this week, $0.49/lb with $25 purchase. Not the dirt cheapest I've ever seen, but not bad. The other local grocery stores should put them on sale, starting Wed. (sales here go Wed.-Tues.). Publix had them out, but for $1.99/lb--no way am I paying that!

Bonus for me, a new grocery store opened, so several stores sent me "Save $10 when you spend $50" coupons, including Publix, so I may be able to stack the discounts.

.49 is nice. BTW .98 for Butterballs at Lidl. I know a lot of people like those. I'd scoop that up right now if that's what you want and you need a smaller one. But yeah, if you absolutely have to have a publix turkey, they're gonna go on sale soon and I'd hold off. This week it's Top Sirloin Steak and Boston Butt on sale there.
Aldi's has Butterballs for $1.07 (No other purchase needed) and I expect that price to drop. LOL I've never even paid half of what these think tanks claim Turkey dinner costs. I wonder where and when they're buying their stuff. Probably full priced so-called fresh turkeys in October and everything else when it's NOT on sale.

 

[QueenIsabella]

.49 is nice. BTW .98 for Butterballs at Lidl. I know a lot of people like those. I'd scoop that up right now if that's what you want and you need a smaller one. But yeah, if you absolutely have to have a publix turkey, they're gonna go on sale soon and I'd hold off. This week it's Top Sirloin Steak and Boston Butt on sale there.
Aldi's has Butterballs for $1.07 (No other purchase needed) and I expect that price to drop. LOL I've never even paid half of what these think tanks claim Turkey dinner costs. I wonder where and when they're buying their stuff. Probably full priced so-called fresh turkeys in October and everything else when it's NOT on sale.

I got an 11.XX pounder at Lidl (I was going to spend $25 anyway), and might pick up a second one if I see a good deal. There will only be 5 of us for Thanksgiving, and my two baristas will both be working, probably different shifts, so we won't have a humongous meal. Plus, we'll be away for Christmas--first time ever for the kids--so 2 turkeys, on the smaller side, should work for our household. (for two different times--maybe one in January).

Also, I think next week, Publix puts their standing rib roasts on sale. They do every year, both for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. It's usually a $4-5/lb savings--still not cheap, but DH loves them once or twice a year. If so, I'll be there Wed. morning, clutching my $10 off coupon. Lidl and Aldi didn't participate in the mailing of the discount coupons. Bummer! OTOH, they have their German Christmas specialties out, so they're still getting my money...

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I got an 11.XX pounder at Lidl (I was going to spend $25 anyway), and might pick up a second one if I see a good deal. There will only be 5 of us for Thanksgiving, and my two baristas will both be working, probably different shifts, so we won't have a humongous meal. Plus, we'll be away for Christmas--first time ever for the kids--so 2 turkeys, on the smaller side, should work for our household. (for two different times--maybe one in January).

Also, I think next week, Publix puts their standing rib roasts on sale. They do every year, both for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. It's usually a $4-5/lb savings--still not cheap, but DH loves them once or twice a year. If so, I'll be there Wed. morning, clutching my $10 off coupon. Lidl and Aldi didn't participate in the mailing of the discount coupons. Bummer! OTOH, they have their German Christmas specialties out, so they're still getting my money...

The Xmas decorations have come in to Aldi, but we haven't gotten things like this stuff yet. But we will. We will. MMMMMMMMMMM.

 

[jo-jo]

Bj had a deal spend $150, get a free turkey. I looked for items that I use that had coupons with them. Did buy a couple of things I didn't need at the moment (like napkins) but they won't go bad.

When to Giant to buy Chinet plastic plates , frozen rolls and shredded cheese. I guess there was a special deal. Got enough points to get a free turkey.

Main shopping is at shoprite, almost have enough point for a free turkey or ham.

 

[TwoMisfits]

The Xmas decorations have come in to Aldi, but we haven't gotten things like this stuff yet. But we will. We will. MMMMMMMMMMM.
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Dang, I miss their stollen - it melted in your mouth. But with my allergies, I guess I now get to save that money.

Aldi's did come through - I did get 4 Advent calendars for my kids for $1.49 each...so, mission accomplished on having that "tiny nice thing" every day for them after dinner after we light our Advent wreath and say prayers.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

The Xmas decorations have come in to Aldi, but we haven't gotten things like this stuff yet. But we will. We will. MMMMMMMMMMM.
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Have you tried the Marzipan Stollen in the top photo? How was it? I almost picked one up a couple of days ago, but I balked at the price. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth the $6 or $7 price.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Have you tried the Marzipan Stollen in the top photo? How was it? I almost picked one up a couple of days ago, but I balked at the price. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth the $6 or $7 price.

I'd like to know as well, sounds good at least.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I've never tried the stollen--I get it for my half-German husband. I also don't like the cookies with the jelly in them (I think they come in orange or raspberry). OTOH, I could eat strudel until it was coming out of my ears!

And I haven't been to Aldi's for a couple weeks, but Lidl had stollen, strudel, and marzipan logs (a favorite of DS25). We'll buy German treats from anywhere!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Have you tried the Marzipan Stollen in the top photo? How was it? I almost picked one up a couple of days ago, but I balked at the price. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth the $6 or $7 price.

I'd like to know as well, sounds good at least.

I sure have and I like it a lot. The Marzipan is my favorite. Next the butter Almond. The Cherry is my least favorite of the three

Edit. I should add for those that don't like fruitcake, you may be loathe to try this. Don't be. I'm not a lover of fruit cake. But this is much better both texture wise and flavor.

 

[Christine]

I was at about 5 different grocery stores over the weekend and someone (maybe Giant) had frozen butterballs for $.38/pound. I don't even think there was a limit to what you could spend. Can't be sure it was that store but it was one of them.

 

[Colleen27]

I’m sorry but I do not believe wage growth is a cause of inflation. Im not sure where you pulled that from. I believe inflation is due to bad monetary policy and supply issues. The discussion got off track when someone brought up a livable wage. Wage growth is just a symptom not a cause.

Thanks for clearing that up, I read too much into your post about rising fast food costs. I feel like we are inching closer and closer to needing a reset on a lot of things, not the least of which is the assumption that profits have to set records every quarter and anything less is failure. It is really hard to stomach this kind of inflation, as a consumer, while so many of the companies are posting record after record.

I go to my parent's house for Thanksgiving, so I haven't really had to compare prices on Thanksgiving staples. But, my stepmother was telling me Saturday about the cost of turkeys this year. She said they were a decent price at Kroger last week, so she went ahead and picked one up so she didn't have to worry about it, but that it was more than she's paid in years past.

I noticed Kroger has them for 49 cents/lb starting tomorrow. I don't do the thanksgiving turkey so I don't know how that compares to recent years; I'm pretty sure it was 29 cents the last time I cooked, but that would have been 2007 or earlier because once my homebound grandmother passed away my mom and brother just started joining us at my inlaws' house.

I apparently jumped the gun on my pork-pulling binge too. I was so happy with $2/lb last week, with all the headlines about food inflation, and Kroger has it for 1.29 this week.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Publix has turkey $0.39/lb, no purchase requirements (limit 2). Nothing on standing rib roasts, though.

Colleen, you're right that they've been cheaper--I remember $0.29 or even $0.19/lb. And some places have (had?) loyalty programs where you could get a free turkey for spending a certain amount in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Not a bad deal if you shopped there regularly, anyway. And still, I think $0.39/lb is a good deal--I'll be getting one (with my "save $10 on a $50 purchase" coupon in hand).

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Publix has turkey $0.39/lb, no purchase requirements (limit 2). Nothing on standing rib roasts, though.

Colleen, you're right that they've been cheaper--I remember $0.29 or even $0.19/lb. And some places have (had?) loyalty programs where you could get a free turkey for spending a certain amount in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Not a bad deal if you shopped there regularly, anyway. And still, I think $0.39/lb is a good deal--I'll be getting one (with my "save $10 on a $50 purchase" coupon in hand).

WOOHOOO. Our Publix ad change happens tomorrow here. So not quite yet for us. But good to hear of what's coming. Sorry to see no rib roast yet but I'd be shocked if they didn't go on sale before Xmas and hopefully next week.