How are you handling rising food and energy costs?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Oh I understand that my eggs increased. I just don't find the increases to be as large as some people are seeing on items. And every little bit adds up. FWIW, I've *never* seen the prices you report for milk or eggs. I mean, I think it's been well over 10 years or more since I've seen things that inexpensive. Alternatively, I don't seem to be seeing the same flucuations either so we just seem to stay at our high prices!

We buy great value for the most part. Walmart has their own dairy too starting in 2019 IIRC which helps on costs. But the exact pricing isn't the salient part, that's what the PP was getting at. It was the increase relative to that. Sure my eggs may only cost $1.22 today for 6 of them (which is what we buy) but in 6 months time they've increased about 45% (and it could have been shorter I'm just going off of our order history on Walmart).

Bread in January 2022 was $1.88 great value but after that has been $2.12 although giving credit to that it's held steady this whole year.

That's why I said earlier we used to get more bang for our buck. I've watched our grocery bill drive up there when we're not altering our orders much, we still get bread, milk, onions, green peppers, chips, etc almost every grocery order. It's a combo of many things that lead to items going up but the larger picture of people complaining about what their paycheck gets them now I think is getting more talk because it's hitting so many things. I'm used to seeing milk for example go up and down but when that's added to the 20 other things it's annoying.

 

[sipnride]

Sir, I wear a uniform to work and have for 25 years. The people you are talking about are the only people I know, they are my friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. I am not trying to pick a fight with you, I feel like you read something somewhere and it’s so disconnected from reality that I don’t know where to begin. Union contracts are often times 4-5 years long and most of us haven’t seen a commensurate raise unless our contract came due within the last year or two, and then not anywhere near true inflation. The cost of my union negotiated healthcare went up 20 percent in the last two years alone. Again, we don’t live on the same planet or I’m misunderstanding you.

Well, I do live in the same country same time and same planet and as a matter of fact do rep work in labor so I'm familiar with how union contracts work. If you're not trying to pick a fight then please stop making assumptions about me.

More than 60% of union contracts have either been renegotiated or at least had wage reopeners since the beginning of the pandemic. The average union contract lasts less than three years, nowhere close to 4 or 5. I also know that less than one in nine people work under a union contract, and it's worth noting that wages have seen the most upward pressure lower in the wage scale aka non-union blue collar and retail/service industry.

I get that you feel like I read something somewhere and that maybe it bothers you that what I'm saying might be well researched when compared to your lived reality. It's possible that all the people you know live in the same place and that the specific place you live in has not seen that play out, but it could be many other things and the best thing for me to do is to not make any assumptions about you - all I'm asking is that you extend me the same courtesy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Milk $2? Is that for a half gallon or a gallon? We buy a gallon and it’s close to $5 now more often than not, depending on where you buy and brand, etc. But hard to find under $4 (New England).

I feel like some of the differences being seen and discussed here are probably regional.

It's great value half gallon 1%. Like I mentioned in another comment great value has their own dairy farm like Costco has their own poultry. It does keep more control on their items but for Walmart it doesn't mean they don't have pricing changes.

We used to buy milk at Aldi years ago, then switched to Costco (where it's fairly expensive now) but we kept wasting a whole gallon it would go bad so we switched to half gallon (it's been at least 4 or so years since we've done that).

My step-father-in-law used to get cheap gallon of milk at his nearest Kwik Shop (gas/small convenience store) because they used it as a loss leader. This was before the pandemic though.

ETA: cost also depends on type, Skim usually costing the least, whole milk typically costing the most. Although with Great Value they do not have that as much. I just check and Hiland (a local commercial dairy) half gallon of 1% is $3.66 with a gallon costing $6.32.

 

[jo-jo]

There are two posts with chuck roast mentioned. One at $7.99 a pound , the other at $3.99 a pound. This week in PA shoprite has a 30% off beef. That made chuck at $4.89 a pound. I haven't seen $3.99 in ages here.

 

[lowlight]

do rep work in labor

Ah, I get it now, have a good rest of your week.

 

[tasha99]

Don't know about corned beef as I'm not a fan, but will tell you that a chuck roast will come out of the smoker almost exactly like a smoked brisket. The chuck is known as the poor man's brisket in the BBQ world. It was phenomenal and I have another one in the freezer waiting for time to cook for 10 hours or so.

And that price for chuck roast I would feel like I was stealing it, LOL. No one believes my prices, but chuck roast was on sale last week at $7.99.

That's good to hear. I was hoping they'd be somewhat similar. Most years I buy a whole brisket in March, but we skipped this year and I'm really wanting some corned beef hash.

we stock up on beef and pork when they are on good sales and prepare them into the cuts we need. i can get a roast on sale for over half what anyone is charging for pre-cut stew or soup meat, use our meat grinder and pay dollars per pound less for ground beef. w/pork we will cut tenderloins into chops or grind whatever is on sale into bulk sausage that we easily season into whatever type we need.

Yup! We do that, too. I especially don't like to buy precut stew meat because I know they are just throwing a mix of whatever into it. I want chuck or short rib, not top round, and if I am going to get top round, I don't want to pay a premium for it.

 

[DCLMP]

I switched my big shopping from Costco to Sams. Costco at least in my area seems to have the biggest price increases. I’m not sure I’ll renew my Costco membership. I look for sales more. I try hard not to impulse buy. We eat out less. They’ll be less vacations next year. I cancelled a trip to DL this Fall. I still have the tickets so I’ll wait until I’m in dire need of a vacation.

I switched to part time a year ago unless things reverse I’ll need to go back to working more. I worked p art time from 2008 to 2018 with plenty of disposable income so a change in income shouldn’t have been as big a deal as it’s turned out to be.

The two vacations I have planned for next year I’ve cut back on. I switched my Greek isles from DCL to Royal that saved thousands. I rented points at WDW instead of paying cash rate.

I find myself having less and less disposable income…a dollar here a dollar there it all adds up.

 

[ronandannette]

So Canada is reliant on foreign oil imports but they would still have plenty they would like to sell to the US?

But, it also is the case that the US exports more than we import, so we are already producing more than we use anyway, so I'm not sure how Kenny's idea of Canada helping us would really work if we already have more than we need.

Short answer - yes.

 

[DCLMP]

Well, I do live in the same country same time and same planet and as a matter of fact do rep work in labor so I'm familiar with how union contracts work. If you're not trying to pick a fight then please stop making assumptions about me.

More than 60% of union contracts have either been renegotiated or at least had wage reopeners since the beginning of the pandemic. The average union contract lasts less than three years, nowhere close to 4 or 5. I also know that less than one in nine people work under a union contract, and it's worth noting that wages have seen the most upward pressure lower in the wage scale aka non-union blue collar and retail/service industry.

I get that you feel like I read something somewhere and that maybe it bothers you that what I'm saying might be well researched when compared to your lived reality. It's possible that all the people you know live in the same place and that the specific place you live in has not seen that play out, but it could be many other things and the best thing for me to do is to not make any assumptions about you - all I'm asking is that you extend me the same courtesy.

Where are you getting your statistics from? You are rattling off stuff without anything to back it. Union negotiations can go on for years you should know that.

 

[focusondisney]

I switched my big shopping from Costco to Sams. Costco at least in my area seems to have the biggest price increases. I’m not sure I’ll renew my Costco membership.

This is interesting to read. We’re supposed to be getting the first Costco in our area late next year. It will be on the other end of the county, so not really convenient for me. Sometimes when I’m reading things, it seems like Costco is the be all, end all of shopping. Good to hear some other thoughts.

 

[DCLMP]

I've seen that increase happen, though, since 2020. So it's been over 2 years. It absolutely did not happen in the short span of a year. I believe it started in early 2020, after COVID, and some sort of "egg shortage" and, of course, never really went back down. So yes, it is a lot if it happened quickly but it really inched up in the early days of COVID.

If you do a google search you will see that the price of eggs barely rose from 2020 to 2021. The biggest increase has happened over the last year. It’s nearly doubled in cost In 2022.

 

[DCLMP]

This is interesting to read. We’re supposed to be getting the first Costco in our area late next year. It will be on the other end of the county, so not really convenient for me. Sometimes when I’m reading things, it seems like Costco is the be all, end all of shopping. Good to hear some other thoughts.

It’s a great store. I think the quality is better than Sams, but the price is higher. I think it’s worth checking out when it opens. It may not be as expensive in your state. The inflation rate in my state is 13%.. maybe the highest in the country. Thankfully it’s warm here so we dont have the heating issues many will face this year.

 

[MICKIMINI]

At this point IMO, the best DH and I can do is not spend more than our income increases in 2023. It is a challenge I pose for myself annually. Last year we cut the cable, went to streaming and saved $120 or so a month. An easy win in retrospect.

This year heating oil is $600 more (paid in advance so I got $5 gallon), electric up 112% but I am using a wooden rack to (almost) dry clothes and then throw in the dryer for 10 minutes so *our* increase is held to around $600 more annually, food is up to $400 month with freezer purchase so up $600 a year. Gas up about $400 year. Our budget is blown up $2200 year and haven't received our property tax bill yet.

It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that a $2200 hit this year will be $4400 next year, $6600 the following year, etc. Inflation like this will take years to go down. I'm sorry, most incomes do not increase this fast, so buying power and saving power will be wiped out in just a few years. It's math, it's reality and it's totally unnecessary.

 

[DCLMP]

Eggs are outrageous due to the avian influenza outbreak earlier this year. Last year you could get eggs for $0.99/dozen at Target. Now you are lucky if you can find a dozen under $4.

4.59 for generic eggs here. I remember when 4.59 would get you a 48 pack.

 

[DCLMP]

While I truly admire the nod toward civic engagement, these economic pressures are being felt the world over. The entire G7 is dealing with record inflation, and it’s not specific only to the USA.

It’s actually worse in Europe and elsewhere. The high dollar is not helping.

 

[mrodgers]

So Canada is reliant on foreign oil imports but they would still have plenty they would like to sell to the US?

But, it also is the case that the US exports more than we import, so we are already producing more than we use anyway, so I'm not sure how Kenny's idea of Canada helping us would really work if we already have more than we need.

I haven't read further to see anyone else's response...

My opinion/thought... It's not that we are producing more than we need. We are producing and instead of keeping it here, we sell it for more outside of the country. Or should say "they." If you made widgets and could sell them for $10 here but $15 outside of the country, you would sell them outside of the country, or at least you would if you didn't give a rats behind about the country you live in like our businesses in this country doesn't give a rat's behind about said country.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I haven't read further to see anyone else's response...

My opinion/thought... It's not that we are producing more than we need. We are producing and instead of keeping it here, we sell it for more outside of the country. Or should say "they." If you made widgets and could sell them for $10 here but $15 outside of the country, you would sell them outside of the country, or at least you would if you didn't give a rats behind about the country you live in like our businesses in this country doesn't give a rat's behind about said country.

But we are producing more than we consume.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2020 America produced 18.4 million barrels of oil per day and consumed 18.12 million.



So if even more is extracted from US soil, than wouldn't that extra also go into the global market as a US export rather than being consumed here?

 

[mrodgers]

But we are producing more than we consume.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2020 America produced 18.4 million barrels of oil per day and consumed 18.12 million.



So if even more is extracted from US soil, than wouldn't that extra also go into the global market as a US export rather than being consumed here?

We export our oil because the oil companies can sell it higher than selling to it's own fellow countrymen and import the oil we consume.

https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.....54 million b,gross petroleum exports in 2021.

In 2021, the United States exported about 8.54 million b/d of petroleum to 176 countries and 4 U.S. territories. Crude oil exports of about 2.96 million b/d accounted for 35% of total U.S. gross petroleum exports in 2021.

So if we exported 8 million to other countries, produced 18 and consumed 18, that means we consumed only 10 of the 18 ourselves and imported the other 8 million.

 

[goofyernmost]

Honestly, the angst over this is grossly exaggerated. I basically live off my S.S. and a withdrawal from my retirement savings that I haven't change in years. I don't generally live beyond my means so I don't really think about it much. Compared to the hardships of other countries we have it cushy and I am not going to complain about a few dollars more, but so far my monthly budget is the same as it was 5 years ago. My diet is generally the same, I still eat out about once a week, my fridge and freezer is full, I have all the AC and heat that I need and I have no debt. (I do lease my car though and will be buying it via loan in April), I live in a fairly new apartment building and am doing OK. It bothers me a little that people are getting wealthier due to the higher costs, but karma usually helps fix the concern.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We export our oil because the oil companies can sell it higher than selling to it's own fellow countrymen and import the oil we consume.

https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=727&t=6#:~:text=In 2021, the United States exported about 8.54 million b,gross petroleum exports in 2021.


So if we exported 8 million to other countries, produced 18 and consumed 18, that means we consumed only 10 of the 18 ourselves and imported the other 8 million.

Right, so I'm continuing to do some reading, because all of this doesn't make a lot of sense to me, I mean why would we both import and export it rather than just keep it all here? Like I get the idea of export it if you get more money for it, but yet we still must be importing it for a better price than a company could get elsewhere as well.

What I find is that not all crude oil is created the same. The USA oil is "light and sweet" and the kind that comes from the Middle East is heavier and not sweet. Because of decades and decades of being reliant on the Middle East oil, our refining capacity is really set up to handle the heavy type of oil from them, not our light sweet oil. So now even though we produce more oil than we need, it is more expensive to refine that oil domestically. In fact, if we insisted on keeping that oil here on US soil, it could be even more expensive than what we currently have, because of the increased refining cost. It's not that another country is paying more for US oil, it's the fact that the oil company makes more by the fact that sending it to be refined in that other country saves them cost.

It really seems much much more complicated than simply "drill more oil in USA means USA citizens pay less."

Really fascinating article on this:
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/ame...l-to-meet-its-needs-so-why-do-we-import-crude