Thread: Inflation

Is it just me, or is your dollar not going as far as it used to? Considering we have had jack for growth, and jack for inflation for 10 years... why is my dollar seemingly not going as far as it used to... other than the fact that we haven't had a raise in the past 5 years?

What do you think? Am I high?

A dollar buys about what a dime did forty years ago. As far as inflation, I hear the US gov reports on what percent it did or didn't go up. Then I go to the grocery store and I guess they haven't heard ? Everything is up by a large percentage IME.

With the prolonged drought and problems with the oil supply chain(refinery fires, etc...) among other factors, coupled with a slowly rebuilding economy, the inflation seems really extreme right now. Hopefully the drought subsides and some of the supply chain and manufacturing build back up so that the inflation rate comes down a bit.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

A dollar buys about what a dime did forty years ago. As far as inflation, I hear the US gov reports on what percent it did or didn't go up. Then I go to the grocery store and I guess they haven't heard ? Everything is up by a large percentage IME.

Ain't that the truth! I went to the local supermarket (Publix) this afternoon, and once again, the prices had risen dramatically... and in only a short period of time, since the last price rise.

I can't afford to buy fresh fruit or vegetables, because of the ridiculously high prices. $2.79 for a pound of broccoli (w/stems, not florets); $3.25 for a pound of Brussels sprouts; the same for cauliflower, green beans, okra, and other healthy produce. $1.99 for a pound of peaches... and so it goes. Affordable protein and carbs, but nutritional fiber? Not in MY backyard! Hell, Metamucil is more affordable than naturally-occuring fiber... ain't that the sh*ts?

Oil drives prices. We depend on it for energy, plastics, product delivery and so on. The price of oil goes up, everything goes up. Thats aside from the devaluation of our currency thats being driven by the Fed printing off trillions of dollars to "pump" the economy. Too bad our wages cant keep up.

The basic groceries here seem to be the same price as they were several years ago. I.e. chicken is still $.99/lb, ground beef is $3.99/lb, roast is a little over $4/lb, , rib eye steak $7.99/lb, talapia&trout is around $6/lb, potatoes are $1.99/5lb, carrots are $.99/lb, greenhouse tomatoes are between $1.99 and $2.99 depending on the season, the basic bread is $.99/bag, pasta$.99/lb, bananas $.49/lb, apples $3.99/4lb,...
The milk has almost doubled from a little over $1/gallon few years ago to a little over $2/gallon now.....

The thing is that I usually buy the fancy stuff and some of it I think has gone up even 50% (lamb, tuna steak, halibut, king salmon, king crab, organic grass fed beef, organic free range chicken, heirloom tomatoes, artisanal bread, organic milk and produce, roquefort, stilton, etc...) But if I can't afford it, I really don't have to buy it and can opt for the cheap stuff and still have really good and nutritional meals.

And I have also found that if I'm willing to drive few miles out of town and go to a local farm market groceries are way cheaper there, about half to a quarter of the store price and the produce is freshly picked that same day. One thing I really like is yogurt and there are only 1-2 brands that I like well enough, so I tend to make it myself as it involves very little work - which means its cost is the cost of milk. But this low cost is just a side effect of me being picky about the taste.

Overall, I think, food in USA is comparatively cheap, but a lot depends on your eating habits, and probably where you live.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

A dollar buys about what a dime did forty years ago. As far as inflation, I hear the US gov reports on what percent it did or didn't go up. Then I go to the grocery store and I guess they haven't heard ? Everything is up by a large percentage IME.

They don't include food or energy in their core inflation figures

I can't figure out where gugi is getting his $2/gallon milk. It is twice that here

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

They don't include food or energy in their core inflation figures

I can't figure out where gugi is getting his $2/gallon milk. It is twice that here

Milk here runs around $2.00/gal. It's twice that in MO, where the wife's mother lives. Steak up there is TOTALLY ridiculous as far price per pound. Our meat here in the DFW area isn't too much different than what Gugi priced.

Funny thing to me is that you can buy a loaf of generic white bread for a buck, but ANY bread that is dark colored is twice to four times that price depending on the name you buy. I love pumpernickle. HELL that's gourmet food now. I do check the "day old bread" stores when I'm close to one and ain't above buying a few extra loaves and freezing them.

Anybody noticed how small that LARGE eggs have become these days?

Wullie, you live in Cowtown, I would expect milk to be a little less for you

A nice advantage for us living in the cali central valley is the availability of fresh produce. The Hmong community has revived the small family and extended family farming. Roughly from May through November we have plenty of green beans, corn, all varieties of squash, grapes, raisins, almonds, black walnuts, and tomatoes in grower stands on the different farms. The weekly farmers market has fresh eggs year around, home baked breads and pastries and all of the above. A good friend is a dairyman and cheesemaker and a fellow cigar lover so we do some trading. Meat is about the only thing we have to use the super for and beef prices are dropping in the last few months.