Lately, I have been doing a lot of what I guess modern culture refers to as "grinding;" that is, working tirelessly for endless hours every day.
All in service of just making ends meet.
Maybe it's the consequence of the sorts of web sites I look at, but recently, I have been seeing a distinct uptick in (among other things) videos talking about the struggle to pay bills and — in particular — the rising cost of groceries.
Indeed, there has been a rapid rise in the prices of most things, but the things that bothers me most about it is the obvious discrepancy between the official government publishe rate of inflation and the "functional" inflation as we experience it daily, at "street level."
One of the video clips I was watching was a young woman sitting in her car, in the parking lot at her local supermarket being stunned by the price of things.
"I just spent $28 to get FOUR basic things!" she complained... and then continued on to explain how most people might not think $28 for a shopping trip is much, but then she shared that this was for one loaf of bread, half a pound of cheese, a bottle of ketchup and a jar of mayonnaise.
Bread and cheese? Fine. But I have noticed the price of basic condiments, as well. Not so long ago I bought a basic jar of mayo, and it was close to $8 while a mid-sized bottle of basic Heinz ketchup was also close to $8.
These used to pretty much be "fundamental basic staples" in most people's food baskets. In just the past five years they have become luxuries.
Perhaps the thing that feels worrisome here is that I'm not sure where this trajectory is going to end up.
Of course, I realize that there are people in places like Venezuela, Argentina and Turkey who are used to far worse.
Regardless, it all makes me grateful that we grow as much of our own food as we do... at a "round guess," our home produce likely takes about $2,000 a year off our grocery bill... and that is a significant amount of change.
And it adds up in a hurry!
Anyway, we have been "reprogramming" our food budget to include ever more dry goods that don't spoil with time. I'm going to guess we have at least a year's worth of rice, pasta, beans and the like, just in case we reach some tough points where our spending has to drop to near zero for a while.
I know we can do this, but perhaps what bothers me a bit about it is being past 60 years of age and feeling like we are returning towards the sort of "rationing" my parents experienced during World War II in Denmark.
It's a sobering thought...
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!
How about you? Is affording life becoming a struggle? Have the cost of groceries changed how you are living? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 2024.09.25 00:33 PDT
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