Sneaky Inflation

[Clone]

I have seen meals at restaurants staring as lows as $4*. I have also been known to tip as much as 100%*.

I think the * means- if you can find it, or if you can remember it!

I think my boys left some softball beers** in my garage a couple years ago. Is that an appreciating asset?

**softball beers- the kind of beer that you can ice down and take to the softball game. After a hard game and a few good beers, the players will drink just about any sort of swill!

 

[ziggy29]

Since good IPA's start around $8 per six pack, you probably need to go back to work already

Plus, here in Oregon there's no sales tax on it! There is, however, a refundable 10 cent deposit on each bottle. I just wish redeeming the empties wasn't such a hassle around here. There are a couple machines at the local Safeway but there is always a line to use it, and that's when one of them isn't broken or in need of being emptied.

 

[Sunset]

It's not sneaky inflation, but sneaky selling that nearly got me today.

I stopped at a grocery store, that I don't often go to, but we were returning from lunch. I saw a nice big sign 99 cents / -- so I bought 3 yellow peppers and stuck them in a bag. Picked up some milk as that is why we went there and went to the cash.

The cashier takes the peppers out of the bag and charges 99 cents each ! , I asked aren't they 99 cents/lb ? So I told him I didn't want them.

On the way out the store, I double checked, and sure enough there is a big 99 Cents and a tiny /ea

I feel it was sneaky as they don't put the letters all the same size, and it was in a bin near the door like it was a special.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Twenty years ago I would buy a quart of oil on sale for 69 cents. Now it is around 2.38. The price never seem to go down no matter what the price of a barrel of oil is.

 

[Bir48die]

What happened to ice cream? Size down every three years

 

[LoftyNotions]

Now your talkin inflation! My six pack of Miller Lite 16 oz went from $5.59 to $6.99 literally overnight. What happened to millennials and others no longer wanting the stuff? I did read about a hops shortage and hopefully this is a short term thing. Otherwise I'll have to budget an extra $6 a month to cover it.

If Miller actually used something resembling hops, I'd buy that.

 

[W2R]

So today I order the $4 Value Slam which is two eggs, bacon (or sausage) and two pancakes. DW orders a different item (BYO).

The bill comes, and I see that the $4 VS is now $4.49!

We eat lunch out every day, and I order either a small caesar side salad, or a cup of soup at our favorite restaurant.

About two weeks ago the cup of soup went up from $4.75 to $5.50!!! AAAGH. At least they didn't use any sneaky wording.

 

[ERD50]

Now your talkin inflation! My six pack of Miller Lite 16 oz went from $5.59 to $6.99 literally overnight. What happened to millennials and others no longer wanting the stuff? I did read about a hops shortage and hopefully this is a short term thing. Otherwise I'll have to budget an extra $6 a month to cover it.

If Miller actually used something resembling hops, I'd buy that.

I didn't realize Miller Lite was $6.99/sixer (OK, 16 ounce, not 12, but still).

I still get a bit of sticker shock when I buy a craft beer for $10/$12 for a six, or maybe $10 for four 16 oz. But man, you get a lot more flavor for your buck compared to Miller Lite.

I doubt any hop shortages are affecting Miller. They contract what they need, and mainly convert it to an extract that is shelf stable. The home brewers and some craft brewers might get pinched, but AFAIK, no issues now. I have more hops and varieties available than ever before. It was a big deal a few years ago.

I'm thinking about brewing a Pseudo Sue (Toppling Goliath Brewing Company) clone - the hops alone will cost as much as most beers I brew.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23222/72170/


I'll look around, but this recipe sounds good, with 13 ounces of Citra hops!

Pseudo Sue Clone Attempt - Beer Recipe Design - Northern Brewer Forum

13.3 lb Pale 2 Row
1/2 lb Flaked Barley
1/2 lb Honey malt

1/4 oz warrior 60 mins
2 oz Citra 10 mins
2.5 oz Citra 5 mins
2 oz Citra Flameout
5 oz Citra whirlpool once under 180 degrees 20-30 mins
2 oz Citra Dry hops 3-4 days
2 oz Citra Dry hops 3-4 days

WLP007 yeast
Mash 152
90 min boil

Target OG at 75% efficiency 1.062
Target FG 1.016

-ERD50

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

You know, there were four items at $4 but I didn't look at all of them. Next time I will though!

Examples of this: I caught the ice cream guy at the commissary flagrant delicto replacing the containers with smaller containers. No longer a half gallon.

My sugar is also now sold in a 4lb bag not 5lbs.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

The price was one of the many reasons I quit drinking beer. I save a lot of money by not drinking anymore. I too noticed that the cost was getting more expensive, especially Heineken which I liked. The other thing I learned is never buy anything other than gas at a gas station. The prices of everything inside is marked up big time in the mini marts that sell gasoline.

 

[rk911]

We all keep an eye on the inflation numbers from the Fed and other sources. Plus, we all know that the real inflation number to be concerned about is our “personal” inflation number...

actually i expect a lot of us don't keep an eye on inflation, certainly not as close as you do. not bashing you. far from it. but its just not that big a deal to us.
fir us beIng FI means not having to sweat the small stuff.

 

[mountainsoft]

I used to buy candy bars 3 for a dollar. Now they're over a dollar each.

2-liter Coke used to be 99 cents, now it's almost two dollars.

A quart of motor oil used to be 99 cents, now it's 5-6 dollars.

Gas was 99 cents per gallon when I started driving, now it's well over 3 dollars.

The big shocker for me was the price of roof shingles. When we built our house in 2003 I paid $800 to buy shingles for our entire roof. Ten years later in 2013 the exact same shingles cost $4000 (long story, pesky leak I couldn't track down). They're made from oil after all. Kind of scary to think what they might cost 30 years from now, plus I'll have to pay labor that I've always done for free.

 

[Badger]

I used to buy candy bars 3 for a dollar. Now they're over a dollar each.

2-liter Coke used to be 99 cents, now it's almost two dollars.

A quart of motor oil used to be 99 cents, now it's 5-6 dollars.

Gas was 99 cents per gallon when I started driving, now it's well over 3 dollars...

I used to buy candy bars for 5 cents in 1958. Being the frugal person even at 12years I chose 3 Musketeers since it was about 50% larger than most others. I haven't bought any in decades but passing them in the grocery check out line they seem to be smaller for the additional 95 cents.


Cheers!

 

[Another Reader]

I used to buy candy bars for 5 cents in 1958. Being the frugal person even at 12years I chose 3 Musketeers since it was about 50% larger than most others. I haven't bought any in decades but passing them in the grocery check out line they seem to be smaller for the additional 95 cents.


Cheers!

They came in two sizes, small for 5 cents, large for 10 cents. I don't remember how much larger the 10 cent bar was, because I could only afford the 5 cent bar.

I did not like 3 Musketeers. It was Hershey's or Milky Way where my my 5 cents went on allowance Saturday.

 

[zedd]

Toilet paper that is not as wide!

Hmm, new thread idea: "Products that are over-engineered"

 

[CaptTom]

The cashier takes the peppers out of the bag and charges 99 cents each ! , I asked aren't they 99 cents/lb ? So I told him I didn't want them.

On the way out the store, I double checked, and sure enough there is a big 99 Cents and a tiny /ea

The same thing happened to me with bananas at Trader Joe's. Fortunately I noticed in time and put them back. I'm sure I'd have made a scene at the register if I'd gotten that far with them. Now I have yet another reason not to go there often.

Examples of this: I caught the ice cream guy at the commissary flagrant delicto replacing the containers with smaller containers. No longer a half gallon.

My sugar is also now sold in a 4lb bag not 5lbs.

Who do they think they're fooling? And it's not very environmentally friendly. Doing this uses far more packaging for an equal volume of product.

But we all vote with our wallet. I look for the brand that offers a 5-lb bag of sugar, or a half-gallon tub of ice cream, and buy those. Admittedly, the half-gallon of ice cream is now a thing of the past. But I still buy the larger one, if there's a choice.

Apparently I'm in the minority, and most people don't notice, or don't care. Maybe that's why I'm RE'd and they're not.

 

[John Galt III]

One pine split rail, eleven feet long, for my old split rail fence maintenance, went from $10.99 (I think) last year at Lowe's, to $12.99 now! Plus 6% tax. Effect of Canada tariff situation? No, probably just greed, captive market, whatever, lol...

 

[John Galt III]

Twenty years ago I would buy a quart of oil on sale for 69 cents. Now it is around 2.38. The price never seem to go down no matter what the price of a barrel of oil is.

+1. Very annoying!

 

[mountainsoft]

I used to buy candy bars for 5 cents in 1958.

I don't remember the price of candy when I was a kid, but we use to pick through the garbage for bottles at the local high school. Then we would return them for the deposit so we could buy candy. I think it was two or three bottles depending on which candy we wanted.

I remember my grandparents paying 45 cents for a gallon of gas back in the 60's. It was up to 99 cents by the time I started driving in the 80's. Now it's up over 3 dollars per gallon. I wonder what it will cost in another 30 years, maybe 9 dollars per gallon?

I also remember 9 cent postage stamps when I was a kid. I think they're 49 cents now? I haven't mailed a letter in a long time.

 

[rk911]

...I also remember 9 cent postage stamps when I was a kid. I think they're 49 cents now? I haven't mailed a letter in a long time.

about all we get in the daily mail are charity requests, coupons and other spam. we get the occasional greeting card and an actual bill from a company still stuck in the 60!s. we mail the occasional greeting card and an actual check to that same company. we’ve got enough forever stamps to last us for, you guessed it, forever.

 

[GrayHare]

I recently tried a Butterfinger candy for the first time in decades. The peanut portion is now very airy, much less dense than it used to be. More air means less product.

 

[cbo111]

My sister has been purchasing pies from Marie Callender Restaurants for over 30 years and saving the tins. She recently showed me some of the oldest pie tins and the current ones. What a really stark example of hidden inflation.

 

[Chuckanut]

I once paid 22.9¢ for a gallon for gas. I also made $1.25 and hour.

 

[joeea]

I once paid $0.15 for fast food hamburgers and $0.19 for hot dogs. I also drove a $400 car and earned $1.91 per hour.

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice...

 

[mshelburne]

I p:qqq