Tariffs and 2025 consumer purchases

[nphx]

Not chasing politics here—just curious about the current import situation with de minimis exemptions winding down or up in the air. Anyone rushing to stock up on offshore stuff before the clock runs out?

You’ve still got a small window to snag direct-shipped items under the $800 duty-free limit before May 2nd hits.

For current tariffs - I just sized up my tire needs for 2025 and pulled the trigger on orders from TireRack.com.

Also stocked the pantry with Costco booze and coffee.

Any other items i'm missing?

 

[Koolau]

Sounds like Y2K all over again. We know how that turned out.

No. If the tariffs turn out to be more or less permanent, I assume I'll be able to purchase what I need, though, at the time, I'll be wiling to make substitutions to keep total costs down.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Back in November I bought a year’s worth of household products, toiletries, 4 months of coffee, etc. Today I’m replenishing anything that is low such as coffee and no reason not to buy more of the household products that I have used up in the past 5 months.

Actually this is the first time in my life that I’ve stocked up but if prices don’t rise I didn’t lose anything and if they do I definitely won. I bought a new car in the beginning of January for the same reason. Normally I would have waited until my 17 year old car started to have problems. I’m really enjoying driving it.

 

[frank]

I was watching the evening news the other night and they said the big tariffs were going to include paper products like toilet paper. I went to sams club and bought 2 packages and that is the extent of my purchasing for the tariffs.

 

[audreyh1]

I don’t get it with the toilet paper.

99% of our toilet paper is produced domestically.

I think this is a case where the news is misinforming people (again). That’s poor reporting!

There was a big run on toilet paper and water during the last port strike. I imagine the news was behind that one too.

 

[MichaelB]

I’m sure I’ve benefited from de minimis in the past but have no new purchases planned. If de minimis goes away or changes significantly I doubt it will affect us much.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I may load up on coffee but nothing else

 

[HFWR]

I may load up on coffee but nothing else

I did that recently, before the tariff show. Don’t be messin’ with my coffee. Them’s fightin’ words!

Otherwise, can't think of much I’ll be buying beyond the usual.

 

[Flute McG]

I may load up on coffee but nothing else

I will buy coffee regardless of price - but I may take a step down in quality. I'm an addict.

Flute

 

[TrvlBug]

We purchased DH's new car yesterday. We had been trying to decide upon which car for at least a year and our timing was just perfect wrt the tariffs. That said, the dealer would not budge on MSRP, so in that respect, the tariffs did impact on our purchase price.

 

[Sojourner]

I may load up on coffee but nothing else

I don't understand this, since coffee (even whole beans) has a fairly short shelf life after being roasted. I've never kept coffee beans more than about 2-3 months before they start to smell and taste stale. Is there a secret to keeping them fresh for much longer?

 

[Midpack]

If you have excess cash, nothing wrong with making some planned purchases sooner rather than later. I bought new running shoes early since almost no shoes are made in America. OTOH if cash is tight, you might want to make everything you have last longer, until you know how much essentials are going to cost you. Unfortunately this could go on much longer than we'd like, who knows.

 

[HFWR]

I don't understand this, since coffee (even whole beans) has a fairly short shelf life after being roasted. I've never kept coffee beans more than about 2-3 months before they start to smell and taste stale. Is there a secret to keeping them fresh for much longer?

Drink faster?

 

[RunningBum]

My house needs new windows, but that can be delayed a year. I'll have it painted after the new windows are put in because I want to put 3 smaller windows in, which will require new siding. House needs painting anyway.

I also want to replace the upstairs carpet with vinyl planks, but that can be delayed too.

I don't feel like rushing either to beat the deadline. I've got cash ready to do both. I feel like the tariffs might not last, or we'll go into a recession and I might find contractors more hungry for work. Might not be the best choice but that's what I'm doing.

In the car tariffs thread I related how my son bought a new car a couple of weeks ago.

 

[jazz4cash]

I don't understand this, since coffee (even whole beans) has a fairly short shelf life after being roasted. I've never kept coffee beans more than about 2-3 months before they start to smell and taste stale. Is there a secret to keeping them fresh for much longer?

I was curious about this so I googled. Caution this looks like a prepper website.
It says instant coffee can last 10 yrs, whole beans 2 yrs or more, and 5 months for ground coffee. These are unopened in pantry. It also describes freezing, vacuum sealing etc.

Long Term Coffee Storage: How to Keep It Fresh for Years

Here are 6 different methods for storing coffee long term, including vacuum sealing, Mylar, oxygen absorbers, and unroasted coffee beans.

www.primalsurvivor.net

 

[Aerides]

I don't understand this, since coffee (even whole beans) has a fairly short shelf life after being roasted. I've never kept coffee beans more than about 2-3 months before they start to smell and taste stale. Is there a secret to keeping them fresh for much longer?

Just looked at my 2lb bag of Lavazza, whole bean roasted espresso. Says it was packed on 8/24 and is best by 7/26. Their packaging is vacuum sealed, so I also imagine the "best" date starts ticking a bit earlier after it's opened.

 

[pacergal]

I don’t get it with the toilet paper.

99% of our toilet paper is produced domestically.

I think this is a case where the news is misinforming people (again). That’s poor reporting!

There was a big run on toilet paper and water during the last port strike. I imagine the news was behind that one too.

I am unable to find the article, but I read that the specialty soft wood pulp that American manufacturers use to make the TP comes from Canada.

We are not stocking up on anything at this point. I am always ahead two packages of Costco paper products.

 

[audreyh1]

I may load up on coffee but nothing else

We already have quite a bit. Probably good through the end of the year.

 

[pacergal]

We were planning on refreshing the house in the next year or two, can always extend it. Nothing is at the "needs now" spot.
Paint, carpet, sanding wood floors, updating kitchen can always wait. Still have young grandkids who play hard inside the house on rainy days! A few dings here and there add character

 

[GrayHare]

I bought a bunch of chocolate to give to someone who likes it. It's made in the USA but the primary ingredients are not domestic.

 

[audreyh1]

I don't understand this, since coffee (even whole beans) has a fairly short shelf life after being roasted. I've never kept coffee beans more than about 2-3 months before they start to smell and taste stale. Is there a secret to keeping them fresh for much longer?

Just looked at my 2lb bag of Lavazza, whole bean roasted espresso. Says it was packed on 8/24 and is best by 7/26. Their packaging is vacuum sealed, so I also imagine the "best" date starts ticking a bit earlier after it's opened.

After we’re sure the coffee beans have sufficiently degassed, only an issue for freshly roasted beans, we vacuum pack what remains of an open package in smaller amounts. We don’t taste any staleness. Larger bags of beans often have quite long best by dates, like a year.

 

[Trailwalker]

I don’t get it with the toilet paper.

99% of our toilet paper is produced domestically.

I think this is a case where the news is misinforming people (again). That’s poor reporting!

There was a big run on toilet paper and water during the last port strike. I imagine the news was behind that one too.

A lot of the wood pulp to make toilet paper is imported.

 

[HFWR]

I don’t get it with the toilet paper.

People are full of it, some more than others.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I don't understand this, since coffee (even whole beans) has a fairly short shelf life after being roasted. I've never kept coffee beans more than about 2-3 months before they start to smell and taste stale. Is there a secret to keeping them fresh for much longer?

K-cups. I've had them on the shelf for ages and can't tell the difference.

 

[HFWR]

K-cups. I've had them on the shelf for ages and can't tell the difference.

Kind of “generic” to start.