What are people cutting back on?

[ERObjd]

I have noticed that with the price of gas going up nearly every day that people seem to not use the AC in their cars and trucks nearly as much. I suppose the real rich don't care, but it seems many people who might have run the car with AC blasting back when gas was $3.15 a gallon are not doing so with gas that is
now well over $4.00 per gallon. I have never used AC in the city I will use it at highway speed, but in the city limit even on 100 degree day i have always preferred the windows down and i always wear pants and long sleeve shirts. I have a mental trick I use when it gets hot, when think it is hot here in Lincoln Ne I just think back to being in Kuwait during Desert storm in 91 and being in Iraq in 08-07 where it was much hotter and we were in body armor.

I have a friend who works in meat department of a major grocery Hy VEE and he said he really noticed that people are not buying steaks and ribs much anymore since the price has went up so much. Instead of rib that are $6.00 a LB or steaks that are $9.00 a lb they are grilling hot dogs or cheaper cuts like country style pork ribs.

I still go to a commercial gym and notice far less people there, I asked the manager and he told me that some members are probably still scared of covid and other are just dropping the memberships because of cost,just like people are dumping cable.

According to a survey on Progressive Grocer back in 23 Aug 2021 they found the following :

More than half of consumers (54%) said that they'd cut back on desserts and candy.

Close to half would cut back on prepared foods/deli items (47%),
organic/premium items (46%) and soda/juices (45%).

Nearly one-third (31%) would cut back on alcohol; 23% on sustainable or environmentally friendly items; 23% on meat, poultry, fish/seafood; and 18% on fresh produce.

Now since Aug 21 inflation has only went up. I am not sure agree with alcohol every liquor store I see whether a stand alone store or a liquor department in the grocery stores always seem to be busy. I live near a Starbuck and a Scooters coffee and they always seem to have a line of cars in the drive through no matter what time of day. I guess idling in drive thru on $4.50 cent gas does not overirde the sugar and caffeine addiction.

Anyway just wondering what other posters on here have noticed people cutting back on or what they may cutting back on themselves to help deal with inflation.

 

[aja8888]

This week in Houston, Texas it is going up to 102 -106 F with 70% humidity. Everyone that has A/C in cars and building will be using it unless they are crazy.

We have moved to day old donuts from Walmart and water instead of going to $tarbucks. Dinners have been burgers or hot dogs on the grill or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when the fridge is bare.

Our weekly trash pickup load is down to 1/2 a can full. Recycle can stays empty as we have nothing to recycle (cans, bottles, etc).

I've cut out paid car washes unless I do them by hand using only one bucket of water.

No more dog treats for the furry one. He will survive.

I've taken DW's credit card away from her.

 

[Surewhitey]

Not cutting back much. We're eating more of the food hoardings from last year though.

I've found a few new things that are good for lunch on the cheap that are quite tasty. We probably aren't wasting as much too. I've re-introduced spare ribs and country style too on the smoker. I forgot how good they are.

Not by design, but I just filled up after a month from the last time.

I have joined DW on biz trips. Can't stand the free room overlooking Manhattan...

 

[Sunset]

I don't think people cut back at all, that's why inflation is extremely high.

We haven't cut back. Sure the high price of gas hurts at over $50 a fill, but for us that is normally once per month per vehicle or less, so it doesn't really affect the bottom line significantly.

When you see the Starbucks have no line, that's when you know it's really biting.

 

[ls99]

I don't know what people are cutting back. Me, nothing. Just filled up with gas my 99 suburban gas hog, 7.4l engine 40 gallon tank. $135.- was not quiet empty. Use it to haul my 40lb 18 foot kevlar kayak.
Just spending my nieces' inheritence. Would not want them to get filthy rich.

 

[Sunset]

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I've cut out paid car washes unless I do them by hand using only one bucket of water.

.

Maybe that's my problem, I'm normally so [-]cheap[/-] frugal that I would always hand wash in the driveway unless I got a free wash.

My only cut back is to leave the car out in the rain and count that as a wash. Yesterday when it rained I seriously thought of going out and soaping up the car with a bucket and let the free rain rinse it off.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

We cancelled netflix. Price for value wasnt there for us anymore. Im a littttttle more conscious of gas use. We haven t cut in quality groceries and just Blew that Dough on an all bells whistles commercial treadmill. We dont compromise on health. We didn't eat out at all last month. I also fired the housekeeper after I got in the floor to paint baseboards and saw how dirty the corners of rooms were. I can clean my own house badly, why pay for that? Put the baby in swim lessons. Again no compromising in health/safety allowed. Grocery spend in through the roof and climbing.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Not cutting back on anything really. We are normally shrewd shoppers, inflation or no inflation, but still get what we want or need, but we do try to get it from the most economical source, without driving miles to get it. All major stores we shop at are within 5 miles from home, so no effort there. We do not go to Costco as much, but Costco is no scream for sensible prices lately anyway. We buy wine locally when it is on sale, so no change there.

We actually have enhanced our palate if anything, we only buy Fresh fish, especially Fresh Salmon and Tilapia.

We still have not noticed any dramatic change in our monthly grocery bills. We never did eat out much, mainly because the food is usually WAY too salty for our liking as opposed to cost.

I think the real costs are for those folks who HAVE a long way to drive every day for their jobs or whatever. I think that would be a real challenge.

 

[SnowballCamper]

I've done the opposite on the last grocery trip. I went for the bison, and skipped the beef. The premium for bison is so much less now.

FYI, AFAIK running the AC at highway speeds is more efficient that windows open.

There is still a boatload of money out there to spend, apparently $207,000 of home equity on average. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/06/hou...-is-cooling.html?&qsearchterm=tappable equity

 

[pacergal]

We just cut our Dining out budget by half, as it had crept up more than budgeted.
I include everything not eaten at home in this category, from full meals in restaurant or pick up, to drive thru coffee or even DQ for ice cream.

 

[Dtail]

I expect our food bill will start going down somewhat starting next week. We will see.
Transportation expense averaging 4k for a projected full year. I still travel distance for better competition for Pickleball and will not give that up.

 

[razztazz]

I have always lived as close to the margins as you can get. I just never developed any ongoing, must-have, or hobby type expenses beyond core expenses plus any "the price of living" type expenses. e.g need a new hot water tank, need some porch or car repairs, etc. Things, inflation or not, you're going to procure and pay for anyway. So I have nothing I can cut back on.

 

[W2R]

Not cutting back on anything really.

+1

Well, there's one thing - - like stereotypical aging retirees we used to go on pleasure drives around our suburb nearly every afternoon, after lunch. Due to the increasing insanity of other drivers recently, and also due to the price of gas, we somehow just aren't inspired to do that very often any more.

But really, that's about all. We haven't cut back much since inflation isn't affecting us very much (yet). I think the impact of inflation right now probably varies for our forum members considerably, according to location and spending patterns.

One thing we ARE doing, though, is looking at our expenses and trying to figure out a plan for later when inflation is predicted to hit us more forcefully. We aren't "preppers" but we read prepper/survival/minimalist sites now and then, to get ideas on where we could cut back and the easiest ways to minimize costs if we should need to do so in the future.

 

[Car-Guy]

I was going to buy an EV but with rolling electrical blackouts coming in Texas I decided to wait. So I bought more gasoline several weeks ago at ~4.19 a gallon and have it stored in a 250 gallon tank. (Last part is true)

Actually I'm not cutting back on anything. Life is too short as it is.

 

[Sojourner]

Yesterday when it rained I seriously thought of going out and soaping up the car with a bucket and let the free rain rinse it off.

I've had that exact same thought before!

 

[FindingForward]

I will never cut back on A/C - at home or in the car. I grew up in a year-round hot climate with a dad who resented every cent he had to pay the electric company- it was always uncomfortably hot since I slept on the 2nd floor which was way hotter than the 1st floor (before dual thermostats were common in home HVAC systems.)

I'm cutting back on stuff that has really soared - meats, eggs. I'll trim vacation plans, continue buying the cheapest coffee, stick with low dollar table wines but I will never cut back on my A/C.

 

[bobbyr]

I don't think people cut back at all, that's why inflation is extremely high.

We haven't cut back. Sure the high price of gas hurts at over $50 a fill, but for us that is normally once per month per vehicle or less, so it doesn't really affect the bottom line significantly.

When you see the Starbucks have no line, that's when you know it's really biting.

+
agree on all points, especially the last sentence.

 

[Sojourner]

We aren't cutting back on much, other than dining out at restaurants. But we'd been doing a lot less of that, anyway, even before inflation reared its ugly head.

Based on our latest trip down the grocery stores aisles, I do see us cutting back on certain packaged junk foods (like Fritos, Doritos, etc.). Paying over $5 for a bag of snack chips isn't something I can stomach. Forgoing that crap will be good for our health and our bank accounts.

 

[Bamaman]

The wife is going to have terrible back surgery shortly. We are going into a shutdown mode in her recovery--like in the pandemic.

Of course we are eating healthy, but not much firm meat like steaks. When eating out is mostly in the past.

 

[tmm99]

I wish I could save more on gas. We have two cars and I drive the smaller, more gas-efficient car when I have to drive far, but that's about it for now.

 

[Koolau]

Maybe that's my problem, I'm normally so [-]cheap[/-] frugal that I would always hand wash in the driveway unless I got a free wash.

My only cut back is to leave the car out in the rain and count that as a wash. Yesterday when it rained I seriously thought of going out and soaping up the car with a bucket and let the free rain rinse it off.

I wash my car once a year whether it needs it or not.

 

[Koolau]

Anyway just wondering what other posters on here have noticed people cutting back on or what they may cutting back on themselves to help deal with inflation.

I actually do what I've always done. I make a decision to either buy or not buy something, based on its perceived value at the time. I notice that things like steak are more often rejected as not being a value while my favorite meals at my favorite restaurants are still a value to me even though the prices may be 25% higher.

I have always tried to save fuel in the cars, by judicious acceleration and at least trying to anticipate stops. I'll use the windows instead of AC until it becomes uncomfortable and I've always done that. This year, I unplugged all the phantom electrical drains as we left for the mainland. I am interested to see what our electric bill runs when the only drain will be the new fridge. I hope that I'm pleasantly surprised - but as one of the resident glass-half-empty posters, I'm guessing I'll be disappointed but YMMV.

By the way, ERObjd, thank you for your service. I'm so happy you made it home.

 

[Sunset]

I've always wondered, if I wash my car before driving on a long trip, will it get a measurable better gas mileage than if I leave the year's worth of dust/dirt on it ?

Maybe I'd be better off just waiting for the wind to be blowing in the direction I'm driving

 

[street]

I wash my car once a year whether it needs it or not.

LOL! That is my story also. Yesterday it was raining lightly and went out and washed the car. I saved on water big time. The fleet is small now just two outfits so not a huge cutback.

Still haven't cut back on anything to speak of, still carrying on as normal so far.

 

[SecondCor521]

I was already pretty bare bones, but inflation has made me revisit things one more time.

Food:

I have downgraded my grocery store from Fred Meyer and Albertson's to Walmart and Winco. Both of the latter stores have many more "nice cars" in the parking lot than they used to, so I think I am not alone with this strategy. This is an easy way to save perhaps 10% to 20% of my grocery bill.

I've cut down on junk food, and am more aggressive in getting store brand. So I'll get one Great Value ice cream instead of two Breyers.

I've simply refused to buy precooked bacon a time or two. I could afford it but the price just annoyed me so I didn't.

Gas/auto:

Turned off the "sporty mode" switch that made the car more fun to drive but used more gas. A loss, but not a big one.

I pay more attention to combining trips and errands. If I only have one errand, I'll postpone it if I can to another day when I can combine it with something else.

I did try the Upside gas rebate app. It was great for the first few fill-ups, but the rewards have dropped off and they somehow have a hard time with the basic processing of my rebates. So I'll probably do it until I can cash out fee-free then not bother anymore and go back to the Fred Meyer gas rewards.

I checked gas prices in my area to make sure I was still going to the cheapest places. Found out Walmart might be worth trying for me.

I installed the USAA Safe Pilot app on my cell phone. It monitors my driving and gives me a policy discount. I'm slated for a 20% discount on my auto insurance policy starting November 1st.

...

In other areas, I am mulling over keeping my Christmastime gifting to my kids at the same level as last year. Usually I try to increase it a bit every year, but if the net worth is down and ongoing expenses are up, I may skip the increase.

I'm also cutting back on travel in the sense that if things were going better in the markets and travel pricing were better, I probably would have been more inclined to go on a trip or two. I might still not have gone anyway, so it's debatable if this is an actual spending cut or not.

...

Overall, I could afford to just do nothing in response to inflation, but I guess I enjoy the challenge. Also, once the new information is identified or the new habits are ingrained, the ongoing effort is almost zero and the savings become mostly automatic.