rolling “Trump is gonna win” containment thread

Personally I might potentially benefit if the 30-year fixed rate went down. But most people don't buy a house very frequently. In the last 53 years I have bought a house exactly one time.

Most people are way more focused on gas, groceries, etc.

higher pay mean nothing when a cart of groceries costs at least $100 more each week for a lot of people

I keep very accurate records of what we spend on groceries. There are two of us and we eat very well, concentrating on the basics, like fresh produce and staples, very modest amounts of meat and little in the way of convenience food, but we don't strive for the cheapest alternatives for everything and the minimum food bill possible.

In 2022, as compared to 2021, our annual grocery spending rose by $500, or $5 per person per week. In 2023 our annual total rose by $180, or $1.70 per person per week. In order to reach $100/week increase from Jan 1, 2022 to now our family would need to be 15 people. But that's just based on our spending and eating habits.

I wonder how much of the sentiment regarding the price of groceries going way up has to do with the fact that most fast food really has doubled in price over the last 8 years

Most Americans are not so disciplined at the grocery store or the drive-thru window

Just got back from the grocery store, actually, and I maintain that if your bill is considerably more than you're used to, like substantially, you maybe are doing it wrong. The only significantly inflated prices I saw were junk foods. Cookies, chips, that sort of thing. Breakfast cereal. But there were plenty of fruits and vegetables and proteins on sale. Head of cauliflower, $0.89 each. Gala apples, $0.89 a pound. Whole wheat sandwich bread loaf, $2.99. 18 pack of eggs, $4.99. Chicken breasts, $1.99 a pound. 12oz of bacon, $2.99. With tax, that's maybe a little over $20 for enough food to feed a family more than a few hearty breakfasts and at least a couple of dinners, not even accounting for pantry staples that last a long time. I'd say the headaches (and costs, direct and indirect) of food deserts hit harder than inflation in this case.

Gas is a bigger consideration, though even there, gas prices are not currently terrible. National avg. is around $3/gal.

Most Americans are bad at handling money, period. Discipline is boring. Day trading in stocks, "extreme couponing", or buying lottery tickets are all more exciting in comparison.

Junk food is usually more expensive than the healthy stuff.

I'd say the headaches (and costs, direct and indirect) of food deserts hit harder than inflation in this case.

this, a lot of people's closest food store is like a Dollar General or a 7-11

yeah you're probably right on that, I know a lot of the stuff you mention did spike in price to a pretty crazy amount - eggs especially - but it's mostly come back down. meanwhile a case of Diet Coke is like $13 now??

if your bill is considerably more than you're used to, like substantially, you maybe are doing it wrong.

lol, this should definitely be the Biden response to economic complaints

I'm sure people would appreciate that, lol.

Gala apples, $0.89 a pound

i'll live on the street before i buy galas

also I don't think .89 is even close to average for apples, was that a sale?

looking up my local grocery chain, 1.99 lbs is the cheapest (for the dreaded Red Delicious)

Chicken breasts, $1.99 a pound

again where are you shopping??? this is not average pricing

I am also showing Galas at 0.89 /lb at the Fred Meyer(aka Kroger) down the street from us

Publix is infamous for overpricing produce.

chicken breast $2.99 for the cheapest option here in Oregon

every other chicken breast option is at least $5.99 tho

eggs especially

That was almost entirely due to the avian flu epidemic and hundreds of commercial flocks being destroyed to contain its spread. But the conservative outrage machine told people to blame Biden (shrugs).

I get frozen chicken breasts from Costco and I’m not sure even they’re $1.99 a pound.

This feels like it's 2012 and we're back in the Marilyn Hagerty thread showing lex how to cook and cook cheaply.

I just love that Josh thinks he's a super shopping genius for buying chicken on sale - why didn't everyone think of that??

sorry i was too busy feeding my daughter a Doritos and Twizzler smoothie

Now that you mention it, ums:

https://i.imgur.com/AF8YgNl.jpg

haha wow was only $65 a bottle!

https://us.empirical.co/pages/empirical-x-doritos

I admit to getting a little faint when I got a Coke and a large fries the other day and it cost $11

again where are you shopping??? this is not average pricing

I was at Pete's, a local supermarket chain. There are a few supermarkets more or less within walking distance of my house, and there are always sales, which was my point. Those items I mentioned were just random items I saw on sale, and sure, I can always find options that cost twice as much, but the things I found were practical, priced reasonably and took no effort to find.

I admit to getting a little faint when I got a Coke and a large fries the other day and it cost $11

― the absence of bikes (f. hazel)

Thanks, Brandon!

Costco roti chicken at $4.99/3lbs is an amazing value IF... you are prepared to deal with Costco (+$60 annual membership).

There are a few supermarkets more or less within walking distance of my house

Tbf, this makes a world of difference.

Josh - did it occur to you that everyone doesn't have multiple super markets within walking distance and that most people look for sales and the lowest price available on products? or just you?

you sound like someone posting about how they saw a poor lady buying too many frozen pizzas with her food stamps

Aimless, ugh at the extreme couponing people. There was a whole reality TV show about people with a basement full of stuff like shampoo and drain cleaner and rice pilaf that they had no intention of using, they just wanted to get attention for how much they'd "saved."

You didn't generally see the extreme couponers buying basics like spaghetti and vegetables and toilet paper and milk and cereal, it was outlying stuff like mouthwash and instant coffee.

I can feed my family okay on wok stuff, homemade pizza, pasta with vegetables, rice and beans and such. A sale or a coupon to get a frozen TV dinner entree is not enticing and is not a path to either financial or physical health.

xpost I literally said that food deserts are the problem. It's not inflation, it's people being ripped off by places taking advantage of them.

Beef and pork are incredibly cheap in Montana but chicken and eggs are not.

xpost

I thought those people were "doing it wrong" unlike you

There was a whole reality TV show about people with a basement full of stuff like shampoo and drain cleaner and rice pilaf that they had no intention of using, they just wanted to get attention for how much they'd "saved."

have to admit it was pretty nice when we lived in a two-family and the downstairs neighbors were into that craze and they just had a huge stockpile of stuff in the basement that they said we were free to take whatever there were multiples of.

"if the economy is bad for you, that's a skill issue" is not a winning message folks.

they just need to get good at shopping

I wasn't suggesting that "Americans are bad at money" should be Biden's pitch, but was just stating a fact.

"If the economy is bad for you, that's because you're a big fat lard with no impulse control," tho, how does that play?

I.e. The Whale

I thought those people were "doing it wrong" unlike you

People getting screwed by a lack of local stores are not doing it wrong, they're being done wrong. But that's not inflation at work.

Like, those stores are predatory no matter the state of the economy.

many places in America have a Dollar General and maybe a gas station mini mart, and that's it

Adequate nutrition should not be a luxury product for the select few, I think we can all agree on that, yes?

Josh in Chicago at 12:54 19 Jan 24

Just got back from the grocery store, actually, and I maintain that if your bill is considerably more than you're used to, like substantially, you maybe are doing it wrong. The only significantly inflated prices I saw were junk foods. Cookies, chips, that sort of thing. Breakfast cereal. But there were plenty of fruits and vegetables and proteins on sale. Head of cauliflower, $0.89 each. Gala apples, $0.89 a pound. Whole wheat sandwich bread loaf, $2.99. 18 pack of eggs, $4.99. Chicken breasts, $1.99 a pound. 12oz of bacon, $2.99. With tax, that's maybe a little over $20 for enough food to feed a family more than a few hearty breakfasts and at least a couple of dinners, not even accounting for pantry staples that last a long time. I'd say the headaches (and costs, direct and indirect) of food deserts hit harder than inflation in this case.

what did the first part mean Josh?

also to assume people don't know that their regular grocery shopping has gone up or not over time is so arrogant

xp The extreme couponers that I knew were selling the items that they got at flea markets.