Inflation is hurting women at the grocery store. Some are eating less in order to feed their familie

[Tickle]

The price sticker startled Tammy Ferrell. She looked at the variety pack of FritoLay chips again and again. Her forehead wrinkled. Surely, she must have misunderstood—the chips used to be $12, but the sticker read $17.

Around her, everything else had new stickers, too—the dairy, the produce, the meat. She left Costco without the turkey wings her family loved, without meat at all. She thought of how she would explain it to her grandsons.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/inflation-hurting-women-grocery-store-221500906.html

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Okay, this is going to upset some, but FritoLay chips are hardly

an essential food.

I am constantly astonished at how many of those large containers of soft drinks -- how many are there in them, anyway? 10? 15? 25? I have no idea since I don't ever buy them -- I see in a shopping cart. I'm sorry, but when you are purchasing what truly is junk food instead of actual food, you can't really complain. Buy real food. Fix actual meals. Is that so hard?

[Demsrule86]

2. Ridiculous. Buy real food. Stop buying the crap, prices will come down.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Right. Buy real food.

Okay, I realize that since I live alone, am retired, it is relatively easy to cook from scratch and lower my food costs enormously. I also have a second refrigerator, meaning a second freezer, in the garage, which makes it very easy to freeze lots of food portions. I cook and then freeze individual portions of whatever. It's incredible. Sometime I go for more than a week not needing to buy any groceries, unless I run low on the half and half for my coffee. My food costs are around two dollars, sometimes less, per meal.

The sad thing is that many people these days have no clue how to cook from scratch. Their own mothers didn't really do it. Home economics courses that taught cooking disappeared decades ago. Actually, if you watch certain cooking shows, and "30 Minute Meals" with Rachael Ray is incredibly instructive, you should learn that it simply isn't that hard to cook, and a decent meal can be cooked rather quickly.

Some years back when I'd first discovered her and watched her on the TV, there was one particular show that inspired me. It might have been chicken tagine, perhaps something else. Anyway, whatever it was, I'd copied the recipe, but had rather cynically assumed that there were edits to make the show come in at 30 minutes. Nope. Some 20 minutes into cooking the meal, I was astonished that it was almost done, and called my husband and sons to the dinner table. Wow.

Too often cooking is presented as complicated, or recipes have lots of ingredients and many steps. That is just not necessary. What I really like about Rachael Ray is that her entire 30 minute meal thing is based on a particular kind of way of cooking, of simplifying recipes. I have been able to adopt her philosophy to other things I make, that used to take many hours, and now can be done very quickly.

[Throck]

5. Lots of people today don't comprehend basic food safety either

Let alone cook.

God bless my mom and all the knowledge she imparted on her six kids.

[Demsrule86]

28. I know. My daughter was keeping food past the safe time and said 'well it smells OK.

I said bacteria in food doesn't always smell bad and after three days on average throw it out or freeze it with the time it was left out written on the bag, as you need to eat it right away after thawing. I was surprised to find that leftover rice should be refrigerated. I have a rice cooker and left it on warm...but I found out there is a rare form of bacteria that can get into rice that will kill you. So no I refrigerate it and reheat it in the rice cooker.

[Demsrule86]

16. I agree. My mother cooked out of a box as many women her generation did. Her mom-

my grandma was an exceptional cook. My mom had no desire to cook from scratch. But she fed us pretty healthy that being said...always a salad and Vegetable. So, when I got married my signature dish was baked beans (from a can and doctored a bit) and hot dog casserole. My son was born with a Ventral Septum defect. And our pediatrician advised us to get rid of the microwave, and cook everything from scratch...no preservatives and healthy food...no more boxes.

The older Mom's taught me how to cook in Pennsylvania and my God those women could cook. My mom sent me Grandma's recipe book and the depression recipes from my paternal grandma. I learned and eventually became a very good cook...my great-aunt said eating my biscuits was like eating my Grandma's biscuit...that is a real compliment. My son did not need surgery and healed spontaneously as the pediatrician had hoped. I also learned that cooking from scratch was way cheaper than box cooking. Since I have a gluten allergy, I had to revise the way I cooked, but I still save money cooking from scratch...even more money as gluten-free convenience food is very expensive.

For example, it is cool and rainy here, so today is clean out the refrigerator soup day...whatever fresh veggies and herbs I have...broth from making homemade dog food and chicken also (cooked in bulk/chicken breasts that cost $1.68 per pound). I will add potatoes, corn, and some frozen vegetables I found for 75 cents per package...I will either make homemade beer bread or some kind of toasted sandwich. Dessert will be homemade lemon bars which are easy to make and cost very little. We will have soup tomorrow most likely and freeze the rest in serving-size portions. I have a freezer, but I used to do this with only a small freezer as well. You can not only eat well on a budget, you generally eat healthier as the processed- sugar/corn syrup-laden convenience foods are not healthy and ridiculously expensive.

[llmart]

6. +1

I am constantly astonished too at what people have in their carts. I see mothers with their small children in the store and eyeball their carts and am disgusted at what's in there. Personally, I believe we have an epidemic of obesity in our country which also results in the epidemic of diabetes in our country. We've allowed corporations to take over our health. The advertising that lures people to buy and eat this crap is as damaging as cigarette advertising was when we were growing up.

It isn't difficult to eat healthy. In fact, I think it's easier. I also don't eat out. I haven't eaten out since the pandemic. I got take out twice but that was only because my daughter and her husband brought it over and they live on take out crap. It's all mediocre food and outsized portions.

[progree]

7. +1. Take out / restaurant / fast food -- Very unhealthy, full of salt and fat.

Last edited Thu May 5, 2022, 10:13 AM - Edit history (1)

I eat at a restaurant maybe 3 times a month, during off-peak times (2p-3p). I never eat takeout or delivery either.

[llmart]

10. It's also much more expensive.

n/t

[Duncan Grant]

9. I'm going to say something off-topic here.

You said, “I see mothers with their small children in the store and eyeball their carts and am disgusted at what's in there”.

Hmmm, I wonder what they think about you and your cart.

[llmart]

11. I'm hoping they'll look at my cart, see all the real food and maybe think twice.

But I doubt that most of them would.

[Duncan Grant]

13. Depends on how much contempt they have for you. (nt)

[Demsrule86]

29. So, it is OK for them to have contempt for 'me' but I am supposed to have no opinion?

It doesn't work that way. I would never tell any mom what to buy, but when I see a cartload of zero nutrition food with obviously overweight and/or obese kids, I feel sad for the kids. The parents are saddling their kids with a lifetime of health issues by feeding them this stuff. I would never say anything of course. It is not my place; However, I have taught classes on feeding your family nutritionally on a budget, and they were quite popular.

[Demsrule86]

27. Listen when I see obviously obese kids with their moms...and a cart full of crap, I feel

bad for those kids. It seems to me and maybe I am being unduly harsh but feeding kids stuff like that is for the convenience of the parents and does not benefit the child. My son and daughter-in-law make homemade 'chicken nuggies' for my granddaughter. she loves them. They both work too. They make homemade cookies and my son makes pizza using my easy recipe for the crust and adds the toppings they like.

My little granddaughter enjoys all of this. For Easter, she got chocolate of course but not cheap chocolate with corn syrup in it. I sent a big box of homemade toffee and peppermint bark for them. They love homemade candy. My granddaughter is not obese and is very healthy.

[BlackSkimmer]

48. I have to admit I found that interesting too.

I don’t think I’ve EVER “eyeballed” anyone else’s cart lol!

[Duncan Grant]

50. The only annoyance worth having at the market is with people who block the aisle.

I confess, I’ll judge you for that. Might even give you a withering glance, if it’s been a bad day.

[BlackSkimmer]

59. Ha!

Hate that!

[Johnny2X2X]

12. Absolutely spot on

"We've allowed corporations to take over our health."

Profits over healthy citizens.

"It isn't difficult to eat healthy." Disagree.
Know this, every single nutritional fact the public gets about food had its publishing fought by big business. They fought every single line item on the side of any food package. They didn't want people to know calories, grams of fat, added sugar etc etc. If not for activists and government, people would still think sugar cereals are good for you, heck, if not for government action, people would still think smoking is healthy.

Big aggro and food doesn't want the public to be able to make informed decisions on their health. And they still do everything in their power to muddy the waters, putting out junk science that says certain foods are good or bad.

Personally, I believe our food supply changed dramatically in the early 80s, probably when added sugars and quick eating became a prevalent. I was alive in the 70s, very few people cared what they ate in the 70s and people didn't exercise all that much, heck, jogging to get in shape wasn't barely even a thing yet. People didn't even know the basics about their diets back then, they just ate meat and potatoes or pasta and sauce and obesity was much much lower than it is currently is.

Obesity is a crisis in the US right now, nearly half of all US adults are obese now. And it's getting worse, something has to change.

[ck4829]

36. Yep

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

57. No, it really is not hard to eat healthy.

Just do no or very little fast food. Cook fresh meat/fish/vegetables. And it really doesn't take that long for most things to be cooked. A crock pot meal started at the beginning of the day that's ready when everyone gets home is always a good idea. And while I don't have one, I gather the instant pots or multi-use cookers are very good and make cooking a meal very efficient.

Yes, a person needs to make some effort to learn some basics about nutrition, but that also is not hard. It's just that a lot of people want to think that a diet of soft drinks and chips and fast food is healthy.

Another problem is that restaurant portions are far too large. Unfortunately, people have gotten used to those huge portions and don't recognize how very much they are eating. That's also a factor in our collective overweight and obesity.

[Demsrule86]

18. Thank you and I agree with you. My younger daughter lives on door dash food...which arrives

cold most time and is mediocre as well as being filled with salt and sugar.

[Zeitghost]

61. Agreed

But be careful. The "obesity doesn't cause diabetes", healthy at any size crowd will come for you around here for suggesting such things.

[Duncan Grant]

8. The article is about women, isn't it? Not Fritos.

Your post seems off-topic. You’ve said nothing about the content of the original post *concerning women*. The author chose the Frito-Lay opening but added “essential food” shortly thereafter.

So, how about those struggling 60-year old grandmas and young single moms?

[MrsCoffee]

23. +1

Thank you.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

56. It says she left the store without buying

the turkey wings, or any meat at all. I bet she still got the chips.

[totodeinhere]

51. I think it was just an example. And a serving of chips once in a while sin't going to

hurt most people. After all, who doesn't like chips?

[Throck]

4. We cook more from scratch and go out less or to cheaper places

Processed food generally looks like a periodic table. I'm surprised some of it doesn't have a half life. In any event it usually cost more. Thanks to growing up as one of six kids I learned to control the food budget by cooking from scratch. Carrots, broccoli, cabbage, yams and chicken. Coupons and sales. In college on the 80s, I cooked for my wife and I, kept it healthy and inexpensive. 40 years of cooking skills I learned from my mom to keep the budget lean. One of my best friends from work is from India. She introduced me to a whole new culture spectrum of spices. (I can't pronounce half the names of them.) Thanks to Covid I don't ever go out to lunch now, i saved that money on the side to track it and it's really accumulated. Same habit as when I was in college.

Good opportunity to eat healthy and lose weight. I can say all the people I knew who died of Covid had excess weight and poor diet against them in their fight.

Life isn't perfect but you can improve the odds.

And fuck all the excess sugar American's eat.

[Marius25]

14. This story sounds shady.

How big of a bag is she buying that it used to be $12 dollars? At my Wegmans, Frito Lays chips used to be like $3.99. Now they may be $4.49 or so.

I call BS on a $5 dollar increase on chips, and I sure as heck call BS on this woman's story of $17 bags of chips.

[progree]

15. Well, it says a "variety pack of FritoLay chips" at Costco

whatever a variety pack is. I don't buy chips of any kind, and I don't shop at Costco and don't happen to shop in any other bulk warehouse grocery stores, for better or worse. I can see how buying boxes and crates would save a lot of money, but I just never got around to it.

Yeah, a $5 increase on a $12 pack (that's a 42% increase), sounds wild.

[Demsrule86]

22. That would probably mean a big box of mixed frito-lay products in small bags...the most

expensive way to buy junk food...buy a big bag if you want to and then put it in small bags yourself.

[maxsolomon]

46. It's how you buy it if you want to put it in bagged lunches.

I used to take pretzels from a big bag and put them in a little plastic bag, but that was a long time ago.

[Demsrule86]

24. So don't buy them. I shop the sales always. But I wouldn't buy those anyway as buying things

in small bags is always. more expensive.

[Demsrule86]

19. In the big box stores they usually come in two's or even three's/. I buy them for holidays for

the kids. Although, my homemade fried Mozzarella sticks (some dairy-free for my oldest)were a big hit as were the Jalapeno poppers. I also roast Chick peas with olive oil until crispy for snacks.

[Sympthsical]

25. She buys in bulk at Costco

I do most of my shopping at Costco since there's one down the street. I want to say a box/variety pack comes with 48 little baggies. They're what you'd buy if you put one of those small bags of chips in your kids' lunches everyday. $12 would sound about right for the box usually. I don't buy them, so I can't say what they are now.

However, prices are up, up, up at Costco. Since I go at least once a week, I notice.

[niyad]

63. A variety pack has a number of smaller packages of different flavours.

I have no idea how much they cost, since I rarely buy chips. But ALL food costs are going up.

[haele]

17. Oh, geez, the pantry purity police again. And I'm a home cook who works.

I also now co-raise raise grandkids, a very picky 6 year old and a 10 year old who sometimes just isn't hungry.

I can (now) afford to try to get healthy, cost effective food cooked for the family, but kids are something else if they don't want to eat it. Same with "healthy" snacks.
Even if you can get them to cook with you, it's difficult when the six year old just turns her nose up and demands spaghetti-o's or Kraft Mac n Cheese and a fruit cup - after she enthusiastically helped you make a meatball lentil vegetable soup for a Saturday family dinner, and the ten year old decides she's just not hungry at the last minute.

You can't imagine how many leftovers I've had to toss over the years because Laz and I can only eat so much and the kidlet or grand-kids just refuse to eat it -and then the grandkids head off for their time with Mom and Dad and eat the junk food they're provided with over there, because neither Mom and Dad don't have money, time - or space - to cook or have quality food when they're over there.

Wasting food on kids who aren't going to eat because their taste needs to change is just not possible for a parent on a budget. Especially if you didn't have the initial raising of them when the oldest ones were first developing their eating habits before the age of four.

I mean, you can always starve them until they eat it. That's what happened too many times when my brother and I were growing up poor with working/student parents in the 1960's. And Mom is a fantastic cook who taught me to cook starting when I was eight years old. CPS tends to look harshly at guardians who starve their kids because they won't eat what's in front of them nowadays.
But even during those hard times, my parents often gave up and just got the packaged quick meals, cans, and powdered sweet drinks just due to time, space, and money - especially what they could find in the ding/dent and expired bins.

On edit - the article describes pretty much how a low income working single parent/guardian who also wants to give the kids she's raising an occasional treat would buy at Costco during her weekly grocery run. Meat, some sort of box/canned/frozen veg and carb suppliment that will be easy to keep/store and make for dinners, easy snacks for kids that may be latch-key, quick breakfast fixings - things that don't leave a lot of leftovers that can get lost in a refrigerator and then have to be tossed.
That she buys a weekly pack of individual chips for four kids to snack on shouldn't be the thing to focus on.

Haele

[Demsrule86]

21. You can make spaghetti from scratch and chicken nuggets too...and if you can afford

Convenience food than more power to you...this is America. However. Spaghetti-O's are not healthy for anyone. And, I refuse to pay for what is really extortion on the part of folks that make this stuff...which is mostly crap food and does fuel the body. We have kids with type two diabetes in large part due to obesity and poor food choices these days. We are not helping our kids by feeding them this stuff.

[haele]

30. Again - if you can afford leftovers. If you can store the fixings.

I know manufactured food isn't good for you.
Look, my disabled husband and I cook when I can. I work and make above median wage, we own our 1300 sq.ft double-wide free and clear, so all we pay is lot rental and utilities. Our kitchen is a good size with decent pantry space for lots of produce basics for healthy cooking and extra counter space to prepare on.
We include the grandkids to attempt to get them to eat healthier when we can.
We can afford to throw out the leftovers my husband and I don't end up eating for lunch, which we tend to collect in Tupperware over a month in our rather large fridge and they have turned green and fuzzy by the time we throw them out.

But my daughter and son in law can't do all this. They make below the median wage and their 2 bedroom apartment is tiny, with a square kitchen space the size of a folded up RV kitchen, only allowing one person to stand in it and a small studio fridge. So when they have the girls, those bad eating habits and shitty canned or box food - or "lunchables" type grab and eat food is what the girls get, because that is all they can afford to deal with.

I've sent food - real meals - over that ended up thrown out before they were eaten because they needed to be re-heated and plated, so they sat in the fridge too long before the parents could get their time together to re-heat and serve in a real family meal. Wasted food.
So now, we provide them with (limited) fresh fruit and whatever snack-pack type fresh veggies (carrots, celery, red pepper slices) we can get everyone to eat portioned to last the time the girls are spending with their parents. And try to correct bad eating habits when the girls are over here.

It's very much a different culture growing up poor now then it was when we were kids. On edit -Especially with increasingly limited housing options, work/time issues and the food deserts a lot of people live in. If you can't get the space or time to get, store and cook healthy food, it doesn't matter how much healthy food is available to the general public.
And other than the Fritos, it sounds like this Ms. Ferrell is doing the best she can with four grandkids and her limited time and income.
But let's pile on the symptom -an increasing number of low income shoppers - rather than addressing the real issue - limited low cost access of quality food due to the bottom line practices and profiteering by Big Ag and Food Manufacturing corporations.

Haele

[Demsrule86]

39. I have cooked in tiny apartment kitchens having only a tiny fridge and, two burners and a

small microwave. It can be done if you want to and for a person below-median income, it would save money. You can cook baked chicken nuggets or even fried ones in less than 30 minutes and what is the point if you serve food that has no nutritional value? You can bake Chicken, make hamburgers on a grill, (small portable ones cost very little), make tacos, microwave frozen veggies, and make homemade pizza. I have a one-pot spaghetti recipe that my kids love. It takes one pot, a jar of sauce some water, and sausage or ground beef if you want...don't have to have it. Sure tastes better than Spaghetti-O's. I hope things improve financially for your family...been there. Right now my husband is on sick leave or I should say was on sick leave as his job fired him for being sick...and we have no income. The grocery budget is the one area most folks can save quite a bit of money on.

[totodeinhere]

52. Most people are not going to go to the time and trouble to make spaghetti from

scratch. In my case, I do not even have a noodle maker and I bet that with inflation noodle makers are expensive too. And making pasta on a cutting board with a rolling pin and a knife is very time consuming. And most people get their sauce from a jar and don't make it from fresh tomatoes.

[BannonsLiver]

31. The kids will eat when they get hungry enough.

Picky is a synonym for spoiled.

[haele]

38. Try not giving them options to what they're provided for two days.

And figure out what happens when the school starts to get involved when a teacher hears " I didn't eat dinner last night or breakfast this morning, and this packed lunch makes me sick...."

Spoiled, stubborn, it's the same thing if the kid doesn't want to eat what you serve.
Her pediatrician told us a lot of kids do this, and if she wanted to hold out, she could easily go three or four days without food from home before she'll break down and eat something healthier than what she wanted. Longer if she's scrounging snacks from her friends at school or sneaking the treat snacks when we're asleep.

Been there, done that with my daughter. School didn't care much when it was my brother in the 60's, but nowadays, there's an investigation.
We were really lucky I have a stay at home husband who could take the call and show the investigators that we weren't intentionally starving her, that she was just "being picky". Or spoiled, or whatever.


Haele

[Demsrule86]

40. You don't have to handle it that way...kids eat chicken and pizza mostly and pretty easyt to make

even in a small kitchen. The alternative is a lifetime of medical issues including type 2 diabetes.

[Demsrule86]

42. Try making homemade cookies which cost pennies...one I like that is easy is Peanut butter

cookies. However, don't send them to school! Peanut allergies are prevalent and dangerous. But I digress...one cup of peanut butter, one cup of sugar, one egg and a 1/2 tsp of vanilla (optional) Mix well, bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes just until the edges brown...dip a fork in sugar and mash the cookies gently so the fork marks still show...they firm as they cool. But should be pretty solid when they come out of the oven. You can add chocolate chips too. The recipe can be doubled easily.

[haele]

55. When I can, I make breakfast cookies like that -

Oatmeal based cookie, sweet spices, with a mashed banana, mashed apples and carrots that have been steamed to soft, various dried fruit, crushed sunflower seeds and pepitas. Egg and fat proportional to the amount of cookies I'm making, with a quarter of the brown sugar, due to the amount of mashed fruit for sweetening. And I use unsalted butter as the fat, which is actually healthier than crisco and bakes better than most oils. Use a neutral tasting oil if vegan.

I end up with big soft cookie bars that they can eat on the way to school if they're running late. But the six year old is just isn't into healthy eating and will turn her nose up even at them after a day or two.

Haele

[Duncan Grant]

49. Exactly, they're kids not little adults.

I can’t thank you enough for sharing your personal experience. A little empathy is preferable to a lot of judgmental ignorance.

[Calculating]

20. Frito Lays are not an essential food

Rice, Beans, Meat, Veggies, Fruit, bread, etc are essential foods.

[Demsrule86]

41. Exactly right...

[MrsCoffee]

26. FFS people, it's not about Fritos.

It's like the article was written that way on purpose.

[Demsrule86]

44. I get that, but Costco is expensive to begin with...I shop at Sam and BJ's for bulk purchases.

I recently got chicken breasts at sams (last week) for $1.68 per pound. I stocked up as I have a freezer. I shop the sales. I would be interested to know where this woman lives...and what other alternatives to Costco she has. I suggest the Tightwide gazette...and oldie but a goodie. Also, Ollies have great prices on some food too. I ended up buying gluten-free pumpkin cake mix after Christmas for 33 cents a box...bought 10 as they were good for a year. I love Pumpkin in every season and have made, muffins (add a can of pumpkin and 1/4 cup of oil... three eggs), cake, dump cake, and cupcakes. You can also make pumpkin bread and cookies using this mix. Shop the sales. Don't let the food industry extort you. Gluten-free mixes taste good these days and are usually made with healthy ingredients...relatively speaking...sugar yes but no corn syrup.

[dsp3000]

33. packaged foods are really expensive.

we started eating like crap after having kids. we used to shop the edges of the supermarket. now we buy alot of packaged stuff and didnt realize how much it ballooned our grocery bill.

[BannonsLiver]

34. She'd save some money by laying off the Fritos.

[ck4829]

35. Kick

[sarisataka]

37. Writers know how to get your attention

But don't necessarily know how to communicate their message.

In March, prices on fats and oils were up 15 percent from a year prior, flour was up 14 percent and milk was up 13 percent. Eggs, fish and seafood rose 11 percent. Cereal and processed fruits and vegetables have increased in price by 10 percent, bakery products were up 9 percent, sweets were up 8 percent and dairy products rose 7 percent. Baby food is up 11 percent from March 2021. All of those are products that women are more likely to pick off a shelf.

[Sympthsical]

43. ITT: People who stand behind EBT users at check out and tut.

It's like Cart Karens Gone Wild.

[Demsrule86]

45. People need to mind their own business. As a young mother I had food stamps for

a while, it was tough to make it to the end of the month...for breakfast, we had oatmeal, eggs, and toast (Homemade bread which is quick and easy and costs pennies to make), generic cornflakes or some unsweetened cereal, For lunch we had leftovers, soup, homemade chicken, tuna or ham sandwiches. For dinner, we had chicken, ham, beans, and often casseroles which included some meat, vegetables, and carbs. I made homemade cookies, wacky cake, and homemade puddings.

[totodeinhere]

53. That sounds like a pretty good diet to me.

I admit I am not a dietician though.

[XanaDUer2]

54. Please adopt me

You sound like a fantastic cook

[Samrob]

47. See my post on this. It more complicated than you think. nt

[raccoon]

58. Maybe if noncustodial parents were paying child support, this

Wouldn’t be a problem for some of these families.

[WarGamer]

60. I think it hurts everyone... not just women.

[ck4829]

67. Yes

[Polybius]

62. Link is down

Hmm.

[niyad]

64. What caught my attention was the part where women eat less so that their

families can eat. This has been reality in many cultures for a very long time, nothing new about it. In patriarchal cultures, especially, it is not deemed important that women have adequate nutrition, especially in times of scarcity. The men come first, maybe the children, and the women get whatever is left.

[ck4829]

66. Quite disturbing

[ck4829]

65. Kick

[liberal_mama]

68. I've been eating a lot of cheap foods that are unhealthy for me. I'm diabetic, but

most fresh foods are far too expensive now. So I have to eat a lot pasta, peanut butter sandwiches, white rice, ramen, cans of soup (when on sale), minimal meat (chicken thighs and pork), tuna packets when I get them cheaper on Amazon.

In my area, some foods have doubled or tripled in price. Eggs are $4+ a dozen and used to be $1 a dozen. The small bags of frozen spinach and broccoli I buy used to be 99 cents, now they're $1.99. Ribeye steak and fresh farmed salmon used to be $8.99 a pound and now Ribeye is $18.99/lb and salmon is $16.99/lb. Ground beef prices have doubled.

It's not just the food prices either. My heating bill and electric bill has gone up a lot. Last month, our National Fuel (heating) bill was $204 and it's never been more than $100 for the last 5 years in my records. My electric bill was like $70 more than usual and we didn't use the air conditioning once as it's still cool here in New York State.

Then the gas prices! Just awful.

My husband couldn't fill a prescription he's been prescribed for 10 years because the price went from $30 to $450.

That's all I do is worry now. I cancelled most of my premium services like Netflix and Showtime. I even cancelled my Kindle Unlimited membership and I was a member since the very first day they offered it.

I sure hope the prices go back down soon.