Food Prices, Shortages & Inflation - The Trash Index

[sunsaver]

My power, water, phone, etc. have all been cut off for a long time now. I use solar power and bum wireless internet from my neighbor, a old highschool buddy. I grow most of my own food. I have no bills, unless i decide to buy some food, a new tool, or some new tech.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

I laughed & told him that next thing we'll know they'll start shorting our dozen eggs with just 11!

ha! thats pretty good and yep i'm sure that will be next. but they'll give it a fancy name and new packaging, like "the economy dozen -for folks who are ecologically minded and want less packaging and less waste." ha!

i saw this interview too - wow.

we had a shocker at the grocery store. instead of our normal $40(ish) a week we spent $70 b/c we bought stuff we dont normally get. we stood in the cereal aisle laughing and hanging off each other looking at an $8 - thats EIGHT DOLLAR - box of fancy granola. we nearly peed our pants over that one. and then we went around to the cooking oil section - i wanted to fry something and didnt want to waste my precious lard - and a normal/regular bottle of corn/veg oil was almost $5. FIVE DOLLARS?!!?!?!? even the store brand of who-knows-what oil was almost $4. the last time i bought it was a couple years ago and it was $1.99.

we walked out shocked and stunned and wondering how regular people are making it.

i have a friend who's hubby just got laid off - he isnt havent any luck with his normal biz contacts and thought that the ex-company was bashing on him. i just told my friend that it may not be about him at all - no one is rushing to hire (did everyone see the hiring report??? 18,000 new jobs last month and not 150,000?). i have a feeling he's going to be out of work for a while. they are still in denial about the whole thing and i'm about to send them my "how to live cheaply in a crazy world" email. of course their HOA wont let them get ducks but i'm guessing there could be a revolution soon and all that will be out the window. soon their tidy neighborhood will be full of goats, chickens, food gardens in the front yard....and heaven forbid - clotheslines.

its a crazy world.

 

[justusnak]

Wow, I don't know how people do it either. I mean, if we didn't have our own supply here, we would be hungry for sure! I was at the grocery the other day...fresh veggies are over the top!!! It wasn't too long ago one could buy canned veggies 4 for a dollar, now they are almost a dollar a can!! Jeesh! The "good" food is so expensive, that's why people dash for the "ramen noodles" and frozen pot pies, ( 3 for $1) and "garbage" foods. No wonder people are so overweight! They cant afford to eat healthy unless they grow it, and so many places won't let them have gardens.

 

[JRmom]

Wow, I don't know how people do it either. I mean, if we didn't have our own supply here, we would be hungry for sure! I was at the grocery the other day...fresh veggies are over the top!!! It wasn't too long ago one could buy canned veggies 4 for a dollar, now they are almost a dollar a can!! Jeesh! The "good" food is so expensive, that's why people dash for the "ramen noodles" and frozen pot pies, ( 3 for $1) and "garbage" foods. No wonder people are so overweight! They cant afford to eat healthy unless they grow it, and so many places won't let them have gardens.

I start heaving when I see the veggie prices in the grocery store.... and watch people actually buying the stuff. There is a local family who has owned/operated a produce market here for over 20 years (with 2 locations). A lot of what they offer is from Florida, a lot local to this area. They sell fruit, vegetables, eggs, honey, nuts, home-baked breads.... all at a much lower price than the grocery stores. I've been a loyal shopper for years. I just don't understand why people would pay stupid prices for a tasteless gas-ripened tomato that comes from who knows where when right down the road you can buy a real vine-ripened Florida tomato for half the price. It boggles the mind.

 

[Wifezilla]

OFG, will you be posting how to live cheap in a crazy world on your blog???

Here is a weird inflation indicator....bagged ice. Our ice make broke and we tossed all our ice cube trays when we got it years ago. I make ice in my silicone bakeware, but sometimes we need extra and pick up a bag. I used to grumble at hubby when we would go camping and the convenience stores charged $1.19 for a 10lb bag. Hubby had me grab one at 7-11 the other night and it was $2.69!!!

Hubby was threatened with death if he didn't fix the ice maker. We use www.repairclinic.com to fix our appliances. Saves us a load of money.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

OFG, will you be posting how to live cheap in a crazy world on your blog???

yep. the more i talk with regular people, the more folks need it i think. i've been working on writing it in my head - but i just need the time to get it done. and me with all these adorable runner distracting me......

and ha! i laughed about your ice thing.. um.. we just have those blue trays and we cant hardly get them to work. ha!

;-)

 

[Wifezilla]

The blue trays I can handle, but nobody refills them and I get really cranky when I go to get ice and see nothing but snow dust in the trays. Now those old metal ones? I nearly lost fingers and arms trying to work those darn things as a kid.

I so like my ice, I have actually looked up ice house plans in case TSHTF

 

[Damummis]

I laughed & told him that next thing we'll know they'll start shorting our dozen eggs with just 11!

ha! thats pretty good and yep i'm sure that will be next. but they'll give it a fancy name and new packaging, like "the economy dozen -for folks who are ecologically minded and want less packaging and less waste." ha!

i saw this interview too - wow.

we had a shocker at the grocery store. instead of our normal $40(ish) a week we spent $70 b/c we bought stuff we dont normally get. we stood in the cereal aisle laughing and hanging off each other looking at an $8 - thats EIGHT DOLLAR - box of fancy granola. we nearly peed our pants over that one. and then we went around to the cooking oil section - i wanted to fry something and didnt want to waste my precious lard - and a normal/regular bottle of corn/veg oil was almost $5. FIVE DOLLARS?!!?!?!? even the store brand of who-knows-what oil was almost $4. the last time i bought it was a couple years ago and it was $1.99.

we walked out shocked and stunned and wondering how regular people are making it.

i have a friend who's hubby just got laid off - he isnt havent any luck with his normal biz contacts and thought that the ex-company was bashing on him. i just told my friend that it may not be about him at all - no one is rushing to hire (did everyone see the hiring report??? 18,000 new jobs last month and not 150,000?). i have a feeling he's going to be out of work for a while. they are still in denial about the whole thing and i'm about to send them my "how to live cheaply in a crazy world" email. of course their HOA wont let them get ducks but i'm guessing there could be a revolution soon and all that will be out the window. soon their tidy neighborhood will be full of goats, chickens, food gardens in the front yard....and heaven forbid - clotheslines. its a crazy world.

Hey, that's MY yard you are talking about. Hahahah.
Living on an island that caters to VERY wealthy summer folk, my place is an oddity. Gardens, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks and clotheslines. I have also seemed to start a fad. A half mile down the road another insta-farm just went up. They rival us all of a sudden. People are talking. Rich folk are gawking. BUT, they are buying eggs and produce from US. The future looks bleak but I am up for the challange. Bring it on. I will warn you though, when the SHTF for real. No more Ms. Nice Girl. The gloves come off and if you even think of sponging, I will kick your butt.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

They rival us all of a sudden.

whoot! fire it up, girl!

i like to think of it as we are riding the crest of a new wave of "keeping up with the joneses" - sure they mocked before... but now they are all swimming around asking questions. i think we should all start "farm consulting" businesses..... ha!
;-)

 

[freemotion]

They rival us all of a sudden.

whoot! fire it up, girl!

i like to think of it as we are riding the crest of a new wave of "keeping up with the joneses" - sure they mocked before... but now they are all swimming around asking questions. i think we should all start "farm consulting" businesses..... ha!
;-)

The two guys that helped us send last year's pigs to freezer camp (ok, not "helped," they did it for us) have a business where they either do this stuff for you (they also put in and maintain veg gardens, build outdoor ovens, paint murals, etc) or do it WITH you while teaching you.....and the client is invited to participate as much or as little as they want. Brilliant. I'm raising a pig for them this year in exchange for their services. Don't forget to "store up" some good connections and be very familiar with bartering.