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Which things hit by inflation have affected your spending the most?

Food and gas. We are both retired now so not gassing up to go to work but good grief - the prices! They seem to fluctuate at will - probably the will of the oil companies - but you couldn't budget for gas if you wanted to do so, We too are fortunate in that our kids our grown and through college, married with their own families. Our house and cars are paid. Our lives are simple now without a lot of wants although we do enjoy a meal out. That too has just gone crazy in price though! Sometimes we get carryout from our favorite Italian restaurant - if you can skip the drinks (even iced tea) and the tip - you've saved quite a bit. Hubby always tips the counter help too but not as much of course as eating in house.
 
MissGotRocks said:
Food and gas. We are both retired now so not gassing up to go to work but good grief - the prices! They seem to fluctuate at will - probably the will of the oil companies - but you couldn't budget for gas if you wanted to do so, We too are fortunate in that our kids our grown and through college, married with their own families. Our house and cars are paid. Our lives are simple now without a lot of wants although we do enjoy a meal out. That too has just gone crazy in price though! Sometimes we get carryout from our favorite Italian restaurant - if you can skip the drinks (even iced tea) and the tip - you've saved quite a bit. Hubby always tips the counter help too but not as much of course as eating in house.
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About the gas, I commute 42 miles each way to work. I budget gas at $4.00 a gallon. Here in Florida, I haven’t seen it go past $3.71/gallon recently. If it goes past 4 I’ll adjust the numbers to $5 probably. That’s one thing I can’t go with out.
 
Travel, especially hotels (we usually love road trips so airfare doesn't affect us as much as hotels and gas). Food is one of those things we need regardless of cost so we still eat, just spending more. But we are definitely travelling less.
 
Oh I totally forgot, property taxes and home insurance, they went up so much that we have an $800 shortage in our escrow account. So we will have to look at our budget again in November when they adjust our mortgage payment to account for these increases. Blah!
 
@YadaYadaYada I've been trying to convince my parent to leave Connecticut for this reason. Not sure if that’s where you are but the state is brutal.
 
YadaYadaYada said:
Oh I totally forgot, property taxes and home insurance, they went up so much that we have an $800 shortage in our escrow account. So we will have to look at our budget again in November when they adjust our mortgage payment to account for these increases. Blah!
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Is this because they raised the tax rate or because they re-assessed your house and gave it a higher value? Just wondering since the housing prices have increased so much lately.
 
Food, pet food and litter, gas. We are doing good luckily but having to help my daughter and fiance' as they are really struggling with rent (exorbitant) and gas and food. He works full time and she is working 2 part-time jobs. It's insane.
 
Lookinagain said:
Is this because they raised the tax rate or because they re-assessed your house and gave it a higher value? Just wondering since the housing prices have increased so much lately.
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We had a reassessment, at just the right time for the city because our house is valued significantly higher now :(

They actually lowered the mill rate a bit to offset the re-evaluation so I guess that is one good thing.
 
SandraLynn said:
@YadaYadaYada I've been trying to convince my parent to leave Connecticut for this reason. Not sure if that’s where you are but the state is brutal.
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Yes, we are in central Connecticut. Honestly if I didn’t have kids I’m not sure we would be here. At this point we only have 12 years left on our mortgage, so that is probably the only incentive to stay after our oldest graduates high school in two years.
 
HI:

Learned today Safeway no longer offers gas coupons. :rolleyes:

Does anyone here shop for groceries at Wallmart? I was there for another reason and looked at the prices and I was shocked to see how much cheaper they were!! It is a bit out of my way but no more than Superstore.

cheers--Sharon
 
canuk-gal said:
HI:

Learned today Safeway no longer offers gas coupons. :rolleyes:

Does anyone here shop for groceries at Wallmart? I was there for another reason and looked at the prices and I was shocked to see how much cheaper they were!! It is a bit out of my way but no more than Superstore.

cheers--Sharon
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Hi @canuk-gal , I no longer shop at Safeway or Luckys. I only shop at Walmart or Costco. Walmart is way cheaper on everything!!
 
Luce said:
Hi @canuk-gal , I no longer shop at Safeway or Luckys. I only shop at Walmart or Costco. Walmart is way cheaper on everything!!
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I really have to get into another mindset about groceries. I like Superstore--and their Presidents Choice line. I've never shopped at Wallmart and their parking lot is terrible. LOL. Like I said I need a change of mindset cuz I overspend on groceries out of convenience.
 
We have definitely noticed the inflation in food and utilities, but it really hasn't affected our spending that much. We are a double income family with 2 kids in state universities, and while we used to be able to squirrel some money for hobbies, vacations, and retirement savings, we are now breaking even after paying for the necessities (bills) for us, our dog, and 2 kids who live off campus at their respective universities.
 
Housing. We lost our accepted contract (didn't get to sign yet) to a cash buyer who came in. Nothing else has popped up that we can afford since the rates are now over 7%. FX our landlord extends our lease without an insane rent increase.
 
Asscherhalo_lover said:
Housing. We lost our accepted contract (didn't get to sign yet) to a cash buyer who came in. Nothing else has popped up that we can afford since the rates are now over 7%. FX our landlord extends our lease without an insane rent increase.
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So sorry. thankfully your landlord didn't take advantage of your situation. But losing the contract stinks.
 
Dairy, especially butter has gone up astronomically here in Australia.

Fresh produce is not too bad as long as you're eating seasonally. For instance cauliflower is in season now and it's $2 a head, corn 90c for one, green beans $4 a kilo

Meat went up and then stabilized.

I think fuel, energy prices, restaurant prices are more noticable to me. Clothes have gone down!
 
In terms of "affecting our spending," I'd have to say travel (airfare + lodging). Not sure how much of that is inflation (or is every price increase inflation?) but the cost of travel has become discouraging -- mostly because my mental benchmarking is still mired in the recent past. As in: "Well, that just seems nuts!"
 
Pet food, cat litter, and dining out — so we rarely dine out these days. My partner is a wonderful cook, and we don't miss much. He makes the best chicken tikka masala I've ever had, and we're very well stocked with wine (one of the benefits of living near Sonoma and Napa). But the pet food and cat litter, sheesh ... that's going to drive us into the poorhouse, as my mom used to say.
 
groceries are out of freaking control.....I am really, really good and getting bargains but its really hard to do anymore....but otherwise I am a tightwad by nature so I don't really pay much attention to some things.....oh yeah I forgot we turned our air conditioning up because the electric bill has too high.....and I am always cold so don't bother me but our son who lives at home complains, he keeps telling me he will pay the damn bill...but I wont let him lol
 
Lookinagain said:
Is this because they raised the tax rate or because they re-assessed your house and gave it a higher value? Just wondering since the housing prices have increased so much latel
YadaYadaYada said:
Oh I totally forgot, property taxes and home insurance, they went up so much that we have an $800 shortage in our escrow account. So we will have to look at our budget again in November when they adjust our mortgage payment to account for these increases. Blah!
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We got hit with the escrow shortage too due to tax and insurance hikes.
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YadaYadaYada said:
We had a reassessment, at just the right time for the city because our house is valued significantly higher now :(

They actually lowered the mill rate a bit to offset the re-evaluation so I guess that is one good thing.
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We had a reassessment as well (but not a lowered mill rate), so I feel your pain.
 
Utilities and gas we take as a given - fortunately we’re able to absorb the increases. My husband has always been very frugal when it comes to groceries, and we continue to do most of our shopping at off-price grocery stores so that hadn’t changed.

The thing that has affected my spending is the increased cost of any sort of eating out. Dining out has become sort of a luxury simply because we rarely do it these days (as opposed to when I was single, when I regularly dined out a few times a week). It seems like the cost of dining out at some favorite places has gone up 50% in the past few years. I now think twice or more even when I’m considering getting fast food.

In the totally extraneous expensed department, my husband inherited a piece of mountain property a few years ago. When we talked to a builder just before the pandemic started, he estimates it would cost about $600,000 to build the rather simple design we were considering. Earlier this year that estimate had more than doubled, and it came with a warning that the cost of many of the materials was still increasing daily. We’re now leaning towards selling the property.
 
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Travel. We used to be very frugal travelers, but that's getting more difficult by the day. Our airline and credit card points have devalued a lot, so not as much bang for the buck there, and we chose some expensive destinations this year, which stung a bit. We've also been trying to buy a house for the last 3 years, and market in our area and budget is still absolutely out of control.
 
VRBeauty said:
Utilities and gas we take as a given - fortunately we’re able to absorb the increases. My husband has always been very frugal when it comes to groceries, and we continue to do most of our shopping at off-price grocery stores so that hadn’t changed.

The thing that has affected my spending is the increased cost of any sort of eating out. Dining out has become sort of a luxury simply because we rarely do it these days (as opposed to when I was single, when I regularly dined out a few times a week). It seems like the cost of dining out at some favorite places has gone up 50% in the past few years. I now think twice or more even when I’m considering getting fast food.

In the totally extraneous expensed department, my husband inherited a piece of mountain property a few years ago. When we talked to a builder just before the pandemic started, he estimates it would cost about $600,000 to build the rather simple design we were considering. Earlier this year that estimate had more than doubled, and it came with a warning that the cost of many of the materials was still increasing daily. We’re now leaning towards selling the property.
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Oh my goodness. Is holding the land for a few years an option?
 
missy said:
I don't want to seem obnoxious but if I answer this question honestly the answer would be nothing. But we do not spend much anyway anymore besides to maintain our homes. We have what we need for the most part and we do not skimp on food. But it is just the two of us so we have less expenses than most who have larger families. I don't buy clothes for the most part. I don't buy shoes or boots. I don't buy luxury items. But yes we do buy good food. I am super picky about what I eat so I really do not have a choice if I want to eat that is.

We are also older than many here and we have saved sufficiently so we don't have to skimp on things. But yeah it's a challenging time for most and I am acutely aware of that. My sister and BIL will have two kids in college soon and their combined college costs will be more than their salaries. I feel their pain and I feel others pain about the cost of things. It has gotten out of hand IMO and something has got to give
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+1
IOW, Nothing.

With regard to day to day purchases we live a very modest lifestyle, aside from those past luxuries ... which are already paid for.

We haven't been to a restaurant since COVID started.
I prepare all of our food from scratch with unprocessed simple ingredients, for health and for frugality.

So, Sameo Sameo
I know, I know ... BORING!


tenor-3025494341.gif
 
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I notice fuel, groceries and the electricity / gas bills (which are nuts!) cost a noticeable amount more. I trick myself on my car by topping off the tank when it’s around 1/2 of a tank so it isn’t so painful. Now, when my husband fills his pickup, that’s painful. Luckily, we haven’t had to change anything or cut back. But, we’re both probably less likely to do impulse buys. We don’t have kids or pets, it is just us and that helps. I don’t eat much, but my husband eats for four. We’ve been buying meat from a local ranch and that’s been cheaper than buying meat in the store.
 
Homeowner’s insurance is really expensive now. Can’t do without it although many people have given up and do just that.
 
We quit shopping at our local Albertson's-owned chain when they jacked up the price of raisin bran to $8 a box. :-o

It's only about 1/3 that price at Aldi.
Score one for Germany.
 
mellowyellowgirl said:
Dairy, especially butter has gone up astronomically here in Australia.

Fresh produce is not too bad as long as you're eating seasonally. For instance cauliflower is in season now and it's $2 a head, corn 90c for one, green beans $4 a kilo

Meat went up and then stabilized.

I think fuel, energy prices, restaurant prices are more noticable to me. Clothes have gone down!
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Eggs, dairy big time. Meat/poultry prices all over the map. 4.99 head of cauliflower--mind you it was big! But 5 bucks on sale? Luckily it tastes good in many dishes and you can use most of the stalk--don't need to waste/compost.
 
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