Basically every year there is inflation it just depends on how high it is.
One of the reasons for inflation was the cost of shipping a container from overseas. It was up like 400% during and coming out of Covid. It has come back down.
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It is still more expensive to buy pretty much everything than it was in 2019. My gas and grocery bills are routinely $100+ each time and previously they were closer to $50-60+. Add in the everyone expects a tip and being charged processing fees for credit card purchases and the entire thing sucks. And if the idea is that we should just get used to it/deal with it…nope, I’m not on board.
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Where are you located that they’re allowed to do this? I’m in MA and that’s not a “thing” here.
It is most definitely a thing where I live!
PA. I’ve experienced it with contractors, property tax payments, pretty much every vendor hired in connection with my daughter’s wedding, small businesses around town, local restaurants, especially those who prefer cash, my landscaper, charities or political organizations I give to ask me to cover it. National retailers haven’t jumped on board yet but I’m anticipating they will soon.
Every in 2019 was pretty much more expensive than 2015; 2015 was more expensive than 2011. There has always been inflation. Some years are higher than other years. In the 70s and 80s it got really crazy.
But prices will never go back to 2019
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I don’t think packaged foods is synonymous with not eating healthy. For example, is frozen broccoli inherently unhealthy? Or canned salmon?
I mentioned packaged dried beans and rice earlier. I also consider packaged cooked beans + brown rice to be a healthy meal, assuming other daily meals meet remaining dietary needs. In addition to being reasonably healthy, it is one of the least expensive possible meals, at under 20 cents per serving.
However, if “eating healthy” is restricted to just unpackaged items such fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, lean meats, … ; that is likely to cost substantially more than most junk foods. This is especially true, if measured on a calorie basis. For example, 100 calories worth of fresh vegetables is likely to cost more than 100 calories worth of a donut.
I was thinking they were referring to packaged PROCESSED food. Ready made meals and stuff .
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My original post mentioned “packaged” food, as a comparison to packaged food having equivalent quality between Amazon Fresh and other grocers, so no benefit to choosing a higher cost grocer on the product. The reply talked about healthy foods having similar costs to “prepackaged” foods, suggesting avoiding the packaged food with equivalent quality and instead choosing unpackaged foods where quality may differ between Amazon Fresh and other grocers. Your post is on the only one (in the past year) that has mentioned “processed.”
That said, I do agree that processed foods tend to be less healthy, particularly ultra-processed. NOVA class 3 is “processed”, which includes things like canned vegetables. NOVA class 4 is “ultra-processed”, which includes foods that are "made mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods and additives, with little if any intact Group 1 food.”
I get that time is an issue/cost but if you can prepare the foods at home I do not think eating healthy is more expensive than eating junk food, magnitudes cheaper when dr cost factored in. I love, and often eat, beans…and they are quite cheap to make.
Also, the articles I read before on food deserts did not show that putting a grocery store in a food desert meaningfully changed the eating habits of those nearby.
If I were emperor, I would significantly increase taxes on sugar and junk food and use it to subsidize fruits and veggies…I would also put a large deposit on all recyclable items…
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I’ve found that you can save quite a bit of money shopping at Kroger or Walmart, but I’ve also learned that you most often get what you pay for as well. So far Kroger has had the most food recalls by double that of Wal-Mart. Tom Thumb(Safeway) has the least, but charge higher prices. This is coming from the FDA recall website. If it’s a matter of money saving, shop at WalMart. But, maybe it might be a good idea to avoid Kroger, at least for produce.
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Another major listeria recall today…and it’s Kroger:
Tom Thumb is not grouped with their ownership company for the purposes of the recall stats. Albertson’s and Safeway are both listed as having different stats from Tom Thumb. One reason why Tom Thumb has fewer recalls is they have fewer stores, with fewer sales. For example, Walmart is by far the most popular grocer in the United States with $467 billion in grocery sales last year and a 25% share of US grocery sales. The next 2 in market share were Costco (7%) and Kroger (6%). Tom Thumb is a local chain in the Dallas area that has near negligible sales compared to these giants – less than 1/1000 the sales of Walmart. I expect this 1000x lower sales volume has more to do with having fewer recalls than does general quality differences.
The highest volume grocer I recognize as upscale is Whole Foods, which had similar recalls to Kroger in the current FDA database. Kroger has 25, Whole Foods has 24, Walmart has 20, Costco has 18, Safeway has 15, Target has 12, Trader Joe’s has 11, Aldi has 9, and Sam’s Club has 6.
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I’ll go with mi instincts. I’ll shop at the store where I get the runs the least often. 
Where I have noticed inflation the most is in two areas. First is eating out. I don’t eat out much but on the occasions that I do they are much more expensive. It’s just anecdotal but some have nearly doubled their prices. I do most of my own cooking so while I’ve seen the cost of groceries increase I’ve not changed my budget but have changed what I purchase. Pork instead of steak, more beans, rice, frozen vegetables rather than fresh etc.
The second is in my property taxes. Last year they went up nearly 20% and the valuation on my home for next years property taxes has gone up 37%. We happen to have a school levy on the ballot this year. In the past I always supported them even though I don’t have students in the system anymore. With my property taxes going up as much as they have generically I can’t bring myself to increase them even more. Most of the increase in property tax goes to the schools anyway so I’m not inclined to feel guilty.
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The cost of eating out is what is bugging me the most. I can adjust at the grocery store and do substitutes or find sales. At the restaurant hard to find deals. In the end we are eating out less.
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I agree that eating out has gotten outrageously expensive. What we find interesting is that in our Philly suburb, it doesn’t seem like fewer people are eating out. At least not on the weekends. Everything is always packed.
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+1 on this at the Jersey Shore. I hear lots of complaining about inflation, but my eyes tell me it’s not really curbing people’s lifestyle choices too much.
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Restaurants are busy here in Seattle, too. The waterfront places near us are booked solidly.
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Nice to know that restaurant employees are being paid more of a living wage now.
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