These are just two of the most recent and worst examples.

The place were just moved from didn't have overnight street parking. There was a city parking lot a few minutes from the house. It used to cost $15 a month to park there. Every three months, I would get a bill for $45 dollars, mail it in, then get a card to put on the dashboard. The last bill I got was for $75. It jumped from $45 to $75. I called Town Hall. "Please tell me this is a typo...."

Also, I get my home property taxes quarterly. When I got my bill in February, it was $205 higher than the bill of three months before. I called City Hall. "Please tell me this is a typo...."

I get inflation. I understand that prices rise. What I don't get, and it's a new thing, are these HUGE overnight increases. I understand that my Comcast bill has gently risen from $105 to $155 over the last four years. It's these sudden 30% to 40% increases that I have a hard time dealing with. The ones that almost make you faint when you open the bill, lol. At the grocery store, produce is out of control too. An apple cost over a buck.

The prices of just about everything continue to rise on what it seems is a weekly basis. I've noticed this for a while now, but the last several months it seems the prices have truly skyrocketed and are now getting out of control...

I'm feeling it with coffee. Milk, fortunately, is holding steady (I can still get it for less than $4/gallon). But yeah, sheesh.


Coffee has rose about 50% in the last 6 months. Last time I got coffee, it was on sale at Target for $7 (I think it was $9 before the sale). Now it's $10.39 there, altho I can get it cheaper with my employee discount. Still not much of a savings though.

I took this at a local grocery store yesterday. This is the brand and flavor I buy. $10.29. :faint:

It sure is. There was this nice little food shop I used to go to as a luxury because even though their prices were high, the quality was good. But they've raised their prices so much (even though they were high to begin with) that I've just stopped.

It's not fair. It really is true, this generation had better find a way to go to college and get a GOOD career to survive in this high-price mess. It's not fair. Higher education should be an option, not a must.

PZelda, i know what you are saying about coffee. The coffee i get is over $8, and not even as big as the size of the picture you have posted. Coffee cream is getting high too. A gallon of milk here is almost $6.

Oh, i forgot this amazing story. My mom loves grapes a lot, and when i go to the store she asks me to pick some up for her. The other day at Wal-Mart, i bought 2 large bags of grapes for about $4. About 2 months ago at Albertsons i bought the same amount, and was shocked at the register when they said $19.50 for those two bags. :eek:

Coffee is expensive. Everytime I go to startbucks it's about $5 for my favorite latte.

I think with Starbucks you are paying more for that styrofoam cup. :lol: What I pay for a regular cup of coffee at Starbucks, I could get a cup of coffee and two sweet breads at my local bakery.

I think with Starbucks you are paying more for that styrofoam cup. :lol: What I pay for a regular cup of coffee at Starbucks, I could get a cup of coffee and two sweet breads at my local bakery.
We don't have a local bakery, haha, just more chains.
I just go to SBs anyway because there's one right on base. :lol:

We don't have a local bakery, haha, just more chains.
I just go to SBs anyway because there's one right on base. :lol:
Yeah, that makes sense. If it is so close, why go anywhere else, right? ;)

We don't have a local bakery, haha, just more chains.
I just go to SBs anyway because there's one right on base. :lol:
I get a discount on Starbucks at work... because there's one in the store. :banana: $4.01 for a large, when everybody else has to pay $4.20 for theirs. :D

I get a discount on Starbucks at work... because there's one in the store. :banana: $4.01 for a large, when everybody else has to pay $4.20 for theirs. :D
$4.01 for coffee???? Tell me you get it with all sorts of extras. :lol: I can't imagine paying that much for coffee when I can get the same thing at my local bakery for $1.25.

Prices everywhere is going up. I hear what you say about Comcast Janice. I posted last fall about how they now charge extra for the NFL Network...they put it on a sports teer now with 4 other channels I don't want but I have to pay for them in order to get that channel. I also even noticed lately the movies that are On-Demand have even gone up a dollar. Every little cent they want. :ohno:

$4.01 for coffee???? Tell me you get it with all sorts of extras. :lol: I can't imagine paying that much for coffee when I can get the same thing at my local bakery for $1.25.
Nope. :lol:

I only get it once in a while, though. Plus I work overnights so by the time I get to work, the Starbucks in the store is already closed.

I get a discount on Starbucks at work... because there's one in the store. :banana: $4.01 for a large, when everybody else has to pay $4.20 for theirs. :D
Dang, I need to work at a target or something. :lol:
On base a "grande" is 4.05 after I add syrup, make it decaf and soy. But there's no tax on base, so that's a perk.

Prices everywhere is going up. I hear what you say about Comcast Janice. I posted last fall about how they now charge extra for the NFL Network...they put it on a sports teer now with 4 other channels I don't want but I have to pay for them in order to get that channel. I also even noticed lately the movies that are On-Demand have even gone up a dollar. Every little cent they want. :ohno:
They have to charge more.

My brother-in-law works for them. Their employees get every single channel for free. They also get free internet and free phone service. They even get free pay-per-view. If they don't live in a Comcast service area then they get an extra amount in their paycheck every week. Really makes me want to puke...

Sheesh. How about hitting the brakes on the prices on coffee?!! :crazy:

I might as well stop drinking coffee altogether. It's getting expensive! It was DEFINITELY $10.39 the last time I was on duty, just days ago.

Sheesh. How about hitting the brakes on the prices on coffee?!! :crazy:

I might as well stop drinking coffee altogether. It's getting expensive! It was DEFINITELY $10.39 the last time I was on duty, just days ago.

:eek: daaang. that is a lot for coffee!

:eek: daaang. that is a lot for coffee!
I still have half a can of Black Silk left here - I don't even wanna think about what it'll be like when I need more coffee again, which will probably happen sometime next month. *hopes they have another sale on coffee*

:faint:

Another example is the increase in gas.

It rose here probably 30 cents in a week. 30 :censored: cents. **** whatever excuse the oil companies are using today. One lame excuse after another. PRICE GOUGING. :mad: :mad: :mad:

12 pack of pop is now over $4. ohno: Used to be under $3 off-sale.

12 pack of pop is now over $4. ohno: Used to be under $3 off-sale.
I still think that's pretty cheap. Plus, either way, there's always a place having a sale on soda. I *think* right now Target is having a 5 for $5 on 2L bottles of Pepsi sodas.

Now. 1.25 or 1.50 for a 20oz beverage from the vending machine... Uh. I'll take my money elsewhere.

Soda in my grocery store is either BUY 2 GET TWO FREE or BUY 3 GET 2 FREE on 12 packs. Good bargains especially if we are buying for a barbecue.

12 pack of pop is now over $4. ohno: Used to be under $3 off-sale.

At Kroger I got a 24-pack of their Big K Diet Citrus Drop (Kroger-ese for Diet Mountain Dew) for $4.39 ($4.57 without a Plus Card). Then again, it wasn't so long ago that the same pack was $4.15, and I even remember $3.99.

It rose here probably 30 cents in a week. 30 :censored: cents. **** whatever excuse the oil companies are using today. One lame excuse after another. PRICE GOUGING. :mad: :mad: :mad:

Here in Dayton (and Ohio, and much of the Midwest, for that matter) just about every week Speedway raises their gas prices to usually some insane level, and all the other brands follow suit. On DaytonGasPrices.com (part of GasBuddy) Speedway has earned the nickname of Greedway, and one poster calls them the Greedcoats. I, for one, blame the enviro-wackos (and that's just being nice; the term I want to use would probably get me banned from the boards!) who won't let us drill in ANWR or build new refineries and force us to rely on oil from Middle Eastern nations with untrustworthy governments. I mean, what's more important, our people or some rare little tadpole? Sheesh!

Fortunately the truckstop chains like Flying J and Pilot do not follow Speedway's raises. However, coming home from Kansas this week on Friday I saw that a Flying J in Missouri just west of St. Louis raised their price to $3.259 when many prices were under $3.10 the day before. I knew a spike was on; the Phillips 66 station where I later stopped was $3.299. What the hey?!?! Missouri's prices have always been less than Ohio's (which spiked to $3.259 Wednesday according to my brother, with whom I spoke the night before). Don't ask what it was across the river in Illinois. ohno:

Gas prices drive me crazy these days.

On Friday I paid a personal record $3.549 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. (I could have paid $3.599 had I gone to the wrong place!) And my previous high had been $3.299, first achieved in Effingham, Illinois (oddly enough, at the exact same station where I paid over $3 for the first time after Hurricane Katrina three years ago, but under a different brand name, but I digress!), in late March and repeated in Kansas a couple of times. What I wouldn't do to pay $3.299 today! DaytonGasPrices.com lists a few $3.379s on the north side, but I'm on the south side. :mad:

Oh, and I saw a sighting of $4.099 at ChicagoGasPrices.com! :eek:

The grocery bill in my house has gone through the roof, and we're just normal eaters. It's only me and my husband and our two cats, and we spend, on average, $150 a week. That's for food and some health and beauty products. We also go to a deli for nice prepared foods, then there's take-out and restaurants. Some beer and wine. What do families with two or more kids spend?

Has anyone noticed that when you buy a can of coffee, it's not a pound anymore, but 11 to 13 oz? That's happening with a lot of products. The size of the products is shrinking, even cookies, ice cream sandwiches, things like that.

- I don't wear makeup. I do, however, use lip balm, which is no more than $2/tube.

- I live in a no-pets building. So no additional expenses here.

- I don't eat out that often. Last time was... umm... beginning of March. I will generally go to eat out if I'm traveling, and I was traveling a lot last month.

- Cheap liquor! I have a 1.75L bottle of vodka that cost $11. These usually cost close to $20. 1.75 lasts a loooooooooooooooong time, and you can't beat $11 for that much alcohol. :D

That said, last time I went food shopping, I brought $70 of food. FOR JUST ME. Of course, some of that was stuff like Dove ice cream bars ($5 a box) and soy milk. But still.

I just got more coffee recently, and it's still been holding steady at 10.79 like in the pic I posted. No, I have not noticed coffee cans shrinking... I always buy the biggest can I can get. Lasts me about 2 to 2.5 months.

^ Health and beauty is also hair care, toothpaste and other dental hygiene products, deodorant, body creams, soap, vitamins, "women's products", birth control for some, shaving cream, razors, medicine, mouthwash, perfume, medical bills and/or co-pays, make-up, hubby's stuff, on and on, puts quite the dent in the old wallet.
:faint:

I've recently started buying the extra large cans of coffee. Definitely a savings, especially when they go on sale.

^ Health and beauty is also hair care, toothpaste and other dental hygiene products, deodorant, body creams, soap, vitamins, "women's products", birth control for some, shaving cream, razors, medicine, mouthwash, perfume, medical bills and/or co-pays, make-up, hubby's stuff, on and on, puts quite the dent in the old wallet.
:faint:

I've recently started buying the extra large cans of coffee. Definitely a savings, especially when they go on sale.
Ah, yes. I've been doing just fine with the beauty products I have. Think I got some shampoo & conditioner back in February, and I figure I'm OK until at least July or August. Haven't had to buy any women's products in years, and just recently started having to pay for my BC. It's still cheap, though, so I'm not complaining. :lol:

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I brought any beauty products. :lol:

Haven't had to buy any women's products in years, and just recently started having to pay for my BC.

Allison, what's a "BC"?

:confused:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B60H06?smid=A308I39VR1FG4N&tag=cnet-ce-20&linkCode=asn
MAN things have skyrocketed. Back in the day you could buy a trio of matching Learjets with enough money left over for a palatial mansion, twin Ferraris, and still be able to retire on the remaining INTEREST.

For a printer.

:lol:

Allison, what's a "BC"?

:confused:
Umm... birth control. :lol:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000B60H06?smid=A308I39VR1FG4N&tag=cnet-ce-20&linkCode=asn
MAN things have skyrocketed. Back in the day you could buy a trio of matching Learjets with enough money left over for a palatial mansion, twin Ferraris, and still be able to retire on the remaining INTEREST.

For a printer.

:lol:
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut.......... look...! You can get one used for $371.15! WHAT A DEAL! ;)

just a question. is about $10,000-15,000 yearly income an adequate amount to make for someone just living on their own in an apartment with average financial needs? i know it could depend on things, but does that sound reasonable offhand?

just a question. is about $10,000-15,000 yearly income an adequate amount to make for someone just living on their own in an apartment with average financial needs? i know it could depend on things, but does that sound reasonable offhand?

I'm going to say no. Despite how much you may save, and depending on your monthly rent, It wouldn't be enough where you would have much $$$ left over.

Believe me, I have tried.

bought tomatoes today for 3.79 a pound... more expensive than the burger I put it on.

just a question. is about $10,000-15,000 yearly income an adequate amount to make for someone just living on their own in an apartment with average financial needs? i know it could depend on things, but does that sound reasonable offhand?
I make a $11,000 a year (i'm a full time student now) and if it wasn't for my husband, I would be screwed.

The price of living has gotten WAY out of hand. Why isn't the government doing more?? :mad:

just a question. is about $10,000-15,000 yearly income an adequate amount to make for someone just living on their own in an apartment with average financial needs? i know it could depend on things, but does that sound reasonable offhand?
Practically impossible. You'd have to live with a roommate or two to ease the financial strain.

Everyone should start putting white flags on top of their cars, shopping carts, etc. :mad:

Haven't had to buy any women's products in years,
Did you catch a good sale on Stayfree and Playtex, and stock up for years? ;)

Everyone should start putting white flags on top of their cars, shopping carts, etc. :mad:
Great idea, Monika. Something has to give here. All I ever hear from my husband is that he had to fill up the tank ($40). Sometimes I think he's double-dipping. :lol: I'll say, "Come on now, you just got gas five days ago. What's going on here?" He tells me that I don't get it because I'm not the one who's doing all the driving and putting gas in the tank.

Stagflation, here we come. Just like in the seventies -- excess demand for oil (and FOOD world-wide, omg), rising inflation and stagnant production.

Last time around, they cured it by raising the interest rates to unbearable heights, and causing a sharp recession in 81-82. But that was before a LOT of the industry was moved off-shore...

The forecasts look awful. I wouldn't want to be a decisionmaker in the central banks today. :(

Stagflation, here we come. Just like in the seventies -- excess demand for oil (and FOOD world-wide, omg), rising inflation and stagnant production.

Last time around, they cured it by raising the interest rates to unbearable heights, and causing a sharp recession in 81-82. But that was before a LOT of the industry was moved off-shore...

The forecasts look awful. I wouldn't want to be a decisionmaker in the central banks today. :(
I don't understand economics well, never did. I see you're from Canada. Another Canadian member here, Cathie (TripperFan), recently told me that the U.S. economy drives a lot of the Canadian economy. I was surprised to hear that, but as I say, economics is not my deal. I was always bad in math, and it feels like math to me, lol.

just a question. is about $10,000-15,000 yearly income an adequate amount to make for someone just living on their own in an apartment with average financial needs? i know it could depend on things, but does that sound reasonable offhand?
It could be done, Sarah, but there are a few variables. You would have to be debt free (no credit card debt, student loans, car payment, etc). If your take-home pay was $1,000 a month ($12,000 a year), and you roomed with two people, and that cost you no more than $400 a month, that would leave $600 a month, or $150 a week for food, entertainment, clothes, etc. If you have a car, that's another story, because even if it's paid for, there's insurance, excise tax, maintenance, and GA$. If you budgeted and shopped carefully, and don't drive, it's possible. Now if you brought home more $$, it's definitely do-able.

I don't understand economics well, never did. I see you're from Canada. Another Canadian member here, Cathie (TripperFan), recently told me that the U.S. economy drives a lot of the Canadian economy. I was surprised to hear that, but as I say, economics is not my deal. I was always bad in math, and it feels like math to me, lol.

Well, let's be fair. The US economy drives the world to a large extent (though not totally).

The Canadian and American economies ARE very inter-related, especially for the last twenty years with free trade. At the moment, anyway, the posts here about what's going on in the US match perfectly today's headlines (http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/419099) on the Canadian news services.

I studied economics at the graduate level, but I can't say I really understand it. No-one I've ever known does, completely. :) Or is that :( ??

I wish I could be more optimistic. When the rumblings began, last summer, I thought for a long time it was nothing. But it does seem to be something...

It could be done, Sarah, but there are a few variables. You would have to be debt free (no credit card debt, student loans, car payment, etc). If your take-home pay was $1,000 a month ($12,000 a year), and you roomed with two people, and that cost you no more than $400 a month, that would leave $600 a month, or $150 a week for food, entertainment, clothes, etc. If you have a car, that's another story, because even if it's paid for, there's insurance, excise tax, maintenance, and GA$. If you budgeted and shopped carefully, and don't drive, it's possible. Now if you brought home more $$, it's definitely do-able.
ahh, ok. maybe i'll have to live with roommates, which i really don't want, but oh well. i'm really just trying get away from my abusive dad. i can't do that by living in the dorms at school next year because i'll only be going part-time.

ahh, ok. maybe i'll have to live with roommates, which i really don't want, but oh well. i'm really just trying get away from my abusive dad. i can't do that by living in the dorms at school next year because i'll only be going part-time.
You could always check out Craigslist and other places, for a place to live. Someone might be renting out a small in-law apartment, or even a renovated cellar. My nephew owns a house, and they rent out the cellar apartment for $500 a month. It's really nice too, private bath, and small kitchen area, just two rooms. There's all sorts of situations. You never know.

Great idea, Monika. Something has to give here. All I ever hear from my husband is that he had to fill up the tank ($40). Sometimes I think he's double-dipping. :lol: I'll say, "Come on now, you just got gas five days ago. What's going on here?" He tells me that I don't get it because I'm not the one who's doing all the driving and putting gas in the tank.
:lol: Maybe you should put a hidden camera in your garage just to make sure.

:lol: Maybe you should put a hidden camera in your garage just to make sure.
:lol: Either that or start taking notes on the miles thing (odometer?). Honestly, I take care of the bills, and he's constantly hitting me up for gas money.

Did you catch a good sale on Stayfree and Playtex, and stock up for years? ;)
Nah. :lol: It's the BC that I'm on - haven't had a period in almost 2 years. [/tmi]

Nah. :lol: It's the BC that I'm on - haven't had a period in almost 2 years. [/tmi]
Wow, I didn't know that was possible. I've heard of the twice a year one or something.

Wow, I didn't know that was possible. I've heard of the twice a year one or something.
Yep - there are a few different kinds of BC that will give you fewer periods or stop them altogether. Also, you have the option of skipping periods on the good 'ole Ortho Tri-Cyclen pill.

There is one I know of - Seasonique, I think - that gives you 3-4 periods a year. It's in pill form. There is another one that I'm not totally positive about -- it's Yaz, for women who have been dx'd with PMDD, and I think it gives them fewer periods too. Or at least works the same way that Ortho Tri-Cyclen does.

Another one, Depo (in shot form) will stop periods in most women who go on them. That's the one I'm on. And I freaking love it. The actual time of the month was never that bad for me, but beforehand would be AWFUL with the ovulating and cramps. OMG. I could seriously feel when I was ovulating. The PAIN. I always thought about stabbing myself in the abdomen with multiple knives just to make it go away.

That IS another good thing to think about, though - I'm sure BC may or may not go up in price, too. I've been fortunate so far... even w/o insurance, it's still affordable enough to pay for out-of-pocket and I don't need monthly refills. Still. You never know.

Wow, I think this is the most frank post I've written here in a while. :lol:

Who's paid over $4 for a gallon of gas?

On Saturday heading down to Georgia I did for the first time, paying $4.049 at a Marathon station at I-75 Exit 166 near Crittenden, Kentucky, between Cincinnati and Lexington. This despite Speedway spiking "only" to $3.999 in much of Ohio earlier in the week.

Oh, and I saw a couple of $4.899 diesel postings in Georgia, the state I thought was king when it came to inexpensive gas.

Well, I'm happy to report that for the time-being, my fave kind of coffee went down to $9.69 at the grocery store. Still $10.79 at Target the last time I checked.

Oh, and you would think for $4 for a box of four grapples (apples that taste like grapes), they'd make the damn things bigger. They're only about the size of tennis balls... I like my regular apples to be big enough that I actually need two hands to hold the apple. :crazy:

http://www.portigal.com/blog/grapple_closed.jpg

Let this be my rant against Duane Greed (er Duane Reade) where the South Beach High Protein bars I like are $4.59 but at Target are $2.99. I could readily come up many other examples but I may exceed the character limit (BTW is there one??)

Also let me wax poetic once again abt Trader Joe's where my Better Than Peanut Butter was $3.99 compared to $6.59 at D'Agostinos. But no dishing of D'Ags by me because my nabe one has a great salad bar for only $4.99 (a very good price by NYC standards) and when D'Ags has a sale they have a GOOD ONE. So when they're hot they're hot and when they're not they're not. When Duane Greed has a big sale (ha ha) the sales price equals or is slightly above Target's (usually slightly above). And they never come close to TJ's prices, which amazingly, are even cheaper than Fairway and EVEN WALMART sometimes.

So...a very big heart heart kiss kiss for Trader Joe's and Target - where superb prices are the norm. (And BTW thx Target for the GR8 price on my I Love Lucy Entire Series Set)

Who's paid over $4 for a gallon of gas.

I saw gas for $4.07 last week at a Loves's in Ill between Bloomington & Champaign. This wasn't even near Chicago!!

Oh, and I saw a couple of $4.899 diesel postings in Georgia, the state I thought was king when it came to inexpensive gas.

Yeah, GA used to have cheap gas. Whenever I would be driving back to Fla. I always gassed up in GA before crossing the state line. Now it seems that gas in GA isn't any cheaper than it is in FL.

Diesel prices are unbelievable. I have to fill my company truck with diesel. Still, my company pays for it so I try to do what I can to save on that, like not driving as fast and idling as much.

I saw gas for $4.07 last week at a Loves's in Ill between Bloomington & Champaign. This wasn't even near Chicago!!

Incredible. I've always thought of the Bloomington and Champaign areas of Illinois to have the most attractive prices in the Land of Lincoln. Or so IllinoisGasPrices.com (http://www.illinoisgasprices.com) has me believe.

I was in Chicagoland this past Thursday and saw a Shell in Downers Grove at $4.219 per gallon for RUNL. :mumble: (Just add twelve cents for each grade up.) I didn't go into Chi-town, by the way, just the suburbs. Many other places were $4.199, including most of Indiana, which for some odd reason is 20 cents more than Ohio. If that's not enough, down the road was a Citgo at $5.199 for diesel! :eek: