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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 23, 2022 19:22:59 GMT
I think that all of us are experiencing inflation right now. There are a huge number of reasons, but often we don't understand much about the reasons for it other than exchange rates and energy costs. But there are so many other factors.
For example, the price of yogurt is going up in France. Why? The price of the containers. "Styrene" (whatever that is) is made in the United States and sent to Belgium to be transformed into polystyrene. The polystyrene is then sent to Portugal to be transformed into sheets of plastic that can be formed into yogurt pots by the various food companies. It has already travelled 12,000 km. In France at least, the price of the dairy items and the fruit or other ingredients has not gone up much, but we have to pay for the pot.
And then what? For the moment, it is very difficult to recycle the yogurt containers because a lot of them have paper labels on them, and people often leave the (often) aluminium cover attached. That makes for other future expenses because if those obstacles can be eliminated, the polystyrene itself can be recycled again and again.
Meanwhile, anything sold in a glass container costs more too -- because of the rising price of glass, from mayonnaise to olive oil.
So far, I don't feel that I have suffered from inflation too much although I saw the huge difference in petrol when I rented a car. And I am waiting for the next electricity bill with a certain amount of trepidation.
What about the rest of you?
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Post by mossie on Nov 24, 2022 8:03:54 GMT
I have a twice a week trip to a supermarket, mostly for food and any other necessities and rising prices are quite obvious st the end of the till rolls.
However I only now have myself to cater for and stay solvent, I do feel a little sorry for people with large families. BUT there are so many things nowadays which are must haves for many people, which once would be considered as luxuries. A major problem is credit cards, it is so easy to want something for which one hasn't got the cash, to whip out that handy little bit of plastic and so easily run up a big debt. I am lucky in that I learnt the hard way at 16 to stay within my means, and also because I have a small work pension together with the standard old age pension, which gives me enough cash.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 24, 2022 13:03:40 GMT
In today's paper, there was an article about Hungary with a current inflation rate of 21.1% in general but 43% for food. The government has tried to cap certain prices (eggs, potatoes...) and while the shops mostly try to respect the rules (and limit mass purchases by the unscrupulous), there comes a certain point where they just stop stocking the items because they would have to sell them at a loss.
We're used to reading about such situations in Africa, but this is a highly developed part of Europe.
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Post by bjd on Nov 24, 2022 14:45:50 GMT
I believe that in France too, food prices have increased more quickly than other things, but when they calculate inflation, not just food is taken into account. French inflation is supposed to be 6-7% but food price inflation is double that. I notice it mostly on vegetables, fruit and fresh stuff.
I don't know whether Turkey is considered part of Europe or not, but inflation there is running at over 80%.
As far as gasoline prices go, they went down after the initial rise caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Then the French government stepped in to block prices. They removed part of the subsidy the other day but yesterday I saw that gas at my local station only went up about 5 cents/litre.
What has really skyrocketed is the cost of building supplies. We had two windows replaced this spring. Compared to what the neighbour paid for similar windows last year, from the same installer, ours cost twice as much.
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Post by fumobici on Nov 24, 2022 15:40:29 GMT
Everyone complains here but I mostly only notice it buying groceries. Luckily, the mighty US Dollar (relative to other currencies) means imported stuff isn't bad. My bank account in Italy has been destroyed when you reckon it in USD.
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Inflation
Nov 24, 2022 23:04:35 GMT
via mobile
Post by biddy on Nov 24, 2022 23:04:35 GMT
God - every time I go to the grocery store it seems like food is getting more and more expensive. I used to buy a bulk bag of romaine lettuce aka cos lettuce- (6 heads) for $2.99 now it is $5.99 and the quality is dire. Eggs are also trending up. A dozen large eggs used to be $1.99 now the price is hovering at $4.46. It's a disaster for families with a couple of kids of course. Petrol has decreased. It is currently $4.36 a gallon at my local Costco station a few weeks ago I was paying up $6.00 per gallon.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 25, 2022 13:07:21 GMT
I love grocery shopping. For me its like getting all dressed up ( but I don't) and going to the Ball. If I did not adopt this attitude I would be a miserable shopper and cook. As far as prices go - I look out for special offers - For instance when I'm buying milk I go for the cheapest 2L container (but it must be full cream)- Currently it would cost me R27-00 (USD 1.58 - 1,30UK money and 1.52Euros). Usually on special offer of the day it goes at R21-00. I'll give you another staple, which is eggs. One doz Jumbo size cost me R28-00 two days ago but I could have bought 30 smaller eggs and a brand I am not keen on, for R48-00.
I can see that folks with families need to really walk up and down the aisles slowly and look at the bottom shelves because that is where the supermarket stashes the cheaper lines. People are in such a hurry they grab the first thing they see on a shelf. This is where I am loving the YouTuber "Bald Foodie Guy" with his shopping comparisons not only in prices for the same item but in quality as well. Most of his purchases are not what I can buy but a fair amount of imported foods are here like jams. He did a comparison on strawberry jams and the exact same product was almost the same price here. I think it was Bonne Maman jam from France. Knocked spots off the other brands for quality.
I am forever grateful that I married a frugal man and we saved our pennies in our younger days because now we only have savings to fall back on. The state pension is worthless and because we looked after our finances, invested and saved, - We do not qualify. Sorry to go off the subject but shopping and finances do somehow go together don't they..
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Post by casimira on Nov 25, 2022 16:07:53 GMT
Our antennae are sharply focused on this because of our rebuilding efforts and the cost of materials, supply chain and all that goes with this. Lumber costs alone are rising to unprecedented levels along with glass and metals. This is clearly not an ideal time to be trying to build a new home.
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