Inflation

[poliphilo]

We had to go to the Post Office to transfer money from our Post Office account to our current account and Ailz suggested we went on to Sainsbury's afterwards to buy bread. "No," I said, "Because if we go to Sainsbury's we'll buy all sorts of other things because they're there- and we're supposed to be saving money, aren't we?" "So," she said. "We'll go to the local bakers." And we did.  We ended up spending £3.00- because we couldn't resist the cakes- but  if we'd have gone to Sainsbury's it would have been nearer £10.00. 

Inflation is beginning to niggle. Our monthly gas bill just took a huge leap upwards and I've been noticing how our weekly shopping bills have been climbing. 

At the beginning of the week I decided I'd give up meat- partly because I'm tired of it, but also because I thought it would save us money. Only it won't- because we'll just be spending more on things like bread and cheese and eggs.

I've not been paying much attention to the prices of things in the shops. Time I did. I think of bread as cheap- essentially, fundamentally cheap- but it isn't, is it?  Last time I took any notice- which I suppose was last year- the loaf we normally buy cost 89p. I just checked with Ailz and she tells me it now costs £1.20. 

Comments

[aellia.livejournal.com]

We were going to Asda tonight to buy Easter eggs. But I know whay happens when we go there,so I'll nip up the post office :-)
x

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You know it makes sense.:)

Is your local Post Office safe or has it been earmarked for closure? Pah, I'm so angry with this government.....

[wolfshift.livejournal.com]

Prices for bread and all kinds of baked goods are going to go up a lot. There's a worldwide wheat shortage.

I'm angry,too

[aellia.livejournal.com]

Hopefully.it's safe for now. It's been a Post Office since Victorian times
Here it is
http://www.shepherdswellwithcoldredpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/default.cfm?pid=1109
The one where my son lives has just had a reprieve. It's an even smaller village and they really need it

Re: I'm angry,too

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's good.

Our P.O. seems to be safe as well. I'd miss it terribly if it closed.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes; I find it pretty scary.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

It's most worrisome here in Spain, too. Everything has gone up astronomically in the past year.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's scary. I know nothing about economics, but it seems like this is a worldwide phenomenon.

[treehavn.livejournal.com]

What's worrying is that you don't really notice immediately. A few years back there was a pizza place around here (central London) that would do an occasional 'treat' lunch of £3.50 for a 12 inch. Then it went up and up in 20p increments until now it's £5.00. Which is probably best for my waistline, but still.

It's cheaper to get a six pack of beer in our local shops than it is to get bread, butter, jam.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

Wheat and corn have really jumped in the US- the corn is being used (poorly) for ethanol production, and our wheat is being snapped up by countries who have had a bad wheat harvest. So, our prices have been climbing too.

Milk topped out at around $4.50 a gallon. It's since gone down to around $3.50. Eggs are higher- about doubled in price. And fresh produce is expensive, too.

Not good.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, these price increases creep up on you. On a day to day basis you hardly notice- but then you think back to how things were a year ago and the rise is staggering and you think, "how the hell did that happen?"

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We're all tied together in this global economy; kick one of us and we all limp. It bothers me that it's the basics that are becoming so expensive.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

We have oil-fired central heating. Six years ago, when we moved here, it cost about £270 to fill the tank. Now it is over £600.

They are ploughing up wheat to plant biodiesel, which is of questionable virtue. However, eating less carbs would be good for most of us. The truth is, we have all had very cheap food for a long time, and those days may be coming to an end. Us Brits pay a much smaller percentage of our income on food than most other developed nations. We've been eating a lot of cheap crap. Now the Chinese and Indians can afford more of it, I suppose we should be pleased.

[algabal.livejournal.com]

This is going to get especially bad in the US in the next few years.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There's part of me that sees the coming recession as a challenge.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The world is changing.

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

A normal loaf of bread here now costs $2.69.

You can buy horrible bread for a dollar, and when I do that will be a Sign to me that I am in dire straits.

Good bread (fancy bread from bakeries) costs up to $5.00 now, so I buy the normal loaves instead.

Everything has gone up. Except my pension.

I'm scared.

Mother's little estate--I can't touch it, because it's all I'll ever have, so I can't imagine going traveling even once or buying a wing chair--it's got to be for things like horrible illnesses. Gulp.

Like the cheapest bread, there is cheapest housing, based on one's income, and maybe I'll end up in one of those awful places with white vinyl floors and a kitchen in the corner of the living room and drug dealers next door cooking methamphetamine.

I already told my choir director (the joy of my life is choir and singing) that if--when--gas gets up to $4 a gallon, I must only come to church on Sundays and skip rehearsals, which is a shame because the rehearsals are more fun, because they are all singing and no (a confession) boring prayers and sermons in between singing.

Church is 25 miles away.

We need trains back.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

25 miles away? Good grief. I sort of imagined you tootling down to the end of the block.

Inflation is getting scary. We're trying to cut back. I just ate muesli for my evening meal.

Bread is one thing I won't compromise on. I hate the taste and consistency of cheap bread. We almost always buy the stuff that's baked in-store.