I had to go into the "Big City" for an appointment this week. I really dread going into the city. However, while I am there I do pick up groceries and other items that I can not get shipped to our home. I was unable to place a pick-up order, so I had to go inside. Their site was not working properly, so before even I got there there were price increases. I kid you not!!!
I have decided that we are not in Hyperinflation yet, but we are in Super Inflation. This is a new term that I have coined for our current economic state of rising prices.
Compared to the last time that we shopped almost all of the items that we had purchased had gone up in price in three weeks time. They ranged from 10% to 78.9% increases. One $10 item went up $1.40 overnight! This is not sustainable! How can we continue at this pace?
I do not shop like most people. I am not in the stores every week to see the price increases, but I do watch videos that alert me to coming price changes and I frequently watch to see what is out of stock. For reasons that I will explain below.
I have noticed a few trends that stores are using that I use as warnings of imminent price increases. Here are a few of those indicators:
If an item is out of stock for a long amount of time this usually means there is repackaging going on for shrinkflation and a possible price increase.
Example: Ramen Noodles have been unavailable for some time now. I saw a video yesterday that they now have 24 packs instead of 48 packs in Cincinnati, OH with a price increase.
If there are two different prices on the same exact item in different isles the price is about to go up and they need to sell out of the lower priced items.
If there is a "New Lower Price" sticker and it has a future date on it the price is going to go up after that date.
The last one that I have noticed indicating a price hike is that they do not have any price per pound signs on meat. You literally have to check each item individually to see the price per pound.
Please Note: Watch the best by dates. Stores are getting in delayed shipments from a year ago or longer. You could end up with an expired product or a product that you cannot use up before the expiation date.
I also read the news about up and coming shortages and major price increases that are about to happen in commodities. Commodities are the basic ingredients in products. These increases are due to fuel costs, shortages, bad crops, trade wars, wars, weather, diseases and recalls. I could go on and on about the disruptions to our food supplies. It is disturbing to say the least what we have been witnessing for a long time now.
With all this information that I gather I can make informed decisions about items that I need to purchase before the increases occur or sometimes I have to purchase something else to replace an item that is out of stock or just out of reach due to the high cost.
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| I couldn't get into the station at the big box store. The lines were three and four deep. I watched prices all the way to town just in case and on my way back my second choice went up from $4.75 to $4.89 and my third choice went from $4.75 to $4.79. |
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| Sorry about the glare. For 33.913 gallons of 85 octane gasoline I paid $162.75. Needless to say, it was a very expensive day with groceries($194.77), a doctor visit $$$ and gasoline (162.75). |
I hope that this post is helpful to you. I believe that we are in dire need of Divine intervention to slow this Super Inflation train down...
Mrs. Smith
