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i don't know how a young family gets ahead these days

Joined
10 April 2000
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Location
Silicon Valley
i went grocery shopping the other day and was stunned at the prices of "the basics" in the local stores. (btw, i go grocery shopping a couple of times a week, but the cereal noted below really got me wrapped around the axle on this)

milk - $3 - $4 a gallon
cereal - CEREAL(!) - $6 a box. (saw the same stuff @costco today, $6 for a 2-fer. quaker oat squares, btw)
whole grain bread - $4 loaf
"regular) unleaded gas - $3.60 gal

all going up on a monthly basis.

housing, medical / car insurance / educational loans, etc... man, i'm not sure how a young, early career stage person / couple / family can ever get ahead in today's world without working multiple jobs, relying on family for extended support, etc.
 
Try being a college student, who lifts and tries to eat healthy.....
 
Exactly! It amazes me what we spend on our two kids/life /basics,excluding our home and luxuries.Sad to say but I don't know how families do it with average national income at 45-50k/yr???I'm convinced that a significant part of our(USA) credit card dept and home refi dept is simply to provide in this economy.We usualy think of high cc dept as due to the prototypical young spend crazy live outside your means singles/couples but yikes.
 
Try being a college student, who lifts and tries to eat healthy.....

Yep.. eating healthy is expensive in our society. A huge contributor to our current problems IMO. I drink fairly pricey soy milk, eat mostly organic foods, eat a lot of fish, whole grains, etc.

I'm finishing up in college and am already working, but it can be difficult to save money. I am significantly better off than most [4k in student loan debt with 0% interest, own a couple vehicles outright, decent amount in the stock market] but road my sport bike throughout college to save $ and still live in really cheap apartments. I can't imagine trying to actually build wealth without having my economics back ground, extreme discipline, no cc debt, never had car/motorcycle loans, etc.

The worst is for those on SS/etc. They are indexed to our blatantly faulty and understated index of consumer prices. They changed the system I believe 15-20 years ago, just when most economists/many gov't officials realized the SS flip that's about to happen and it's probable bankruptcy. They changed how inflation is valued, coincidently how much SS receivers get against rise in inflation. If they actually realistically included fuel/food prices instead of just assuming they are 'wild fluctuating variables' SS would have been bankrupt yesterday.
 
Exactly! It amazes me what we spend on our two kids/life /basics,excluding our home and luxuries.Sad to say but I don't know how families do it with average national income at 45-50k/yr???I'm convinced that a significant part of our(USA) credit card dept and home refi dept is simply to provide in this economy.We usualy think of high cc dept as due to the prototypical young spend crazy live outside your means singles/couples but yikes.

We Canadians look at the LOW prices in the USA and are jealous!!!! AND we pay more taxes, and our Mortgages are not tax deductible.

Its about managing priorities, and being fiscally smart (responsible)

The comments about fast/junk food are spot on - there are more fast food shops in poor areas - it at least appears cheaper to buy the food cooked than to buy the ingredients and make it yourself - sad
 
I read the other day on Drudgereport that 10% of Ohio residents were receiving food stamps and as I recall, more than that in West Virginia were also receiving them.
 
How some of us survives :cool:

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Sadly, from what I've gathered talking with others, many are relying on credit to make ends meet. Digging themselves deeper and deeper into a sad hole.

Remember, nearly everything runs off of OIL. We are seriously dependent on it. NOT just for driving our cars, but for equipment, transportation, heating, etc. When the cost of oil goes up, so does everything else.
 
I can have prime rib delivered to my door cooked and ready to eat with a salad and fries cheaper then I can make it. That's is ridiculous.

I think with us older people we had come to accustom to paying a buck for a tomato and now when they are 3 buck we cringe. Fact is the younger people are use to paying 3 bucks and they won't cringe until the tomato cost 5 bucks. By then we will be dead and it won't matter to us. Then again with the price of fuel, tomato's may be 5 bucks this summer.

I haven't done any grocery shopping in a couple of years so I really don't keep up on prices. If I do go food shopping it is at BJ's to buy stuff in bulk. It is way more convenient to go once a month and stock up. Take a steak for instance. They are expensive if you buy just one. If you buy a whole cut of meat and vacuum seal them yourself it is way more convenient and probably a lot cheaper too.

I just follow around donwon and pick up all the change he throws on the ground.
 
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Bag of frozen meatballs @ Costco (80count)- $9
Fresh veggies (Carrots, broccolli, mushrooms) -
Dozen eggs - $2
Ramen noodles - $1 per six pack
Tub of Miso paste - $4 (will make like 20 pots)

Boil water, cook the miso in it then add veggies and some sliced up meatballs. When that's cooked add the ramen (without the nasty sodium filled flavoring) and you have yourself a championship quality soup. With the supplies above, you can make this fo like three days (lunch and dinner). Yeah, I remember those days. I still buy Asian noodles cause I love cooking pho.

I'm a loner and here is how I manage - After all the bills are paid and the savings pig is fed, I usually leave $350 from every paycheck which is the money for food, gas, spending, going out and groceries. Naturally, I buy ingredients because for $80 at the grocery store I can have good and healthy food for home and work for two weeks.

When I see the prices go up, I actually wonder about other people, namely some of the people I work with and how they manage? I work with a mother of four, husband gets unemployment and she makes about $26K working as a clerk... Unbelievable!! I made that much out of highschool! I don't know how they do it but God bless her...
 
I noticed the same thing going to the supermarket.
I've never gone cheap on food, but boy...I'm not paying $3 for a tomato. I'll grow them myself if I have to. We are a young married couple and it is not easy getting ahead in today's economy.

My wife and I work very hard in our careers. I am so lucky to have a partner that does not care for all the superficial nonsense stuff like purses and shoes.
I have changed my way of life for the better for about a year now. These are the things that we decided to cut back in order to have a better tomorrow.
Here are the No more list...and the alternatives...
Starbucks every morning/ make coffee
dry cleaning/ do it myself
Expensive restaurant every other night/ cook at home
going to the movies/ Netflix

So as a young couple starting out, we work extra hard to get ahead and loving the challenge.
 
Its my belief that it is not oil prices that have driven up the cost of food.

I believe its derivatives trading - in order to make money you need prices to flux and ultimately, as more $$$ plays in the commodities market prices, by definition, go up.

My buddy owns a large commercial bakery and he says Flour has gone up three major times in the past 365 days - doubling in price - unheard of!

I think the playing in the derivatives market plus the switch over by farmers to bio diesel corn is driving prices up - why would a farmer grow wheat that needs to be treated like food when they can grow corn and use ugly pesticides and even human waste (literally) to fertilize it? Since its not food grade every part of growing it is cheaper.
 
i went grocery shopping the other day and was stunned at the prices of "the basics" in the local stores. (btw, i go grocery shopping a couple of times a week, but the cereal noted below really got me wrapped around the axle on this)

milk - $3 - $4 a gallon
cereal - CEREAL(!) - $6 a box. (saw the same stuff @costco today, $6 for a 2-fer. quaker oat squares, btw)
whole grain bread - $4 loaf
"regular) unleaded gas - $3.60 gal

all going up on a monthly basis.

housing, medical / car insurance / educational loans, etc... man, i'm not sure how a young, early career stage person / couple / family can ever get ahead in today's world without working multiple jobs, relying on family for extended support, etc.


Hal,
You and I live in the same proximity. Our monthly grocery bill is roughly the same as 2 years ago. The only thing is that, my 2 old kids are away for college. On certain grocery items, we buy whatever is on sale that week (such as fruit, veggies...). Good way to try new things. Broaden the taste bud.
 
i went grocery shopping the other day and was stunned at the prices of "the basics" in the local stores. (btw, i go grocery shopping a couple of times a week, but the cereal noted below really got me wrapped around the axle on this)

milk - $3 - $4 a gallon
cereal - CEREAL(!) - $6 a box. (saw the same stuff @costco today, $6 for a 2-fer. quaker oat squares, btw)
whole grain bread - $4 loaf
"regular) unleaded gas - $3.60 gal

all going up on a monthly basis.

housing, medical / car insurance / educational loans, etc... man, i'm not sure how a young, early career stage person / couple / family can ever get ahead in today's world without working multiple jobs, relying on family for extended support, etc.


I eat what my body needs as a fighter/martial artist and enjoy eating out once per week to stay semi-normal.

When I do shop I go to costco buy bulk what is beneficial i.e protein, eggs, milk, lean chikean. No soda, junk, potatoe chips and even if I buy these things they last a long time. Price of gas I can live with it just means I eat less junk food, and stay healthier to avoid paying big bucks at the doctors office. I have a good bill of health/record so insurance for health and cars is reasonable.
 
I know it sounds stupid to talk about the cost of things when your paying off an NSX...but reality is reality! I rarely go out to eat in Calgary - as the prices are insane!! I eat lots of apples and carrots and I live off of chicken and turkey soups that I add eggs and tofu in order to get protein and energy to work out. As for the cost of things - greed is the number one constant here in Calgary...owners put everything up 5x their value so they do not need to sell as much volume. I remember the old days in the 80s when you could go to Dennys and get a meal for under 5 dollars...lol...or a breakfast at a diner for $1.99. I realize that times change...but the truth of the matter is that a great many people cannot afford the luxurys that we have - most notably - the NSX! Be careful and mindful of that fact...as times get harder and things get more expensive...people get more envious of what other's have...I rarely leave my car anywhere for long periods of time, as I know that key marks and dings will readily appear on my car:eek: I am proud to own my NSX - but wise enough to know that others are not so accommodating with their ideals and thought patterns:mad:

As Bob Dylan sang...The times they are a changing...

Dam:cool:
 
As Bob Dylan sang...The times they are a changing...:

Its inflation - but since some prices go down and the measure of inflation is AGGREGATE it is slowly creeping up on the world.

The question is what's driving it?

I'm sorry to say that I think its being driven by the very rich getting even richer at the cost of the common man
 
Also the rising cost of living is inflation and what the currency is worth. Rising gas prices is not the root cause of other things inflating but the war and printing out money which devalues the dollar is what is causing inflation/rising costs.
 
Also the rising cost of living is inflation and what the currency is worth. Rising gas prices is not the root cause of other things inflating but the war and printing out money which devalues the dollar is what is causing inflation/rising costs.

The OP touched on rising cost of food at the grocery store, Not overall inflation.
 
Its inflation - but since some prices go down and the measure of inflation is AGGREGATE it is slowly creeping up on the world.

The question is what's driving it?

I'm sorry to say that I think its being driven by the very rich getting even richer at the cost of the common man


You already know, because you posted the answer above (a major contributing factor). :wink:

Now, if I can get a drumroll...please... I'll tie the loop on how commodity inflation (speculation) has been driven by, and is the last holdout, of the credit bubble that has burst in virtually every other market. Hang on to your hats when that bubble bursts sometime this year. :wink: That's when the depression will officially begin.
 
Its inflation - but since some prices go down and the measure of inflation is AGGREGATE it is slowly creeping up on the world.

The question is what's driving it?

I'm sorry to say that I think its being driven by the very rich getting even richer at the cost of the common man

middle class gets screwed every time :mad:
too bad our yearly raises will never keep up with inflation :frown:
 
middle class gets screwed every time :mad:
too bad our yearly raises will never keep up with inflation :frown:

I know that one. My raises last March, May and this March were 12% combined but I believe the costs of living have gone up more than that. Honestly, the only way I keep my head above the water is because I paid off my car year&half ago.

I thought about this thread today when someone mentioned the prices of gas vs the price of milk. He said "Why are people complaining about $3.25 gas when milk is still $4.00 per gallon?" Do you guys ever hear something that stupid? No one needs more than a gallon of milk at once. What if we needed one gallon of gas at a time? No one would complain! We'd start complaining about milk prices if we had to buy by tank-fulls! :)

I was at Starbucks this morning... They charge $2 for plain coffee or $4.50 for a foo-foo drink! Why aren't they being grilled by the congress!?
 
I know that one. My raises last March, May and this March were 12% combined but I believe the costs of living have gone up more than that. Honestly, the only way I keep my head above the water is because I paid off my car year&half ago.

I thought about this thread today when someone mentioned the prices of gas vs the price of milk. He said "Why are people complaining about $3.25 gas when milk is still $4.00 per gallon?" Do you guys ever hear something that stupid? No one needs more than a gallon of milk at once. What if we needed one gallon of gas at a time? No one would complain! We'd start complaining about milk prices if we had to buy by tank-fulls! :)

I was at Starbucks this morning... They charge $2 for plain coffee or $4.50 for a foo-foo drink! Why aren't they being grilled by the congress!?

You're not being serious are you? You think the cost of living has gone up 12% in the past year? I could care less about the cost of gas. In the past nine months I've put gas in my NSX three times. I walk or I use public transportation most of the time. If you think Starbucks should be grilled by Congress :confused: why were you there. No one is forcing anyone to go to Starbucks and spend $2 for a cup of coffee.
 
I know that one. My raises last March, May and this March were 12% combined but I believe the costs of living have gone up more than that. Honestly, the only way I keep my head above the water is because I paid off my car year&half ago.

I thought about this thread today when someone mentioned the prices of gas vs the price of milk. He said "Why are people complaining about $3.25 gas when milk is still $4.00 per gallon?" Do you guys ever hear something that stupid? No one needs more than a gallon of milk at once. What if we needed one gallon of gas at a time? No one would complain! We'd start complaining about milk prices if we had to buy by tank-fulls! :)

I was at Starbucks this morning... They charge $2 for plain coffee or $4.50 for a foo-foo drink! Why aren't they being grilled by the congress!?

Figure out what your time is worth then figure out how long it takes to walk the 15 mile a gallon of gas will get you. Gas is cheap.
 
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