What Inflation?....

[Halbhh]

Oh, I can add a few more tips based on my past frugality:
* dispense with the knee patch and make the trousers into shorts
* skip the sports shirts for exercise. Just cut the sleeves off a sweat shirt.
* When safe, coast your car a lot more when approaching red lights and stop signs and downhill grades
* Park your car and go inside a fast food joint to order takeout, instead of chewing up gas in the drive through lanes
* Trim your shrubs with manual hedge trimmers, instead of with gas/electric powered tools
* When practicable, use handsaws and axes to trim branches and fallen trees of small diameter

Ah, very good.

For me:
* never pay for any repairs of any kind, but repair anything and everything, even if we didn't know what we were doing half the time, just work at it until you get it.... (it was a revelation when we finally bought a book that had descriptions of how to do all sorts of home building/repair work...guess we figured that book was worth paying money for)

 

[QvQ]

1) Go barefoot, save money on shoes
2) Use bandanas as shorts and halter tops. 4 bandanas cost less than t shirts
3) Experiment with survival food, insects, tree bark, weeds and leaves
4) Nasturtium sandwiches are delicious
5) Hunt snakes, edible food source
6) Gopher stew and dandelion salad, consider as menu source
7) The neighbor's dog is Not a considered menu source..however, just maybe

 

[Halbhh]

1) Go barefoot, save money on shoes
2) Use bandanas as shorts and halter tops. 4 bandanas cost less than t shirts
3) Experiment with survival food, insects, tree bark, weeds and leaves
4) Nasturtium sandwiches are delicious
5) Hunt snakes, edible food source
6) Gopher stew and dandelion salad, consider as menu source
7) The neighbor's dog is Not a considered menu source..however, just maybe

3) Experiment with survival food, insects, tree bark, weeds and leaves

LOL....

Heh heh...if you intend to do that, you'd better get right with God first....

 

[QvQ]

Heh heh...if you intend to do that, you'd better get right with God first...

I have always wondered what exactly did the ancients use and how did they "gird up your loins?"
That is a one piece "loin cloth" not too much yardage that works better than bandanas I bet.
I think the world has been getting colder and is now warming up to earlier warm temperatures. What the Indians wore, the ancient Israelites, and living in tents, I think we have come through a mini ice age. The "global warming" may be a return to those earlier temperature when Indians lived in tents all winter on the northern plains.
Northern Nevada was much warmer not too long ago, and wetter.

 

[Quasiblogo]

Ah, very good.

For me:
* never pay for any repairs of any kind, but repair anything and everything, even if we didn't know what we were doing half the time, just work at it until you get it.... (it was a revelation when we finally bought a book that had descriptions of how to do all sorts of home building/repair work...guess we figured that book was worth paying money for)

I’m with you on this. I was never Mr. Fixit, but watching YouTube videos and browsing for tips for DIY projects has saved my family a bunch these past few years.

 

[Halbhh]

I’m with you on this. I was never Mr. Fixit, but watching YouTube videos and browsing for tips for DIY projects has saved my family a bunch these past few years.

Yeah, it's become possible to fix almost anything now, because of youtube and being able to find parts on the internet and have them delivered in just a few days.

I've literally repaired now every major appliance and mechanical system except for a few I had to buy to install. Even repaired the furnace and the A/C here in our house in the last 12 years. So, I've repaired 2 refrigerators (one a defrost heater, the other a new starter capacitor), the furnace (new ignitor a few times, and then a new motherboard (!) :=), the A/C (new starter capacitor), the washer (new pumps), the dryer (new motor and new ignitor), the oven (new ignitors). You get the picture. I only had to buy new a disposal, water heater, dishwasher and sump pump, to install them, but all the rest I've taken apart and repaired.

 

[QvQ]

Another month
Grocery bill is staying the same, just over $400. Seems to be a few cents on each item that adds up.
Gas has come down a bit, $4-$5 range, depending on where it is bought.
There are shortages of canned fruit. The entire section at the grocery store was abt 30 cans for all varieties. Canned pears in short supply and no generics. Generics, usually $1.50 +/-. Label brands $2.50 + a can.
I have been talking to electric car owners, considering the cost of upkeep (batteries, repairs). I have been wondering if there isn't going to be a shortage of parts for gas autos with the disruption in supply chain as companies start switching from gas to electric. The future is very uncertain and electric cars are not reliable and are very expensive.
I have been seriously considering a horse and buggy. That is a small investment and I have the skills necessary so that may be what I will do in the future. Horses and pack mules, buggies and wagons served mankind well for centuries. America is well suited to hay and grain production. That would be the only expense, delivery of feed. (shoeing, vetting other expenses, relatively minor)
It is the time factor, as horses are much slower than automobiles.
I have the time to spend and skill necessary. It may be a future option for the more rural folks.

 

[Halbhh]

That store is ripping you off.

 

[QvQ]

I shop at 3 different stores in 3 different towns.

 

[Quasiblogo]

I don’t hear much about carpooling as a way for commuters to save.

 

[Halbhh]

NATIONAL AVERAGE GAS PRICES
Regular
Current Avg. $3.724

AAA Gas Prices

 

[QvQ]

Today, the government reports show inflation in August went up. The big news is not gasoline, which went down. The Big News is food which was 10.9% and is now 11.4%.

I was correct that food prices are not lower from last month, in fact, slightly higher.

The National Oil Reserve dump is supposed to end in October then the price of oil will again start rising. The release of oil from the reserve was merely a ploy to bring gas prices down before the election.

Edit: There is a shortage of canned pears. But it is because of a shortage of cans which is affecting the price of many items, canned beverages especially.

 

[Halbhh]

The OP post offers powerful tips on how to beat inflation in your personal spending, as the OP post #1 provides in the link offered in the OP post.

Inflation is slowing (12 month inflation was a bit lower), but not as much of a slow down as much as hoped yet:

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.1 percent in August on a seasonally adjusted basis after being unchanged in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 8.3
percent before seasonal adjustment.

Increases in the shelter, food, and medical care indexes were the largest of many
contributors to the broad-based monthly all items increase. These increases were mostly
offset by a 10.6-percent decline in the gasoline index. The food index continued to rise,
increasing 0.8 percent over the month as the food at home index rose 0.7 percent. The
energy index fell 5.0 percent over the month as the gasoline index declined, but the
electricity and natural gas indexes increased.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in August, a larger
increase than in July. The indexes for shelter, medical care, household furnishings and
operations, new vehicles, motor vehicle insurance, and education were among those that
increased over the month. There were some indexes that declined in August, including those for airline fares, communication, and used cars and trucks.

The all items index increased 8.3 percent for the 12 months ending August, a smaller figure than the 8.5-percent increase for the period ending July.

The all items less food and energy index rose 6.3 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index increased 23.8 percent for the 12 months ending August, a smaller increase than the 32.9-percent increase for the period ending July. The food index increased 11.4 percent over the last year, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending May 1979.

Consumer Price Index Summary - 2022 M08 Results

 

[QvQ]

After the Strategic Oil Reserves are no longer available, the price of oil will increase and inflation will again skyrocket. After the election.

 

[Halbhh]

The prediction of oil prices this winter depends on so many factors it's a total pot shot. I'll take your prediction as a total pot shot.

 

[Halbhh]

After the Strategic Oil Reserves are no longer available, the price of oil will increase and inflation will again skyrocket. After the election.

The market with actual money at stake in futures contracts for gasoline says otherwise.

Over the last month, December 2022 gasoline has moved down a little.

December gasoline moved from about $2.45 a month ago down to about $2.40.

RBZ22 | RBOB Gasoline Dec 2022 Futures Prices and News - WSJ

Seems the market thinks you are guessing wrong.

Unless you have some special unique insight professional traders don't have (and they know projections about a lot more factors than just 1 or 2...) ....I'd suggest you look to their guessing if you want to guess about the future prices of commodities like gasoline, oil, etc.

 

[QvQ]

I was correct about inflation and the price of food. I was quoting Yellen on oil. I don't suppose she is much of an expert but then again...

"Bloomberg Surveillance, Sen said the price of oil should return to around $120 a barrel over the winter. That’s well up from current prices of $9.56 a barrel for WTI crude and $101.40 a barrel for Brent crude, according to OilPrice.com data published early on Aug. 29."

"One problem is that releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are scheduled to stop on Nov. 1, 2022. In March, the Biden administration ordered the release of 1 million barrels per day from the country’s emergency crude supply as a way of lowering gas prices. The SPR recently hit its lowest level in nearly four decades, OilPrice.com reported, citing data from the U.S. Department of Energy."
Right before the Election, fancy that!

 

[Halbhh]

I was correct about inflation and the price of food. I was quoting Yellen on oil. I don't suppose she is much of an expert but then again...

"Bloomberg Surveillance, Sen said the price of oil should return to around $120 a barrel over the winter. That’s well up from current prices of $9.56 a barrel for WTI crude and $101.40 a barrel for Brent crude, according to OilPrice.com data published early on Aug. 29."

"One problem is that releases from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are scheduled to stop on Nov. 1, 2022. In March, the Biden administration ordered the release of 1 million barrels per day from the country’s emergency crude supply as a way of lowering gas prices. The SPR recently hit its lowest level in nearly four decades, OilPrice.com reported, citing data from the U.S. Department of Energy."
Right before the Election, fancy that!

Yup, you've correctly pointed out a factor.

But prognostication is more chancy....

One person guesses about $120, but someone else might say $90....

Individuals can be all over the map.

I will pay more attention to what the market thinks because of the 'wisdom of the crowd effect' on estimations. The market itself will more often be closer than a given individual over time, when you look at many predictions.

So, gasoline is what matters, and here's what the market thinks gasoline is likely worth for January 2023:
RBF23 | RBOB Gasoline Jan 2023 Futures Prices and News - WSJ

 

[QvQ]

This has been an interesting thread.
I hope you are right as I would like the nation to return to peace and prosperity.
No point in forecasting gloom and doom. Better to hope and pray for all of us to be happy and prosperous in the coming year.
Let's hope your predictions are correct.