Inflation is an ugly word that I’ve heard since childhood.
I remember sitting in the back seat of my mom's car in a long line of people waiting to pump gas. My father would make wisecracks about my mother voting for Jimmy Carter, a man my mother wholeheartedly defends to this day. Inflation was tied into political debates as it still is today. However, political or not, inflation was a real thing that has become extremely hard hitting in households today.
The other day I ran up to the dollar store to pick up paper plates and cups for the family coming over for dinner. One bag and just under $20 later, I loaded my purchases into my car. I remember when I first married complaining to my husband that I could not walk into the grocery store without spending $30. But that was grabbing a bunch of extra things and walking out with at least four to five bags of goodies. This was just paper plates and cups.
So, my husband and I decided that was it. Now, $30 some 35 years later has turned into $130 and only four or five bags of groceries in hand. For this reason we decided to call it quits and eat what was in the pantry or freezer. I assure you we would not starve and with a small amount of planning and meal prepping it should not be a difficult thing to do. Really? Try impossible.
I have no idea how it came about, but to say I feel like a hamster on a wheel is an understatement. We can't seem to stop stopping at the store. No matter how much meat we have in the freezer we come home with more. Canned vegetables? Why not grab some frozen ones too. I mean everybody needs cauliflower rice, potatoes, pasta and stir fry, right?
Honestly, it has very little to do with inflation or politics and a great deal to do with being programmed to buy. If it isn't us buying food it is the dog's food or paper products or that portable green house or firewood tent. In fact, for the past week I have paid close attention to the buying habits of our household, and it literally does not stop.
There is gassing up the car on Monday morning and it continues from there. I have even thought about journaling all we buy in a week, but it is like a form of denial. I don't want to face it. I really do need that coat on clearance even though I already own three. And the protein chips are necessary to combat the cravings for the Lay’s on the shelf as well.
So, when I began to research ways to budget and minimize spending in today's crazy world it was no surprise that the first thing that came up was the multitude of apps which can be downloaded on your phone. That's right. Buy the app to help you stop buying. And while you are browsing that app four advertisements will pop up knowing just what you need to buy. It is a real struggle bus that needs to pull over and park.
I will be continuing my column on this troublesome topic that seems to be hitting the bank accounts and households of people everywhere. Until next week, a quick shout out to a recent reader who sent me a very kind note about my column. Over the years these letters occasionally pop up in my mailbox and words can never express how much it fills me up that my columns continue to bring smiles to the faces of my readers.
