Inflation. How's it affecting you?

[John Ranalletta]

Will be interesting to see if owners who bought RVs in last 2 years when gas/diesel prices were low will hit the road this vacation season.  What's your guess?  NO POLITICS.

 

Our planned car travel for June includes 3200 miles @ 20/mpg or 160 gal. x est $4.50 or $720.  Can imagine cost of pushing/pulling an RV at 4-5 mpg!
 

[Rougarou]

20 minutes ago, John Ranalletta said:

Will be interesting to see if owners who bought RVs in last 2 years when gas/diesel prices were low will hit the road this vacation season.  What's your guess?  NO POLITICS.

 

Our planned car travel for June includes 3200 miles @ 20/mpg or 160 gal. x est $4.50 or $720.  Can imagine cost of pushing/pulling an RV at 4-5 mpg!
 

 

If the owner can afford an RV (towable or driveable),.......it is highly likely that they should be able to afford the fluctuating costs.

 

I'd liken that to buying a McMansion and not affording the electric bill.

 

The responsible owner should be aware of volatile costs,......fuel does not stay steady for an exceptionally long time.

[TEWKS]

I’m trucking down to START in April pulling a two place trailer in an F-150 with the EcoBoost engine. I’m guessing about 10 MPG. I haven’t  figured out the dollar increase but, I’m thinking I might have to order a 1/2 Rack at Jim’s instead of the full to subsidize the fuel costs. 
 

Feels like I’m getting porked without the pork! 

[Skywagon]

It’s not really affecting our daily lives much other than being annoyed. We went to a taco stand this last weekend. I had two tacos, the wife had one with a half order of guacamole, and we each had tea. The bill was $36. Now $36 doesn’t affect my life, but annoys me that basically 3 tacos cost that much. That is starting to happen to me every time I buy something or get a bill. Putting $200 of gas in the boat really sets me off. Some of the places we use to go have jacked up prices so much we just don’t go there anymore. 
 

Steak at the local grocery is over $20/lb now. It no longer makes it into our cart. Just isn’t worth it to me. That is kind of how we think about things now. Is it worth it to me?

Houston has a big fishing show tomorrow. I’m sure they will have some new gear I don’t know I need today that will be worth it tomorrow and find it’s way home with me. 

[randy]

luckily my wife's work commute is only about 10 miles one way.  My commute is 13 miles one way, but I only go in two days a week.  So gas is not a huge issue to me.
Food is WAY up, but as noted above some of the "good stuff" just not make it into our cart.  Of course Bread, Milk, chips, chocolate are all necessities :-)

Our local Publix does BOGO most weeks, so now I just basically buy whatever is on sale, and that is what we eat that week.  Mostly we have changed our buying habits to "what is on sale"  from "buy what we want"

But Cathy and I are basically empty nester's with NO social life, so it is just work, ride the bike, and sleep :-)

luckily inflation does not really affect work or sleep, and the bike gets right around 40 mpg so all is good.  we are just going to hunker down and see what happens in 2023

[MikeRC]

Well, it's not like this is the first time we've been through an inflationary period like this, John.  So like David, priorities change in line with cash flow/reserves.  Our RV trips will be more carefully planned and costed out this year.  So far not going more than 200 miles from home.  Contemplating a trip to the Oregon coast in September if the budget allows.  

 

We do have to drive down to Palm Springs late in April to pick up my motorcycles and trailer.  But unlike Pat I seem to get about 20 mi/US gallon at 70mph on the way down and 16 mi/US gallon at 65mph with the Kendon trailer on the way back.  Didn't think a GM 5.3l V8 engine would do better than an Ford Ecoboost.  At least I got a great price on our accommodation in Palm Springs 

 

I pull a 25ft full size trailer (Grand Design Imagine XLS) that pushes a lot of air and have to budget at 9-10 mi/US gallon at 60-65 mph. 

 

Mike C

[John Ranalletta]

At the Ace hardware store Sunday talking with a good friend working there.  He was helping a customer with grass seed.  The customer walked away when he saw a 50lb bag is $230!!! 2x last year's price.

 

My wife is trying to buy a wardrobe closet from IKEA for our church.  At IKEA, we were told most of the parts and pieces were backordered and they couldn't guarantee the price on arrival.  IKEA's component system is cool when they have the components.  The person helping us said they just rec'd an email to reprice 3,000 items.

 

The cure for high prices is high prices.

 

[MikeB60]

I bought fertilizer and grass seeds last week.  Definitely some stickers shock. 

[Hosstage]

Glad I don't give a sh!t about the yard!

[roadscholar]

I still have 2 RV's (nothing fancy but plenty adequate and comfortable), a large truck camper on an 02 Chevy dually (6L) and a '93 Chevy Roadtrek (210) with a 350, they both get about 10mpg pulling a light/medium load. Still way more  economical going to Colorado for 2 weeks than staying in motels which I hate anyway plus we get to grill a lot instead of eating out all the time. Diesel is starting to piss me off at 5 bucks a gallon  because it's my work truck for towing ('08 ML320d) although it does get 17-18mpg towing 6-7k lbs. I guess the only change is I've slowed down slightly so it takes a little longer to get somewhere : ) 

[wbw6cos]

One of the Lowe's commercials on television had disclamier  in fine print at the bottom.  What caught my eye was a price, as listed, was $249.   I had to use the remote with rewind/pause/play function to read what it was for:  fertilizer, Scott's brand, I believe.   I was confused.     Now it makes sense.   I have not been in the market for any lawn products other than weed control.   The bottles of hose-end sprayer did not seem all that high to me, but I cannot remember prior purchase prices.   Not triple digits, though.

 

I agree about affordablitliy -vs- I'll be damned if I'm gonna pay that much for _________.    

 

Being frugal does have its merits, but deciding what to buy and not to buy is becoming more difficult as prices rise.  I do feel as though market demand also plays an important part of pricing and availability only exacerbates the problem; inflation is defiinitely not helping either.  

[Rougarou]

1 hour ago, wbw6cos said:

One of the Lowe's commercials on television had disclamier  in fine print at the bottom.  What caught my eye was a price, as listed, was $249.   I had to use the remote with rewind/pause/play function to read what it was for:  fertilizer, Scott's brand, I believe.   I was confused.     Now it makes sense.   I have not been in the market for any lawn products other than weed control.   The bottles of hose-end sprayer did not seem all that high to me, but I cannot remember prior purchase prices.   Not triple digits, though.

 

I agree about affordablitliy -vs- I'll be damned if I'm gonna pay that much for _________.    

 

Being frugal does have its merits, but deciding what to buy and not to buy is becoming more difficult as prices rise.  I do feel as though market demand also plays an important part of pricing and availability only exacerbates the problem; inflation is defiinitely not helping either.  

 

You sure you weren't seeing the combo kits

 

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=fertilizer&sortMethod=sortBy_priceHighToLow&refinement=4294965538

 

The regular single bag stuff appears normally priced.

[wbw6cos]

That was the confusing part.   I never really did figure what part of the product placement was the target of the ad.  It was showing a guy in the back yard environment (like the jungle the kid was pretending to be in) with a grill, a bunch of landscaping decorations.  Meh.

 

As best as I can recall, I always thought those bags were in the $50 range.  Yikes.

[Rougarou]

17 minutes ago, wbw6cos said:

That was the confusing part.   I never really did figure what part of the product placement was the target of the ad.  It was showing a guy in the back yard environment (like the jungle the kid was pretending to be in) with a grill, a bunch of landscaping decorations.  Meh.

 

As best as I can recall, I always thought those bags were in the $50 range.  Yikes.

 

I picked up about 30 bags of weed and feed during the end of season clearance at wal-mart last year,......think I paid $3 a bag (something close to that).  These were the smaller bags that were normally priced at $20ish.

 

I got lucky several years ago and actually got the 20lb Scotts Triple for something like $5 a bag when Walmart put them out for clearance,.....I was there at the right time.

 

Now, I've been stockpiling the horse manure and turning that stuff over.  I put a load on my yard late fall and when I return in May from my work trip, will be putting out another load.

 

The inflation stuff doesn't hit me as much,....the more I make, the cheeper I am and the more deals I try to grab, hence estate sales, dead  guy auctions, craigslist, offerup and shopgoodwill.....I peruse those sites daily to see what's available.  Many go to auctions and estate sales to re-sale, we go to get stuff to use.

 

Also,....the last time I actually paid attention to meat prices,....it seems that lamb is a better deal than cow,.......we like the lamb and picked up a bunch.

 

 

[TEDZ]

Lowes and Menards are about 25 miles down the road, so now I plan my trips for when I go by in my work truck.  Fortunately, it's a BIG truck and I have a cool boss.  But I don't plan to cut back bike miles.

[chrisolson]

Gasoline increases haven't had that much impact , yes, its quite a bit more per fill up, but we don't drive a lot and the primary car gets 28-30 mpg ... but the grocery store is another issue  the average check out total is 30% to 45% more .

 

 

[realshelby]

I have a 41 foot diesel pusher motorhome. Went to Montana (4500 miles) last year and run 68-74 much of the time. Averaged about 8.6 mpg. Towing a 4 door jeep. 100 gallon tank, fill up once a day. 

Heading out to Arkansas in a few weeks, to West Virginia in June, maybe out west later. 

I know from past experience I can get around 9.5 towing the Jeep and the motorcycle on the rear lift if I run 62-65 mph. If in light traffic I will be running those speeds. At $5 per gallon that is about $265 per day on a 500 mile day. Talk about inflation, check hotel prices. I don't need one of those in the RV, so the big RV's are still quite effective for travel. NOTHING like having your own stuff when on a 3-4 week trip!

Our country, and indeed the world, are dealing with historical problems. Lucky to be doing as well as we are. 

[9Mary7]

I should be headed out in about three weeks on the first trip moving our home 2500 miles to the Southern US. Interested to see what my fuel mileage will be towing a 20' cargo trailer with our M/B GL350 turbodiesel. So this is not the best time to make this move but what are you gonna do? I'll have to keep my speed sane and see how it goes.....'cause the fuel budget is taking a hit! 

[TEWKS]

Think this has been mentioned before but it looks like your move is going to put you right smack dab in the middle of S/F - ART territory. 

[Rougarou]

25 minutes ago, 9Mary7 said:

I should be headed out in about three weeks on the first trip moving our home 2500 miles to the Southern US. Interested to see what my fuel mileage will be towing a 20' cargo trailer with our M/B GL350 turbodiesel. So this is not the best time to make this move but what are you gonna do? I'll have to keep my speed sane and see how it goes.....'cause the fuel budget is taking a hit! 

 

You musta grabbed the last reservation for the South,.....we kinda full 

[TEWKS]

You may or may not remember when I was looking at a little place in Taylorsville… Since late 2019, the property value on it has increased one hundred and seventy thousand dollars!  Snoozer loser is me. 

[roadscholar]

3 hours ago, 9Mary7 said:

Interested to see what my fuel mileage will be towing a 20' cargo trailer with our M/B GL350 turbodiesel. So this is not the best time to make this move but what are you gonna do? I'll have to keep my speed sane and see how it goes.....'cause the fuel budget is taking a hit! 

 

I'm interested too, believe my ML320cdi has the same motor, I get 16-18 pulling a big car on an open trailer but a loaded down enclosed 20' will likely have a good bit more drag which can be significant at hwy speeds. Been thinking about a travel trailer in that size range so I'm curious.  

 

[Skywagon]

Bill... are you carrying a spare MB in case the front car breaks?h

 

I have a Tahoe with the 5.3gas.  On the highway at 65 I average 24mph.  Push it to 75 and it drops to 21.  Attach the boat, run at 65 and you get 12mph.  Attach the boat and run at 75 you get 9mph even though it doesn't seem to have slightest bit of strain.

 

I use to have a 3/4 ton Chevy Suburban with a 454, 4 wheel drive, heavy duty towing package, cooling, etc.  It got 11mpg at best.  Load it down with a heavy 10,000 boat and it go 9.  I think the reason there wasn't much difference is because that's about as fast as you could pour fuel through the injectors whether lightly or heavily loaded.  It had a 46  gallon tank...At todays gas prices it would get your attention when you filled up.  It was thirsty, but in 4 wheel low that 454 would pull a house.

[roadscholar]

Yeah I’ve got an older Tahoe with the 5.3 it’s a great engine but not as efficient as the newer ones like yours, it would get 15-17 solo and 11-12 pulling a 29’ Airstream but those are fairly aerodynamic. Have a 3/4 ton 4x4 pickup with a 454 too, same experience, gets 10 or 11 whether you’re pulling 7500lbs or not.

[roadscholar]

26 minutes ago, Skywagon said:

Bill... are you carrying a spare MB in case the front car breaks?h

 

 

Dont laugh it can happen. Worse case it’ll go into limp mode which basically shuts down the turbo, at least that’s what it feels like. Great for gas mileage but acceleration is excruciatingly slow, I’ve had it going 80 in limp mode but it sure takes awhile to get there : )

[John Ranalletta]

2 hours ago, TEWKS said:

You may or may not remember when I was looking at a little place in Taylorsville… Since late 2019, the property value on it has increased one hundred and seventy thousand dollars!  Snoozer loser is me. 

Just wait.  Trends tend to revert to the mean.  Mortgage apps are down across the nation as lenders want more $ down and higher interest rates.  The punch bowl is almost empty.

 

Of course, a recession could bring rates down but the other side of the teeter-totter means econ activity, e.g. jobs, etc. go down.

[John Ranalletta]

The very last piece of our condo reno is replacing a 16'x16' w2w carpet.  Our first choice (w/o knowing price) was $13.99/sq' or $126/yd x =$3,600!!!!!  NFW, so off to another store to find a cheaper carpet, say, $5.99sq' or $1,500 just for carpet.  By the time they added "demo", moving furniture, installation and taxes, the quote is nearly $2,500.  The price was not guaranteed and wouldn't be until we wrote the check in advance.

 

If you're a cat lover, skip the rest.....

 

If it weren't for the previous owners' frickin cat that stunk up a corner of the room with urine, we could get along with the existing carpet; however, I had to cut out a 2x2 square of carpet, 2x2 squares of drywall on the two corner walls and a 2x2 piece of floor sheathing to reveal the floor joists.  Did I say I hate cats?  Still couldn't get rid of the smell after using chemicals "guaranteed" to work and several coats of paint that were "guaranteed" to work.  Finally, sprayed the open wall cavities (studs, plate, etc.) joists with Flex Seal.  The off-gassing damn near took us out for a couple of days but it worked.

[Rougarou]

1 hour ago, John Ranalletta said:

The very last piece of our condo reno is replacing a 16'x16' w2w carpet.  Our first choice (w/o knowing price) was $13.99/sq' or $126/yd x =$3,600!!!!!  NFW, so off to another store to find a cheaper carpet, say, $5.99sq' or $1,500 just for carpet.  By the time they added "demo", moving furniture, installation and taxes, the quote is nearly $2,500.  The price was not guaranteed and wouldn't be until we wrote the check in advance.

 

If you're a cat lover, skip the rest.....

 

If it weren't for the previous owners' frickin cat that stunk up a corner of the room with urine, we could get along with the existing carpet; however, I had to cut out a 2x2 square of carpet, 2x2 squares of drywall on the two corner walls and a 2x2 piece of floor sheathing to reveal the floor joists.  Did I say I hate cats?  Still couldn't get rid of the smell after using chemicals "guaranteed" to work and several coats of paint that were "guaranteed" to work.  Finally, sprayed the open wall cavities (studs, plate, etc.) joists with Flex Seal.  The off-gassing damn near took us out for a couple of days but it worked.

 

We laid carpet in our last house in a couple of bedrooms.  We got it from a discount/salvage type store.  Carpet all brand new, quality "name".  Paid a few hundred for that.  I'm cheep, so I made my own knee kicker outta wood by using scrap 3/4" plywood, hammering a metric crapton of small nails from the topside down that stuck out 'bout 1/2".  Put that all together with additional scrap wood to create the knee kicker and viola, we be installing carpet.

 

Twas a wee bit of work, but saved $$$

[Hosstage]

The price of lumber last year went sky high, then it came down a bit, but still ridiculously expensive. I think a friend just paid $100 for a sheet of plywood, not sure if it was 1/2" or 3/4", not that it matters, it's way too high.

The big one for me and my field is copper wire. A spool that would normally cost about $160 is now close to $500! That is insane. Were I a contractor, all bids would be good for 30 days, with allowable adjustments for price fluctuations within a certain percentage.

Scrap wire which was worth about 73¢ a pound in the best of times is now worth over $1.05. Thefts are up.

[randy]

so May 23 is our anniversary.  My wife no longer likes to eat out (started before the pandemic) so for the past about 7 years I grill/cook a nice dinner.  Usually her favorite steak, double baked potato, broccoli, corn on the cob, wine for her, root beer for me and chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream for desert. 

This Saturday I was at the store and they had some Filet Mignon on sale and with our anniversary coming up I bought two 6oz portions.  I get home and my wife see's the two steaks and goes a little crazy wondering why I would spend about a weeks worth of grocery money on two steaks.  I told her they were for the anniversary dinner, and on sale so get them now, because who knows what they might cost come May.  She took a moment and said "good job"  Still was twice the price of the steaks I bought back in 2018/2019. but almost 1/3 off regular price.  I did good 

[John Ranalletta]

47 minutes ago, Hosstage said:

The price of lumber last year went sky high, then it came down a bit, but still ridiculously expensive. I think a friend just paid $100 for a sheet of plywood, not sure if it was 1/2" or 3/4", not that it matters, it's way too high.

The big one for me and my field is copper wire. A spool that would normally cost about $160 is now close to $500! That is insane. Were I a contractor, all bids would be good for 30 days, with allowable adjustments for price fluctuations within a certain percentage.

Scrap wire which was worth about 73¢ a pound in the best of times is now worth over $1.05. Thefts are up.

A friend owns a fair sized mechanical contracting firm.  Bids are good for 10 days for materials and start work date subject to material availability at time of signing.

[9Mary7]

23 hours ago, roadscholar said:

I'm interested too

It'll be a V-nose and I'm limiting myself to my GVWR so it won't be too heavy, about 7k which was what my boat/trailer combo weighed....... I'll let you know.

[MichiganBob]

I must be living in the right place. Just got my weekly Winn-Dixie promo.  Angus beef bonus shoulder roast 4.49 a pound,  Corn beef brisket 5.99 a pound, Boneless ribeye steak 7.99 a pound, t-bone 5.99 pound.

[Rougarou]

https://www.foodlion.com/weekly-specials/

 

[Brodiepunker18]

Inflation is hitting hard by me…gas is getting ridiculous and I already shopped the sales almost exclusively and the bargain bin for meat before all of this at the store…just picked up 60 pounds of ground beef for 90 bucks because it was about to expire…I buy the 10 pound tubes of 81%…nice having the extra freezer that way. I’m still hoping to get some decent miles in on the bike although with a new baby coming in a few weeks that might get lessened a bit…

[Rougarou]

4 minutes ago, Brodiepunker18 said:

Inflation is hitting hard by me…gas is getting ridiculous and I already shopped the sales almost exclusively and the bargain bin for meat before all of this at the store…just picked up 60 pounds of ground beef for 90 bucks because it was about to expire…I buy the 10 pound tubes of 81%…nice having the extra freezer that way. I’m still hoping to get some decent miles in on the bike although with a new baby coming in a few weeks that might get lessened a bit…

 

With that new baby coming, you might be able to sell it to offset the inflation costs,.........just kiddin', congrats on the new ankle biter!!

[Brodiepunker18]

6 minutes ago, Rougarou said:

 

With that new baby coming, you might be able to sell it to offset the inflation costs,.........just kiddin', congrats on the new ankle biter!!

 

thank you! I’m excited! Just gotta keep price checking everything everywhere…it’s ridiculous but any dollars I can scrape from one fund to the other makes it worth it.

😆 or just strap him to my chest under the jacket and ride anyways! J/k 🤣 

 

he's my 3rd…I’ll have 3 under 5 years old…not giving up the bike…giving up the jeep! lol. Just got the odyssey to haul them around. A lot easier than the car I had

[Rougarou]

10 hours ago, Brodiepunker18 said:

 

thank you! I’m excited! Just gotta keep price checking everything everywhere…it’s ridiculous but any dollars I can scrape from one fund to the other makes it worth it.

😆 or just strap him to my chest under the jacket and ride anyways! J/k 🤣 

 

he's my 3rd…I’ll have 3 under 5 years old…not giving up the bike…giving up the jeep! lol. Just got the odyssey to haul them around. A lot easier than the car I had

 

Only had two,....but never got so low as to buy a mini-van,......('cept three years in Okinawa, 'least it was a 4wd Delica).  We'd stuff them in the back seat of the 2000 Wrangler, with all camping gear and head out on 8-10 hour drive.   They handled it well.  Then we got the Super Duty, all was really comfortable for them then.

 

I'd go nuckin' futs with three under five,.....enjoy!!

 

 

[BamaJohn]

Remember the green stamps booklets of the early 50's?  

Hate to admit that I'm now searching online for grocery deals/2-fer's, etc, and cutting out coupons.  I've been stocking up on canned goods and other staples for the past year, just knowing that they will cost more next time I buy them.   

If I had a piece of land where trees didn't block the sun, I'd grow a small garden, but reckon I'd just be feeding deer and other critters.

 

However, I DO live at a lake, so am about to brush up on fish recipe's.......

[Brodiepunker18]

3 hours ago, Rougarou said:

 

Only had two,....but never got so low as to buy a mini-van,......('cept three years in Okinawa, 'least it was a 4wd Delica).  We'd stuff them in the back seat of the 2000 Wrangler, with all camping gear and head out on 8-10 hour drive.   They handled it well.  Then we got the Super Duty, all was really comfortable for them then.

 

I'd go nuckin' futs with three under five,.....enjoy!!

 

 

I wanted the van! It’s so nice to have the room for them and me! And I do plan on tent camping with them as well. …maybe not this year lol…two is okay in most vehicles however the 3rd definitely necessitated the van. Car seats are ridiculous in size.

 

it will be challenging but rewarding! Kind of like owning a RT! 

[Hosstage]

Minivans really are the perfect family vehicle, since big station wagons are no longer available.

SUVs generally suck at family vehicles, except for Suburbans, but I wouldn't call those SUVs, just UVs.

Talk about inflation hitting, gas in the Suburban hurts, hence Minivan.

[Rougarou]

30 minutes ago, Hosstage said:

Minivans really are the perfect family vehicle, since big station wagons are no longer available.

SUVs generally suck at family vehicles, except for Suburbans, but I wouldn't call those SUVs, just UVs.

Talk about inflation hitting, gas in the Suburban hurts, hence Minivan.

Nope, wife and I told ourselves that we’d not own a minivan.   That Okinawa thing was a one off, and we only had the Deli for a few months before getting rid of it, twas a 50 plate=sloooow
 

A coworker bought one a couple years ago, they hated it, now they have a 4Runner and happy to stuff their kids in it. 
 

1984, we road from Louisiana to NC to visit my moms family. The vehicle used was my brothers Bronco II, yes the little one. In that vehicle was my brother, his girlfriend , another brother with his girlfriend, my little brother, mom and me.  Seven bodies stuffed in there for the however many 55mph drive. And no luggage was on the roof. 

[Bumwah]

Makes ya think,

maybe Jimmy Carter wasn't the worst...

When I purchased my home the interest rate was 14.375% ARM

Stand Back, Nuthin' to see here.

[John Ranalletta]

On 3/22/2022 at 9:45 AM, John Ranalletta said:

Will be interesting to see if owners who bought RVs in last 2 years when gas/diesel prices were low will hit the road this vacation season.  What's your guess?  NO POLITICS.

 

Our planned car travel for June includes 3200 miles @ 20/mpg or 160 gal. x est $4.50 or $720.  Can imagine cost of pushing/pulling an RV at 4-5 mpg!
 

 

Question asked.  Question answered.  

 

[wbw6cos]

From what I see online, RV's are not selling cheap.