The economy and inflated prices. Keep track of them with a few ideas here

If you want to keep track do it. Ask for help if you want an easy way to 'pop up' a file where you can copy / paste / write down the
price / ounce of your fav foods.

Vons/ safeway stores have a nice site where they tell you the price / oz. If you search the page of , say, cereals for 0.10, 0.11, 0.12
and so on you'll find the price per ounce for cereal. safeway prices are about 12.5 cents / oz for raisin bran(s). That price a year
ago was under 11 cents / oz and under 10c / oz in late 2011. Prior to that I recall prices as low as 8c / ounce occasionally.

By a quick copy and paste you can, not only, make up your shopping list but keep track of the price / oz. A famous author, Tom Peters,
said something like.. to 'win' or improve you must be able to measure. That was in his book called, 'In Search of Excellence' about 1978.

About November I bought lots of pairs of the Wigwam Silk, merino wool, nylon, spandex hiking socks for about $9.99. Since then the price has been over $15.

Use the website, Nextag. They give you a history chart of the price. That's similar to keeping track yourself. For me that's an incentive
to find a better value product, do without, or make my own .. etc. Money hasn't been a serious problem ever in my life and I attribute
that to thrifty spending learned from a parent who learned a lesson during the 'First Great Depression'

Here's a funny tip.
I bought at Food Maxx raisin bran for 10c / ounce. Their store brand 25 ounces for 2.50. When I opened the bag inside I realized it looked
identical to the plastic wraps I made to store hamburger meat formed into patties from ground beef. So I kept the bags and instead of
buying plastic wrap I now have a better quality (trust me I'm a materials scientist) plastic material to wrap up my burger patties.
The type of plastic used for cereal bags(inside the box) doesn't stick to the burgers. That makes for a fast separation and free plastic.

Here's a question for you mathematicians. If I don't have to take a trip to the store for 1 item.. over time do I eventually gain a
free trip as I add up the one item(s) I didn't have to buy? Statistically the answer is yes but we live in a quantum world where you can't
not take a 1/10th of a trip. I still maintain not having to go to the store to buy honey means I might put off a trip and that adds up
to a $20 bill in my pocket. Fun stuff. Some people say I think too much. Oh yeah and my friend's bills are much higher than mine.

So what's the future? Whatever it is there are changes occuringin the world at large. One word. Microfinancing is changing how we do
business and which ideas succeed are truly useful. A window garden where ppl grow food was one which recently asked for $70,000.00 in 3
weeks (or so) and they got 78,000.00 in 10 days to build the window / hydroponic devices. Sorry I don't have the reference handy.
If you absolutely need it pm me and i'll find it for you.

What I'm saying is .. things and methods are happening around us.. Maybe in the big city down the State.. maybe in the small town away
from the big city... but like the people with deadly diseases.. I always recommend you do research.. keep track of it, and implement
the solutions for yourself. Growing just one food at home might save one trip a year to the store. That adds up to thousands of
dollars in a lifetime.. Can't think that far out? That's what the powers that keep you enslaved like about this world.
You're too busy to help yourself.

The right hurch is often the right place to get help. Somehow they slow down time and people get chances to get ideas into motion with
out the sense of pushing out a 18lb baby turkey birth. Get my drift now? Slow down and make haste slowly towards solutions.

Energy costs are very low now for Nat Gas. Consider buying a CNG vehicle, install a scuba pump (don't buy an 'official cng' pump. do the
research. The gas company lowers my rates from 1.00 GGE (gas gallon equivalent) to 0.64 GGE if I install the $5000 pump and fill up my
vehicle. CNG cars come as vans, Honda CX's, and about 5 other models AND any car can be converted to CNG for under $2000 (about).
Not your cup of tea? Then like the way of the world you'll be out of cash I think in 5 years like everyone else.

It is time now .. today. Get a friend , grab a hammer, and beat something into submission.

Or don't. I don't know you.
Andre

If you want examples of inflation just pick items and watch them. If they're low buy.. before they go up.

The way of the world should go like this.

Prices will rise. Then items won't be readily available. When they come back their prices will be higher than before.

That won't 'settle out' for literally decades in my opinion.

What to do to solve this problem = Bring your products closer to home and live with new innovations not the same stuff you'll be encouraged to buy

Good luck.

Have sites or people which encourage you? Post them here.

TED.com is a site which is encouraging.

Andre

I

So you're cheap and basically are saying those of us that value our time are dinosaurs, got it.

I'm not sure what the point of your post is other than to point out how much of a miser you are. Personally I understand how economics work and that to get out of a recession and to have a healthy economy you have to spend money, not save money. Basic economics show why micro financing fails and why they have such high interest rates due to the inherent failures in just giving people money to "help" themselves.

Prices will rise due to a thing called inflation, it sucks but to ignore inflation or create loopholes can have unintended consequences that can be far worse than just accepting inflation for what it is.

You act like raising prices is out of pure greed, and to some degree greed plays a part in it because everyone needs to make a living.

I'd hate to live in a world where I have to be super miserly just to get by and have to count how much the box of cereal increased in a year or two based on a few ounces. It's like people saying it's extremely easy to be super healthy and alls you have to do is eat chicken breasts, salads with no dressing, and work out.

I like my deep fried chicken every now and then and to act like you're better because you installed a scuba pump in order to save money ignores the time you spent to research that pump, buy the pump, have that pump delivered, and the time you spent installing the pump.

When you value your time at $0 you quickly start having to be really thrifty, because you are worth what you value your time to be worth.