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went to the grocery store yesterday and was shocked at the price of milk. $4.99 a half gallon. yogurt had gone up. and this was a Publix store. Don't know I could have done the steak dinner you describe for $10 either unless you are talking splitting up a sirloin or round steak over several meals and without the wine.
not to argue just saying that maybe where you live the cost of groceries are different than where I am. and if you were to average the milk with a canned good then the store average may not be much different before.
still if I hadn't needed milk for my cereal I would have passed on it.
I agree with you about the $10 for the steak dinner (unless it's a cut I usually wouldn't buy and a bottle of "3 Buck Chuck"). OTOH - a nice steak dinner is doable for say $15-20. Rib eyes go on sale at Publix for $8.99 pound every few weeks ($5 off a pound - 1 pound steak is enough for 2 people). There are some nice Australian wines at $6/bottle. Etc.
That said - things like milk prices did go up a ton last year. And - although they're lower this year than last year - they're still fairly high. Ditto with related dairy prices. Animal protein prices have been going up a fair amount in recent years too. Still - the overall food inflation rate isn't that high. About 3% YOY IIRC.
And - if one plans one's food shopping - as with other kinds of shopping - you can save a lot of money. And counteract some of the effects of inflation. We shop at Publix on a regular basis (at least once a week) and take advantage of its numerous sales/BOGOs. There are often BOGOs on things you don't expect to find on BOGOs. Like boneless skinless chicken breasts - racks of ribs - etc. If you buy on BOGOs - the cost winds up being lower than the prices at a place like Costco. So - as long as you have a freezer - you're all set.
I also use coupons. Even my Wall Street Journal comes with coupons now. It is great fun buying something using a BOGO and coupons (at Publix - if something is on a BOGO - and you have 2 coupons - you can use both of them against the total cost of your purchase). Robyn
If the reason they are giving for no COLA for SS is because the price of gas is low, what will they do when at some point down the road the price of gas goes up? How will they address that??
If the reason they are giving for no COLA for SS is because the price of gas is low, what will they do when at some point down the road the price of gas goes up? How will they address that??
I believe higher prices are built in at previous highs. They didn't take money away for the reduction and in many cases a negative CPI. That's the good thing you get it when the CPI is high but if it goes negative they don't take it back. I had a pension situation a couple of years ago due to a negative CPI where they could have but didn't reduce benefits. Instead they rolled the reduction into the next year and reduced that increase accordingly.
If the reason they are giving for no COLA for SS is because the price of gas is low, what will they do when at some point down the road the price of gas goes up? How will they address that??
It's more than the price of energy. This is how the SS COLA is computed:
It's simply a question of whether the CPI-W in the third quarter of year X - as a whole - not any individual part of it - is higher/lower than the CPI-W in the last year in which there was a COLA.
So - if the price of gas is higher in 2016 - but other components of the index go down - there may be no COLA in 2016. It depends on the index as a whole - not the price of any individual component.
BTW - there are some inflation adjusted things that can go negative when inflation is negative. Like the return on TIPs. Robyn
It's simply a question of whether the CPI-W in the third quarter of year X - as a whole - not any individual part of it - is higher/lower than the CPI-W in the last year in which there was a COLA.
So - if the price of gas is higher in 2016 - but other components of the index go down - there may be no COLA in 2016. It depends on the index as a whole - not the price of any individual component.
BTW - there are some inflation adjusted things that can go negative when inflation is negative. Like the return on TIPs. Robyn
May not be a COLA for awhile or at least a period on none or low
I agree with you about the $10 for the steak dinner (unless it's a cut I usually wouldn't buy and a bottle of "3 Buck Chuck"). OTOH - a nice steak dinner is doable for say $15-20. Rib eyes go on sale at Publix for $8.99 pound every few weeks ($5 off a pound - 1 pound steak is enough for 2 people). There are some nice Australian wines at $6/bottle. Etc.
Robyn55,
The sirloin steak we got for $2.99/lb (half price sale) is good enough for us. Regarding 'cheap' wines, we don't like '3 buck chuck' either but have found many very drinkable red South American (Chilean, Argentine) for less than $5 a bottle.
Yes, there are nice red Australian wines at ~$6/bottle but you really have to look hard and take a chance since the quality of a certain vineyard can vary from year to year. I'd highly recommend you checking out some red south american wines. For white wines, we stick with French and New Zealand wines (Italian Pinot Girs or Grigio are pretty good). They are a bit pricier than drinkable reds so we have to look hard for sale.
I am a frugal person and always look for good quality stuffs at good prices, and don't mind paying for high quality stuffs at reasonable price but never poor quality stuffs regardless of the prices.
P.S.
My apology for straying from the OP with discussion about steak and wine!! IMO, if anyone of us who can enjoy these items weekly regardless of the prices is financially secured enough to NOT be affected by the lack of COLA and the increase in Medicare cost next year (the so-called double whammy!). I originally cited the dinner which we had just consumed to illustrate that in our experience, we have not really experienced much of an inflation effect on food prices. There are no questions that the prices of some items have gone up but if you shop around and don't mind substitutions, the overall food price has been relatively stable (at least in our area).
Regarding 'cheap' wines, we don't like '3 buck chuck' either but have found many very drinkable red South American (Chilean, Argentine) for less than $5 a bottle.
We can't tolerate the 3 buck chuck but have been quite pleased with the Trader Joe Reserve wines that start at $5.
The sirloin steak we got for $2.99/lb (half price sale) is good enough for us. Regarding 'cheap' wines, we don't like '3 buck chuck' either but have found many very drinkable red South American (Chilean, Argentine) for less than $5 a bottle.
Yes, there are nice red Australian wines at ~$6/bottle but you really have to look hard and take a chance since the quality of a certain vineyard can vary from year to year. I'd highly recommend you checking out some red south american wines. For white wines, we stick with French and New Zealand wines (Italian Pinot Girs or Grigio are pretty good). They are a bit pricier than drinkable reds so we have to look hard for sale.
I am a frugal person and always look for good quality stuffs at good prices, and don't mind paying for high quality stuffs at reasonable price but never poor quality stuffs regardless of the prices.
P.S.
My apology for straying from the OP with discussion about steak and wine!! IMO, if anyone of us who can enjoy these items weekly regardless of the prices is financially secured enough to NOT be affected by the lack of COLA and the increase in Medicare cost next year (the so-called double whammy!). I originally cited the dinner which we had just consumed to illustrate that in our experience, we have not really experienced much of an inflation effect on food prices. There are no questions that the prices of some items have gone up but if you shop around and don't mind substitutions, the overall food price has been relatively stable (at least in our area).
Seems to me it's on point for people to talk about what they spend for things when the discussion is about COLAs. Other peoples' mileage might vary .
I don't drink wine - but I know my husband enjoys a lot of white wines from New Zealand. He also buys a lot of wine at Costco. Where the prices are good to start with - and very good when things go on sale.
I am not a frugal person. But I don't throw money away either. Not when I don't have to. To me - there is nothing inconsistent about staying in luxury hotels and looking for BOGOs at Publix. Or asking a doctor why some ridiculously priced drug that she has prescribed for me that is not on my Medicare Part D formulary makes sense. It's called being an informed consumer.
Bizarre but true story. When I first moved to this area 20 years ago - well there were only one place to buy things like decent towels. Dillard's. And it never seemed to have "white sales". So I asked "why not"? And was told - we never want any customer to think she spent more than another customer. What a load of . Of course - 20 years later - the world is totally different.
I doubt the CPI distinguishes between informed and uninformed consumers. People who shop around and people who buy on a whim. And I wonder exactly where/how they get their numbers when it comes to this stuff. One might have more of a choice in some consumer areas than others. But it's almost never "my way or the highway". With regard to anything. Robyn
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. Of course - 20 years later - the world is totally different. 
