Out Of Sight

[Janice]

Other than gasoline, what is your one main monthy bill or spending that has really increased in the last year and you can't take much more of an increase.


The main increase I see is food, meats and produce. Fresh produce is getting out of sight.

Thank God our electric and water are reasonable. We don't spend over $100 a month for both combined.

[Aslkahuna]

You're lucky for the electric bill since I spend over $100 dollars in the Summer and over $200/mo in the Winter on electricity. Yes, food has gone up and that's a direct consequence of the gas prices which increases transportation costs. Of course the Government pads the inflation figures so that the official inflation rate stays low for political purposes and also to keep the COLA's for SS and Military and Civil Service retirees down as low as possible. Soon it will be beans and rice time. I have my own fruit trees and can my fruit so I will have fruit through the Winter at least.

Steve

[feederband]

Other than gasoline, what is your one main monthy bill or spending that has really increased in the last year and you can't take much more of an increase.


The main increase I see is food, meats and produce. Fresh produce is getting out of sight.

Thank God our electric and water are reasonable. We don't spend over $100 a month for both combined.

$100.00 you would get 8 or 9 days for that hear.....Electric is my big dog right now then food and not so distant gas..

[Janice]

Well, I buy all fresh veggies and steam them or use them for salads. I buy no canned. I buy bulk at Sams for meat too. I have a food processor and make my own relish, shreaded cheese, etc. We do not buy any junk foods, that saves a ton of money. I cook and freeze foods too. I don't think prices on anything will go down, so I think we will have to start finding better says to conserve.

[Kim_in_MN]

Well, I was going to say heat, but since I heat with natural gas that probably ties in too closely with the gasoline. All I know is that I can' t take another winter paying 200+ a month for heat.

Kim

[JenBayles]

Our AC bill last month was a personal best: $430 for a 2,000 sq. ft. home. We keep the thermostat at 80. Bumping it up to 85 now. In my area the electric plants are natural gas fired, and with the price of natural gas skyrocketing, well, there it is...

[azskyman]

With the installation of a replacement heat pump earlier this year, the summer heat has actually been less severe on our electric bill than I had planned for...so electricity is actually dropping here for us.

Let's see...phone bills are down, I've squeezed the daylights out of cable, and water/trash has only inched up since we put in fewer plants on a watering schedule.

So...tis the cost of food, goods, and services that takes the biggest bite other than gasoline. I still buy cars, not lease them, so each time we do that the payments are higher than the last.

[Windsong]

$326 last month on electric. 1250 sq ft. house.

[beachbum_al]

Food! It is something that we can't go without and something that seems to be increasing in price. Especially the healthier foods.

[bevgo]

I think food is the biggest expense. I cannot seem to get out of the grocery for under 200/wk. We have srarted eating home cooked food more since we were eating out a lot. That is down to 1 x/wk now and we frequently go to a buffet.

I have been out of work--finally back working--for a couple of months and it sure did hurt not having my income. Soon we can add a few luxuries back into the budget. I told my son that we are going to sell the house in NO so we dont have the house payment and rent here in MS. That will really help to not have both to pay.

[coriolis]

Food. I budget $400 every two weeks, and that doesn't usually make it with four boys, 14, 13, 11, and 9. They descend on the kitchen like a horde of locusts, stripping it bare. And then they bring their friends over.....

[Janice]

Yikes, and I know they have bottomless pits. Boys that age eat right up to bedtime. Good luck, you will need it.

I hope they help with the dishes

[TexasStooge]

Where my family lives right now, all bills are paid, we just need to pay the rent every 2 weeks.

[Radar]

Of course my electric bill is higher and the food bill is increasing as my children get older( 11 and 9 )... But one thing I did notice this year was the cost of school supplies and clothing, it just seems to go up and up every year. Not only that but every year the school adds more and more items to the supply list kids need. When I was in school all we had to show up with was a trapper keeper, some filler paper and pencils... Back then rulers and scissors and such were supplied by the school... But not anymore!

Therefore, I would say educational neccessities for my kids has been the surprise expense so far this year.

My 5th grade daughter this year has had to have hi-lighters, post it notes, color pencils, markers, crayons, 5 three prong folders, glue, a dictionary... That is not mentioning the trapper keeper with dividers, filler paper, new book bag, pencils and erasers and pencil box that I already knew to get her.

I couldn't believe that the school doesnt have dictionaries for the kids, I had to buy her one of her own for at school use.