We don't buy steak anymore unless it's in Albertson's bargain bin where the sell date will be today or tomorrow, and then we buy only the cheapest cuts and freeze them immediately to use to make steak soup. Ribeyes, New York Strips, T-bones--all the really good steak cuts are too expensive even on their expiration dates. I do buy the leanest hamburger I can get for health reasons and that costs as much as premium steak used to.
We don't go to the movies anymore unless it's a real blockbuster like Top Gun Maverick or Oppenheimer and that will shoot our entertainment budget for a month.
We don't travel overnight any more as motel prices for even midline motels are just not worth it.
We buy the basics, bread, pinto beans, potatoes, other produce necessary for good health and we are paying double or more for all of it. Lettuce $1.79/head. Albertson's store brand bread was 85 cents per loaf for like forever until inflation hit. Now it's $1.49 a loaf, the loaves are smaller and the slices cut thinner.
Our last natural gas bill was the highest it has ever been, easily double what it was this time last year despite much milder temperatures this winter. When Hombre paid it on line the bank popped up a notice that the amount was considerably more than we usually pay. We were frustrated that there was no place to say, "No shit!"
We've all lived with gasoline prices spiking up to near unaffordable levels and then returning to affordable prices again. Groceries and other things don't seem to be doing that.
