Is being on a fixed income during these economic times causing you to "hunker down"?

Have noted the price increase on everything but since I've always looked for sales buying food hasn't impacted us very much. It helps having Latin & American super markets competing. We have cut back on eating out, the value vs. cost just isn't there anymore.
 

OneEyedDiva said:
He makes loose coffee grains in a pot, adds the entire egg, shell and all and lets it boil/simmer for about 30 minutes. He told me why but I forgot the reason. I'll try to remember to ask him tomorrow. I almost didn't see your question Muskrat; wouldn't have if I didn't check to see who reacted. Use @ before a person's name (it will tag them) so that they can see you're responding to them OR hit the reply on that person's post.
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I've never done that with the egg, but I've been told the cold egg causes a quick change in temperature that causes all those loose grounds to settle to the bottom, but I think you should stop the boil before adding the egg. When I used to boil coffee, water, grounds and all (we called it camp coffee), I would just add a quick blast of cold tap water to the pot to settle the grounds.

It worked better than nothing, but the coffee was still kind of soupy, but you were never shorted your share of the caffeine.
 
Packerjohn said:
You might have heard of companies down sizing their products to save money. People hate price increases but they don't seem to notice when the size decreases. eg: Yogurt used to be 800 g; now it is 650.
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I notice, and it irritates me no end. I wonder who they think they are kidding? Maybe they fool a lot of people, but it's hard to believe. Some day, some enterprising company is going to get this brilliant idea to create extra large quantities understanding that people will be willing to pay more to get more, and they will make a bundle with an unheard of innovation that flies in the face of modern business models. They will be the pioneers of a new age in commercialism. Well, we can dream.
 

JustDave said:
I've never done that with the egg, but I've been told the cold egg causes a quick change in temperature that causes all those loose grounds to settle to the bottom, but I think you should stop the boil before adding the egg. When I used to boil coffee, water, grounds and all (we called it camp coffee), I would just add a quick blast of cold tap water to the pot to settle the grounds.

It worked better than nothing, but the coffee was still kind of soupy, but you were never shorted your share of the caffeine.
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I think my son puts the egg in right at the start. He lets the coffee simmer for about 25 - 30 minutes while he's getting ready for work. He then strains it through a sieve.
@StarSong Re the egg coffee, you said "Fascinating! "Thanks @BC Flash and @OneEyedDiva. Who knew???" I meant to reply much sooner! You're welcome, of course.
 
katlupe said:
Yeah, SS went up but so did everything else. It was like not getting an increase after all. Rents went up and food stamps went down. It really affects people with a low income. At the store I still see people with grocery carts full of junk food and soda so it depends on what is your priority.
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SS increases are only meant to match inflation not to raise anyone's living standard, but the government tracks inflation, and maniplates the actual data by adding or removing items out of their sample basket from which they derive the data. So if gas goes up out of proportion to bread, it is removed from their data sampling, and something is added that has not gone up as much. Does this hurt or help or hurt people? It depends. Someone always gets hurt. Someone else always benefits. That's how government works. I believe that the government has a vested interest in downplaying inflation, but I don't know for sure. Politicians would of course want to downplay inflation or exaggerate it depending on who they want to blame. Just be glad you get anything at all, because the government can cut everything off if they want.
 
I can only answer for myself, but even living on a very low income, I do pretty good. Being alone helps. Plus I live on the budget I write out near the end of each month for the next month. I am able to include what is considered a luxury (my hair appointment for example). My rent went up a little bit but what I pay for this beautiful apartment is a real deal and I don't mind the increase. A big savings for me is not owning a vehicle. I wasn't complaining on this thread just a general comment.
 
I just bought 2 Califia barista oat milks on Sunday at the health food store for $4.99 each. Went to Grocery Outlet Bargain Market today and they had them for $3.99, got 1. And Oat-ly barista milk for 99cents, got 2. They are not about to expire either.

Also I had gone to the 99 Cent store looking for something they didn't have so I looked at the food section. HelLman's vegan mayo for $1.99, got 1. Delmonte canned peaches (unsweetened) got 3 and soy milk 99 cents, got 1.

Though I can go to the Grocery Outlet and find nothing, it can pay to check these places out.
 
My payments are mostly direct debit/deposit. So, keeping my accounts up-to-date monthly has been very useful. Nevertheless, it's been very tight.

We go out for groceries mostly and that side of things have improved greatly. Went out this Sunday, for a swim at local, that was fun. Hoping to do it again. Maybe trying the outdoor seawater pool.

Today, waiting for planned installation, fingers crossed it'll be sooner rather than later. After hubby died, we stayed home as we had to organise lots and kept busy. Nowadays it's just the waiting game lol, for news. Goddess me they're slow to give news...

We keep home mostly but go out when in the mood.
 
palides2021 said:
I have also enjoyed grocery shopping. Since I shop with cash, I only take the cash I need (plus a little extra). Making a list also helps, so I don't shop much more than that. I used to shop every four days, now I shop weekly.
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Shopping with cash makes you a lot smarter than the other 99% of the population that is suffering from credit card debt. Good for you, palides2021.

If more people paid with cash, more people would think twice whether they need that "brand new glittering toy" that the Jones have just bought and you too must buy to keep up with the Jones. Not that the Jones give a "hoot" about what you have or do not have.
 
exactly .

it’s the workers who don’t get raises that are living on a fixed income .

i hate that term living on a fixed income .

retirees are the only group not living on a fixed income as markets and rates are variable as well as ss and many pensions get cola increases
 
Packerjohn said:
Shopping with cash makes you a lot smarter than the other 99% of the population that is suffering from credit card debt. Good for you, palides2021.

If more people paid with cash, more people would think twice whether they need that "brand new glittering toy" that the Jones have just bought and you too must buy to keep up with the Jones. Not that the Jones give a "hoot" about what you have or do not have.
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less than half of those with credit cards carry a balance so certainly not 99% of the population has credit card debt
 
JustDave said:
SS increases are only meant to match inflation not to raise anyone's living standard, but the government tracks inflation, and maniplates the actual data by adding or removing items out of their sample basket from which they derive the data. So if gas goes up out of proportion to bread, it is removed from their data sampling, and something is added that has not gone up as much. Does this hurt or help or hurt people? It depends. Someone always gets hurt. Someone else always benefits. That's how government works. I believe that the government has a vested interest in downplaying inflation, but I don't know for sure. Politicians would of course want to downplay inflation or exaggerate it depending on who they want to blame. Just be glad you get anything at all, because the government can cut everything off if they want.
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your assumptions about items being removed from the cpi is just false ..no such thing happens .

they don’t pull any food or energy out as you misleadingly claim from the cpi u or cpi w which is what counts. nor is it removed from headline inflation numbers .

it is only removed from core numbers since food and energy are extremely volatile and core shows how all the other categories are doing . but core isn’t used for colas

the stuff the mis informed come up with is just fascinating
 
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Teacher Terry said:
Between my pension and SS my income went up 100/month unfortunately my expenses went up much more.
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as they should since ss was never supposed to represent someones total retirement , only a portion so it makes sense all these pieces that represent what makes up our retirement income should only have the cola representing a pieces of it to
 
mathjak107 said:
as they should since ss was never supposed to represent someones total retirement , only a portion so it makes sense all these pieces that represent what makes up our retirement income should only have the cola representing a pieces of it to
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It’s not my entire retirement but inflation has been really high the last few years. I went through it in the late 70’s and early 80’s also. I feel sorry for retirees without other income and for the low wage workers.
 
Teacher Terry said:
It’s not my entire retirement but inflation has been really high the last few years. I went through it in the late 70’s and early 80’s also. I feel sorry for retirees without other income and for the low wage workers.
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yes it will be tough on them .

but the fact some complain about the ss cola not matching what went up is still not the issue .

ss is only supposed to represent a piece of our income as well as what we pay in represents the fact it is only a piece of our pay check
 
mathjak107 said:
yes it will be tough on them .

but the fact some complain about the ss cola not matching what went up is still not the issue .

ss is only supposed to represent a piece of our income as well as what we pay in represents the fact it is only a piece of our pay check
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People were told to retire on the third legged stool. Unfortunately the pension leg is absent for most people. Some people are unable to save due to circumstances and some just fail to save so no third leg.

I purposely decided to work for the state instead of private where I could have made much more money because I wanted a pension. Due to WEP my SS is so tiny as not to matter so really glad I have a pension. My main career wasn’t teaching.
 
Teacher Terry said:
People were told to retire on the third legged stool. Unfortunately the pension leg is absent for most people. Some people are unable to save due to circumstances and some just fail to save so no third leg.

I purposely decided to work for the state instead of private where I could have made much more money because I wanted a pension. Due to WEP my SS is so tiny as not to matter so really glad I have a pension. My main career wasn’t teaching.
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decades ago i was going to go work for the post office for the benefits ….i was an hvac tech at the time and the benefits and pension were interesting to me .

i face notice and the company gave me over 100 dollar raise ..that was huge back then , so i didn’t go .

in retrospect i did very well in private industry so it was a good thing i didn’t actually go
 
Between my municipal pension and my social security, I have NO financial problems. My years of retirement have been great. I moved to a house across the street where my daughter live with 1 of my grandkids. My wife is an excellent care giver for me.
 
mathjak107 said:
as they should since ss was never supposed to represent someones total retirement , only a portion so it makes sense all these pieces that represent what makes up our retirement income should only have the cola representing a pieces of it to
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I’ve often though everybody who is contributing to SS should get yearly notice that SS is NOT intended to cover all of one’s retirement costs.
 
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