What changes have you made due to inflation?

[disneysteve]

I don't think we've had a thread about this yet.

We all know that prices are up on almost everything: gas, food, clothing, travel, etc. What changes, if any, have you made in your spending habits as a result of rising prices? Are you eating out less, or changing what you order or where you go? Are you driving less? Shopping at different stores? Cutting back on travel?

Personally, I've started doing more of our grocery shopping at Walmart rather than Wegmans. On a recent trip to Walmart, I compared prices on everything I was buying and every single item was cheaper at Walmart. Sometimes it was only a few cents; sometimes it was 30 cents or more. On a cart full of groceries, that added up to several dollars in savings.

We are still eating out about the same amount but I'm paying more attention to what I order. I'm not getting a drink other than water. When I know the serving size is going to be too much for one meal (which is true most of the time), I make sure I'm getting something that will hold up well so that the leftovers don't go to waste. I'm also being more diligent about actually using those leftovers.

The fact that this high inflation has coincided with my semi-retirement has just made me even more attuned to prices. My income is now about 1/3 of what it was prior to August so I want us to do our best to keep our spending in line.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I used to cook once a week, now twice a week (big batches sort of like a weekly meal prep but twice weekly). I used to get take-out twice a week, now zero. I used to catch a free junket charter bus once a week to the Indian casinos in San Diego, now I drive myself instead along with other destinations near there. My weekly gas cost about $150 a week. I get comp'd meals at the casinos so it's hard to pass up a free meal, lol.

[james.hendrickson]

I'm going hard on store brands. Its the same stuff, without the markup.

[disneysteve]

I used to catch a free junket charter bus once a week to the Indian casinos in San Diego, now I drive myself instead

How is driving your own vehicle better than taking the free bus?

[disneysteve]

I'm going hard on store brands. Its the same stuff, without the markup.

We've always been big on store brands but recently we have been trying more of them, especially from Aldi. As always, we've found some that were just fine, some that were not, and a few that we actually like better than the more expensive brand names.

[QuarterMillionMan]

How is driving your own vehicle better than taking the free bus?

I've got no choice, the free busses aren't running yet

[kork13]

I've never eaten out much, maybe 3-4 times a month, often less, given that I love to cook (especially for family/others)... But I've definitely been more cognizant of it, and actively try to avoid eating out, or leveraging deals/discounts when I do.

Tangentially related (more a fitness/health thing, but food related) -- in ~July I started consistently eating only 1 meal a day, most days of the week, fasting for ~21 hrs a day. The habit was surprisingly easy to adopt (I already never ate breakfast), and I've lost ~15lbs in as many weeks. Side benefit is that I'm eating less, so my food spending has gone down.

I'm also more cognizant of gas consumption, planning my trips to be most efficient with minimal back & forth around town. I also just avoid taking trips when I can avoid it, or maybe delay it to combine with another errand.

[Jluke]

Not one of the questions: Biggest change is increasing cash pile from 40k to 60k - things cost more, investments down so don’t want to sell, and job loss is always possible.

shopping: re-evaluating prices at wholesale club vs grocery store. Keeping an eye on packaging size (shrinkflation). Not buying food/drink items for myself (soda, snacks etc). Check coupons and try to hold out until there is one for certain items. Stock up when there are coupons.

travel: last vacation was 2018 so nothing to cut back there.

gas: fortunately work from home so not feeling the pain at the pump as I would have normally with a 1-hour commute each way.

Ordering out: usually just pizza and now I don’t get myself a hoagie since they are close to $10.

feels like most of the money goes to weekend grocery shopping. Typically $250 per week now.

[myrdale]

I've stopped eating at Subway. $15 for a 12" sub with a large drink and chips.

I tried the store brand shredded cheese as the name brand has shrunk and went up in price. I was disappointed though as after a week of being opened, it was kind of goopy.

I've cut back on sodas. +$2 for a 20 oz drink is insane.

[disneysteve]

I tried the store brand shredded cheese as the name brand has shrunk and went up in price. I was disappointed though

Store brand products vary in quality, as do brand names really. We've actually found that the shredded cheese we all like best is Aldi's brand. I just went over there last night to get that and a couple of other things. Bonus is that it's the cheapest of all the options.

[bjl584]

We've been eating out less, shopping more generic items, and driving less often.

Small things, but they have made a difference

[Fishindude77]

We're finishing up a big home remodel so have been eating out a lot which is getting pretty ridiculously expensive.
Soon as we get finished up and have a fully functioning kitchen, we're going to bring the dining out to a halt.

Will be interesting to see how bad utility bills get this winter?

[QuarterMillionMan]

Low fat or fat free is more important to me than price or name brand vs. generic brand. After getting a high cholesterol scare of 450, I brought it down to 150 making a drastic change in my diet to low fat. Turkey drippings to make gravy, I first chill it to solidify the fat and scrape it off the top and discard it. Beef or chicken or pork I will boil it and dump the water with all the fat down the drain. I use lean ground turkey to make spaghetti, tacos, etc. Not to mention lots of veggies. Take care of your health guys, and not worry so much about price, but it is tough when the budget is tight.

[disneysteve]

all the fat down the drain[/B].

You should not pour fat down the drain. That is going to lead to trouble at some point with the drain clogging or worse, the main sewer line clogging. Best to pour fat into a can, stick it in the fridge, and when it cools/solidifies, toss it in the trash.

[jenn_jenn]

We haven’t made too many changes.

I’m more likely to suggest we order in versus go out to eat but that’s due to restaurants being understaffed and being more expensive at the same time. It’s not as enjoyable and costs significantly more? No, thanks.

I bought a fancy Nespresso because $8 coffees are ridiculous and I can make my own lattes at home.

I raised the monthly rent on our condo to account for increased utility and cleaning costs.

We’ve moved our emergency fund a little bit. Keeping less in true cash and buying treasury and I-bonds.