Posted on 08/18/2025 10:20:43 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Do you feel knots in your stomach due to financial stress? If so, you certainly have lots of company. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about the cost of living and prices are rising by double-digit percentages all around us. There are so many people out there right now that feel like they are “drowning” because no matter how hard they try there simply isn’t enough money for everything. Unfortunately, we are being warned to brace ourselves for even more inflation in the months ahead.
When I heard that the cost of vegetables in the United States had gone up by 40 percent in one month, I thought that there was no way that it could be true.
So I looked it up, and I discovered that the cost of vegetables in the United States didn’t go up by 40 percent in one month.
The real figure was 38.9 percent…
A 38.9% increase in prices for fresh and dry vegetables from June to July was the major driver of a higher index for “final demand goods” (things that are done and ready to be sold to a consumer, as opposed to things that go into a later production process).
That is nuts!
How can the cost of vegetables go up by 38.9 percent in a single month?
Apparently this was the largest spike that we have ever witnessed in a summer month “in figures that go back to 1947”…
Per Bureau of Labor Statistics data, it’s also the largest monthly increase ever recorded in a summer month (June-August), in figures that go back to 1947.
The other day, I wrote about how beef has become so expensive that it is now considered to be a “luxury”.
Well, now vegetables are a “luxury” too.
And let’s not forget coffee.
The price of coffee went up by 25 percent in just three months, and that was before coffee exports from Brazil were hit with a 50 percent tariff…
Coffee prices were already up before a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, the top coffee importer to the U.S., went into effect last week.
Coffee prices sharply rose 25 percent over the past three months, according to inflation data released Tuesday. Reuters reported Tuesday that Brazilian coffee exports have started seeing postponements to their U.S. shipments.
About two-thirds of all U.S. adults drink coffee.
This is one of the most basic things that Americans buy.
But now a lot of people are either going to have to cut back or stop drinking it entirely because it has become so ridiculously expensive.
Air conditioning is rapidly becoming a “luxury” as well.
Electricity prices have been rising twice as fast as the overall rate of inflation, and some seniors must now choose between paying the electricity bill and paying for medication…
Across the country, electricity prices have jumped more than twice as fast as the overall cost of living in the last year. That’s especially painful during the dog days of summer, when air conditioners are working overtime.
In Pembroke Pines, Fla., Al Salvi’s power bill can reach $500 a month.
“There’s a lot of seniors down here that are living check to check. They can barely afford prescriptions such as myself,” says Salvi, who’s 63 and uses a wheelchair. “Now we got to decide whether we’re going to pay the electric bill or are we going to buy medication. And it’s not fair to us. You’re squeezing us between a rock and a hard place.”
As our leaders were borrowing trillions upon trillions of dollars that we did not have, I warned that this was going to cause rampant inflation, but a lot of people out there didn’t want to listen.
And as the Federal Reserve was pumping trillions upon trillions of dollars that they created out of thin air into the financial system, I warned that this was going to cause rampant inflation, but a lot of people out there didn’t want to listen.
At first it seemed like our leaders were totally getting away with it.
But now look at what has happened.
There are countless videos on TikTok right now of people breaking down emotionally over the rising cost of living.
In one video, a woman that feels like she is “drowning” explains that no matter how hard she works “she can’t afford to live anymore”…
The video made by “diannaallen5” for TikTok was shared on X by @WallStreetApes to their 1 million X followers, writing, “Americans are breaking down, a grown woman crying because she can’t afford to live anymore.”
The woman in the video, who said she is from Illinois, was distraught and in tears as she spoke, saying that “gas prices and the electric bills and the prices of food is just so overwhelming.”
“I’m wondering if anybody else is feeling like they’re drowning and they can’t get out,” she said. “I work overtime, and I cannot get above water. I mean, I literally have no gas for next week.”
“I’m just wondering if anybody else feels like they’re drowning,” she said is despair.
Can you identify with her?
I think that a lot of us can.
At this stage, 83 percent of all Americans are experiencing “stressflation”…
A LifeStance Health survey released today reveals “stressflation” is affecting most Americans, with 83% reporting financial stress driven by inflation, mass layoffs, the rising cost of living and recession fears. Millennials and Gen Z report the most significant mental health impacts.
The number of respondents who have been deterred from seeking mental health care due to financial constraints remains consistently high (60%), increasing two percentage points from 2024. Those experiencing high financial stress levels are more than twice as likely to forgo mental health treatment due to cost, highlighting a mental health gap where financial strain exacerbates mental health challenges while limiting access to care.
We should have seen this coming way in advance, because we were specifically warned that this was coming.
And if we stay on the same road that we have been traveling, conditions will get a whole lot worse.
A lot of people out there don’t seem to understand that consequences do not always show up immediately.
What we are experiencing now is the result of decades of bad decisions.
It took time for the consequences of those bad decisions to materialize, but now they have officially started to arrive.
* * *
That sounds like a good plan! You can buy composted manure at Walmart in the Spring for $2.47 a bag (.75 Cubic Bushel).
There’s a lot of wood fiber and shreds in it along with chicken manure, but it’s cheap.
Back in 1954 a six pack was - $1.63. I had
a few cans back in the day while growing up.
Colas was around 10 cents a bottle for RCs.
They were cheaper than Cokes.
Not to worry, Mr. Trump and his tariffs are going to save us all! Just you wait and see. When these goods are produced at home, right here in the good ‘ol US of A they will be lots cheaper and we will have jobs to go along with them.
Oh, wait, we can’t grow coffee here. We don’t have cheap labor to grow vegetables either. We have embargoed beef and put a tariff on it too and our cattle numbers are historically low, it only takes a few years to change that though.
Electricity? Well, when all those subsidized windmills and solar panels fall apart we will then not only have to pay for them but also for new gas fired plants to replace them and burn natural gas that will rocket in price on that increased demand.
Never mind that once prices go up they only go down a little when the crisis passes, if at all.
But the tariffs? Won’t they bring jobs back and aren’t they paying down the national debt? Sorry, the jobs will be automated or more expensive and the tariffs are just replacing the tax reductions.
But somebody else will pay the tariffs won’t they? Donald says they will. Let me know how that works out ok?
Not to worry, Mr. Trump will save us all! Well, he can’t be reelected so someone will save us, maybe, we hope.
You can use raised beds, buckets, etc and grow a lot of items
I tried the 40-gallon fabric buckets for Irish potatoes but just dry out so fast. Potatoes need a LOT of water. Now I’m stuck with 20 of these...
What else I plant in them? I’m gonna try root veggies this winter; carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, rutabagas. If I get a rare frost, I can cover them pretty easy with old row cover fabric.
You write such a good DU.com fantasy...
You should go there and post it word-for-word!
Prices Are Rising Twice As Fast As Inflation.
First lesson in price gouging.
You should take a course in economics and trade. You might figure out the truth. I know it is a long shot but there is always hope.
Tariffs only serve to raise prices to make non-competitive domestic producers competitive until wages increase because prices have gone up.
I’d be curious to know how you figure any part of what I wrote is not true.
While you are trusting Trump wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which fills up first on this particular matter. I am all for getting rid of illegals, it is a net gain, but it also contributes to rising costs.
I started the book, “Alas Babylon”, but soon gave it up. I’ve never liked novels and fantasy.
So Starbucks coffee is rising, big deal - it was always too expensive.
I don’t know but go to a feed/plant store if you have one near
and see what they could recommend. You need some way to
keep them moist but not so much that they overflow or stay
flooded. Good luck and hope you succeed.
Raised beds are a great idea. They warm up earlier in the spring, and it is easier to lay plastic over them to speed up the soil warming. We are in interior Alaska so this is a big deeal. As we get a little older and less flexible it is nice to sit in a lawn chair and reach over to weed instead of standing on our head! You do have to watch the soil moisture as you are essentially using a giant flower pot.
I can’t say enopugh about composting. My garden soil is mostly compost. You don’t need fancy composting gear either. I just dump all my clippings, leaves, etc in a pile and spread it out and hit it with the tiller and restack it a couple times a summer. Even in our insane climate it works well.
Trump is little over six months in his term and despite stunning success in implementing his economic plans, he cannot yet fully undue the four years of economic hell delivered by Biden. However, gasoline prices are down in many areas, a dozen eggs while still over $3 is half what they were a year ago and other prices are going down or stabilizing. High electric prices are the product of the green energy boondoggle and won’t be going down until new nuclear or clean fossil fuel plants are online. The forced dependence on wind and solar power has made electricity not only more expensive, but also made our grid more susceptible to blackouts when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. Let’s see where things are a year from now.
Welp, thanks for the advice. I voted for Trump for many reasons including voting against democrat hegemony and corruption of our way of life. And I must admit I do like him—he reminds of a lot of highly opinionated FReepers I’ve come to love and admire such as yourself.
Trump may or may not want permanent tariffs, but so far, he has used them manly to renegotiate trade rather not necessarily in our favor, but certainly to prevent us being screwed over by other countries preventing our goods from a fair sale. When the day comes that Americans can’t get cheap crap that they want but don’t need, then I’ll ask for your help.
I am happy with the results of the election. I’ll seek perfection with God, not politicians.
MY POWER BILLS HAVE BEEN STEADY FOR 20 YEARS.
NO HUGE POWER-SUCKING TV ON THE WALL-—EVER
NO AIR CONDITIONING
CEILING FANS THAT RUN 24 HOURS/DAY 8 MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
YOU CAN GROW POTATOES IN A :”STACK OF TIRES”, SAVING ROOM IN THE GARDEN.
Canning salsa, chili sauce, spaghetti sauce right and left lately; and the tomatoes are STILL coming.
Irish, as opposed to sweet, are tough to grow in Lower Alabama. It gets to hot and humid unless you plant them real early, and if planted in late Fall, the vines are harder to frost-proof. Not impossible, but tough.
I’ve had very good success—provided I get them planted NLT Feb 1st and watch and protect for any rare frosts.
My favorites are Yukon Gold and big Russets, but they need a long growing time (100 days) and by June 1st it is too late. If I can get them going by early February, June first is 120 days.
Good old Michael Snyder - always the optimist!
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