Since we live in a big city and walk most of the time (we drive six miles a week to the grocery store), the price of gas hasn’t hit us, but its effect on the price of food is astounding. Between the silly corn ethanol nonsense - it’s just not economically sound - and the price of transportation, food is outrageous. It’s even worse if you’re on a diet. Somehow good for the diet food is extremely expensive.

Last week I bought an itty bitty package of Norwegian Smoked Salmon for $5.99. I went back a few days later to buy more…and the same package was $7.99! I think Publics was trying to gouge us for Good Friday! Didn’t seem like a legit price increase to me.

I noticed that gas went up and milk but was really upset that Folgers coffee went up almost $3.00.

Milk is so expensive now; I worry about the health of the many, many children whose families can no longer afford to buy it. The ever-rising price of gas has hit us the hardest, because we live way out in the country, so we just quit going anywhere except to work and back. We did look into going to a movie a week or so ago, but the price of a MATINEE is now the same as the price of the evening showing, so forget that. I can buy the movie a month later for the price of the theater ticket, keep it if I like it and sell it on eBay if I don’t, and sometimes make money on the deal.

Postal and shipping prices! Here in Canada its been really bad for years but now the US is catching up to our outrageous postal costs that go up regularly every year. Ours last went up in January by leaps and bounds and I understand that the US is set for another postal spike come May. More costs and you get less and less each year to show for it. The Post costs have become giant rip-offs. Agree with everyone else about food spiralling out of control! Blueberries and black berries life’s little luxuries suddenly become life’s big luxuries. And let’s not get me started on them picking the berries green from South America that are sprayed with lethal chemicals we banned here 25 years ago that we consume now making the circle of poison complete. Makes cheaper fruit from Latin America not such a hot bargain after all. Organic is not a concept understood down in Latin America that in turn has yet to trickle back to us consumers in a very healthful way.

No one has mentioned the price of pet food. I just bought a thirty pound bag of dog food for $60.00 at the vet! I never leave the vets office for less than $200.00 and that’s usually for an exam, an inoculation or two and possibly a perscription. Luckily I have pet insurance on my youngest dog. Along with all the rising costs I’m quite concerned with the lack of donations to charitable funds. I agree with Marlo, let’s vote wisely in November!!

I didn’t get maple syrup yesterday because the price was too much. I’ll eat my pancakes dry.

A couple more ways to save. I used to spend $ on magazines every week & loved getting the NYT on Sunday. Now I read all my fave mags at Chapters book store or at the public library. I might buy a bread maker & see how that goes. Also, I love cooking in my crockery cooker and can make huge amounts of soup and stews, always freezing 4-5 other containers of leftovers each time. I do believe we are in for some big belt tightening & we better all get creative about how we will do more with less. I keep thinking of trading my Mazda Protege5 for a Toyota Yaris…but will wait. There is a Zenn electric car ready for sale in Quebec, but NOT to Canadians. The car is going to be shipped to the USA only! The Canadian government will not legislate this car to run on Canadian roads, as it only goes 40k/hr. So WHAT? Let us have the #$%$# car!! You can plug it into any lamp socket & 4 hours later it’s ready to roll. I hate spending $46 to fill my tank, but I don’t go very far as I am retired….

Greed. Absolute corporate greed is what’s driving all of these costs - and it burns me up! Where is everyone’s outrage? Write letters. E-mail your Congressman/woman. Raise hell with the managers of all of the places where you shop. We only have to look at the “day-after” prices for retail things - like, 50% off all Easter items today - and you hafta KNOW that these retail places are still making a profit. And look at Exxon’s earnings - Jeeze, Louise! Don’t anyone tell me THEY are doing any belt-tightening! And don’t even get me started on medical insurance! Who’s getting fat here? The insurance companies. The pharmaceutical companies. The medical supply companies. And look at the salaries and bonuses the execs are getting! Why are we all taking this lying down? It’s time to act - to undercut every enterprise we possibly can. (I live close enough to Delaware to drive 20 mins. to buy my gasoline there - it’s about 20 cents cheaper per gallon than here in Md.) There has to be more of a public outcry, more of an organized effort to thwart these increases - and I’ll be damned if in my retirement (which is where I am now) I’m going to line the pockets of the greed-mongers who are raping our economy. The only persons making sacrifices are the consumers. It’s time we demanded an end to all this. Can you only imagine what would happen if all the WOMEN got together and boycotted all of these businesses one-by-one? We need to give American commerce a major wake-up call!

The supermarket,drugs,gas,insurance,rent,and just about everything necessary have significantly risen in the past 6 months, and continue to escalate.Fixed income individuals are already suffering. unemployment along with sub prime crisis and it’s effects will continue, an our future is uncertain on many levels. I dread a costly visit to the dentist, or any uncovered necessary and costly medical proceedure. I will pull back on many levels. Since I have more clothes than I can ever wear, the cuts will occur in dining out, entertaining,donations,taxis. Visits with a friend to Costco where we can split large amounts of paper goods,soaps, and food are going to be helpful. Quality of my life will be altered only if I have to cut back on healthcare,drugs, and quality food. Let’s hold our breath. The notion that anyone will quickly be able to leave Iraq and things will be okey dokey is naive. Our country has daunting problems that call for imaginative and competent governance.

Candice moved to LA where nobody notices anything unusual about sandals that cost $800 - $1,200???? I guarantee Candice is not talking to the regular folk in LA. I am a lawyer in the midwest with professional family and friends in LA. They are not spending $800 - $1,200 on sandals.