Numbers going Up, Up, Up in Maine This Week

How high can those numbers go?

No, not the thermometer this week. Prices.

Where does one start. Let’s go to the grocery store.

Yesterday, I needed one thing. One item. Lucky me. I wanted cottage cheese on my salad for lunch. None in the fridge. Off to the grocery store and straight to the ‘dairy case’.

There was an elderly couple right in front of the cottage cheese that I needed, so I waited my turn as they were comparing prices of the various containers. Trying to find the most economical purchase to make.

There was another lady waiting across the aisle and she said to another woman who approached “These prices keep going up so quickly.”

Nodding my head, in a sign of agreement, my mouth remained closed.

My thoughts were with the elderly couple trying to decide which container of cottage cheese was going to cost them a nickel or a dime less.

They made their choice. I picked up my container and proceeded to the checkout.

How high can grocery prices go?

USDA reported yesterday that grocery prices are expected to rise between 5 and 6 % this year.

The all-items Consumer Price Index (CPI), for all food increased 1% from February 2022 to March 2022, and food prices were 8.8% higher than in March 2021.

Yeah, it’s already happening.

And not just at the Grocery Store

Yesterday AAA reported that the average cost of a gallon of gasoline across America is at $4.40. We're at $4.42 in Maine this morning.

The highest average in history.

Ever.

And diesel is about a dollar more per gallon.

No end in sight. No snap of the fingers solution either.
And no words of encouragement, except hang in there.