The Cost of Living

Has anyone else notices the slight yet growing cost of everything lately, or is it just me? Everything from food prices and gas prices to the ridiculous cost of building materials and more.

I’m one of those “track my money” folks because I live on a budget. I know how much money I bring home from my various jobs. I know what should go into savings, what I have to spend on necessities like food, clothing, gas, pet needs, etc., and how much “fun money” I have to do with as I choose. Lately, my budget is looking a little scary. I can’t be the only one who notices this, can I?

To give you an example, let’s talk groceries. For the last year, I’ve been able to feed two of us on about $75 a week. This includes fruits, veggies, meats, canned goods, snacks and dairy items. In the last year, even with all the COVID stuff, the shelves were regularly stocked, and rarely could I not get something on my list. Since March, my grocery bill has gone to about $125 for those same groceries per week. That’s $50 more per week for two of us! Things I buy on a regular basis have gone up anywhere between 20 cents to a dollar, or even more per item.

But, the growing concern for me isn’t just the price of food, it’s the availability of it. It’s been four weeks and finally, yesterday, I was able to purchase ONE quart of beef stock in a container. I’m still waiting to purchase the orange juice I normally buy, but that shelf has been empty for three weeks now. I’m generally not a pessimist, but I think things might get worse before they get better.

I’m also waiting for the cost of my horses senior food to go up, if, and when I can even get any. Why? Well, did you know there is a nationwide molasses shortage? Unless you have a horse who eats senior food, you probably wouldn’t. The sad fact is, at the moment, it’s difficult for manufacturers to even make senior feed (or other feeds containing molasses). The two manufacturers I usually buy from haven’t been able to make the food for about a month. Triple Crown, a large based grain manufacturer, and Lakeland Feeds, right here in Montana. Triple Crown has been off the shelf for almost a month. As of last Sunday, Murdoch’s in Helena had 120 bags on order/backorder, and they don’t even know when it will be coming in. Lakeland just got their molasses last week and hopes to have “some” out their door this week.

Gas prices are another growing concern of mine. I’ve been told “It’s summer, the price of gas always goes up in the summer.” Well yeah, usually a little bit. But the last time I was paying this price for gasoline was in 2012, and in the winter of that year into 2013 when the prices should have gone down, because summer was over, they actually went UP - to $4.89 a gallon for diesel. Also, just for the record, and to debunk the whole “summer thing,” the gas prices in Montana began creeping in February, well before summer. In January, I was paying $1.99 a gallon for diesel. The first week in February, it went up to $2.04. By the end of March, it was $2.92. The end of April was $3.04. Now, it’s $3.16. At this rate there’s a very good chance my gasoline budget will almost double by August.

If you’re planning to build a home, or do any other type of home improvement - fencing and such - I feel for you. If you’re even lucky enough to find building materials (because a lot of those aren’t even available at the moment), the price you had allotted for your project is probably not what you’re going to spend. I know a lot of the projects we had planned for the little cabin in the woods are going to have to be postponed until materials become a little more available, and a lot cheaper than what they are now.

While the prices of things are rising, the cost of living isn’t just in dollars and cents. It’s in the lives we will have to live and the choices we make to live them. The cost is also going to be our time. If things keep up at this pace, people are going to have to work more, or find second or third jobs to provide for their families. Then it’s the families that suffer.

In a time when we should be focusing on our families and the time we get to spend with them, we’re going to be faced with a time-versus-money scenario. In my opinion, in either scenario, the cost, sadly, is just too high.