OT: Is it me or are prices on stuff going up ?

I think you’re right.

Yep.......had this discussion a few days ago. Even if you cook like I do you'll notice it at the checkout line at the grocery store.

It seems the steepest upticks are with consumer goods and services, not so much the big ticket items.

And of course for the majority if you use your credit card take a good look at your statement --if you don't pay off the balance each month you're going to be surprised at the interest rate creep.

I used to eat fast food. But now I cook and I enjoy it. Not only can I save a lot of money by cooking but also my food is so much better. I can’t believe I use to eat that nasty fast food.

You need to purchase some quality pots and pans and other cooking equipment. You can’t do the job without good tools. You can buy a cook book or just look up recipes on line. Follow the recipes and you’ll produce some amazing meals.

Prices are always going. Social Security benefits are actually going up next year to cover the cost of the increases.

I have been cooking all of my life. My mother was an excellent cook and taught me. I taught my wife and kids. There isn't anything that I want, that I can't cook. I eat breakfast or lunch out about twice a week but rarely fast food. I eat dinner out once or twice a month. Usually just on special occasions. Cooking for 1 is the tough part. A pot of chili lasts 3 or 4 days, etc.

I don’t eat out very often but, yes, seems like the cost of restaurant food has gone up more than usual lately from my somewhat limited experience.

I eat out a lot but don't eat much fast-food at all.

And per shadow's comment - part of the reason I put off cooking for myself is that it seems a lot of trouble to go thru for just one-person and the savings are not as great as if it was a family-of-four for example.

Oddly, it seems to me that strip-club pricing has been relatively stable for about five years (or more) now. Costs are high -- in fact, almost higher than what the various (legal or stretching-the-law) services are "worth" to me in my own subjective judgment. But the high costs are roughly the same as they were in, oh, 2008, or 2013. Cover charges across the nation are in the $5 to $10 range, with a few hoity-toity places charging $15 to $20. Mixed drinks are roughly $7 to $11, with similar extravagance at hoity-toities. Beers are roughly $4 to $7. Lap dances are $30 per song. VIP charges (if there are any) are $10 to get into the room. Aside from the hoity-toity out-liers (are those becoming more numerous?) these prices are about the same as a decade ago. Once lap-dances went up from the national standard $20 to the national standard $30 (when? about 2005 or so?) they froze at that rate.

I agree that "stuff" is getting more expensive. The recent jump is partly a function of the Trump trade war(s), partly a function of the fear of Trump's instability which the markets will demonstrate, IMO. (It's also just a fact of the modern economy that since, oh, roughly 1780, prices and earnings have both climbed, in terms of numerical amount, over the long run.)

"Lap dances are $30 per song. "

I'd lead a picket line in front of the place to protest. No effing way I'd pay that.

Yes, prices are up. With full employment, the servers are restaurants suck (not in a good way). My buddies and I hit our favorite lunch spot, and got yet another new server. Hard to keep decent help.

Agree with Flagooner. I used to pay $25 for LDs when I started SCing and didn’t know any better, then I discovered Pompano and now I won’t pay more than $10. I feel blessed to live in SoFl where you can pay less for LDs and extras.

DC is living in lalaland. I have yet to see anyone's earnings go up as prices go up!

And yeah prices are going up. Look at how expensive things like eggs and potatoes are. Or bottles of soda. A few weeks ago 16 oz of Sprite were like $1.89. Today they were $2.09. 100 piece bags of Halloween candy are like $15. Fast food isn't cheap anymore unless you eat off the Dollar menus, otherwise you're better off with cheap ethnic joints.

@flagooner. The only club within 100 miles of my house charges $35 per dance, with on way contact and no extras .... ..... I do most of my clubbing when I am traveling out of town.

Only noticed gas prices going up this year (like 25%).

It's the result of the trade war. It will get worse before it gets better.

I've heard the BJs are staying steady at 50 cents with 1/2 price Sunday specials.

We don't buy much in the way of prepared foods in my house, but food prices in general seem to be going up a bit.

Even as a single guy, you can save real money (and eat much better) if you do it right. When I was single, I used to buy sale meat in bulk . I also used to cook certain things in bulk and freeze the leftovers.

As a general rule, anything in a sauce or other liquid will freeze and reheat well. Stews, soups, pot roasts, homemade red sauce with meat, chili, etc., are all great things to cook in bulk and freeze in single serving portions. Meatloaf reheats pretty well too. You just need a good storage container set.

Some things don't reheat well, like steak, bone-in chicken pieces, pork chops and hamburgers. Those you can still buy in bulk and freeze in single serving portions so that you can cook smaller amounts. All it takes is some good freezer bags and the willingness to break down larger packages of meat when you get home from the market.

Finally, some things don't reheat well in the microwave, but can still be cooked in bulk and then turned to other purposes. Roaster chickens and bone-in hams are two great examples.. Today's roaster chicken, with pan made gravy, becomes tomorrow's chicken soup. Today's bone-in ham becomes tomorrow's cold ham lunch sandwiches, ham hash and, of course, lentil soup.

Have some fun with it Papi.

It isn't a recent phenomenon, it's been happening for years and except for a few possible exceptions I don't see it ever reversing.

As to the $10 versus $30 lap-dance prices -- I agree, South Florida (and some other areas of the country) has an excellent micro-economy pricing structure there! But I was just generalizing about the whole country and the stability of strip-club pricing. Seems to me the prices haven't changed much in about a decade; the $10 lappers in South Florida are probably the same price as a decade ago?

The prices on raw foods have gone up slightly. I don't buy much processed food either. Some of the local produce, dairy, meats, cage free eggs, etc haven't gone up or in some cases have gone down. But that's because those items were never cheap. But still I prioritize them. Cooking from scratch and clean eating has been something I was always raised with and something I have always done.

As for the median wages going up as DC9428 noted and Trapbaby304's skepticism from wages on the ground. I think both are true. DC9428 cites the median household wages (often more than one wage earner). Trapbaby, true. I don't thing wages on a per-hour basis are going up. Not all all. Unless you are in the top 20%. But cited in a many places, the median household wage is going up because those in the middle are working more hours, longer hours, wife returning from part time to full time work, husband taking a second job, one or both taking side jobs or hustles, etc.

For example, we read of dancers on here having vanilla jobs in addition to dancing. The wage gains are just a result of working longer hours. Not necessarily that our pay went up!

As for lap dances, they seem to be to be stuck at $15 since I've been clubbing in 1995. There are some areas with $20 or even $25 dances but those seem rare to me. But I don't club much nor do I ever have much change to travel far from home. So I don't have a broader perspective on LDs prices. I just know between 1995-2003 and 2015-2018, it's still pretty much holding the same: : $15 a dance.

"... the $10 lappers in South Florida are probably the same price as a decade ago? ..."

The $10 dances are not lap-dances, they are floor-dances out in the open, and they are not that popular in most clubs (either dancers don't do them or they are no/low touch dances) - $25 is the norm in SoFlo for 2-way-contact topless lap-dances

"The $10 dances are not lap-dances, "

They are in all three of the Cocoa Beach clubs. At least during day shift for all three.

Everything is more expensive and has nothing to do with Trump, shit was the same under Obama. Money is next to worthless, it moves too quick

Life isn't a text book, get out more

I make more money now than I've ever made in life, practically double from just a few years ago, and I too feel like everything is just way too expensive. I try to cook at home but don't have the time, and eating out even at cheap places easily an climb to $200 a week. I can't imagine what it would take to support a family.

Ramen noodles are much more expensive then they used to be too ;)

Cook on the days you have off.....for me weekends and do so with the idea you make extra for the weekdays you won't feel like cooking.

I'm old enough to recall when crockpots were in....like everything else in the world they've been renamed and are again back in vogue.

I have something in mine cooking now.....not just for later today but for at least one meal during the week.

A lot of this for me is health based not just because of time. Most restaurant food is processed way more than acceptable for the human body.

Also use a grill. I live where there are four seasons but even in the winter I cook on a grill. It's fast and it is simple.

$200 a week on eating out? How often are you eating out?

The real question is whether or not the CPI accurately reflects the change in the cost of living. Cuz, if it doesn’t, then the whole world is being lied to, and our real GDP might be negative. Those TIPS might be a scam.

It hasn't since the adjustments made in 2009---Look at what the CPI encompasses today versus what it did in 2005-2008 or before.

Yes, the price Nicole charges for dances is going up

How much?

Papi,

We always eat out or I get something and bring it home. I've not noticed an increase, but that could be due to location. You're a big city guy and I'm in a small town area.

all I can add to this discussion at the moment is the fact that I retired in the year 2007. my friggin teamster pension has not given me anything in addition. and cost of living???

the never mentioned cost of living. ... dang. it seems at least two times as much in the eleven years since.

As far as I know, it’s been about the same in my area as food as goes though. Housing has increased though.

Is it just food increasing?

I notice the price-increase w.r.t. food b/c I buy something to eat pretty-much everyday at least once per day if not more than one-meal per day - I also hit a lot of the same spots where I buy prepared food and order the same-thing and why I've noticed the price on prepared food go up.

Other things like gas and groceries I don't even look at the price since I get these things at places that usually have among the lowest prices so even if it's gone up it's something I need and I know it won't be any cheaper at other places; so I just grab-it and go.

Interesting thing about gas prices. Most people only pay attention to the cents in the price. They assume everyone is in the ballpark and there is only a few cents difference.

There was a gas station near me that was always about .95 more expensive then surrounding stations. But they were always crowded. Drivers thought they were saving money because they were misreading the prices. The owner of that station understood human behavior.

w.r.t. gas-stations, supposedly location has a lot to do w.r.t. price - supposedly gas-stations near freeways tend to be more expensive - also near the airports they tend to be more-expensive as people wanna gas back-up b/f they return their rental-car at the airport.

Absolutely true about airports. In So. Cal we have a lot of freeways so there is not as much of a price hike, but I’ve seen it in other areas when I traveled.

That is true. Or a costco/sams will also be cheaper. But trying to time it when it’s less busy is the tough part...

If you haven't noticed prices going up for years, you have your head up your ass. It was just as bad under Obama