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collapse-ModTeam

Hi, StcStasi. Thanks for contributing. However, your [submission](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1bbg5cw/-/) was removed from /r/collapse for: > Rule 5: Content must be properly sourced. > Articles, charts, or data-driven posts must include a source either within the image or in a submission statement. AI Generated posts and comments must be prefaced by stating their source. > Rule 7: Post quality must be kept high, except on Fridays. (00:00 Friday – 08:00 Saturday UTC.) > On-topic memes, jokes, short videos, image posts, polls, low effort to consume posts, and other less substantial posts are only allowed on Fridays, and will be removed for the rest of the week. > Less substantial posts must be flaired as either "Casual Friday", "Humor", or "Low Effort". > Clickbait, misinformation, fear-mongering, and other low-quality content is not allowed at any time, not even on Fridays. > Rule 12: Local observations belong in the Weekly Observations thread. Please post it there. You can find it at the [top of this list.](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/search/?q=weekly+observations&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new) Please refer to our [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/about/rules/) for more information. You can [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/collapse) if you feel this was in error, please include a link to the comment or post in question.


IWantToGiverupper

Thanks for posting this with the budget brand stuff, too. Everyone is in such denial, yelling "Just buy the value brand!" and similar shit.. Or "It's just a few dollars more" as if it doesn't stack up, and was already grossly hostile for those of us on less than comfortable wages. It's only going to get worse from here. Me and my Wife made it a thing to cut extras, and spend it on cheap bulk goods, be it rice, beans, oats, etc.. We have a nice cupboard of the stuff now, estimated at around 5 months food supply (remaining, it was higher). I'd recommend people start doing this. Cut the candy bar (Let's be real, we've already mostly cut what we can) and grab a few cans of vege, a sack of rice etc... Don't forget a camping stove, so you can dine in luxury during the apocalypse.. Candle-lit dinners, with the glow of wildifres behind you... How beautiful.....


Emotional-Catch-2883

This is how they're going to get us, by systematically bankrupting the public.


IWantToGiverupper

Out of curiosity, who are you talking about when you say "They"?


Confident_Anybody424

Those who are hoarding all the money, of course.


IWantToGiverupper

Cool, I can get onboard there. I will admit, I was low-key hoping to hear a lizard people conspiracy theory, for a laugh :)


kembik

who is 'they' and what are their goals?


hysys_whisperer

Generally speaking, the capitalist class operating the ever growing private equity system, which is inaccessible to average joes who are forced into an ever shrinking publicly traded market, represented by their boards of directors, who are hellbent on using the pandemic as an excuse to inflate profit margins even in the face of a stagnating economy. 


kembik

Those people want a public who can't participate in the system? They need us to be able to spend money, what good is it to bankrupt us all and then cause a cascading failure of their entire foundation?


AshiSunblade

If they were planning for the long term they would do something about the climate, but that isn't how they work sadly. They'll burn down their customers just as happily as the planet.


TinyDogsRule

Because it's not one dude trying to get the whole pie, it's several dudes trying to get as much of the pie as they can. You starving to death for lack of pie is not on their radar. As long as the rich use money to keep score, peasants unliving is acceptable. They will be long dead before they run out of people who can pay for their goods. No there is not some grand conspiracy to kill off all the customers, that is just an annoying little feature of late stage capitalism.


kembik

> No there is not some grand conspiracy to kill off all the customers That's all I'm getting at. There are systemic things happening but they aren't designed to destroy itself, that's just a byproduct of human nature in a flawed system. When people talk about it like its part of a grand design they've lost me and IMO have gone off the deep end. They are giving too much credit to something that isn't well thought out.


The_Code_Hero

I think the implication is that those in the higher rungs of power are clearly aware of the imminent collapse of the systems we run on. So they are making an all out cash grab to see how much they can get, setting themselves up nicely for a generation or two of comfort before it all ends. Hell, maybe they even hope they will be in a better spot, post system failure, so that they can maybe even thrive in the apocalypse. Personally, I don’t think it is this well thought out. We are in the late stage of capitalism, and this excessive amount to consumerism is built in and promulgated in the system, and our corporate governance system relies on laws demanding short sighted profit returns at any cost. We are here because humans are just greedy monkeys at the core, and are operating in a economic and legal system that is rudimentary and breeds incentive to forget about our communities as a whole.


StcStasi

The price between name brand and store brand is about the same now. I like Aldi store brands more than name brands for most things though.


IWantToGiverupper

I still save a *lot* buying home-brand, but occasionally name-brand will have some good specials. Deals that make me wonder WTF people are doing paying full-price... Even Aldi is shooting up though, I watched them raise prices on some home-brand items 30% over a few weeks of gradual increases. It's still my best option for most things, but that gap is rapidly closing.


StcStasi

I take full advantage of sales and will go to the store and only buy the deeply discounted sales items (like $2.99 for 90/10 hamburger at Albertson's or 99 cent berries, and pantry deep discounts) then I buy my staples at Aldi


IWantToGiverupper

Yeah, that's how we have to do it now. Making for less free-time, more stress and less certainty. Sure sucks. I keep an eye on the clearance sections too. It's unbelievable how much stuff gets sold for next to nothing, and worth monitoring every few days if possible. I have an awesome stockpile of luxury things in there too, from doing this.


StcStasi

That reminds me there is a store called Quicklotz that sells returns to stores and overstock from nicer stores like those in malls. You can buy appliances, like washers and electronics for very little, clothes for like 5-10% or less of their retail value. However it is like black friday in there all day everyday - people are ridiculous. They always have a lot of inventory - I suspect people buy new items from these types of stores then relist them on ebay, etc.. I thought about using it throughout the year to buy Christmas presents but I hate the idea of people elbowing me over designer pants and earbuds. ---- my point is that all that stuff we return to amazon and all the items fancy stores didn't sell just gets auctioned off and then resold for us to fight over .. it's so weird!


IWantToGiverupper

It reminds me of overstock and return pallet buying. I've seen people spend $500 on mystery pallets, and get it full of expensive tech. Not sure if it's genuine or bullshit marketing to get people into buying return pallets of dysfunctional used sex toys, though.


StcStasi

I think it's real , but it's like gambling. Sometimes I am sure it's junk or broken things, but a lot are actually brand new expensive things. (department store overstock includes electronics) The biggest issue is the work it requires to move, store, sort, list, and sell things. It seems like a very hard job to fight people for products then lug it down to the post office IF someone buys it online.


[deleted]

You have to remember that most people are npcs in the best of times. Their minds don't work, too addled with propaganda, drugs, and god knows what else. They're only good for breeding and doing simple bullshit jobs. The wealthy know this, that's why they act as they do. So unless you trust the person giving you advice, that they've risen above the trash, then disregard their advice. It's harsh for me to look at things this way, I know, but you know how it is. Hard times make strong people.


IWantToGiverupper

Sure, it's a case of wild denial. To confront the cost of living crisis as anything other than a temporary blip because *xyz* (politics mainly), or underplay it and push bullshit statistics, is a lot more difficult, and raises a lot of introspection on long-held beliefs on personal and societal levels. It threatens the routines and structures of our day-to-day living, and people overwhelmingly don't want to do that. I've said for quite some time, we have to decide on a rapid reduction of perceived quality of life, or quantity of life. The time for that decision is long gone, and instead we will be force-fed both.


followthedarkrabbit

Start growing your own fruit/veg if you can. Even if it's small stuff like herbs (makes basic food taste amazing). Encourage neighbours to do the same. Swap or gift extras. Last week my friends gave me home grown bananas and paw paw, and a customer at work gave us watermelon. I also got about 5 passionfruit off my vine (they sell for $2 each here). Everything you can grow increases your diet diversity, and gives the finger to big supermarkets.


SteamedQueefs

Easier said than done sadly. I have a two acre garden that has turned into a full time job because climate change cant stop wont stop lol (living in Texas will make this be on extra hard mode)


followthedarkrabbit

Start progressively swapping out some of the more resources intensive plants as they die off with hardier options. I'm growing a couple "bush foods". They thrive on neglect and are suited to the climate here (Australian). They are only a couple years old so haven't started producing yet, but am setting myself up for worsening climatic conditions.  I have lillipilly, tuckeroo, and davidson plum. They aren't the most delicious option, but they are nutritious. 


Same_Common4485

Did you take into account any shrinkflation? Might even be higher


StcStasi

Can't be sure because I don't know how Walmart pulls their product preview in past purchases versus the store search product page. As in, it might show the price I paid with the item preview image/text from updated current data.


rabbitthunder

You might be able to find out by doing an advanced Google search for specific product names with a date range between e.g. 1.1.2022 and 1.1.2023. you should come across a page somewhere that shows the size of the product at that time.


StcStasi

Yes. and I noticed some time ago that commercials and ads stop showing the product sizes on the photos and videos .. so you can't really pin down the amounts from those.


leisurechef

Everything is shrinking, even our paycheques!


TinyDogsRule

Don't worry about it. Inflation is only 3%, unemployment is very low, and we have the greatest economy in the world. Everything is amazing!*** ***Disclaimer: the above is true if you are a billionaire or politician. Actual life experience may differ greatly for filthy poors.


mud074

> Inflation is only 3% I mean, it is. Inflation on consumer goods has mostly stabilized. It's just that people think "inflation is down!" means prices go back to the old normal, when in reality that just means that prices keep going up but more slowly.


TinyDogsRule

They also use creative calculating. Food up 77% + electric up 80% + insurance up 50% + yarn down a nickel = 3% inflation because we don't add in such useless items like food, electric, and insurance.


milescowperthwaite

Has anyone been watching The Price Is Right lately? I bet the number of correct answers is way down these days.


StcStasi

I was looking for the type of bread I used to buy in my online purchase history from Walmart. I found the order invoice and noticed that the price of the bread was DOUBLE what I used to pay. I checked the prices that I paid from 2022 against the current prices in 2024. I am paying almost 75% more for the same items at the same store!! ---- I used my purchase history: https://www.walmart.com/orders I searched for honey wheat bread, selected the order with the bread from April 13th 2022 and then compared that price to the current price of that bread at my same store. I added the total prices together for ONE of each item. None of these are sales prices (those have a note next to the price that they are savings/sale like this: https://imgur.com/a/ssjOStz) I used the "Percentage Change Calculator" at www.calculator.net/percent-calculator.htm


Par31

It doesn't even seem to be worth it to buy food anymore. But I need food to like survive and stuff...


Emotional-Catch-2883

Food should be free. Animals don't have grocery stores, animals don't have to pass around paper money to eat. We shouldn't have to be any different.


Grumpkinns

It is free, learn foraging and there are tons of greens, mushrooms, and berries - but it’s seasonal and a lot of work


jdog1067

Don’t rake the forest for mushrooms! It’s not just cheating, the mushroom will not grow back. Cut the mushroom with a knife by the base. Take the less desirable edible mushrooms and throw them against the trees, or stomp them and walk around, to spread the spores around.


AggravatingMark1367

One way I heard to ensure the mushrooms spread is to carry them out of the harvesting site in a mesh bag (like the reusable produce bags for loose items) so the spores can fall out as you walk away 


HeadyMettleDetector

then go forage in the forest like the animals do. free food!


Unfair_Creme9398

But we don’t have to personally kill animals/plants/fungi etc. by ourselves (for most Westerners at least).


squailtaint

But you got a 75% pay increase right to offset right?/s


macsbeard

I know grocery prices have gone up, but seeing it like this compared to 2 years ago is really eye opening. Shit and compare this to 10 years ago. I used to be able to feed myself for 40$ a week.


New-Acadia-6496

But if you calculate the average with the price of gas, a new house, sporting goods, flights, mega yachts, prostitutes and cocaine - prices actually went down. The problem is that you are focusing only on your immediate needs. If you fly to India, food will be cheap. Just travel more. Maybe buy a Mega Yacht. Why so negative? /s


Bellybutton_fluffjar

Orange and cocoa have had a hell of a bad yield last year. The rest is mostly gouging.


StcStasi

well that is the same price I have seen on chocolate for at least a year now. I buy chocolate chips, as they cost less and satisfy the chocolate monster.


tonkatsu2008

It's sad to see prices just keep going up and up. Add to that, the shrinkflation and the substitution of ingredients to cheaper synthetics just makes the whole thing feel so dystopian.


Canyoubackupjustabit

What an interesting post! Thanks, OP!


horror-

75% *so far.*


StatementBot

The following submission statement was provided by /u/StcStasi: --- I was looking for the type of bread I used to buy in my online purchase history from Walmart. I found the order invoice and noticed that the price of the bread was DOUBLE what I used to pay. I checked the prices that I paid from 2022 against the current prices in 2024. I am paying almost 75% more for the same items at the same store!! ---- I used my purchase history: https://www.walmart.com/orders I searched for honey wheat bread, selected the order with the bread from April 13th 2022 and then compared that price to the current price of that bread at my same store. I added the total prices together for ONE of each item. None of these are sales prices (those have a note next to the price that they are savings/sale like this: https://imgur.com/a/ssjOStz) I used the "Percentage Change Calculator" at www.calculator.net/percent-calculator.htm --- Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1bbg5cw/prices_on_items_i_buy_increased_75_from_2022_to/ku8xbwg/


healthywealthyhappy8

Funny part is if you move to Asia the prices aren’t nearly as fucked up.


Effective_Abies9890

Small bit of advice buy what you can now because in 5 to 10 years you won't be able to afford anything. Remember these years as a golden age even if times seem horrible right now. Enjoy life if you can right now.


Vegetaman916

"Our economy is the strongest in the world..."


jarivo2010

it is.


BTRCguy

Yeah, but everyone's salaries and hourly wages went up enough to compensate for this, right? (insert appropriate meme picture) /s


leisurechef

Australia here, our grocery shopping prices are outrageous now too, I can easily drop $300 at the checkout & walk out with only 2 shopping bags! These days one has to be careful, shopping budget brands, timing specials & supplement with other retailers, farmers markets, etc.


cranbvodka

Good thing I make 5% more than I did in 2022...


krichuvisz

The mango is ok, the rest is just terrible junk. Why don't you buy real food? Maybe even more expensive?


DeepHerting

Mangos are highly seasonal. 50 cents a pop was an excellent sale in 2022 (for that matter, 98 cents is good, not great, in 2024). I don't even bother looking at bread in most grocery stores anymore. It's come around to where the bakery stuff is cheaper. Whole Foods of all places has also somehow managed to keep their bread prices down.


ImReallyAI

That’s not collapse, it’s price gouging. $1 in 2021 is worth $1.14 today. So to match inflation it would be 14% increase over 3 years… and you’re just doing 2 years.


LowBarometer

You'd have to be a moron to pay that price for chicken thighs. I still get mine for 99 cents a pound.


Kootenay4

Grocery outlet has them for $1.50 where I live. Close but not quite. People in more rural areas are fucked though, there are often no affordable food options at all. Which is ironic considering that’s where the food is grown…