Inflation snapshots: December 2009

[mliu_01]

The vinegar (being acidic) has the advantage that it helps dissolve any remaining soap (being basic) residue. What is the mechanism by which the rubber ball provides benefit?

it is this.
http://www.simplygoodstuff.com/dryer...dryerballs.htm
works pretty good for me. YOu can still add your vinegar, if you wanted to. The ball will reduce static.

[c1ue]

Inflation snapshots: December 2009

A thread for recording some on the ground anecdotes of inflation in action.

Prego sauce - one 'before' and one 'after'

Looks fine right?

Prego side by side.jpg

Well, a closer look at the sizes...

Prego sizes.jpg

And a shot of the expiration dates...

Prego expirations.jpg

There you have it: 3 months apart, 8.2% less product.

[phinolerun]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Now thats scary!

I have been trying to look for subtle changes while in the grocery store week by week. But this post just made me realize something. It seems that the very last thing they will do is raise prices in nominal terms. The sizes will get smaller and the product's quality will suffer first. But once this is taken to the limit, price increases are most likely the last resort companies will take. (Now obviously a banana cannot be changed in the same way as the sauce, prices in fresh produce etc; will most likely change first.)

I will certainly pay closer attention to this sort of thing from now on. Great post!

[Raz]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Thanks, clue1!

I would have never thought of checking this out.

[flintlock]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

So that's why I've been losing weight!

[LargoWinch]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

That is one cool thread c1ue.

Are the pictures of your own making?

[DToM67]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

I Don't have the photos to share & document, but I've been seeing these changes since mid 2007.

Has anyone else noticed that spaghetti (or other pastas) used to come in a 900g bag. Now its 750 - and the price is WAY up. This one's disturbing to me, because its a cheap food 'staple'... right up there with canned tuna and rice.... the stuff students, poor folks & those living on fixed income rely on.

Similarly...
I used to buy Downy brand fabric softener and Cheer brand detergent in the JUMBO size @ Sams club. Downy claimed 227 washes per (can't recall the size fl. oz.) but @ one point I had the new & the old side by side... Both concentrated... but the 'new' JUMBO size was smaller (190 washes or so IIRC) most stores (eg Giant Eagle) now only carry a 150+ size as their JUMBO. Cheer was similar. Both went up in price.

Less for more

[metalman]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

great thread, c1ue. time to track the 'other' inflation... predicted here apr. 2008... Inflation in America - Part I: Five signs of inflation

Inflation: More than high prices

Rising prices is inflation sign #1. But four-dollar gasoline and $25 entrees at a restaurant where they were $15 two years ago is only one sign of inflation. Watch for these as well.

Inflation Sign #2: Smaller sizes, volumes and portions

Food makers are starting to reduce the size of items like candy bars and cutting back on the number of chips in a bag of chips. Expect food that fits into a box or a bag to decline in volume. Notice that bag of corn chips that used to be full is now one quarter empty, that jug of laundry detergent that used to be good for 30 loads will now do 24, and so on.

The way to defend against this form of inflation is to note the per-unit costs at the grocery store versus the per-package price.

Inflation Sign #3: Substitution of lower cost and quality ingredients

This inflation sign is the most subtle of all. Unless you have been going to the same store or restaurant for a long period of time you won’t not notice the change. Using cheap versus expensive tequila in your margarita, for example, or regular antibiotics fed chicken versus organic chicken like it says on the menu.

Inflation Sign #4: Poor service due to cutbacks in personnel

Long lines can be a sign of inflation. As businesses cut service staff to reduce personnel costs, waiting times rise. Over time you may notice it takes longer to find someone to help you at the local Home Depot, or you are waiting longer on the phone to speak with technical support, or the experts you talk to turn out to not be so expert as you are put through layers of less expensive and lesser trained personnel before you get to talk to the one high cost expert who actually knows what they are talking about.

You will also notice sales people becoming more assertive. They will try to sell you more expensive products and will try to add on options.

Inflation Sign #5: Fees, fees, fees

let's post photos/accounts of fees, substitution of crap stuff for good ingredients/contents at the same price, less stuff in the package, etc.

[c1ue]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

That is one cool thread c1ue.

Are the pictures of your own making?

Yep, cooked pasta today and was wondering why the Prego bottle seemed small. I tend to buy things on sale and keep for a while - and there happened to be an older one in the back of the TSHTF cabinet.

It would not surprise me at all that there were size reductions before the older one even...

let's post photos/accounts of fees, substitution of crap stuff for good ingredients/contents at the same price, less stuff in the package, etc.

That's the goal. I had posted about Pepsi and Coca Cola trying to sell 20 can (vs. 24) and 8 can (vs. 12) packs, but have no proof for posterity.

Seeing the 2 bottles side by side made me realize that there might be some benefit to having a record via iTulip of these changes.

From Russia, another item to watch related to Inflation Sign #3: Substitution of lower cost and quality ingredients would be rapid churning of brands: one trick I've seen is for a company to come out with a new product, build a following, then let the product lapse into crap while coming out with new 'platinum' or 'imperial' versions which more or less correspond to what used to be 'regular'.

[metalman]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Yep, cooked pasta today and was wondering why the Prego bottle seemed small. I tend to buy things on sale and keep for a while - and there happened to be an older one in the back of the TSHTF cabinet.

It would not surprise me at all that there were size reductions before the older one even...



That's the goal. I had posted about Pepsi and Coca Cola trying to sell 20 can (vs. 24) and 8 can (vs. 12) packs, but have no proof for posterity.

Seeing the 2 bottles side by side made me realize that there might be some benefit to having a record via iTulip of these changes.

From Russia, another item to watch related to Inflation Sign #3: Substitution of lower cost and quality ingredients would be rapid churning of brands: one trick I've seen is for a company to come out with a new product, build a following, then let the product lapse into crap while coming out with new 'platinum' or 'imperial' versions which more or less correspond to what used to be 'regular'.

also...

The inside of our local Target store in Burlington, Massachusetts looks like this. Shelf space has been cut by more about 40%. The isles are wide enough to drive through. The selection of goods is a fraction of what it was six months ago. The same is true of the Super 88 where we shop for Asian groceries. The space is half empty, and the items on the shelves no longer include expensive Japanese imports, only Chinese.

August 2009 FIRE Economy Depression update – Part I: Snowball in Summer - Eric Janszen

anyone else seeing this? less shelf space? low quality product on store shelves for the same price as the good stuff that was there before?

[bill]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Kingsford reduced volume with convincing marketing to support their claim its better.
HA HA

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/newkingsford.html



Briquettes Weigh Less; Bag & Number Of Uses Remain The Same
New Kingsford weighs 10% less than before. The loss of material due to the Sure Fire Groove impressions is one reason. Another reason is that more wood char is being used in the product, which is a very lightweight ingredient.

Old and new bags of Kingsford are the same physical size.
From left to right: 5lb and 4.5lb, 10lb and 9lb, and 24lb and 21.6lb.

At the time of this writing, the number of briquettes per bag, the number of uses per bag, the bag dimensions, and the price remain the same as before. However, each new bag weighs 10% less than the corresponding old one:

Old Bag	New Bag
5 lbs	4.5 lbs
10 lbs	9 lbs
20 lbs	18 lbs
24 lb twin-pack	21.6 lb twin-pack

[dbarberic]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

great thread, c1ue. time to track the 'other' inflation... predicted here apr. 2008... Inflation in America - Part I: Five signs of inflation
.

An iTulip classic. Love it.

[Master Shake]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

A thread for recording some on the ground anecdotes of inflation in action.

Prego sauce - one 'before' and one 'after'

Looks fine right?

[ATTACH]2561[/ATTACH]

Well, a closer look at the sizes...

[ATTACH]2562[/ATTACH]

And a shot of the expiration dates...

[ATTACH]2563[/ATTACH]

There you have it: 3 months apart, 8.2% less product.

Inflation: The latest weapon in our war against obesity.

[KGW]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Downy? That is some evil shit. . .Do you know that the "stiffness" in clothes after washing is due to using too much soap? Or, that if you still want to use too much soap you can put some baking soda into the wash with the soap, and the rinse will get more of the soap out and the clothes will be soft?

Downy? That stuff will kill braincells! My wife was ready to assassinate the neighbors due to their using the stuff right below our bedroom windows. Either that or have me rig up a giant fan to blow it back in their faces instead!

FYI:
The Toxic Danger of Fabric Softener and Dryer Sheets
by SixWise.com

Many people will remember a famous TV ad where a woman races to her washing machine, fabric softener in hand, only to arrive just as the wash ends. This woman who "forgot to ad the fabric softener" was actually doing herself and her family a favor.

Although they may make your clothes feel soft and smell fresh, fabric softener and dryer sheets are some of the most toxic products around. And chances are that the staggering 99.8 percent of Americans who use common commercial detergents, fabric softeners, bleaches, and stain removers would think twice if they knew they contained chemicals that could cause cancer and brain damage.

Laundry

Fabric softeners and dryer sheets with scents like April Fresh and Summer Orchard add toxic chemicals to your laundry and, consequently, your body.

Here is a list of just some of the chemicals found in fabric softeners and dryer sheets:

*

Benzyl acetate: Linked to pancreatic cancer
*

Benzyl Alcohol: Upper respiratory tract irritant
*

Ethanol: On the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Hazardous Waste list and can cause central nervous system disorders
*

Limonene: Known carcinogen
*

A-Terpineol: Can cause respiratory problems, including fatal edema, and central nervous system damage
*

Ethyl Acetate: A narcotic on the EPA's Hazardous Waste list
*

Camphor: Causes central nervous system disorders
*

Chloroform: Neurotoxic, anesthetic and carcinogenic
*

Linalool: A narcotic that causes central nervous system disorders
*

Pentane: A chemical known to be harmful if inhaled

So how could products with pretty names like Soft Ocean Mist, Summer Orchard and April Fresh be so dangerous?

The chemicals in fabric softeners are pungent and strong smelling -- so strong that they require the use of these heavy fragrances (think 50 times as much fragrance) just to cover up the smells. Furthermore, synthetic fabrics, which are the reason fabric softeners were created in the first place, do not smell good either when heated in a dryer or heated by our bodies ... hence the need for even more hefty fragrances.

In other words, remove all the added fragrance that endears people to fabric softeners and -- like the cliché wolf in sheep's clothing -- the real smells of the chemical-laced fabric softener and the synthetic fabrics they were designed around may prompt people to shoot their laundry machines and be done with it.

Are "Soft" Clothes Worth It?

Fabric softeners are made to stay in your clothing for long periods of time. As such, chemicals are slowly released either into the air for you to inhale or onto your skin for you to absorb. Dryer sheets are particularly noxious because they are heated in the dryer and the chemicals are released through dryer vents and out into the environment. Health effects from being exposed to the chemicals in fabric softeners include:

* Central nervous system disorders
* Headaches
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Dizziness
* Blood pressure reduction
* Irritation to skin, mucus membranes and respiratory tract
* Pancreatic cancer

A 100% Non-Toxic, Economical Solution!

Static EliminatorThe Static Eliminator's woven sheets take static cling out, and soften fabric without any toxic chemicals whatsoever -- plus they are incredibly economical, as one box can be used to maximum effectiveness 500 times! (Or go for the super-economical double-pack for 1000 loads!)

*

Completely Non-Toxic: The unique technology is based on the weave of the cloth so it is chemical-free!
*

Very Economical! Each box highly effective for 500 loads of laundry! (To do 500 loads with chemical based dryer sheets takes 13 boxes!)
*

100% Hypoallergenic -- Safe for infants, allergy sufferers, eczema sufferers, and the chemically sensitive
*

Softens Clothes & Eliminates Static without any harsh toxins
*

Safe for Even the Most Delicate Fabrics
*

Works at Any Heat Setting, with any amount of clothing
*

Won't Stain or Spot Clothing
*

Easier to Use & Reduces Waste: Unlike conventional dryer sheets that must be discarded, just leave the 100% safe polynylon Static Eliminator sheet right in the dr yer for load after load
* Won't Clog Up Your Dryer Vents because it contains NO chemicals!

Learn More About Static Eliminator Now!

Soften Your Clothes Safely With These Tips

Even if you don't feel the effects of these chemicals today, they can affect you gradually over time, and children, whose systems are still developing, are particularly at risk. There's really no reason to expose yourself to these risky chemicals when natural alternatives exist. Not only are they safer for you, your family and the environment, but they're much more economical too:

*

Learn about Static Eliminator, a 100% safe, non-toxic dryer sheet system that is more effective at softening clothes and eliminating static cling but poses no risk to you and your family! This is one of the most highly recommended of all products we have reviewed, and you will find it is also extremely economical, too!
*

Add a quarter cup of baking soda to wash cycle to soften fabric
*

Add a quarter cup of white vinegar to rinse to soften fabric and eliminate cling
*

Check out your local health food store for a natural fabric softener that uses a natural base like soy instead of chemicals

It's likely that fabric softeners and dryer sheets aren't the only toxic products in your home. Many household products that consumers regard as safe are also full of toxic chemicals. Our past articles on PEG Compounds in Cosmetics and Phenols in Common Household Cleansers are two of the all-time most popular articles on SixWise.com and will make you more aware of the pervasiveness of harmful chemicals that can be eliminated from your home.

I Don't have the photos to share & document, but I've been seeing these changes since mid 2007.

Has anyone else noticed that spaghetti (or other pastas) used to come in a 900g bag. Now its 750 - and the price is WAY up. This one's disturbing to me, because its a cheap food 'staple'... right up there with canned tuna and rice.... the stuff students, poor folks & those living on fixed income rely on.

Similarly...
I used to buy Downy brand fabric softener and Cheer brand detergent in the JUMBO size @ Sams club. Downy claimed 227 washes per (can't recall the size fl. oz.) but @ one point I had the new & the old side by side... Both concentrated... but the 'new' JUMBO size was smaller (190 washes or so IIRC) most stores (eg Giant Eagle) now only carry a 150+ size as their JUMBO. Cheer was similar. Both went up in price.

Less for more

[metalman]

Re: Inflation snapshots: December 2009

Inflation: The latest weapon in our war against obesity.

local chinese take-out...

a year ago... 50% rice, 30% fresh veggies, 20% tender beef... flank?

today... lunch plate... 80% rice, 15% old cheap veggies & 5% shoe leather beef... shoulder?

tossed a piece to my lab and she chewed it before swallowing. she never does that.

price up 50 cents to $6.00 from $5.50.

early stages of inflation?