Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Pre-Holiday Baking Sale

 In Your Dreams

Kevin unearthed this grocery store newspaper ad from 1977. He probably found it in an old building, just prior to demolition. He often drags home little treasures like this.  Alas, no gold pieces.

A 10-oz. pkg of walnuts for $1.18? I'd love to see that again!





EIGHTEEN oranges for 79 cents???

So what's happened? Why are the prices on these same products SO much higher today? Contrary to what some people think, it's not because the guy who owns the grocery store is selfish and greedy. Or that the producer of these goods is raking in a fortune while we get charged an arm and a leg.

It's because the Federal Reserve keeps printing money. Paper money. And it's becoming about as valuable as Monopoly money. The U.S. Dollar is getting worth less and less. When we see an ad like this, it shocks us, doesn't it. But we don't usually see ads like this, these reminders of what's reallly happening!

Inflation is designed to occur gradually. Remember a few years ago when we noticed that ice cream was no longer sold in 5 quart pails, but smaller boxes? And the price remained the same, or perhaps a little less, so that it looked like we were getting a good deal - until we caught on to what was going on. Same thing with cereal boxes. They became thinner and smaller, and the price did not decrease correspondingly. We didn't like the smaller boxes, but we didn't complain too much because the bill at the end didn't rise dramatically [enough] overnight. SO that in reality, although we complain every time we go into the grocery store and swipe our credit card to pay the enormous food bill, we aren't mad enough to actually riot. And as long as people around the world still accept the U.S. Dollar in trade, we can keep all the plates spinning in the air, if we really try hard. But when they no longer do accept the Dollar, it will all...
                                                           come...
                                                                                 crashing...
                                                                                                             down.
Then there will be riots.



***

 So after that depressing post...

Something to make you smile.

This photo came up because I did an image search through my files for:
'grocery.' And this photo was there too because Henry was riding horse at the 'grocery' store. :-) That's one happy cowboy!



P.S. Do you save your grocery receipts so you can compare them month by month and year by year? I wish I'd been doing that right along.


***

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21 comments:

  1. Loved the old ad.
    I so wish I could find walnuts at that price.
    I really dislike the grocery store.
    But I sure loved the sweetie at the grocery store.
    Woolie Hugs

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  2. Well that has depressed me! Actually, we were talking about the self same thing recently, how the weekly food bill is getting ridiculous. I used to buy all sorts of extras and treats, but now the basic shop is too expensive.

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  3. My nephews loved to ride the horse at the store when they were little.

    It's alarming to see how much grocery costs have risen.

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  4. I loved those prices !! It would be good to have those wonderful days back. I thought Henry was very happy on that horse. Bless his heart. Enjoy this great day. xoxo,Susie

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  5. And try to find a five pound bag of sugar these days! Maybe I sound like an old wind bag, but when we first moved into our current house, 14 years ago, you could still find gas for under a dollar a gallon. Now it's close to 4.00 a gal!! Has anyone's income gone up 4 times in 14 years? Way out of whack!

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  6. Yes, depressing, but so very true. So many don't have a clue. I don't save receipts; I should but do I really want to know? A big smile for that last cheerful picture!

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  7. Excellent post! Truer words were never spoken. I just noticed that most cake mixes have dropped from 18.25 ounces to 15 something ounces. If I had paid attention, this is probably true of every product across the board. It would be interesting to do a ratio of cost of groceries to paychecks in 1977 and today. 1977 was not an exceptionally great year as I recall. Walnuts! My hubby eats them daily like candy. Ackkkk...

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  8. Your little horseman is a really cute little guy!

    And I am going to start keeping my receipts. Sad, but true about the prices.

    Sandie

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  9. love the cowboy. i remember these prices, my boys were 8 and 10 then and i could not afford the 1.99 peanut butter because i only made 2.50 and hour and hubby was making 5 per hour... so it comes out about the same as now, lipstick was 59 cents but i did not have the 59 cents and there were no charge cards. i think the downfall of the economy is related to the invention of charge cards.

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  10. It will only keep getting worst. :(

    Love your little cowboy. He is adorable. Imagine what things will costs when he gets older!

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  11. I have a son that was born in 1976 so I remember those lower prices but they sure are long gone....

    Such a cute little boy.....

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  12. I remember when gas was 17 cents a gallon and a loaf of bread was 20 cents.

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  13. when i go to the grocery store, i give thanks that we have so many choices in this country - fresh dairy, meats, produce. and i give thanks for the ability to pay for it. and i give thanks for the friendly people that work in the store to enable my purchases. and i go home to my sweet residence and give thanks again...

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  14. This should make you feel a bit better, our prices here in Canada are a whole lot more expensive then yours, due to the US dollar and exchange rate.

    I agree the cost of groceries is scary, and it's constantly going higher..food is one of our biggest expenses around here, fresh veggies are so high because they need to be shipped from Mexico, and California.

    There doesn't seem to be much we can do about it, who is going to boycott the grocery store?

    And being Canadian is a little like getting in trouble for something your big brother did, and you had nothing to do with it..our countries are so intertwined. As the saying goes...if the US sneezes, Canada gets a cold. Anything in your economy that happens, trickles down to ours..and affects our economy.

    Oh my gosh, I sound like I am ranting, it's just that it's so frustrating being effected by something you can't control.

    A good eye opening post today.

    Jen

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  15. Hi judy Well those were thed days. Love Henry on the horse.

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  16. Those old grocery prices would be funny if it wasn't so painful to our wallets. I am in full agreement to the terrible future in store for us, thanks to the Federal Reserve and their precious quantitative easing. Pumping fake money into circulation only devalues the dollar. Down the tubes will be go... Folks need to wake up and realize that elections have consequences. The FR is doing the bidding of the progressives in power. The government officials WANT us dependent upon the government.

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  17. Well, the photo of the horse and rider is adorable! Those coin operated 'rides' were so much fun!

    As to the prices of things in 1977...wow. I think our economy started tanking when we gave up the gold standard. Our money is worth less and less, and you are right that we will probably never recover now.

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  18. I used to keep a 'grocery book' with the lowest price I'd purchased each item for so when I looked at sales I knew what was really good and I generally only bought the 'lost leaders' that draw customers into the stores. Then the stores got smart and now you get two cans of tuna on sale instead of being able to buy a case, which is what I did...I agree about the spinning plates. I remember when (it was either Brazil or Argentina defaulted and their money was totally worthless) scary isn't it???

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  19. My household is on a very tight budget right now. I have had to exchange my usual supermarket for a cut price one. I have certainly noticed how much cheaper the prices are. How I wish I had been using this store all along as I would have a bit more in my ever dwindling savings account.
    Lovely photo of the young rider :-)

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  20. I heard someone say the quarter is the new penny. Maybe the dollar is the penny. I can remember when candy bars were ten or 15 cents. They are deal if they are a dollar now.

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  21. Price rises & smaller packaging .. I know the feeling. Plenty of the other cowboys around in the grocery world !

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