A clear sign that I'm becoming middle aged...
(Though thankfully not like my parents.)
Supermarket price hikes. I know the economy sucks and shit, dude, I work in it, it didn't escape my notice, but WTF price hikes?! I remember when price hikes meant five cents extra on my fave chocolate bar, but I'm seeing price hikes on ordinary groceries like juice and cheese of 20, 30, and even 50 cents.
A little background: I live in a big city, at the edge of downtown, which is not a cheap area but cheaper than some (and certainly cheaper than the suburbs, which I can't afford at all.) In the city, there is one major supermarket chain dominating the place -- my local shopping street, not of extraordinary length, sports three(!) of its branches; downtown, where I work, it sports another three within one street. The only alternative in my local street is a super expensive organic supermarket; downtown, two organic supermarkets and one M&S style fresh market in a department store are the only competition.
These price hikes are pushing my grocery bill up by euros at a time, euros that I have in a pinch but means I must cut back on other things, things I also enjoy and would like to spend money on. For financial reasons, I either pick up groceries within walking distance or when I've already travelled somewhere (say, to work), which limits my access to grocery stores overall. I have to be in the suburbs once every two weeks, where there are affordable, ordinary supermarkets, but I'm limited by what I can carry (don't have a car) and by what will keep for two weeks.
All of this before I get started on the fact that I am single, paid well enough that I have some money left over at the end of the month, reasonably mobile, usually in sufficient spoons to take care of basic tasks, and able to spot these price hikes and compare. I dread to think the effect this has on the elderly, disabled people, the poor, etc.
All of this also before I get started on the fact that the cheapest way too feed yourself is on calorie rich food with little to no nutritional value, whereas the so oft touted and much lauded "healthy foods" are well out of the price range of anyone shopping on a budget. (Example: apple juice now costs me 1.01 p/1l, while I can buy cola from the same brand at 0.99 p/1.5l, while sliced white bread sets me back 0.69 for half a loaf, sliced brown bread with seeds just cost me 1.08 in the cheap supermarket. Don't get me started on the cost of fresh vegetables or meat. Fuck your health craze.)
I can afford a few luxuries, I can afford to try and save up to buy a flat, I can afford to buy the occasional novel and take the tram to work instead of biking. I'd like to keep being able to afford those things, especially since nothing will send the economy down the drain faster than people who have no money to spend.
So yeah, I'm becoming middle aged. Though thankfully not middle class.
In the interest of full disclosure, I was born and raised suburban white middle class, and that's not an upbringing you can truly escape.
Supermarket price hikes. I know the economy sucks and shit, dude, I work in it, it didn't escape my notice, but WTF price hikes?! I remember when price hikes meant five cents extra on my fave chocolate bar, but I'm seeing price hikes on ordinary groceries like juice and cheese of 20, 30, and even 50 cents.
A little background: I live in a big city, at the edge of downtown, which is not a cheap area but cheaper than some (and certainly cheaper than the suburbs, which I can't afford at all.) In the city, there is one major supermarket chain dominating the place -- my local shopping street, not of extraordinary length, sports three(!) of its branches; downtown, where I work, it sports another three within one street. The only alternative in my local street is a super expensive organic supermarket; downtown, two organic supermarkets and one M&S style fresh market in a department store are the only competition.
These price hikes are pushing my grocery bill up by euros at a time, euros that I have in a pinch but means I must cut back on other things, things I also enjoy and would like to spend money on. For financial reasons, I either pick up groceries within walking distance or when I've already travelled somewhere (say, to work), which limits my access to grocery stores overall. I have to be in the suburbs once every two weeks, where there are affordable, ordinary supermarkets, but I'm limited by what I can carry (don't have a car) and by what will keep for two weeks.
All of this before I get started on the fact that I am single, paid well enough that I have some money left over at the end of the month, reasonably mobile, usually in sufficient spoons to take care of basic tasks, and able to spot these price hikes and compare. I dread to think the effect this has on the elderly, disabled people, the poor, etc.
All of this also before I get started on the fact that the cheapest way too feed yourself is on calorie rich food with little to no nutritional value, whereas the so oft touted and much lauded "healthy foods" are well out of the price range of anyone shopping on a budget. (Example: apple juice now costs me 1.01 p/1l, while I can buy cola from the same brand at 0.99 p/1.5l, while sliced white bread sets me back 0.69 for half a loaf, sliced brown bread with seeds just cost me 1.08 in the cheap supermarket. Don't get me started on the cost of fresh vegetables or meat. Fuck your health craze.)
I can afford a few luxuries, I can afford to try and save up to buy a flat, I can afford to buy the occasional novel and take the tram to work instead of biking. I'd like to keep being able to afford those things, especially since nothing will send the economy down the drain faster than people who have no money to spend.
So yeah, I'm becoming middle aged. Though thankfully not middle class.
In the interest of full disclosure, I was born and raised suburban white middle class, and that's not an upbringing you can truly escape.