Prices

rcarter31 said:

Drump's rambling on about how prices are lower.

Our ShopRite is a reliably low cost store.

Look at what we just paid for 3 formerly low cost items.

He's a lying psychopath!

Fresh Granny Smith Apple

4017

1 × $4.22

$4.22 FWT

Fresh Sweet Potato

4074

1 × $1.18

$1.18 FWT

Fresh Yellow Onion

4665

1 × $1.91

$1.91

I paid $4.04 today for a medium Dunkin coffee. Yikes! 

The Dunkin stop on the way to Chicago now runs $8 or $10; a year or two ago was $3 $4 $6.

Even Goodwill is showing signs:  .99 -> 1.99 for a dish; shirts/tops that ran 3.99 to 6.99 now go up to 11 or 13.

Privileged to not have to worry about this, but many people do.

Does anybody know, when they figure the cost of living increase for social security, do they include food?  Or do they use one of the inflation measures that excludes food and gas?

What's yer problem. 

Just this morning, Trump explained how he got the pharmaceutical companies to reduce their charges by 1000 percent.  

I'll repeat it again so's yiz don't miss it. ONE THOUSAND PERCENT REDUCTION in the cost of some popular drugs.

That means that if-- sorry, when I go to CVS,=, they are gonna pay me for taking the drugs home. Did Biden or Obama do any of that for ya?  I'll answer the question -- NO. They did not.

mjc said:

Does anybody know, when they figure the cost of living increase for social security, do they include food? Or do they use one of the inflation measures that excludes food and gas?

Yes, the increase is based on a “blue collar” version (CPI-W) of the commonly reported inflation rate (CPI-U), both of which include food and energy.

mjc said:

The Dunkin stop on the way to Chicago now runs $8 or $10; a year or two ago was $3 $4 $6.

Even Goodwill is showing signs:  .99 -> 1.99 for a dish; shirts/tops that ran 3.99 to 6.99 now go up to 11 or 13.

Privileged to not have to worry about this, but many people do.

Does anybody know, when they figure the cost of living increase for social security, do they include food?  Or do they use one of the inflation measures that excludes food and gas?

One significant problem with the SS COLA formula is that they do not consider the sharp rise in medical care costs.  

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

What's yer problem. 

Just this morning, Trump explained how he got the pharmaceutical companies to reduce their charges by 1000 percent.  

I'll repeat it again so's yiz don't miss it. ONE THOUSAND PERCENT REDUCTION in the cost of some popular drugs.

That means that if-- sorry, when I go to CVS,=, they are gonna pay me for taking the drugs home. Did Biden or Obama do any of that for ya?  I'll answer the question -- NO. They did not.

Medicare can now negotiate the prices on some very expensive medications among those most frequently used by older adults.  This program predates the start of Trump's second term in office.  The negotiated price applies only to Part D drug plans that include these medications in their Formulary.  It does not apply to everyone on social security; nor, does it require that Part D plans cover any of these medications.  None of the medications included thus far have been reduced by 1000% but the savings can be substantial.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/05/social-security-cola-2026-calculation.html

Social Security’s 2.8% COLA for 2026 is sparking debate over how the annual increase gets calculated

DaveSchmidt, thanks for once again doing my homework.  I guess my feeling is that "retired" means no more homework?

joan_crystal said:

One significant problem with the SS COLA formula is that they do not consider the sharp rise in medical care costs.

Medical care is a part of the CPI’s, and therefore the CPI-W’s, basket of costs. A sharper rise in any single component’s cost isn’t matched, and some other measures give the cost of medical care more weight, but it’s considered.

I had been thinking about suggesting a "cheap eats" thread, given how expensive restaurants and at least some supermarket items have become  

Sidenote: I applied for SS this week.  I disagree with the seeming majority "smart" view that I should wait until 70 so that I get the max monthly payments.  If you do that, you have to get to about age 80 to hit the break even point for having forgone all payments between full retirement age and age 70.  I don't know how long I'm going to live, what I'm going to be like healthwise if I get to 80, or what's going to happen to the SS system.

(continuing sidenote)

bub, i did the same, for the same reasons, seeing crossover at 80.  What threw that calculation off was paying income tax on the first several years of SS, since spouse was still working.  Wish i had considered that, though the decision might have remained the same.  Agreed though that things are looking less predictable now than in 2008, so "a bird in the hand" looking good?  

mjc said:

(continuing sidenote)

bub, i did the same, for the same reasons, seeing crossover at 80.  What threw that calculation off was paying income tax on the first several years of SS, since spouse was still working.  Wish i had considered that, though the decision might have remained the same.  Agreed though that things are looking less predictable now than in 2008, so "a bird in the hand" looking good?  

I don't need it but I'd rather get extra spending money while I'm well than when I'm almost certain to be less well.  

DaveSchmidt said:

Medical care is a part of the CPI’s, and therefore the CPI-W’s, basket of costs. A sharper rise in any single component’s cost isn’t matched, and some other measures give the cost of medical care more weight, but it’s considered.

The problem is that the cost of medical care is rising at a much higher percentage for older adults than what is reflected by the 2.8 percent increase in COLA based on the CPI-W;s basket of costs.  The CPI-W does not adequately reflect the expenses of most older adults.  

joan_crystal said:

DaveSchmidt said:

Medical care is a part of the CPI’s, and therefore the CPI-W’s, basket of costs. A sharper rise in any single component’s cost isn’t matched, and some other measures give the cost of medical care more weight, but it’s considered.

The problem is that the cost of medical care is rising at a much higher percentage for older adults than what is reflected by the 2.8 percent increase in COLA based on the CPI-W;s basket of costs.  The CPI-W does not adequately reflect the expenses of most older adults.  

Costs for medical care are rising at a much higher percentage for all adults and families than what is reflected by CPI-W. It has been this way for years/decades.  My medical insurance premiums are going up 11%.

yahooyahoo said:

Costs for medical care are rising at a much higher percentage for all adults and families than what is reflected by CPI-W. It has been this way for years/decades. My medical insurance premiums are going up 11%.

The specific concern for the Social Security COLA, I gather, is that medical costs make up a larger share of our spending as we age.

rcarter31 said:

Fresh Granny Smith Apple

4017

1 × $4.22

$4.22 FWT

Fresh Sweet Potato

4074

1 × $1.18

$1.18 FWT

Fresh Yellow Onion

4665

1 × $1.91

$1.91

Ron, I was wondering: What does 1 x refer to? Not 1 apple or 1 sweet potato or 1 onion, right?

yahooyahoo said:

joan_crystal said:

DaveSchmidt said:

Medical care is a part of the CPI’s, and therefore the CPI-W’s, basket of costs. A sharper rise in any single component’s cost isn’t matched, and some other measures give the cost of medical care more weight, but it’s considered.

The problem is that the cost of medical care is rising at a much higher percentage for older adults than what is reflected by the 2.8 percent increase in COLA based on the CPI-W;s basket of costs.  The CPI-W does not adequately reflect the expenses of most older adults.  

Costs for medical care are rising at a much higher percentage for all adults and families than what is reflected by CPI-W. It has been this way for years/decades.  My medical insurance premiums are going up 11%.

I could go on for days about how **** up health care costs are in this country. Our family has had every type of plan you can think of. In 2026, we'll be on our fourth different insurance plan in three years. Thank goodness I'm only a few months from qualifying for Medicare. 

Ron: For fresh produce, Shop Rite’s prices are usually much higher than The Leafy Basket’s prices.

ml1 said:

I could go on for days about how **** up health care costs are in this country. Our family has had every type of plan you can think of. In 2026, we'll be on our fourth different insurance plan in three years. Thank goodness I'm only a few months from qualifying for Medicare. 

Seriously investigate Medicare as the primary insurance. If you reject it at the beginning of your coverage, you can't change your mind, later.

As I noted on the Movies thread, a SMALL popcorn at the movies yesterday was $10.00+.  It was huge for a small but $10? 

I heard someone say recently, “I feel like it costs $50 minimum just to leave the house these days,” and she’s not that wrong. 

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

As I noted on the Movies thread, a SMALL popcorn at the movies yesterday was $10.00+.  It was huge for a small but $10? 

I guess it's good, with my hearing, I can't go to movies anymore. No $10.00 small popcorn for me. And I am a sucker for movie popcorn.

And corn's market price is around $4.70 per bushel. That corn costs the manufacturer about 2 cents.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

I guess it's good, with my hearing, I can't go to movies anymore. No $10.00 small popcorn for me. And I am a sucker for movie popcorn.

And corn's market price is around $4.70 per bushel. That corn costs the manufacturer about 2 cents.

Some theaters and movie theaters now offer hearing devices which make it possible to hear what is transpiring on stage/screen.  You can even wear them over your hearing aids. They are adjustable to allow the user to set the volume control that works best for the listener.  Some hearing aids will connect directly to the theater's loop system via Bluetooth so the assistance device is not needed.  Movies now have closed captioning capability.  No need to forego movies completely if you have hearing loss. 

Heynj said:

I heard someone say recently, “I feel like it costs $50 minimum just to leave the house these days,” and she’s not that wrong. 

My Brooklyn friends have asked why they don’t see me as much, lately. It’s def a 50 dollar min when I drive to Brooklyn. A 5 dollar coffee with a friend is really pricey for me these days. 

this is why my favorite stores are walmart, aldi's and dollar tree and I bring my own snacks to movies.

Popcorn in a movie theater is $10. New vinyl records are $30. Home newspaper delivery is $1,000 a year.

The price of niche pleasures.

DaveSchmidt said:

Popcorn in a movie theater is $10. New vinyl records are $30. Home newspaper delivery is $1,000 a year.

The price of niche pleasures.

Bringing back the cost of pizza from another thread, I had a $31 three-topping pizza the other day.

ridski said:

DaveSchmidt said:

Popcorn in a movie theater is $10. New vinyl records are $30. Home newspaper delivery is $1,000 a year.

The price of niche pleasures.

Bringing back the cost of pizza from another thread, I had a $31 three-topping pizza the other day.

I bought a 3-pack of frozen pizzas from Aldi's for 6.99. (Of course, they might suck. Haven't tried them yet.)

A medium two-topping Domino’s pizza was $5 when I was a college freshman, or an inflation-adjusted $16. In that college town today, the price is $13.75. It all comes out about the same, however, because today I know to tip.

DaveSchmidt said:

A medium two-topping Domino’s pizza was $5 when I was a college freshman, or an inflation-adjusted $16. In that college town today, the price is $13.75. It all comes out about the same, however, because today I know to tip.

back when I was a kid on Long Island in the late 60s, a slice of pizza at Charlie’s was 25 cents. And I remember  when I was in college in the early 70s, the first time I saw gas at 50 cents a gallon. I was outraged.