We all know that the cost of food, OTC medicines, and gasoline have rapidly accelerated over the past couple of years. I know that in 2021-2022 my food bill tripled. That is why I am really trying to bring it down this year. Only time will tell if that is possible. The same can be said for OTC medicines and that is after switching to store brands.
Gasoline prices have been going down but in my state on January 1, 2023, they went up by $ .16 per gallon. A lot of people wondered why. That is because on June 1, 2022, our governor( who was up for election in November) suspended that amount telling taxpayers that she was giving them a break until 2023. The media was applauding her when she did the break but you probably didn’t hear much about it going back on January 1st. There were whispers. However our gasoline per gallon here is almost double what it was over 2 years ago. All of these increases are very noticeable because they are consumables we use every day.
What I have been paying attention to beside those things are the things that are increasing year over year. Have you noticed those increases?
Our electric and natural gas bills have increased by $ 212.50 for the year ending 2022. The only reason that the increase has been that low is because I save on every bit of electricity and natural gas that I can every single day.
Our school and property taxes have increased by a total of $ 1751. in one year. The property increased by $ 753. and the school increased by $ 998.
Yesterday, we got our 2023 bill from the company who does our property maintenance from April until November. They weed, trim trees and bushes, etc. The bill is for $ 3240. The bill we paid for the same maintenance for 2022 was for $2386. That is an increase of $854. in one year or about 36%. They don’t mow the lawn. Hubby likes to sit on his John Deere. However, they will do it for an additional $ 1500. for the season. We will get another bill from this company shortly for 2023 for fertilizing the lawn. Well, we all know how short the supply of fertilizer is and how expensive it has become. You see that every day in the cost of your vegetables.
Our pest control service went up in one year from $140.40 quarterly to $ 169.88 quarterly which is an increase of $ 117.92 a year. They only come every three months.
We will also be getting our auto and homeowners insurance policy next month. Our auto insurance last year was $1,000. Our homeowners was $ 602. I expect they will both increase by a lot.
I will be reporting on these increases as they happen. Are you keeping track of yours?
We have no mortgage but as you can see the bills for the house have increased immensely. In just a few short months, the bills to maintain the house and taxes have gone up by $2935.42. That is not a small increase.
When you add in food and gasoline rising prices, it becomes astronomical.
If you are planning on retiring anytime soon, make sure you plan for increases in future years especially things that you will need to pay for that you are no longer able to do. We have been retired almost 22 and 1/2 years now and have been able to live well. But with prices rising as fast as they are, we have to tighten our belts where we can.
6 replies on “Have You Tracked How Much Things Have Gone Up In The Past Year?”
Hi Precious, great post. I went grocery shopping today at Kroger. I was able to stay within my budget. I made my list mostly from what was on sale for our regular groceries. I also got a couple of things that I don’t usually get so that we could celebrate my birthday with our kids tomorrow. I bought these things so I don’t have to cook and my family can warm them up. The first thing was a family size package of Bob Evans mashed potatoes. They were 5.99. I also got a family size package of the Stouffers macaroni and cheese. It was 9.49. Hubby is going to get some fried chicken to go with. I also got some bagged salad and berries for fruit, but I usually get those anyway for family dinners. Son is going to make the birthday cake and I will report back what he makes. I will try to remember to take a picture and send to you. He is going to surprise me. I about choked at the prices of the potatoes and mac/cheese, but it is cheaper than taking everyone out or getting pizza. So I did it anyway so I don’t have to cook. My bill was 95.xx and I saved 37.xx. Not the greatest, but I was happy they had the Thomas English muffins and bagels for BOGO and the Kroger brats and Italian sausage for BOGO also. Chicken was on sale. And I found some fun snacks in the markdown section for cheap. Cheese was also on a decent sale of 1.79 for the 8 oz package and most of the rest of what I got was produce.
I just don’t know how people are going to make it with this inflation, everything is going up so much.
Hi Chris,
Thanks! Enjoy that birthday celebration with your kids. Sounds like yummy food choices. I would love to see the cake. It is definitely cheaper than going out. I really don’t know how people are going to get through this either. This is worse than the 1970’s.
All my bills have gone up. I switched insurance companies for auto, so that brought the price down around $25 a month. Big deal. We also switched mobile and internet service. But other than that, everything has been going up. It’s gotten to the point that we have eliminated all extras, including vacations. We just concentrate on the four walls: home, food, utilities and vehicles but I can see that soon even what we have done will not be enough. I have tried to keep our food bill down to $500 a month but I see it creeping up to $600 despite the many food products I have stopped buying. Yesterday I cut my sponges in half and I swore I thought I was in The Great Depression. Any liquid has been cut in half with water. or half way filled with less expensive versions (to fool the palette). I even watched a video yesterday on how to whip butter with water or milk to make it spread further.
I just told my DH that starting next week, we have to eat more out of the pantry and to just totally cut back on grocery shopping. When I pull out a piece of meat or poultry, odds are good I bought it a year ago and I can’t believe the price differences. Things are getting very expensive. I even started sewing my own clothes. Just found out buying clothes at Goodwill and then refitting them using a sewing machine is all the rage with the young folk! Good for them. They love doing alterations!
This is def worse than the 70s. I wasn’t scared back then. But I’m more concerned now than ever.
Hi Cindi,
A $300 reduction in your annual auto insurance is pretty good. I am hoping to make out that well. My cellphone hasn’t gone up because i get it through my son’s service. He hasn’t charged me anymore each year than it did 14 years ago.
We haven’t taken a vacation in the past 4 years. And we have no plans to. It’s hard giving up a lot of things but we did it in the ’70’s so hopefully we will survive it now. We pretty much concentrate what you concentrate on. I have kept my food bill down this month by eating from our pantry and freezer. yeah on cutting the sponges. I haven’t done that but it is a good idea. I always add water to soaps, etc. We have also stopped buying a lot of foods. The last time I was in a grocery store, I perused the aisles and was shocked at the prices. So many, many things have been cut from our budget. I find that if I leave butter out on a counter to get soft, it spreads further so we use less of it.
My Hubby knows if it’s too expensive, we are not buying it. Hence, so no soda. I hear you on the meat. Prices are so high that we don’t buy much of it unless it goes on a great sale.
I too am getting more and more concerned. I am going to get my electric and gas bill so I am worried. A friend got theirs recently and it was $90. higher than same period last year. YIKES!
We’re all gonna do whatever we can do. That about sums it all up.
Cindi, you are right. Do what we have to. Things are getting harder and harder.