Saving Money as Prices Increase

[Larry Caldwell]

Chicken prices must be a very local item. I've been buying frozen, skinless, boneless breasts for $1.99 or LESS per pound in Alexandria , Va. since we got back to Va. last July. Wegmans is my local store and always seems to have them and I buy about one family pack every 10 days.

Yeah, whole chickens are $0.99 on sale here, $1.29 regular price. Chicken hindquarters are $0.69/lb. regular price. I just bought a couple packages of chicken thighs for $0.88/lb. Boneless, skinless chicken parts are about the same as your price.

Pork prices are about the same as chicken per lb. Beef is more expensive, though I bought a big pack of 93% lean burger last week for $2.69/lb.

 

[bdhsfz6]

It is obvious prices are on the rise. It is not awful yet, but some think it will get considerably worse. I am not one to get caught with my pants down. SO, I was hoping to gain some insight on things y'all are doing or plan on doing to make the blow not quite as bad.

I am in pretty good shape, better than most probably but we can always do more.
Some things that I am planning on doing or everyday life things that help my situation.

Heating - We live in the SE TN so heating costs are not a huge issue. We have a reasonably efficient heat pump as our main source of heat. On top of that we also have a wood stove in our living room that we use to supplement in the winter. When it is cold and I am home like on weekends our heat pump doesn't run. NEW PROCEDURE - I also plan on running an oil filled radiator during the week while my wife is home so the heat pump doesn't have to work too hard. Probably one in her office and one in the main living space.

Transportation - We both drive 28 to 30 mpg vehicles as our daily drivers, so that helps. And my commute to work is 4 miles, wife works from home. My farm truck is a 85 F250 that get 7 mpg, not much I can do about that except drive it only when necessary.

Food Stuffs- Prices of food are on the rise. Beef and other meats are following right along. I have a deer and a half in the freezer and half a wild boar. Hopefully put another deer in there soon. Also plan on doing the usual gardening this spring. Hopefully seeds will not be in short supply. Might even start it out a little early this year with a cold frame or DIY greenhouse.

Those are the things I have thought about so far. What else have y'all thought about to help ease the sting of rising prices. REALLY value the collective braintrust that is TBN. What are you doing/gonna do different?

With the price of oil going through the roof, I thought it would be appropriate to revive this thread from last year.

When I built my house 40 years ago, oil was the most economic solution for both heat and domestic hot water. I installed an oil fired boiler with a tankless coil for providing hot water, that has functioned very well over that time. Now, with the cost of home heating oil approaching $5 / gal, I was forced to rethink the economics of this system.

Although I like the tankless coil since it provides an unlimited supply of hot water, it requires running the oil burner year round. The boiler isn't very well insulated and the heat loss just makes the A/C work harder during the summer months. Since I live in a state that allows me to shop for the best electricity rates, an electric hot water heater appeared to be a more economic choice.

Last month, I bought a 65 gal heat pump hot water heater on sale at Home Depot for around $1700 which I installed myself. I applied for and received a $400 Energy Star rebate from my local power company which brought the investment down to $1300. The heater has a published estimated annual operating cost of $155 @ .08/kwh which is the rate I'm currently paying.

I estimate the oil burner uses around 75 gal of fuel oil to produce hot water during the 6 month summer season, which equates to $375 @ $5/gal. In that same 6 months, the cost to operate the heat pump hot water heater will be around $78 ($155/2). The unit has a 10 year warranty and my rough calculations indicate it will pay for itself in less than 5.

Obviously, the economics will vary as the costs of oil and electricity fluctuate. It remains to be seen whether it will be more economical to use the heat pump hot water heater year round. In any case, I can easily switch back to the oil burner by turning a couple of valves should the economics change.

 

[Jstpssng]

With the price of oil going through the roof, I thought it would be appropriate to revive this thread from last year.

When I built my house 40 years ago, oil was the most economic solution for both heat and domestic hot water. I installed an oil fired boiler with a tankless coil for providing hot water, that has functioned very well over that time. Now, with the cost of home heating oil approaching $5 / gal, I was forced to rethink the economics of this system.

Although I like the tankless coil since it provides an unlimited supply of hot water, it requires running the oil burner year round. The boiler isn't very well insulated and the heat loss just makes the A/C work harder during the summer months. Since I live in a state that allows me to shop for the best electricity rates, an electric hot water heater appeared to be a more economic choice.

Last month, I bought a 65 gal heat pump hot water heater on sale at Home Depot for around $1700 which I installed myself. I applied for and received a $400 Energy Star rebate from my local power company which brought the investment down to $1300. The heater has a published estimated annual operating cost of $155 @ .08/kwh which is the rate I'm currently paying.

I estimate the oil burner uses around 75 gal of fuel oil to produce hot water during the 6 month summer season, which equates to $375 @ $5/gal. In that same 6 months, the cost to operate the heat pump hot water heater will be around $78 ($155/2). The unit has a 10 year warranty and my rough calculations indicate it will pay for itself in less than 5.

Obviously, the economics will vary as the costs of oil and electricity fluctuate. It remains to be seen whether it will be more economical to use the heat pump hot water heater year round. In any case, I can easily switch back to the oil burner by turning a couple of valves should the economics change.

My mother had one of those installed a couple of years ago for the same reason. In addition, as a heat pump it helps keep the cellar a bit less damp. Prior to that the oil burner was only turned on when somebody was going to use hot water, and they tried to do things like showers, laundry, and run the dishwasher while the water was hot.

 

[Tinhack]

And another thing... The price of the air filter for my Kubota went up $3 (~10%) while I was looking at it.

 

[orezok]

 

[5030]

No problem with heat here. I heat with biomass. One stove in the house, one stove in the shop. I burn field corn mixed with hardwood pellets which cost 300 bucks a ton. I usually burn 2 ton of pellets and 3 ton of field corn, so for less than 1000 bucks I heat both the shop and the house all winter. Get my field corn for zip.

Far as the tractors go, I don't idle them excessively when farming. I used to, to keep the cabs cool in the summer. Not any more and I use Archoil fuel additive in the fuel and their friction modifier in the oil.

Diesel, even off road diesel is through the roof.

 

[Hay Dude]

View attachment 749813

Its a bit deceiving to compare profits to 2021 Q1 profits since we were still in a pandemic shutdown and the economy in general was not producing at its normal capacity.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I more or less prepared for an extended period of inflation. SS is indexed, so will keep up, with a 1-year lag. Housing is paid for, and property taxes are capped at a 3% increase, so I'm out of that rat race. The wife and I both have small pensions have a 2% COLA cap, so we're going to be losing ground there. Stock dividends are already down about 1/3, and I'm expecting them to totally tank when the recession hits. I'm glad that I cut and split several cords of firewood last winter, because otherwise the heating bill would be going up.

As for cash on hand, I'm a little old to be investing in I-Bonds. I think I'll spend it while it's still worth something. The whole interior of the house needs repainted, and I'm not the neatest painter in the world. I need to hire a pro to do the job.

Inflation rates vary depending on situation. The only way to dodge fuel prices is stay home, though my wife and I try to carpool town trips. It can take hours to shop for groceries, housewares, pharmacy, feed, hardware, mechanical supplies, clothing, and incidentals, but we try to consolidate it into one trip instead of three. I feel sorry for people stuck commuting in opposite directions.

For groceries, maybe I'll go fishing. There's a salmon run 3 miles away.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

No problem with heat here. I heat with biomass. One stove in the house, one stove in the shop. I burn field corn mixed with hardwood pellets which cost 300 bucks a ton. I usually burn 2 ton of pellets and 3 ton of field corn, so for less than 1000 bucks I heat both the shop and the house all winter. Get my field corn for zip.

Far as the tractors go, I don't idle them excessively when farming. I used to, to keep the cabs cool in the summer. Not any more and I use Archoil fuel additive in the fuel and their friction modifier in the oil.

Diesel, even off road diesel is through the roof.

I run a 100:1 mix of cheap 2-cycle oil in the diesel.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

While inflation rages, our industry is increasing pay by 50-100%… so… I guess that’s how I’ll deal with it for now.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

While inflation rages, our industry is increasing pay by 50-100%… so… I guess that’s how I’ll deal with it for now.

Which industry is that? Those are nice increases....

 

[Larry Caldwell]

 

[Gee Ray]

View attachment 749855View attachment 749855

As of June 10, 2022 Exxon is worth 423.19B. So they are getting a return of 1.29 %. In the real world that is not a great return on your money. So, yes they made a lot of money, but they have a lot invested.

The only problem I see is the size of the companies. Blackrock and the other large investment firms are too large and need to be broken up. Perhaps the large oil companies need to be broken up as well.

 

[duffer]

Haven't read all 32 pages, but the next time someone complains about the "rich oil companies", or the "obscene windfall profits", just remind them that the gov't takes 18 cents from every gallon, the oil company makes about 4 cents. And this doesn't include the other 41 taxes the gov't imposes on drilling, refining, and delivering the gas. And what did the gov't do to "earn" those dollars, compared to the investment, labor, equipment that the oil companies put out to make their 4 cents?

So tell me, who is making the obscene windfall profits?

 

[jyoutz]

Haven't read all 32 pages, but the next time someone complains about the "rich oil companies", or the "obscene windfall profits", just remind them that the gov't takes 18 cents from every gallon, the oil company makes about 4 cents. And this doesn't include the other 41 taxes the gov't imposes on drilling, refining, and delivering the gas. And what did the gov't do to "earn" those dollars, compared to the investment, labor, equipment that the oil companies put out to make their 4 cents?

So tell me, who is making the obscene windfall profits?

What did the government do to earn those dollars? Build and repair roads. This is done with fuel taxes.

 

[5030]

What did the government do to earn those dollars? Build and repair roads. This is done with fuel taxes.

They do basically nothing but postulate. Always remember... The government (Federal, State and Local) are the largest employer in this country, require the largest largess but produce no tangible product (other than a lot of hot air far as I can tell).

 

[jyoutz]

They do basically nothing but postulate. Always remember... The government (Federal, State and Local) are the largest employer in this country, require the largest largess but produce no tangible product (other than a lot of hot air far as I can tell).

Fuel taxes build roads. Nobody else builds them except government.

 

[5030]

Fuel taxes build roads. Nobody else builds them except government.

Wrong in so many ways.. The government awards contracts to private entities via competitive bidding to build roads. The government don't build squat. Fuel taxes as well as Federal Excise taxes go to roads. I keep forgetting you are a government employee so your view is somewhat jaded.

 

[SouthernSky]

Louisiana just passed a law to collect $115 per year from electric vehicle owners and $60 per year from hybrid owners to make up for the lost gas taxes.

Are they doing anything else where you live?

 

[lman]

$150/$50 here