We found the effects of tariffs and extreme weather, relief (finally!) in the egg cooler, plus one case of shrinkflation.
The frog has been slowly boiling for some time. It’s just boiling faster now. Sure, its only gone up 5% in the past year. But how about the past two years? Or ten?
It wasn’t that long ago that a box of Cascade powder was $2.50 at most. It’s over $7 now. It’s not worth that.
And wages have not caught up either.
And layoffs abound.
It’s a big slave plantation. This is the best they can do.
You can get cascade powder?
I havent been able to find it anywhere in forever. I’ve been stuck buying those shitty fucking pods.
edit I havent been able to find dishwasher powder in general, regardless of brand.
The only place I’ve found it is Meijer which is a regional store
There’s one grocery store near me that has it. But as I mentioned, its too expensive now. I need to check the drug stores and dollar stores for pricing and availability. Hoping maybe the larger HEB grocery has a store brand.
I was buying it because it was cheaper, comes in a cardboard box instead of plastic, and a plumber told me that pods leave a residue that will eventually congeal and clog the dishwasher pump.
Also i read somewhere that pods are wrapped in some sort of plastic, and not a gelatin. I sincerely hope this isn’t true. Just what we need — more microplastic in our water table!
Im actually getting to the point of looking up homemade recipes for dishwasher powder.
all those dissolvable pods are made out of Polyvinyl Acetate, the same thing that elementary school glue is made out of.
Powder just gives a better wash because its ability to 1) fill the cup with more and 2) have some dispensed in the initial rinse cycle.
Technology Connections has a video (Well, many videos) on the subject…but his most recent one is all you need to know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAX2_mPr9W8
Nature seems to think PVA might not be a good thing? 🤷♂️ Doing an internet search gives mixed results, as well as what kinds like some astroturfing from the industry that manufactures pods. Wikipedia says it’s the same thing as wood glue just as you mentioned, and has been used in bookbinding for a long while. Is that good or bad, I dunno. People used to put lead in paint and arsenic in wallpaper too. I don’t know enough about it to make a judgment call.
I didnt say it was a good thing? I only said what it was made out of. I never said it was good, or harmless. I cant imagine dumping wood glue down your drain does anything anygood in general.
NPR: “Everybody thinks we’re a bunch out of touch elites, how do we reconnect with ‘Real America’?”
Walmart Advertising executive: “I have an idea for you.”
NPR: “Well, you seem like a trustworthy sort without any kind of ulterior motives, please go on!”
Sponsored by The Walton Family. They do literally tell us.
Yeah, that’s fair. For the record, I think NPR (and PBS) are among the best and most ethical American news organizations, but they’re still only about half as committed to their own ideals as what this country needs.
well, they’re (NPR) almost entirely funded by 1 rich family of billionaires so…
that $ always comes with strings on content
Not a us american here, but is a 30% price drop in eggs even worth anything? Didn’t you just have a huge spike in egg prices? Is it now down to before the hike or still higher than ever just lower than last year?
Can’t speak for all locations, but where I live eggs are back to pre-spike pricing. I can buy 5-dozen for $15 currently.
So, the 30% drop is kinda meaningless if it’s just back to before. But hey, it’s something I guess 🤷♂️
I wouldn’t say it’s meaningless, but with the increased cost of almost everything, it’s admittedly a drop of water in the ocean.
I’m grateful, I had a home built in 2021 and installed solar and battery on it, so two major fluctuating and rising costs (rent and electric) are non-issues for me. It goes a long way towards stability, financially speaking.
Yeah sure, better something than nothing. Yet it reminds me of those black Friday deals that are 50% off the price that was raises by 60% yesterday 😁
Also, wouldn’t say going solar eliminated the cost of power. Just lowered it and moved it to maintaining the panels and the battery. Sadly doesn’t help me very much, my hobby alone consumes “a family of 8” according to my power company. But it does the basics 😉
Yikes. My solar setup is pretty close to net-zero usage (generally covers between 98% to 102% of my usage year to year), and my county does net metering so at most I have a connection fee and one small partial bill annually.
Admittedly, the initial buildout was pricey ($33k), but tax subsidies were still in place at the time and after the rebates the cost was only $22k. Was worth it, since it was more for ensuring stable power during outages since I work from home. The monthly power billing was an afterthought, but nice nonetheless.
98% coverage sounds awesome. Well worth it, either way. yet takes some years to amortize.
Here (Germany) it’s quite nicely subsidized. Can even get a charging station for your EV for free.
I don’t work, so it’s just “for fun” here, but would only ever recommend to to solar. Especially since prices are so high. Currently paying like 35 cent for the kWh. And my gaming rig and servers eat a lot of those. A lot 🫠
Nice. I’m a bit jealous.
I finally saved up a bit to install solar (without a loan, PPA, or lease), but my older house has too much shade and companies were too scammy.
- all the quotes would only install enough to cover half my usage and most never replied when I tried asking questions
- I swear solar salesmen are the new used car salesmen, I just felt so dirty and used every time I had to deal with them. I never did find an installation company that I thought was being honest
- then I just ran out of patience and eventually the incentives expired
Sorry to hear that.
I got a couple utterly stupid high quotes from national installers who didn’t even scope my property or space allocation, azimuth, nothing. Skipped those.
I lucked out with a local installer. They aren’t amazing or anything, but weren’t scammy and worked fast and professionally once the permits were sorted. They sent someone to my house for the initial estimates and investigation and no hard sell when I told them what I wanted. Paid cash in three agreed installments at build milestones.
Only bad thing was I was originally supposed to get a 16kw battery but ran into the LG battery debacle mid-process and they couldn’t provide it. We negotiated a 10kw solar edge battery and in exchange they comped me two more panels, bumping me from a 5.6kw system to 6.4kw, which worked out fine in the end.
I’d like more battery in the future, but I’ll deal with that down the line since the battery warranty (and lifespan) will lapse well before the panels do.
Suntan, believe it or not, were mist responsive but they also earned their scamminess reputation. I would never do business with them but they solicited through my neighborhood while I was getting quotes so I said fine. They wouldn’t stop trying to sell me PPAs though, even after I made clear I was only interested in direct purchase , and of course never named what they were or gave actual facts about them
Started around $2 per carton went as high as $9, now back to $4-5. It looks like savings unless you look a little further back.
That’s…i dunno :(
In some areas, it is still expensive, but yeah its basically back to pre-COVID-ish prices. Mostly because theres a lot more people with chickens.
The huge egg price increases always were meaningless (to politics) and regional. It’s all local shortages from rolling culling events to stop avian flu.
I let my Costco membership lapse for a bit so now have
- a small container of dishwasher detergent that was the same price at the grocery as costcos much larger
- tiny rolls of paper towels that are in a similar sized case and similar price as costcos much larger
- I had to get “family” sized cereal box instead of “mega” and it’s just not enough for me as a single person
- 2 out of 3 grocery runs so far this year, there have not been “jumbo” eggs at any proce
Super colossal shrimp increased by 31% because they started fortifying it with cesium. You expect to just get that cesium for free? Hell no, you gotta pay for it!
It’s important to get your daily intake of vitamin C…sium
