Do you cringe when you fill up at the gas pump or buy a small bag of groceries that cost a hundred dollars or more? Argghhhh, I know I certainly do. Things have certainly gotten a little, or a lotta, out of skew.

Personally, we make a concerted effort to make fewer trips to the grocery store weekly; we plot out where we have to drive daily to try and maximize all our errands while keeping our fuel consumption to a minimum. We have always been fairly diligent when buying food so that we get at least two, if not three, dinners from the groceries we buy (i.e. whole chickens). We’ve upped our game on that front while scaling back considerably on our protein purchases. Not wasting food is critical.

Putin's war on Ukraine isn't helping the global economy or most of us, personally. Couple that with supply chain issues left from Covid, throw in rising inflation and ... yikes. It certainly makes you stop and wonder when things will change.

One thing that strikes me is the thought of some companies using the issues of the day as an excuse to double or even triple the price of their products without cause to do so. I don't see the farmers and ranchers looking for ways to exploit our current situation; they are simply trying to survive in this environment. Hauling all the food from growers and ranchers has become a significant hurdle for many; the cost of diesel fuel and feed are just a couple of the factors. I would love to see the individuals and companies exploiting the times to be called out and fined in a big way for their greed.

As a side note: We just received a notice from our fuel company asking if we wanted to lock in our fuel cost at six dollars a gallon for this winter; for us, that means we would be paying over double in heating cost from last year. The way the Fed and markets are reacting these days, it might be a safer bet, but that is to be seen. Deep breath. We will be taking full advantage of biking and walking where we can this summer!

I would like to hear from you all. How is this current reality affecting your lives and your businesses? Please share your thoughts. Cheers.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Fourth of July!

Live well.

Time to do with less

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