"Only leisure and hospitality workers, as well as those in retail trade, have seen real wage gains since December 2019, according to an analysis of the quarterly data by Jason Furman, an economics professor at Harvard University.
The former received a 1.3% pay boost, while the latter saw their pay inch up 0.5%, after accounting for inflation. All other industries have seen wage declines, Furman found."
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/business/workers-wages-third-quarter
My grocery bill is probably my lowest expense relative to everything else. I have been through a lot of different economic ups and downs, but I have never skimmed on food. Living in NYC, my one night out could be my one week grocery bill. If I have to cut back I would cut back on going out, but sometimes it’s not at my option.
We grew up as first generation immigrants, and my parents always had a lot of food at home for us (had to shop at second hand stores and couldn’t go to camps). My dad used to say, food is the cheapest thing in the US.
I know this thread is about inflation and upper middle class, but inflation is the most regressive “tax” that I think of. Low income earners spend much more proportionally on groceries and other life’s necessities. On top of that, inflation tends to run hotter on such necessities because manufacturers/producers/service providers have much greater pricing power in those necessities than in discretionary items.
Just got back from the grocery store. Definitely noticed higher prices. But I felt fortunate we can easily afford it, even today when we were trying to get free turkey by pushing the total over $150 (harder than I thought it would be; kept a tally and added things like Swiffer and sale laundry detergent).
When I bought some fiber one bars on sale for $1.77 (instead of $4.29) it made me appreciate the fact that I have extra funds to buy ahead. I know not all shoppers can do that. The bimonthly food pantry where I volunteer has been having record numbers, higher than during the Covid unemployment era. Some of the people comment on the inflation aspects pinching their wallet. Ok, that was not relevant to Upper Middle Class… except for retired me being OK, just concerned about those less fortunate.
We were talking to a friend today who owns a restaurant. He said that in the past 3 weeks the cost of the steaks that he buys (only ribeyes) went up $2.50. He said that everything is up. He has his regulars, but they are coming less often. Maybe twice a week rather than 3 or 4 times a week. He has a big lunch crowd. If the special is good, he will do well.
One of the big things driving inflation is the cost of oil which drives up the cost of shipping. It affects the number of trucks on the road, as some truckers simply cannot afford the fuel.
I expect inflation will continue to affect us all. I’m not sure if anyone has mentioned how 60%of the US is experiencing a drought situation. It is causing major shipping disruptions on the Mississippi.
Inflation is going to have a lot less impact on upper middle class than middle or lower class. I am an uppder middle class based on my earnings (not bragging, just stating the fact). Like I mentioned before, grocery bill is a very low percentage of my total expenses, my housing cost is fixed ( unlike other people who are subject to rent increases), and my utility bills are also low. When i used to own cars, i actually liked the gas prices to be higher because it cut down on my commute because there were fewer cars on the road. My biggest expenses are entertainment, travel, clothing, home improvement, which I can easily cut back if I have to. I worry more about my investments than about actual inflation itself.
So I don’t think upper middle class are struggling with inflation as much as other people.
Bobby Flay was on a morning show and was talking about the effects of inflation on his restaurants. One of the things is ordering less expensive items which affects his revenue and the revenue of his servers.
Instead of ordering a $70 bottle of wine, they are ordering a $40 bottle.
If that’s the sacrifice the upper middle class is making, that’s a privilege place to be.
I’m still eating, making the mortgage payments and have reliable vehicles. If I’m staying at the budget hotel instead of the five star, I’ll be fine.
My bare root roses went up from $24.95 to $28.95, tree roses from $49.95 to $64.95, at that rate I would be very selective. That’s 20% inflation.
The working and middle classes will always have a harder time than the upper middle and upper classes. With everything. Inflation, college admissions, health etc.
Bird flu has added to food inflation by wiping out chicken and turkey populations. I noticed that our Costco was out of some chicken cuts and had a sign limiting egg purchase to 2 cartons.
My husband usually does the grocery shopping but this week I went. I was shocked at both the price of eggs and that the egg case was almost empty (just a few cartons of pricey organic, free-range type eggs left), I hadn’t thought about the bird flu effect on eggs, DUH.
Yup, and eggs go into so many other things like baked goods…
The eggs at Aldi were $2.98. The farm fresh ones at my CSA farm are $3.98. For a dollar difference, I’ll go to the CSA market. The eggs are better.
But yes, prices on foods have increased. It’s not as big a deal for DH and me…a flexible family of two. But it probably is more challenging for families with kids at home too. Or larger families in some way.
I just bought some chickens on sale today, not the cheapest, I usually pay 99c a pound, today it’s $1.24 a pound.
On FreshDirect where I get my grocery, it’s around $5/lb for chicken and $20/lb for steaks. I eat less than a lb of meat for a meal, so it’s still less than 10 if I were to eat in.
Interesting, I paid $8 for 2 huge packages, not sure how many pound, maybe 8lbs total. I’m able to make 10 meals out of it. This is our weekly ad from Ralph’s.
https://www.ralphs.com/weeklyad
I made the following
Coq au Vin for my husband, he gets 4-5 meals out of it.
Chicken thighs with balsamic vinegar, we get 2 meals out of it
Drumsticks bake with pankro, 2 meals for both of us.
Chicken lemon orzo, 2-3 meals out of it.
So in total we get about 10 meals for $8. About 80c each meal. We do eat a lot of vegetables with these meals though.
I pay a lot more for chicken because I buy the organic/free-range/local etc, but we don’t eat meat a lot, so it works out okay for me.
That is really reasonable. DH bought a package of boneless chicken thighs and paid $6.99 a pound yesterday. Generally I agree with @oldfort that food in this country is really cheap, that’s why I never understood why people said they could’nt afford to buy groceries and going hungry. I can cook nutritious meals for $2 or $3 per person using chicken, tofu, eggs,rice and vegetables. It helps we are not into junk food and alcohol.
Chicken at $6.99 a pound would be a no go for me. We eat at home most of the time and I try many times to work around what’s on sale. I tend to be fairly frugal though and we do have discretionary income. It is tough out there for many people and those of us that don’t have to worry about this as much as others are blessed. Count yourself lucky that you have always been able to afford to buy groceries and have never gone hungry .