This is the way I look at it. Life has ups and downs. Those of us who have profited from a great stock market, low unemployment, low inflation, and low interest rates now are experiencing some inflation.
Nobody wants inflation, but in an 85-year lifespan, everyone has to expect to live through various economic conditions and various political conditions. Pi-VOT!
Holidays won’t be less expensive……
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/10/26/avian-flu-turkey-prices-holidays/
“With Thanksgiving fast approaching, turkey farmers from California to Pennsylvania are watching in horror as a virulent new strain of avian influenza wipes out their flocks, killing birds practically overnight and forcing hundreds of thousands more to be euthanized to prevent further infection.
The rampant spread of the virus has already eliminated more than 6 million turkeys nationwide, about 14 percent of the nation’s total turkey production, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. It is leaving farmers short of their usual offerings and pushing up prices for those that remain, forcing consumers already walloped by inflation to pay an additional 20 percent or more per pound for Thanksgiving turkeys compared with prices last year, according to several estimates.”
I notice prices on home repair, groceries, and fuel going up and up. I am looking for ways to combine trips to save on fuel, buy cheaper eggs, and downsizing home projects. I can afford them but it is still shocking to pay over 50% more than I was used to a short while ago.
We go to Trader Joes for our three turkeys. That happened after one year well before Covid when we got the bill from the Turkey farm and it was more than $85 per turkey. TJ turkeys are excellent, pre-brined and high quality. Plus you don’t have to pick it up. My husbands family cook a lot and no one noticed the year we switched.
One thing is, you have to know the date they come in as they go fast.
This year I’m buying things early, mainly to get it out of the way and not get stuck with empty shelves. I do feel for young families and those on a strict budget. Prices are insane for food. And our egg farmer never reopened after Covid. The food pantry is begging for donations.
I just ordered my turkey from our local turkey farm…at $6/lb 
I’ll be paying more than $100 for that bird. I would personally be happy with a grocery store turkey as its all about the sides for me, but my H (our Thanksgiving chef) insists on a local, fresh bird 
We always do Butterball and I already have two purchased for our two separate Thanksgiving feasts. If the prices were different from last year I wouldn’t know as I don’t recall last year’s prices.
I feel for the farmers losing their flocks though. That definitely must hurt their finances - not sure if any sort of crop insurance might be out there?
One of our Butterballs might not be needed since FIL has been turkey hunting and has until Nov 4th to get one he’d want used in our feast with him. That one won’t taste nearly as good as a Butterball, so I’m rooting for the turkeys in his hunt.
I ordered an organic, fresh turkey from a local farm through our butcher. $5.75/pound.
I also ordered from a local farm. While the price is hideous for a turkey, it’s a small price to pay for keeping the land open and in agriculture.
I always buy my turkey from TJ, in years past I bought the Kosher version, last year I switched non kosher version. I hope it’s not ridiculously priced this year.
What was the verdict on the switch? I assume your mention of ‘Kosher version’ is the same as the upthread mention of a brined turkey at TJ’s.
No difference, I have no idea why I bought the kosher version, I think years ago prices were very similar, I didn’t pay attention. Now I do.
wow, so that would mean for us with 3 x 20 lbs about $360 bucks.
TJ’s has kosher and non kosher brined and I think unburned as well. We’ve tried kosher and non both were good. One wasn’t better IMO than the other.
We have a least a dozen turkeys in the neighborhood : ) There is one street where they linger a lot. Strangely enough they seem to hang out more in people’s yard than large farm lands. There aren’t any farms close by that sell turkeys. You have to order them from a farm. The farms deliver them a couple of days before Thanksgiving.
This link might help with what turkey to buy.
None of us really likes turkey, so we decided last year that we’d do ham or chicken going forward. We’re pretty price insensitive on holiday food but, as there will be only three of us this year, it probably won’t matter much what we choose for the main dish.
Our family loves roasted turkey - all except one DIL who is vegetarian and even she loves our homemade, in the bird, stuffing. We’ll do one for feasts even when it’s not Thanksgiving. H and I will even do one for the two of us a couple of times in the winter, then enjoy leftovers for some time.
I don’t care for smoked or deep fried turkey, just delicious, juicy, roasted varieties with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy (all from scratch).
Last year for Thanksgiving D23 came home from school and promptly had a 102.5 temp. With possible covid we stayed home and it was the best Thanksgiving. I got to have all the stuffed shells with homemade sauce and meatballs myself and didn’t have to eat my SIL’s terrible cooking 
In doing a little research, I came across this Census map showing the median household income by county. The highest income color was dark green which is a HOUSEHOLD income of $75k+. Of course, the median means that 50% have higher incomes and 50% have lower incomes. Thus, upper middle class incomes are definitely going to be above these medians. That said, however, there are vast swaths of the country where the median household income is less than $40k. In places like those, a household income of $75k may well qualify as upper middle class.
Just thought it was an interesting graphic to add additional perspective into the conversation about upper middle class individuals and possible struggles with inflation, as I don’t think that many CCers’ concept of upper middle class always coincides with what data points might suggest as upper middle class.
[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]
I find myself re-learning one of the oldest of all adages: “Never go shopping on an empty stomach.”
Interesting. Latest data is 2017 if I’m reading it correctly.
Just got a tax bill from the county. The tax is up about 80% for next year!