by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:
When one of my readers sent me a photo of egg prices at a store in western Washington state, I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I clearly remember when I could purchase a carton of quality eggs at the grocery store for just 99 cents, but thanks to inflation and a bird flu crisis that never seems to end, those days are long gone. Now it is common to pay five, six, seven or even eight dollars for a carton of eggs. In fact, it probably won’t be too long before we crack the ten dollar barrier. In the old days, eggs were considered to be a very inexpensive way to feed your family, but now eggs prices have gone completely insane.
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Unfortunately, it isn’t just egg prices that are spiking.
According to CNN, we just witnessed the largest monthly jump in grocery prices in almost two years…
In November, egg prices shot up by 8.2% nationwide, logging one of the highest monthly spikes in the past two decades, according to Consumer Price Index data released last week. And it’s not just eggs — shoppers have seen jumps in beef, coffee and non-alcoholic beverages, driving up overall grocery prices to their largest monthly gain since January 2023.
And more increases appear to be coming down the pike for the pulped-paper-packed protein: Wholesale prices for chicken eggs soared by nearly 55% last month, and wholesale food prices rose by 3.1% (their highest monthly increase in two years).
Our leaders in Washington promised us that food inflation was under control.
They lied.
I realize that this is very bad news. I have heard from so many of you that are deeply struggling at this moment. Now it appears that food prices are going to go substantially higher in 2025. All of us are just going to have to adapt to this new environment somehow.
If you are barely scraping by from month to month, I want you to understand that you are definitely not alone.
In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau is telling us that 37 percent of Americans are having trouble even paying their most basic bills…
The Census Bureau reports that 37% of Americans are struggling to pay routine bills. Add in the cost of Christmas gifts and other holiday expenses and it can feel overwhelming to keep up with the Clauses.
The National Retail Federation predicts an increase in holiday spending this year, but the rise is more indicative of the higher cost of goods than anything else. We aren’t buying more; it’s just what we are buying costs more than before.
That is more than a third of the country.
It is difficult for people to hear that they aren’t going to be able to live the way that they previously did.
In an attempt to keep their lifestyles the same, many Americans are racking up credit card debt like never before…
A new study of Americans credit card debt finds the average household credit card balance as of the third quarter of 2024, was around $10,757 after adjusting for inflation.
That according to the personal-finance website WalletHub which Friday released its new Credit Card Debt Study, which found that consumers added $21 billion in debt during the third quarter of 2024.
Early results for the fourth quarter of the year show preliminary data for October at a new record high for credit card debt in the month, in absolute terms.
Sadly, we have now reached a point where debt saturation is becoming a major problem and delinquencies are rising.
Consumers simply cannot spend money like they once did, and the retail industry is really struggling as a result.
So far this year, retailers have announced the closing of more than 7,000 stores. That represents an increase of 69 percent from last year…
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