Something I noticed while at the grocery store...

Dez Bryant picks up $55,000 dinner tab for Cowboys' teammates
[link to content.usatoday.com]

Deacadent...
1. characterized by decadence, esp. culturally or morally: a decadent life of excessive money and no sense of responsibility.

Pretty much sums it up....


Yeah, on $55,000 I could pay all my bills and eat steak at least once a week feeding a family of 5 for a year.

I manage to do the same for around $25,000 a year! Says ALOT about the society we find ourselves living in!

We have nothing like a meat markdown bin here. But when my cash runs low, I focus on more nutritious low-cost foods, like beans, on-sales cheeses, veggies from the low-end veggie market in the next town. The special from the meat market in the other next town over.

I still always see people here filling carts with non-food, diet soda, frozen dinners, bagged snack foods, cookies and boxed pastries, the stuff that cannot keep you alive. People buy this stuff actually believing it is food!! and necessary to their lives. It is no wonder why most of us are overweight and sick. Feed us junk, make us sick, and keep the medical industry going strong. Why can't people smarten up?

...end of rant.

South Jersey checking in here..my local Shoprite is always crammed with food and other things, and it's a very good deal IF you shop the sales which i always do! Aldi's is good too, but you can get meat and some groceries much cheaper at Shoprite when it's on sale. Aldi's is great for banannas (always 39 cents a lb.), fancy european chocolates and cookies etc., and staples such as trash bags, food storage bags and so forth.Also frozen food. For the rest of what the Jersey lady said, she's pretty much on target, but i only recently started shopping at walmart, so i'll have to investigate what folks are saying about it. (EDIT)


I might assume you were referring to my post, however, the major thing to realize is that I am not a female poster, rather, a recently let-go senior level healthcare executive (male).

This should not be construed into some warped male/female issue, as what I am about to say has nothing to do with genger.

My reporting in NJ, has to do with my personal interactions with many people, male and female alike, as I am used to talking to complete strangers with ease.

The one fact I reported was that what appeared to be a high influx of male shoppers doing their homework and figuring out how to almost "make money" shopping by doing diligent research on their coupons. Not sure if these folks were bankers, investers, etc, but certainly, they were keen on their math. The only reason likely that they were so frank and open with me is because I was ONE OF THEM. Just another DAD shopping and trying to find a good deal. Just as I am sure many multitudes of Moms do every day.

I will also add this, now that another has posted it, that checking expiration dates on meats, dairy and canned items is imperative. More than a few times, in major food suppliers, I had to report out of date items. I thought little of it then, as it is likely easy to have outdated items pop up as I am sure there are no "date checkers" for each and every item in every supermarket. However, I am willing to bet that this is not an anomaly, rather, a way to sell outdated goods without the public knowing.

Now, I look at each and every item. If I buy 20 of the same thing (such as canned tomatoes, etc) you bet I am looking at the dates on each can as well as for dents, etc.

For those "survivalists" out there.... here's a little tip:

1. Whole grain products like "real" brown rice and whole wheat pasta are usually a good deal if you know where to look. And, as unpleasant as one might think, you can chow down on the stuff uncooked in the even water becomes an issue. The good news: You will be fuller longer, the carbohydrates in these complex starches will burn off slower and keep a steady blood-glucose level, and, even better, the by-product of the human body burning CHO3 (Carbohydrates) is H20 (water).

2. You will need to invest in canned nuts... no joke. Or bottled.. either way, you will need a complete protein source, and nuts will do it, along with the "good" fats as well. They will also trigger your hunger-center to register as full pretty quick, so, a few ounces of nuts go a long way and will give you the nutrients you need.

3. Cheap Multivitamins: Buy em now.... don't wait. You can easily go to Dollar General and get generic multivitamins to last you 4 years for less than $20.00

4. Canned Beans: Another complete protein... stock up... they are generally cheap, filling and will give you all you need without the need for cooking should that be the case.

5. Bleach. It's cheap... it kills nearly everything, and with the proper research, you can sterilize nearly everything with it and make it edible.

We have nothing like a meat markdown bin here. But when my cash runs low, I focus on more nutritious low-cost foods, like beans, on-sales cheeses, veggies from the low-end veggie market in the next town. The special from the meat market in the other next town over.

I still always see people here filling carts with non-food, diet soda, frozen dinners, bagged snack foods, cookies and boxed pastries, the stuff that cannot keep you alive. People buy this stuff actually believing it is food!! and necessary to their lives. It is no wonder why most of us are overweight and sick. Feed us junk, make us sick, and keep the medical industry going strong. Why can't people smarten up?

...end of rant.

Nothing wrong with eating all that stuff.its food it does the job and it tastes great too.Chips you buy at the store are actual potatos just cooked different.Whats wrong with drinking soda.i feel good after i drink a soda.chocolate bars are nutrious they have milk eggs nuts and stuff.cookies are made withflour eggs oatmeal,nuts,etc,same with cakes and pastries are really good for your body.
i dont think you know what you are talking about.

Have not read all the post but just wanted to put my two cents in. Live in small town USA. About 2500 people. We have a wal mart and one other grocery store. For the last two years and especially this last year our wal mart is not being stocked the way it used to be. Many items they do not carry anymore and only a few cans on the shelves. We have to drive at least 30-50 miles to get to a larger town to shop, so I really don't understand why they would not keep ours full.

Also hiring freeze at our wal mart and the isles are a mile wide now. Saw an older gentlemen with a cart and the only thing he had in it was dry beans, different kinds, and corn bread mix packs, eggs and milk and two breads. No meats, no frills, I know he must be hurting for food. So sad.

I think it is just another sign that we are not doing as well as they want us to think. Keep the illusion as long as possible. My kids don't listen to me so one day they may wind up at my house just for food. LOL

Walmart hasn't ran a "weekly ad flyer" in two weeks....this morning I checked and read this...

"Come back on October 10 to see the new Local Ad."
[link to www.walmart.com]

I live in Arkansas and WEEKLY FLYERS have never DISAPPEARED?

I have noticed that at my grocery too. I don't live in an affluent part of town but I was shocked to take a can of baked beans off the shelf and, with the exception of a row of cans across the front of the shelf, there was nothing behind them! The shelves all looked perfectly stocked until you take one from the row. After I saw this I went around and pulled several items and discovered this alarming practice! They have created a facade of abundance by pulling all items to the front and not restocking. Maybe it was at the end of the day (idk) or maybe the stock boy is just lazy. I will give them the benefit of the doubt but if it IS from lack of inventory on our FOOD SUPPLY, better start hedging our bets!

1116746:

Hang in there, KS... I'm also in Wichita and you're quite right, this area has been spared alot of the misery that has been plaguing our nation. Cosmopolitan wags have always said Kansas was three years behind everybody else.... so, in this case, perhaps that's helped us just a bit!

However: that is now changing [or soon will dramatically, if Hawker Beechcraft decides to pull out of town like they've threatened - this will be a deathknell for our local Wichita economy] and the national playing field is being steadily levelled.

As for myself: the one thing I gained from the entire Y2K debacle was the wisdom of keeping a well-stocked pantry, and I've done this ever since 1999. I even expanded it by 50% a couple of years ago when I noticed food prices starting their upward spiral with no end in sight. Keeping it stocked is a constant process, but buying 1 or 2 extra cans at a time is still manageable!

Tomorrow I'm taking my 85-yr old Mother to ALDI's to help her stock up her pantry a bit. She's told me horror stories of living in Abilene KS [a small farm community about 100 miles north of here] during the Great Depression of the 1930's and remembers clearly what those dismal past years were like.

ALWAYS look to the PAST for clues to what our FUTURE may hold!!!

I have noticed that there doesn't seem to be as much inventory as there used to be. My local chain store used to be full to the brim on the shelves and the aisles were almost impassable with floor displays. Now it seems that there are limited numbers of items on the shelves and less choices and I can pass another cart just about anywhere that I please. Also prices have risen by 15-20% over the last year or so.

Anyone else notice something like this happening in their area lately?


Actually, no. I've been surprised to see that the affluent people are still spending as foolishly luxurious as they always have. Then again, so am I.

Anyone else notice something like this happening in their area lately?


Actually, no. I've been surprised to see that the affluent people are still spending as foolishly luxurious as they always have. Then again, so am I.


The amount of money you save by being thrifty is pointless as inflation will devour any paltry savings you achieve. The trouble is too many people in debt.

We have nothing like a meat markdown bin here. But when my cash runs low, I focus on more nutritious low-cost foods, like beans, on-sales cheeses, veggies from the low-end veggie market in the next town. The special from the meat market in the other next town over.

I still always see people here filling carts with non-food, diet soda, frozen dinners, bagged snack foods, cookies and boxed pastries, the stuff that cannot keep you alive. People buy this stuff actually believing it is food!! and necessary to their lives. It is no wonder why most of us are overweight and sick. Feed us junk, make us sick, and keep the medical industry going strong. Why can't people smarten up?

...end of rant.

Kansas here - our area seems to be holding up ok but we are starting to notice a few things. We shop on base at the commissary about 1 time a month. There prices have slowly started inching up on products but they do still have good sales. The odd thing is that in the entire time I have been shopping there they have never been out of anything - this past week they were out of pepper and out of the chopped garlic that you can buy in the jar. We go to the local Dillons store (owned by Kroger) in between and they seem to be ok - prices are higher and sales seem to not be as good as they once were. We also have been into Wal-mart - it seems the worst - the aisles have been widened and the shelves are bare a lot of times with the wal-mart brand being sold out alot of the time. Things they used to carry they no longer carry - we mostly only go there for liquid soap and trac phone cards now. My cousin was out of a technology job for almost 1 year and has found a job but the pay is almost 1/2 of what she was making and benefits are not very good. Both of my parents are working for a small company which is about to go under and my step son just worked his last day today as his company told them on Monday they were closing there doors. Overall it seems to us things are continuing to go down hill - for now we are hanging in.

1116746:

Hang in there, KS... I'm also in Wichita and you're quite right, this area has been spared alot of the misery that has been plaguing our nation. Cosmopolitan wags have always said Kansas was three years behind everybody else.... so, in this case, perhaps that's helped us just a bit!

However: that is now changing [or soon will dramatically, if Hawker Beechcraft decides to pull out of town like they've threatened - this will be a deathknell for our local Wichita economy] and the national playing field is being steadily levelled.

As for myself: the one thing I gained from the entire Y2K debacle was the wisdom of keeping a well-stocked pantry, and I've done this ever since 1999. I even expanded it by 50% a couple of years ago when I noticed food prices starting their upward spiral with no end in sight. Keeping it stocked is a constant process, but buying 1 or 2 extra cans at a time is still manageable!

Tomorrow I'm taking my 85-yr old Mother to ALDI's to help her stock up her pantry a bit. She's told me horror stories of living in Abilene KS [a small farm community about 100 miles north of here] during the Great Depression of the 1930's and remembers clearly what those dismal past years were like.

ALWAYS look to the PAST for clues to what our FUTURE may hold!!!

I have noticed that there doesn't seem to be as much inventory as there used to be. My local chain store used to be full to the brim on the shelves and the aisles were almost impassable with floor displays. Now it seems that there are limited numbers of items on the shelves and less choices and I can pass another cart just about anywhere that I please. Also prices have risen by 15-20% over the last year or so.


I work as a Vendor and go from store to store... Albertsons, Ralphs, food4less, stater-bros etc... They have a 'new' system of "on-demand" ordering. Where once they had extra inventory in the back room/receiving, now it's essentially empty with just one extra load per week. This looks better on the books. Many items are now "faced" with only a single row--nothing in the back. Their computer system keeps track of inventory trends and thus will not automatically order items that are minimally in stock. They literally have NOTHING in the back to stock. Night crew merchandisers will now usually consist of only 4 employees for general merchandise with the rest of the stocking burden being placed on the manufacturers that BUY shelf space---which is almost everyone...

Anyone else notice something like this happening in their area lately?


Actually, no. I've been surprised to see that the affluent people are still spending as foolishly luxurious as they always have. Then again, so am I.


The amount of money you save by being thrifty is pointless as inflation will devour any paltry savings you achieve. The trouble is too many people in debt.

There is a disconnect somewhere.

Something isnt adding up.

All i see is people spending money. Restaurants packed. Mall Packed, shopping centers packed.=====All the time!!!

I see new cars just bought with 30 days tags, frequently...

I hear about friends finding jobs, good ones....

everybody in my family is working. good paying jobs.


i dont know one person who is out of work anymore. And from what i gather, there is a lot of work to be done....

I think maybe business has beem cautious with hiring...but soon, maybe during the upcoming holdays and into next year were going to see a sruge of jobs being offered....


we are in recovery...no doubt about it. Its taken some time, but I see it and others do too. 2011 is going to be a good year for the economy.....

But, then I "read" everything here, and I listen to the self proclaimed "expert" analyst like schiff and celente and others and they just keep saying the same ole shit they were saying 5 years ago....

I honestly think they are making a killing selling FEAR. Sex sells , Voilence sells and so does FEAR.

99% Oof the MSM is bullshit. You guys even agree with that....so why would you believe that shit now? Because it is what you want to hear.....

when the MSM says things doomers like, they post all over the place as proof.....if doomers dont like it.....they say the MSM is bullshit and lying....

99% of the internet blogs, doom, is total bullshit.


go outside.....look and see for yourself.......

The doomers were wrong, control freaks like that guy at LATOC, Kunstler, tickerforum.org, zerohedge, sachiff, celetene , simmons, etc etc...

the gold bugs have made out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they have been making a killing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

selling FEAR. WIn 2011 it will be crytal clear that the recession is over, and when that happens.....just hope u had already sold your gold. because that is the new bubble.

I have noticed that when in the shops, that the size of the net weight of goods keeps getting smaller, while the price continues to climb. So as time goes on, less and less on the shelves, while the population keeps growing; this will not end well if this continues.

OP, Southeast PA here. I have recently taken a part time job because I was laid off last month. The job entails taking pictures of homes going in to foreclosure.

I am seeing homes in foreclosure from shacks to mansions. There is an equal amount of homes in all ranges. No one is omitted from this economic crisis.

There is one difference that I am seeing that makes me say hmmm. The million dollar homes still occupied by owners are being cared for regardless that they are going to foreclosure. The lawns and shrubs are beautifully maintained and the home looks impeccable. However, the mid to lower range homes are being let to rot 50% of the time, even though the homeowner is still living in the house. It seems like the mid to lower range income families are loosing their pride. It is very sad to see.

My son's ex-wife recently dumped their home in my son's lap. She was 12 months back on the payments and the mortgage company was starting foreclosure procedures. My son was able to work out a deal with them to stop the process and they were very agreeable, of course. They don't want it back - they have too many. He paid all the fees for the arrears and they put the 12 payments on the end of the mortgage.

I hope that people who are loosing their homes can learn to have hope. A new job is always possible and if that happens, the mortgage company will be ever so happy to work things out. Unfortunately, many people want to let their homes go and are sticking it to the mortgage company by letting the houses go to the dogs and living there without paying for as long as possible. Have they given up hope or do they just not care? I really want to understand. I do know that many people are giving up because their homes value has decreased below the amount of their mortgage and that is understandable. However, there are people giving up who have houses that still have some equity....

I have noticed that there doesn't seem to be as much inventory as there used to be. My local chain store used to be full to the brim on the shelves and the aisles were almost impassable with floor displays. Now it seems that there are limited numbers of items on the shelves and less choices and I can pass another cart just about anywhere that I please. Also prices have risen by 15-20% over the last year or so.


I work as a Vendor and go from store to store... Albertsons, Ralphs, food4less, stater-bros etc... They have a 'new' system of "on-demand" ordering. Where once they had extra inventory in the back room/receiving, now it's essentially empty with just one extra load per week. This looks better on the books. Many items are now "faced" with only a single row--nothing in the back. Their computer system keeps track of inventory trends and thus will not automatically order items that are minimally in stock. They literally have NOTHING in the back to stock. Night crew merchandisers will now usually consist of only 4 employees for general merchandise with the rest of the stocking burden being placed on the manufacturers that BUY shelf space---which is almost everyone...

No, nothing new in my burb of Atlanta. They are out of stock with some regularity, but that's because they can't find the help to stock up before the next day (kids are back at school and adults don't want to work at Kroger). I'm there almost every day (I like my produce fresh) and the stock outs definitely follow a pattern: Sunday a.m., Friday & Sat night...