Prices Going Up

Everything costs more these days, there really is no debate about that. What you can argue, however, is whether all price hikes are caused by inflation or something else. I am no economist so I can’t give an expert opinion but I can unequivocally say the following: This blogger is often annoyed and impacted by the constant price escalations. Heck, even my blog hosting fees doubled this year!

Just this past week I was a little agitated by a few items that seemed to be priced excessively. Because I am a good American and reserve my right to complain, I thought I would use tonight to point out what they were. Okay consumers, watch out for the following…

Sunscreen ($15.49 for 5 oz. bottle) – In response to last week’s heat wave, Beau’s daycare contacted all parents and requested we bring in a bottle of sunscreen for our respective children. The daycare employees then label each bottle and apply it on the kids before they go out for recess. I am all for the application of sunscreen but I wasn’t enthusiastic about the prices. I went to Safeway on Thursday morning and couldn’t believe how much they wanted for a small bottle. Obviously Sidney had done the sunscreen shopping for the past several years because I could not remember a time when the product was so expensive. I ended up opting for the double pack generic brand that I could secure for $16.99.

A photo I took of the corner of the sunscreen aisle at Safeway. Prices are getting outrageous.

Parking ($18.34) – On Friday, Sloan and I went to the Bloomsday Trade Show in downtown Spokane. Yes, I knew I would have to purchase parking but I had no idea how much that would end up costing. We felt we lucked out by finding a single spot in a packed lot when a car pulled out. I prepared myself to pay up to $10 for the hour we would be there but was a little mortified when presented with the $18.34 minimum charge. By default, the app offered the price for four hours. I managed to highlight just an hour time block but the price was the same. When we left the lot after visiting the trade show, we had paid about $1 per every three minutes we were parked.

If we weren’t already out of our car there is no way I would have paid this.

Lotus Drinks ($11.56 for 2) – I have written before that while I don’t drink coffee, I will sometimes order Lotus energy drinks from the espresso stands that are on every corner in Spokane. Believe it or not, I have even converted Sid to embrace my taste as she has ditched her typical white chocolate mocha for a Lotus. We try to treat ourselves once a week to espresso drinks but it seems like we might have to revert to a can of Rockstar instead. To be fair, these espresso stands have been placing notes on their menu for several months now warning about price increases but paying over $10 for a couple drinks is still a tough pill to swallow.

These were our Lotus drinks from last week. So good but perhaps too expensive.

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Okay, time to stop complaining. To be honest, there are items and services out there that are still affordable so perhaps I will highlight them one of these days. Until then, make smart decisions with your hard-earned money. Don’t Blink.

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