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.