To add to your INTEL Wellie, I reported in an earlier post that a company I use to work for sales have dropped considerably.
I forget where I posted this but in a nutshell I was in one of the stores I use to oversee in another life. I was shooting the bull with the str mgr and he told me that sales had taken a swan dive right after Independence Day. When I was there was the third week of August.
They had already laid-off their seasonal help which doesn't usually happen till October. As he put it "We cut payroll to the bone as if it was January." He also told me that a new store they had spent $250K+ on (Construction, fixtures, computers, inventory and the payroll used to put it together) was open but they were not going to GO (Grand Open) it till the spring.
If I was in charge again it would have never happened! GO's run $20K which is cheap if you let customers know you exist. It wasn't uncommon to do $100K in sales the wknd of the GO.
Penny wise and pound foolish if you ask me. Anyhow....I Digress.
I encourage everyone who reads this topic to pick 20 items (food) and to compare the prices every time you are in the grocery store. Mine are: Choice rib eye steaks, Hamburger 80/20, chicken thighs, Skippy peanut butter 16oz, Land O'Lakes salted butter, store brand paper plates 10", ears of corn, basic tomatoes by the lb, potatoes by the lb, VO5 shampoo & conditioner, Starbucks 12oz coffee, Sugar (4lbs now did you notice), King Aurthur flour, Hershey's powdered semi-sweet chocolate 12oz can (I think), San Adams Lager or Yuengling if I am at the cabin, wide egg noodles by the lb (most are now being sold in 12 oz sizes), cat food - cans & dried, and sweet Lebanon baloney are what I have been watching. Pick your own 20 OR 10 and see what inflation is in your neck of the woods.
Saturday MrsMac and I went out to dinner which is the first time in months. The mid-prices restaurant was only 50% full ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! Usually there is a 15-20 minute wait at the time we usually get there.
This is going to an interesting winter. Stay tuned...
