HARD TIMES AHEAD?

Well, let’s talk of hard times some more. There comes to me in times like these a sort of spirit of battle. I feel it as a challenge to me to outwit circumstances, but I can’t have my way and the little expediencies that I would resort to only arouse irritation in Dad. I could fairly thrive in the situation if I had someone to co-operate with me. You see what I mean? – Ina Dobson, 1932

I think we’re in for some difficult times. I have once again taken up the study of managing in hard times. Like Ina, I will try to outwit circumstances.

For 50 years, Mike and I have agreed that we could afford to buy groceries. We would spend it at the grocery store, we said, and the family – all of us – would eat well. Now with a nervous stock market and uncertainty over tariffs, I’m not so confident about the future.

Sticker shock seems to grow steadily worse, and I truly think twice about what I buy. I don’t know how much longer I can afford to shop Albertsons, one of the most expensive grocery stores. I like Albertsons because the store isn’t crowded, the lay-out is familiar to me, they check me out and bag my purchases, and it’s the closest major grocery store to my home. Plus, in Washington state, we don’t pay tax on groceries. And Albertsons also rewards us with gas points, which seems important when it’s time to buy gas. Son Milo insisted we would be better off to shop Winco and pay full price for our gas. He might have been right, and we do stop at Winco from time to time, but I still take my main list to Albertsons. If it’s one thing the pandemic taught me it’s to be wary of crowds.

But prices are high everywhere right now. I have walked away from products at Albertsons, only to see the same item isn’t much less at Walmart or Winco. “I can’t believe how expensive everything is,” commented Mike recently, “and this is Walmart!” In fact, the other day at Winco, I marveled at the price of chocolate chips, and I didn’t buy them. At some point, I no longer want to pay the price for these things. Baking morsels are now a luxury item.

I’ve been thinking of reducing my stashes, but if I have usable fabric and yarn, why get rid of it now? I should at least wait through this period of uncertainty. Also, with the closure of JoAnn Fabrics, less is now available locally than heretofore. Will another retailer take up the slack? KW