Can Prices Get Any More Ridiculous?

I have to take a short break between Savannah posts to express my disgust at some things that are getting under my skin right now. First, gas is ridiculous. Seriously, I wish I could put together a nationwide boycott. Don't buy gas and don't drive for an entire day. Could you imagine if people across the US participated? How cool would that be! I never thought I'd see the day that gas would be as high as it is and is going to continue to climb. It makes me sick. It makes me want to start brewing my own biodiesel fuel in the garage. I'm sick to death of our government being more concerned with people in other countries than they are with people in this country. How in the world can we fix things in other countries if things in our country are so broken?

What really got me was my weekly grocery shopping trip today. You know, I've noticed dairy going up for awhile now. Eggs, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream; it's gone up quite a bit. I don't like it but I was learning to deal with it. I started buying good eggs from a family in our church and I just warned the kids to watch their milk and sour cream intake. I don't know about your house but around here, we could all drink milk like it's going out of style and sour cream is one of our favorite condiments. So anyway, I go to get my laundry detergent. I normally buy Gain because it smells good, cleans pretty well, and it's a good "middle of the road" price. I really want to buy Tide but refrain because I need to have some money in the bank. Well, when I find the Gain, I start to look for the big 120 loads box. Oh, I found it. And I found its price tag. Normally I pay $14 for this. Oh but no. Today it had a new price tag.....$20!!! Could someone please tell me how in the world laundry detergent goes up $6 in one month? Really, I need an explanation. I was livid, as were several other shoppers in the aisle.

Driving home, I told my husband that I finally understand just how bad our economy is getting. Can you say RECESSION? I know people might think I'm a nut but I'm telling you, it's getting hard to purchase the essentials now. I see lots of "green" options being researched and used in our house. If you've got any to share, send them my way. Something else I've been turned onto lately is The Grocery Game. If you're not familiar with this, research it or better yet, try it. It's a wonderful way to stockpile. A friend at church told me about it and I'm trying to use it to my advantage.

This is kind of wacky but I wonder if any of you have tried powdered milk? What do you think of it? How does it compare to regular milk? I'm thinking of using it in place of regular milk. You can buy a box of it and I think it'll last much longer than a gallon of milk. Just add water and viola!

While I'm sure we all find ways to adjust to price increases, it just seems like it's getting out of hand. Gas and groceries are things we need. I can't imagine what the price increase is doing to families who fall below poverty level. I've finally reached my breaking point so it's time to giddy up and find some alternative solutions. How about you? Do you have any helpful tips for me? How are you coping with these price increases?