Surviving a world of rising prices

Tips to manage your costs while prices are soaring

Money Media, Personal Finance

Prices have a way of sneaking up on you…a few cents here and there and you barely notice until one day you hand over a twenty-dollar bill for your margherita pizza and the shy young cashier grimaces. He awkwardly attempts to apologize for your faux pas, “Excuse me ma’am, I’m sorry, it’s $23.75.” What? Maybe it’s the ma’am, maybe it’s the sheer exhaustion of reaching back into your wallet to find another five bucks, but you snap. Suddenly it’s like your father has taken over your power of speech. “Why you young whipper-snapper, I remember when two large pizzas would never cost more than $18!” These days, such a reaction is not unreasonable. Prices aren’t just sneaking up on us, they are boldly leaping in front of us and pounding on their expanded chests in the supermarket aisle, at the gas station and in the department store. So what’s going on? read more »