Wind In My Head: More rising costs
Wind In My Head
Thursday, April 10, 2008
More rising costs
I was sent to the supermarket last night to buy rice for my children. My children eat a fistful of rice everyday so the last time I bought rice for them, I think they hadn't sprouted teeth yet. Anyway, they eat brown rice and when I approached the rice aisle at the supermarket, I was taken aback at how much it looked like a Russian supermarket during the Soviet era. Our supermarkets are the crown jewel of the wealth of choice in our capitalist societies. Except for rice. Because of the fears of rice going beyond $700 a tonne, people hoard them. As a result, the shelves are empty and even the brown calrose rice that I feed my kids is affected. One, the one that I usually buy was out of stock. Two, the one that I bought cost more than I remembered the previous one to be. Three, there were only two packets left. But like I say, because the kids eat so little, I didn't see the need to indulge my inner Kiasu-ness and buy all to keep.But I am annoyed. I am annoyed that everything is more expensive. Juice that used to cost $3.90 on offer is now $4.20 on offer. The kids' diapers cost more too. I know everyone's complaining about it and it's all around but the message gets driven home in the smallest of ways.
Now, not only do I have to watch the number of times I drink iced tea and eat my favourite cranberry muffins from Coffee Bean (which have increased by 50 cents)- these are admittedly flighty things, I have to worry about how my dollar has to stretch far enough to clothe the bums of the kids and feed them (formula is DAMN expensive and people ask why I am reluctant to wean).
So, when we left the supermarket and drove off and I realised we didn't claim the parking that we could, I was inexplicably pissed off. It was just a dollar but I'm beginning to realise that a dollar is still a dollar and even though it might buy less, it still contributes to buying some things...like 2.5 diapers.
But some people will say that we can buy home brand items and still eat cake. And that's when the pitchforks or in our case parangs come a brandishing and a revolution shall be on the way.
Technorati Tags: Singapore, babies, rising costs
Ondine tossed this thought in at 09:49
1 thoughts...
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At 3:46 pm
sandy said... There's definitely profiteering in the air. My benchmark for inflation is Lay's potato chips. They used to be priced from $2.85 to $3.15. Now the US$ is down 10 percent against the S$, there is no change in packaging or ingredients. Yet NTUC, founded supposedly to provide affordable foodstuff, are pricing them at as high as $3.60. But I wait. Sales goes down. Now they are "on sale" at $3.10.