Food and Gas Prices: Have I Entered a Time Machine and Landed in the Future?

Today, I took a shopping trip to restock our supplies and literally left the two grocery stores I went to with my jaw dropped. Could it really be that the bags of pasta I will buy in a pinch at Store 1 for $0.67, when I have exhausted my stockpile of $0.40 and $0.50 pasta from door buster sales, were $0.99? I bought one box of pasta for dinner.

Next, off I went to Store 2, where I was faced with rows of highly priced pasta, making the $0.99 I spent look like a bargain. I said to myself. . . ."let them eat lentils," and turned onto the next isle where I placed a 2 pound bag of red lentils costing $3.29 and 4 pounds of regular lentils, costing $3.00 into my cart. Lentils weren't looking like "poor man's food" anymore. But, lentil soup is still a bargain and I have leftover celery and carrots from Pesach. No need for those to go to waste. So I said, "let them eat cake" and I turned onto the next isle and found the least expensive bag of store brand flour was a good $0.50 more than the last time I bought flour. My husband asked me to picked up frozen bagels. I went to Store 2 because they regularly price their store brand, kosher certified, frozen bagels at $1.00 a package. It isn't a great value, but keeping the husband happy is priceless. The new price, $1.50. That is a 50% price increase! I've been reading that rice is being rationed and prices are skyrocketing. Fortunately, rice wasn't on my shopping list. I tend to buy in 10 pound bags. I'm good for a little while longer.

After I left Store 2, I passed by 3 gas stations. When did gas prices jump $0.17? I have a little less than half a tank.

I don't know about you, but even with these prices, I am determined to meet the food budget that we set at the end of last year. I'm not sure how that will be possible, give that I am already frugal. But, I'm determined. I already know that we are going to have to spend more on gas in 2008, although I plan to become as organized as possible about our trips out to minimize gas consumption. I doubt the frum community is going to solve the 'tuition crisis' in the near future. So, I can count on tuition going up. I might be able to spend less on consumer goods (clothing, shoes, etc), to make more room for food purchases. But, I've been wearing much of my clothing for 5 and even 10 years and the time has come to make some replacements because I'm seeing visible fraying. Perhaps the baby will potty train early? Nights too? While we are careful about utilities, I know there is always more room to squeeze there. But, everyone needs to be on board since I have far less control over usage than I do over food shopping.

Anyone else feel like they have entered a time machine and fast forwarded at least a year despite having only been missing in action for 2 weeks max? I'm in price shock.

I still need to write more about cost effective shopping habits. Perhaps if you leave your tips, I will share them too! If I'm not already using your tips, I will also give it a try. Given the impact these prices are bound to have on the average frum family's budget, I'm sure many are open to new ideas.

The Post-Pesach Cleanup

Before Pesach, many of the homemakers shared their lists for getting ready for the Chag. My post-Pesach list seems to resemble my pre-Pesach list almost to the "t."

Post-Pesach:
-Clean all Pesach utensils, cookware, bakeware, and dishes. Clean up would be easier if the holiday didn't seem to require so much oil. I just don't do too much frying during the year.
-Self-clean oven again because you need it to be diary again.
-Clean the table and the chairs with wood cleaning solution. I would surmise the chairs and table are stickier post-Pesach than pre-Pesach.
-Wipe down the refrigerator. I was afraid that I was going to have to take the entire thing apart, but I avoided that.
-Clean the countertops and stove with a good degreaser.
-Vacuum carpets before you have to get the carpet professionally cleaned.
-Sweep floors. The crumbs before Pesach might have been chametz. But, the post-Pesach crumbs are far bigger and far messier and they went everywhere.
-Run the laundry again and again and put it all away. Post-Pesach laundry is proving to be more daunting than pre-Pesach laundry. Perhaps that it because when something had to go pre-Pesach, it was putting away some of my laundry. Now there is just a lot more.
-Carry Pesach cookware and dishes downstairs and store away for next year.
-Bring up chometz from downstairs freezer and bring down leftover frozen chicken soup. (At least I've got a head start on Rosh Hashana?).
-Pay Bills.
-Make lists of how to prepare for next Pesach. 20/20 only works in hindsight.
-Go grocery shopping. I'm almost there!!! (Perhaps I will even procure some really inexpensive Kasher L'Pesach canned goods).
-Cook.
-Clean the bathrooms.
-Check the Bank Accounts--seriously, weird stuff shows up when you aren't looking

I think the only thing missing from the post-Pesach list is cleaning the cars and mopping the floor. No one brought anything crumbly into the car during chol hamoed, nor did anyone have a major spill during the chag. Perhaps these are two open miracles?!?!

Pesach Hotels and Tuition

I got buried in other topics and did not return to my Jewish Observer Review of the "Tuition Dilemma" issue. Not surprisingly, the issue of extreme spending came up in the issue as it relates to Pesach Hotels. For whatever reason, whenever it comes to discussions of gashmuit on parade and/or wasteful spending, all attention turns to Pesach vacation and the vacationers. It ends up focusing the attention away from a culture that we are all immersed in to some extent and laying the blame for materialism at the feet of what I do believe is a sliver of the klal (although the marketing campaigns can make feel like 'everyone' is going away), as if all of our problems with materialism would cease should these families stop making a mass Exodus away to Cancun for Pesach.

In the most recent installment of the Pesach Hotel debate, Jonathan Rosenblum has published a scathing piece in Mishpacha (available here on Cross-Currents) naming Pesach Hotels as the biggest challenge for contemporary Orthodoxy, as per a conversation with an unnamed Los Angeles Rav. Here, the cost of Pesach was suprisingly enough not addressed directly, but instead the article looked at the quest for entertainment, the gorg fest, and some ill behaved guests. Mr. Rosenblum mentioned the Rav grew up with a "particularly biting style of mussar," but I fear that by targeting Pesach vacations, an easy target no doubt, the focus is turned away from our own lives and a spotlight is turned onto other people, i.e. those living it up more than we are, even if we are living far more opulently that we should be living.

I was actually pleased that the comments of Mr. Rosenblum did not focus on a different argument against Pesach vacations which I have heard over and over again and which I believe is a falicy. The Jewish Observer, however, promoted the argument that we could solve communal financial issues if people would stop taking Pesach Vacations. The argument, as extracted from the Jewish Observer is as follows:

"Note the following: The past Pesach [2006], eighty-five hotels in America were filled to capacity by frum Yidden, involving their guests' total expenditures of $175,000,000 (not including Eretz Yisroel or Europe). If some of that money would have gone to our Torah institutions, there would have been enough to subsidize all the families who are unable to pay full tuition."

The falicy of this argument should somewhat obvious. . . . presuming those wealthy enough to spend on exorbinantely priced Pesach vacations are not currently reliant or setting themselves up to be reliant on the community via lack of savings and/or debt financing of luxuries, a big presumption I admit--the discretionary funds used to fund these vacations are coming out of personal funds, not communal funds and forgoing a Pesach vacation isn't going to magically land the money in the community's pot. In other worlds, the finances of a frum family fall into two pockets: 1. The Personal Pocket, roughly between 80-90% of earnings which goes to fund necessary spending, unnecessary spending, and savings, and 2. The Communal Pocket, roughly between 10-20% of earnings which is designated to fund communal institutions such as schools, shuls, mikvaot, bikur holim, scholarships, tomchei, etc.

What is in the Personal Pocket will not automatically jump into the Communal Pocket just because it does not get spent, although, those who live more frugally who save and invest will link their pockets as their savings grow, thereby increasing the Communal Pocket incrementally too (although currently we have experienced a large plummet as of January). The solution to increasing the Communal pocket must include increasing the Personal Pocket. And, as the Personal Pocket grows fatter, you are bound to see luxuries (however you define them) increase because much of the motivation to earn is tied to the motivation to enjoy luxuries.

Yes, the amount spent on Pesach vacation is staggering and astounding. Yes, the level of materialism is far too often beyond the pale (Pesach vacations only being one manifestation of such). Yes, I do believe there is something to engaging in Pesach cleaning and preparing beyond packing a suitcase. But, I do not choose to blame communal financial issues on those that take costly Pesach vacations, nor do I believe that we can label the frum community's largest problem to be Pesach vacations, even if many of the problems manifest themselves rather loudly in the Pesach vacation environment.

Now. . . . .back to scrubbing my floor and cleaning out the refrigerator. At this point, I could be tempted by a Pesach vacation, but I don't like to vacation in a pack, so I will count myself out.

It Really Works: Silver Polishing Tip

I intended to submit this for the Kosher Cooking Carnival Pesach edition hosted by my friend Mom In Israel. But life threw me a few loops and I was tardy.

I picked up a cleaning book at the library that had a tip for polishing silver (you know, that messy job that you never get to, subtly insulting your inlaws who may have bought you the candlesticks or other Judaica that is now barely recognizable). After reading the following tip, I ran home to test it out and lo and behold, it works, although it needed a bit of tweaking for greater effectiveness. I doubt any reader of my blog spends money to have someone else clean their silver, but I know other people who happily pay a lot of money for someone else to shine their candlesticks. So, if I'm knocking some money off any reader's budget by sharing this tip, I will feel quite gratified. (It also worked well for the Silver Plate Kiddush Cups we have).

Line a plastic bin with aluminum foil shiny side up. Put a handful of baking soda in the bin, pour boiling water on top. The tarnish will come right off.

It worked and was far easier and did a far nicer job than the messy silver polishes, but it needed a bit of tweaking. After a little experimentation, I found that it was best to boil water in a large bowl because you want to cover everything at once. A sink lined with foil provides more space than a bin, although a Parve bin and a tea kettle will keep parve items parve. A multi-use sink would be fine for things you don't plan to eat off of, like Candlesticks. You will need to wear a rubber glove to mix the boiling water with the baking soda while turning the silver items if the water doesn't cover everything completely. You will also want to buff up the items with a soft cotton cloth immediately.

This is also a fantastic science experiment for older children. I can't remember enough chemistry to describe how the reaction works, but you will recognize the smell immediately if you have taken AP Chem.

Asking for Payment Equals Lacking Tact????

The following appeared in Rabbi Ginsberg's chinuch column in this week's Yated, which focused this week on character development:

A teacher once shared with me a troubling incident he experienced. A student of his babysat for his children one evening and he promised to pay the student the following day. The teacher was troubled that the student requested payment the following morning and didn’t wait for him to make the payment. He thought that it was possible chutzpah.

I told the teacher that the child was not being disrespectful at all. At the most, the child may have been missing tact, as a student should not demand payment from a teacher, especially the morning after. However, I encouraged the teacher to view it from the eyes of the student, who is, after all, still a child. In the student’s eyes, payment was due and there was nothing wrong with asking for it.

Presuming a payment was requested politely, I certainly don't think it is chuptzah to request money due, nor do I think it lacks tact. Of course, the entire "troubling incident" would have been avoided completely if the pay was handed over by the parent upon returning from a night out. Personally, I wish I was more comfortable discussing pay (in advance). Like most females (I have to wonder if the student referred to was male or female and if the gender played into the accusation of "possible chupzpah" or "missing tact"), I get very uncomfortable discussing pay and/or pressing for payment. The female gender, in particular, has generally been conditioned to confuse work and chessed, oftentimes putting up with no payment, late payments, and/or undercutting business. Where does that get the self-employed/contractor? Unfortunately, not to the bank. Two years ago, I wrote a post offering some tips on discussing pay and ensuring timely payment. Two years later, I'm still working on taking my own advice.

A student who had the guts (or lack of tact, if you prefer) to ask for payment might just be cut out for working within the community and owning a business, perhaps a grocerybusiness. I have seen a handful of letters regarding non-payment and/or tardy payment of debtors and I have had readers write asking me to bring up the subject of just how difficult it is to collect payment when dealing with frum customers and how they are made to feel like beggers when they are rightfully owed money and have even paid expenses related to the job out of their own pocket (perhaps even pushing off their own creditors). So, I hope to continue the discussion on that from a variety of angles.

In the meantime, here is a letter regarding some kosher grocery stores that have banded together to plead with those they have extended credit to to pay up. The fact that business owners have to pay for another ad to ask for money they should have been paid already (or for which a payment plan should have been put into place) is the real chuptzpah.

WHAT A WORLD
Dear Editor,
I was appalled to see an ad in a local
circular from grocery stores asking customers to pay up their balances. Can you imagine? Stores have to band together to get people to pay money that they owe? Why haven’t these people paid up their bills until now? The stores are gracious enough to offer credit, but why do they have to beg people to pay up? Where is the yashrus?

I understand that many people literally don’t have money. Well, you know what? Neither do I. I live day-to-day and dollar-to-dollar. And I only buy the very basic necessities, because I can’t afford more. And yet, when I go into the supermarkets, I see people loading up their wagons until they are practically overflowing. These people then go to the check-out lines and tell the cashier to “put it on my bill.” The cashier then points out to them that they already have $800 on their bill and that all accounts were supposed to be paid up already. I have witnessed this many times. And these people’s children stand there and watch this exchange. What kind of chinuch is this? What kind of generation are we bringing up when storeowners have to plead and beg bechol lashon shel bakasha for people to pay their bills?

Sincerely,Yosef Schorr

I'm afraid the type of chinuch that is being offered is one of cynicism because the kids witness a world that lacks in Yashrut and they see their parents might also be lacking. How different than the chinuch I got from my parents wherein every single bill (invoiced or uninvoiced) that was due was paid immediately and wherein my mother was usually the first to ask, what do I owe you?