Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Sunday, February 15, 2026
The cost of making a banana bread at home for breakfast spiked 57% in 2023 and 70% in 2025 from Jan 2020, and is still up 31% in Jan 2026
The ingredients in the data below come from the Gold Medal Flour Best-Ever Banana Bread recipe printed on the package, minus the (small amounts of):
vanilla (1 teaspoon), baking soda (1 teaspoon), salt (1 teaspoon), and the nuts (1 cup, optional anyway), for which I do not have the data.
Saturday, February 14, 2026
It could be worse: If the average price of coffee in this chart had kept up with inflation since Jan 1980, the average price in Jan 2026 would be $13.42 instead of $9.37
Soaring coffee prices rewrite daily routines...
... Coffee prices in the U.S. were up 18.3% in January from a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released on Friday. Over five years, the government reported, coffee prices rose 47%. ...
Friday, February 13, 2026
On the eve of the election Trump promised cheaper grocery prices, but breakfast costs nearly 8% more in Jan 2026 than it did then
A basket of bacon and eggs, whole wheat bread and butter, coffee and whole milk, and orange juice cost on average $32.47 in the United States in 3Q2024. Stretched out over a week, your breakfast cost you $4.64 a day.
That same basket in Jan 2026 is now $35.00 on average, up $2.53 or 7.8%.
Stretched out over a week breakfast now costs $5.00 a day.
Meanwhile OJ hit a new high, and despite removing some coffee-related tariffs, coffee hit a new record high price in Jan 2026, too.
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
100% ground beef averaged a record $6.089 in year one of Trump 2.0, and hit a record high $6.687 in Dec 2025 to celebrate the New Golden Age for them, not for you
Like many other such graphs, the graph for 100% Ground Beef won't show the 2025 average because the government shutdown meant no figure for October in the data.
The average $6.089 in 2025 is for eleven months without October, with October obviously a high figure, too, which means the annual average is no doubt higher than $6.089.
Saturday, December 27, 2025
Three in four Americans say groceries are so expensive they’ve been forced to cut down on entertainment, travel, clothing, and food and drink away from home
Reported here.
So, what do those of us cut, who long ago completely cut out entertainment, travel, food and drink away from home, and mend the clothes we cannot replace?
Drink period, for starters:
THE alcohol industry has faced financial hardship in 2025, leading to several distilleries filing for bankruptcy as Americans are drinking at the lowest levels in history. ... An August poll conducted by Gallup found that 54% of adults say they consume alcohol, which was down from 58% in 2024 and 62% in 2023. Gallup said the 54% finding is “the lowest by one percentage point in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend.” ... Gallup found that 53% of Americans said having one or two drinks a day is bad for one’s health, while 37% say it makes no difference and 6% say it’s good for one’s health. ...
More.
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Friday, November 7, 2025
Victor Davis Hanson wouldn't know chaos if it walked up and introduced itself
Monday, October 27, 2025
Prices of 20 food items posted new all time highs on a quarterly average basis under Donald Trump in 3Q2025
The 20 foods shown making new all time highs represent 43% of the 46 foods I have been tracking in the FRED database at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. Prices are per pound unless otherwise noted.
Beef Products:
Friday, October 24, 2025
Don't forget to turn down the thermostat before you leave for work after your 66% more expensive Trump breakfast
Piped utility gas used to average $1.04 per therm under Trump I.
Under Trump II it's $1.61 in September 2025, 55% more.
































