Rant #2,912: Money Changes Everything

Everywhere you turn, the prices are going up on everything.
 
Gas, groceries, plane fares … heck, I have seen the prices of a cucumber rise from 65 cents to 83 cents in the blink of an eye.
 
One section of the supermarket that I want to focus on in today’s Rant is the cereal aisle, where prices have been going up for years, well before the current “supply chain—war in Europe—COVID-19--and every other excuse” reasoning for recent price hikes have come to the fore everywhere.
 
Have you noticed that even before all of this nonsense, cereal prices were through the roof?
 
Currently, we are being told that grain prices have skyrocketed because so much of our grain comes from Russia, and now that we are not doing business with them because of the Ukrainian War, the prices have risen to record levels because we have had to get our grain from other sources.
 
I really don’t know if I believe all of that folderol, because cereal prices have been rising for years.
 
What was once a cheap source of protein in the morning—and a major timesaver, as you have to do so little to prepare for a meal of cereal—has now become as bad as getting gas, and I mean the kind you put in your car.
 
At $5.99 and up per box, cereal broke the $5 barrier years before gas did, and it is very disheartening that not only has the price risen like it has, but the boxes you are paying this amount for seem to be thinner too, so you are getting less bang for your buck.
 
Just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating about the length of time that the price has gone up to ridiculous levels,  I checked back in the Ranting and Raving archives to see if I had written about this subject before, and lo and behold, I had—in Rant #1,062, September 30, 2013—nearly NINE YEARS AGO!
 
So obviously, the problem of ridiculous cereal prices is not a new one.
 
Here is what I wrote back then, in slightly edited form, and I think it largely still applies:
 
“I eat cereal every morning for breakfast.
 
Well, not quite every morning.
 
On Sundays, I usually eat something else. I give myself a treat on that day, and on some holidays.
 
But normally, I eat cereal.
 
Cereal has traditionally been a cheap way to get a good start to the day.
 
It was easy, didn't have to be heated up, and mixed with milk, you really got everything you needed to get your day moving.
 
The same still holds true, but prices have gotten out of this world.
 
You can easily spend $5 on a box of cereal, which to me, is really ridiculous.
 
Why does cereal cost so much?
 
I truly believe that it costs so much because the cereal manufacturers know that it is a staple of our diet, and that people will spend whatever it is priced at to have their favorite cereal in the morning.
 
I used to have any cereal in the morning, but in recent years, I have some derivation of Cheerios. I was told by a doctor a few years back that having such a cereal would help my digestion, and he was right, it has, so that is what I have.
 
I prefer the "Honey Nut" variety, so that is what I have every morning.
 
But rather than buy the branded product, I usually go for the knockoff, unless the branded product is on sale.
 
I am not going to spend $5 on a box of cereal if I can help it, and I haven't in years.
 
Even my local dollar store stocks this type of cereal--the knockoff, of course--and for $1, I am very satisfied.
 
Cereal is a big business, and it always has been.
 
There are so many tie-ins to cereal, lots of movie and TV links, and everybody eats cereal, so you are kind of stuck.
 
But I guess in my own small little way, I am beating the system by eating the knockoffs, which I have found are generally every bit as good as the branded stuff is, at just 20 percent of the price.
 
Goodbye Kellogg's and General Mills, and hello, Malt-O-Meal.
 
What more can I say ... or eat?
 
Snap, crackle and pop!”
 
That was then, this is now …
 
In 2022, I have written off another day as a cereal day so that I stretch out the cereal I have for a little while longer.
 
I don’t eat cereal on Saturdays either, so the entire weekend is non-cereal days for me.
 
Also, I don’t eat the Cheerios-style cereals only, I now buy by price.
 
Why spend $5.99 or more for a box of cereal if I can get a decent cereal for two or three dollars cheaper … or I still go the dollar store route, even though in those stores, the price has gone up to $1.25 for a box of knock-off cereal.
 
Currently, I am eating Kellogg’s Wendy’s Frosty cereal, which I found for $3.99 in the supermarket, much less than the $6-plus Cheerios that they were selling.
 
I am probably giving up health to save some money, but in today’s world, that is almost a necessary trade-off.
 
Back in 2013, I wasn’t going to overpay for cereal, and I am still not going to overpay tor cereal in 2022 or into the future.
 
All of us are being forced to pay ridiculous prices on just about everything, and this semi-retired old fogey has to draw the line somewhere.
 
Like I said nine years ago—
 
“Snap, crackle and pop!”