Shopping with Sidewalker #3

It's the 15th of the month, so that means it's time for a trip to the supermarket. This is the third month of the Shopping with Sidewalker feature. It has been the most expensive month so far indicating inflation perhaps?. However the Federal Reserve has told us the threat of inflation is minimal, so that can't be the cause of the price rises then can it? Perhaps it is their weak dollar policy that is increasing the price of imports? Ding, ding, ding, ding. That was the bell going off for anyone thinking that trashing the dollar would be an easy way out of this credit mess. Perhaps it will get the banks off the hook, but with a weaker dollar guess who is paying the bill (again!)?

Some observations I've made. The price of the white seedless grapes are very erratic. I guess that is seasonality and shipping costs. Meanwhile the price of sugar is creeping up every month. Other than that there is nothing too crazy apart from the fact it was $2.41 more than last month! That is just under 3% month over month.

$3.99 {+$1.20} 1lb Land O' Lakes unsalted butter
$2.49 {-$0.01} 1 dozen Eggland's Best large grade 'A' eggs
$1.34 {+$0.01} 2 liter bottle of Coca-Cola Classic
$3.45 {-$0.50} 5lb Perdue Oven Stuffer whole roaster chicken
$9.99 {No Change} 12 pack of Charmin Ultra Strong toilet paper
$3.19 {No Change} 1 loaf of Wonder Bread Classic White
$3.79 {No Change} 2.5 Gallons of Poland Spring drinking water
$2.79 {No Change} 6.4oz. Starkist Chunk Light Tuna in water
$4.98 {No Change} 2lb of 80% lean ground beef
$3.19 {No Change} 5.6oz. Aquafresh Triple Protection toothpaste
$2.99 {+$1.70} 1lb Seedless White Grapes
$2.50 {-0.99} 5lb Idaho Potatoes
$2.29 {No Change} 3 Bars of Dial Soap white
$27.99 {No Change} Nestle Good Start 2 Natural Cultures 9-24 Months baby food
$2.99 {No Change} 12 oz. box of Kellogg's Cornflakes
$3.49 {+$0.50} 11.3 oz Folgers Classic Roast coffee
$5.49 {No Change} 3lb Uncle Bens long grain rice
$1.79 {No change} 4 pack 9 Lives cat food
$2.99 {+$0.30} 50 oz. Ajax laundry detergent
$3.69 {+$0.20} 5lb Domino Pure Cane Granulated Sugar
Total: $95.41 {+$2.41}


-Luke Sidewalker
-Current balance $23.60

Shopping with Sidewalker #2

I've just returned from doing the monthly research for my grocery shopping feature. Wow, that is all I can say....just wow. Ever since I fled the nest of Mama and Papa Sidewalker several decades ago I have been doing my own grocery shopping. I always look for a bargain and, most likely as you do, I load up when I see one. As long as my total bill came within an acceptable range week over week I never broke down the individual cost of items. So let's just say this little exercise has been an eye opener as to how much base prices gyrate month over month.

Just to reiterate, this is not a budget exercise, these are base prices without coupons or loyalty card discounts (both of which I use on my actual shop, as opposed to this virtual shop). It is intended to look for evidence for inflation or deflation in the weekly grocery shop from a baseline perspective.

Below are this months prices. The amount in brackets is the change from last months report.

$2.79 {-$1.70} 1lb Land O' Lakes unsalted butter
$2.50 {-$0.79} 1 dozen Eggland's Best large grade 'A' eggs
$1.33 {-$0.33} 2 liter bottle of Coca-Cola Classic
$3.95 {-$0.80} 5lb Perdue Oven Stuffer whole roaster chicken
$9.99 {No Change} 12 pack of Charmin Ultra Strong toilet paper
$3.19 {+$0.69} 1 loaf of Wonder Bread Classic White
$3.79 {No Change} 2.5 Gallons of Poland Spring drinking water
$2.79 {No Change} 6.4oz. Starkist Chunk Light Tuna in water
$4.98 {No Change} 2lb of 80% lean ground beef
$3.19 {No Change} 5.6oz. Aquafresh Triple Protection toothpaste
$1.29 {-$0.70} 1lb Seedless White Grapes
$3.49 {No Change} 5lb Idaho Potatoes
$2.29 {No Change} 3 Bars of Dial Soap white
$27.99 {+$2.50} Nestle Good Start 2 Natural Cultures 9-24 Months baby food
$2.99 {No Change} 12 oz. box of Kellogg's Cornflakes
$2.99 {-$0.50} 11.3 oz Folgers Classic Roast coffee
$5.49 {No Change} 3lb Uncle Bens long grain rice
$1.79 {No change} 4 pack 9 Lives cat food
$2.69 {-$0.30} 50 oz. Ajax laundry detergent
$3.49 {+$0.30} 5lb Domino Pure Cane Granulated Sugar
Total: $93.00 {-$1.63}

As you can see 10 of the 20 items this month had a price change, resulting in an overall reduction in the total of $1.63. So for the time being the pendulum swings to the deflation side...

-Luke Sidewalker
-Current balance $20.94

Shopping with Sidewalker #1

The day is finally upon us for the inaugural shopping with Sidewalker feature and the list has been finalized. We often hear the talking heads on finance TV blather on about inflation and they often reference a basket of commodities, a basket of currencies, a basket of bonds etc. That is great (for them anyway), but I have never seen Bonds ready-mixed with mayonnaise, or oven-ready Gold, or Light Sweet Crude cooking oil in my basket when I go shopping. So I have set out to create a list of twenty products we all find in our shopping baskets on a regular basis, and I'm going to track their cost once a month. Hopefully this will help us "foot soldiers" defending our cash on the front lines in the battle against inflation! Think of it as an inflation barometer.

I'd just like to make a few points. I will do this "shop" on the weekday closest to the 15th every month. This is not a budget exercise, I could get the stuff cheaper by using coupons and/or changing brands, but I want to choose products that are readily available in supermarkets from coast to coast. I'm not a dietitian, do not use this list and market it as the "Sidewalker Diet Plan"! I wanted to choose products that we see on our shopping baskets more often than televisions, cars, washer/dryers and houses that the economists like to use as a measure of inflation/deflation. It does not represent the weekly shop to stock the pantry at Castle Sidewalker.

$4.49 1lb Land O' Lakes unsalted butter
$3.29 1 dozen Eggland's Best large grade 'A' eggs
$1.66 2 liter bottle of Coca-Cola Classic
$4.75 5lb Perdue Oven Stuffer whole roaster chicken
$9.99 12 pack of Charmin Ultra Strong toilet paper
$2.50 1 loaf of Wonder Bread Classic White
$3.79 2.5 Gallons of Poland Spring drinking water
$2.79 6.4oz. Starkist Chunk Light Tuna in water
$4.98 2lb of 80% lean ground beef
$3.19 5.6oz. Aquafresh Triple Protection toothpaste
$1.99 1lb Seedless White Grapes
$3.49 5lb Idaho Potatoes
$2.29 3 Bars of Dial Soap white
$25.49 Nestle Good Start 2 Natural Cultures 9-24 Months baby food
$2.99 12 oz. box of Kellogg's Cornflakes
$3.49 11.3 oz Folgers Classic Roast coffee
$5.49 3lb Uncle Bens long grain rice
$1.79 4 pack 9 Lives cat food
$2.99 50 oz. Ajax laundry detergent
$3.19 5lb Domino Pure Cane Granulated Sugar
Total: $94.63

So there we have it, the baseline has been set at $94.63 it will be interesting to see what number we come up with next month and to monitor any future fluctuations. We must keep a vigilant eye out for the stealth inflation tactic of shrinkage as well! Isn't it weird how every price seems to end with a 9. I had never noticed that before, all very weird. Any psycology majors out there want to give us the reasoning behind that?

I would like to give a big thank you to Mrs. B the Pagan Soccer Mom for sending her "angry horde of pagans" to help me build my list. And indeed thanks to everyone who participated in the list building, it was much appreciated.

In other news, I busted through $18 last night...


-Luke Sidewalker
-Current balance $18.01

New Feature!

I have decided to run a new monthly feature, and it's going to be called "Shopping with Sidewalker". And I'm going to need your help as you will see later. Right now there is a battle raging in academia about whether we are entering a deflationary death spiral or are we on the threshold of hyperinflation? The deflationists cite the falling price of cars and housing, of which I may buy one every five years and maybe one a decade respectively! (I buy groceries once or sometimes twice a week, as I'm sure you do to.) The Inflationistas cite the money printing initiatives of the Federal Reserve to stabilize our economy. One thing is for sure these academics sitting in their ivory tower crunching numbers must never go grocery shopping, because us common folk know that is the true inflation litmus test. I have decided to put together a monthly shopping list of twenty everyday products and together we can watch my total spent for any signs of deflation/inflation. Now all I have to do is build that list. Below is my provisional list, and this is where I need your help. Is it suitably balanced, can you suggest any changes to be made to it? All input is welcome as always. Leave any suggestions in the comments section at the bottom of the post.

1. Half Gallon of store brand 2% Milk
2. 1lb Land O' Lakes unsalted butter
3. 1 dozen Eggland's Best large grade 'A' eggs
4. 10z Kraft Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar
5. 1 Can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup
6. 2 Liter bottle of Coca-Cola
7. 5lb Perdue Oven Stuffer whole roaster chicken
8. 12 pack of Charmin Ultra Strong toilet paper
9. 1 loaf of Wonder Bread Classic White
10. 2.5 Gallons of Poland Spring drinking water
11. 6.4oz. Starkist Chunk Light Tuna in water
12. 1lb of 80% lean mince meat
13. 5.6oz. Aquafresh toothpaste
14. 4 pack Bounty White kitchen paper towels


I have left six slots open for suggestions from you. I know I need some fresh produce I'm just trying to figure out what to go with, and maybe some pasta or rice too. The final list will be revealed on Friday as I will be doing this "shop" on the 15th of every month, or the weekday closest to the 15th.


-Luke Sidewalker
-Current balance $16.22