According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a dollar from January 2020 has the same buying power as a $1.12 today. While twelve cents doesn’t sound like a lot of lost value, we have to remember that 12% adds up to a lot when it’s impacting every single purchase. Worse still, devalued currency is just one part of the problem: the cost of doing business has gone up everywhere and for everyone. Transportation costs are way up, for example, owing in part to rocketing fuel prices and widespread labor shortages. (The average price per gallon in the U.S. was $2.57 in January; today, it’s $4.27!)
The trickle-down effect of these pressures is that the prices of everything have gone up. The Bureau notes, as another example, that bread cost $1.35/lb in January 2020, and is now $1.61/lb today. (Bread is a good bellwether for the Consumer Price Index.)
Again, in isolation, a twenty-six-cent difference seems small, but that’s a 16% cost increase that was likely concealed behind shrinkflation (that is, selling a product for the same price but reducing its size slightly to make it difficult to notice). When you factor that in with the weaker dollar, the math starts to really get troubling. And that’s before we start considering quality reductions in the form of skimpflation (that is, using cheaper ingredients), and then you get a real picture of how tough it’s getting.
In short: money is worth less, stuff costs more, and the quality is going downhill. As the economy takes its time recovering, all that most of us can do is try to make more money and save it the best we can. We just need some good ideas on how to do that, right?
To wit, WCCB Charlotte (an affiliate of The CW) had an informative segment last week on how to earn more money in the face of these rising costs. One particular idea caught our interest: mystery shopping!
Check out anchor Derek James’s interview with financial expert and host of YouTube-show “The Table,” Anthony Oneal:
You’ll find mention of mystery shopping from time 1:35 to 2:15 in the video.If you’ve never mystery shopped before, now’s the time to give it a look. Check out our page that describes the process here, and when you’re ready, you can register. Once you’ve registered, you’ll gain access to our Shop Board, which is a lot like a classified listing of all the available assignments we have in your area. Even if you don’t see anything listed, don’t fret. New shops get posted at the beginning of every month, and we also do mystery-phone shopping—which is something you can do without even leaving your home! Want to learn more? Don’t hesitate to contact us.
We look forward to shopping with you!
