Sticker shock at the PiggyWiggly? You'r not alone...

 This shouldn't come as a shock for any of you who find themselves having to eat to, uhh - survive... 

Grocery shopping has commanded a large share of Americans’ disposable income over the last year — and relief may be hard to come by in the months ahead as businesses raise prices even higher.

US households were spending more than 12% of their disposable income on food purchases as of the end of 2021, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That’s up from 10.8% at the end of 2020 — and it marked the highest share of food spending in more than two decades.

The price hikes for proteins have been especially steep. As of January, the cost of beef and veal was 16% higher than it was in the same month one year earlier. Pork prices are up 14.1%, while eggs are up 13.1%, fish and seafood 12.7% and chicken up 10.3%.

Even basic staples like cooking oils and flour are up by double-digit amounts year-over-year. Overall, inflation reached a four-decade high of 7.5% in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index. 

Businesses are paying higher prices for every aspect of their operations, from commodities needed to produce and ship their goods to hiring and labor expenses.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline was about $3.53 as of Friday, up from approximately $2.58 one year ago.

Countless restaurant chains and food companies have already passed their higher costs along to consumers — with many planning additional price hikes this year.

 Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is expected to pursue

 an aggressive slate of interest rate hikes 

in a bid to tame inflation.

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To see all the great gift ideas that my wife has 

to offer with her jewelry, click on this picture. 

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