Things are definitely going up. Having been the son of Depression era parents and not being paid median wages most of my life, I've learned a thing or two.

Im debt free, own my house, cars, etc. I do have some credibility since some would require that up front rather than accept it at face value, its the internet, I get it.

Things I have done in the last two years to save money rather than keep on paying higher and higher prices, in no special order:

I quit brewing "8" cups of coffee, went to 6 to cut waste. Then 4. Then put the pot away and do it with a $20 k cup brewer using the grounds cup, one at a time. We also upgraded to a better coffee, overall per cup we aren't throwing any away, it's a better product, and spending about the same so far. I suppose I could scrounge for the cheapest but I don't do that for s - oh wait, I am married. Nvrmnd.

Needed new truck tires last year - bought them delivered to a big box, no freight, and best price. Mounted and balanced them myself on a manual tire machine I already had from horror fright. I was taught that from day one fixing flats. Used beads not weights. Works well, and saved $100 in fees from the big box who would use rim weights that will fall off. Mud Claw treads in factory size, less than $500 all done. I probably won't put 7500 on the truck this year, they will last a while.

Rebuilding my deck for a new pool we had to have - you know. Shopped it for almost a year, the scamdemic had a lot of issues with suppliers, bad SKU's, poor inventory control. It's 15 years old and shows it, I used the 4x4 blocks on our delicate Ozark soil which can slope 12 in 12 as a norm. I'm repurposing every possible board - deck treads are treated, I flip them. Stainless or other screws still in good shape, reuse them. I even ran across a mixed bag of used stainless deck screws at a flea market yesterday, $1.25. Bought them. Stainless deck screws and treated lumber are high - but discarding them for cosmetic reasons is kinda silly. New only lasts a few years then we stain the deck and live with it for another 10-15.

I had lattice work on the required deck fencing and Im going to balusters as they will be more substantial and cheaper than composite replacement. It will look just fine and preview how the main deck on the back will look after it gets rebuilt.

Traction has been a major issue for my truck, 4wd conversion isn't impossible on a CV shaft independent front end. The intermediate step is a ratchet locker, which is affordable, and works. I installed it myself. It does everything people hate them for, clicking and clunking, plus a valuable feature - it gets me out of the snow and mud. It won't go up my back hill, but even 4WD would fail once the tires started spinning, so I've already defeated it up front. Open differentials cause that and a 4WD with one locked is hard to get stuck. Aggressive mud treads stop a lot of the spinning. I'd say it's almost as good so far. No cost for installation when you do it yourself, and getting away from the back of the house without cutting slots in the turf is the reward. When I looked at my bookmark online I found a different vendor who was $50 cheaper.

Splitting my own wood since I cut down 5 trees in the back for more sun on the pool. Had a Troy 27 ton and needed a new motor when the Honda GCV on it broke an intake valve after 20 hours on it. A replacement a few years ago was over $250 and rebuilding it was even worse. Was splitting by hand - doesn't work on hickory, fine for red oak, walnut, etc. After getting whacked in the ankle resolved to get the splitter running again and found a source for a new motor for $150. Hondas are dirt cheap right now for some reason. Mounted it and it runs great. At least for the next 20 hours. I won't buy firewood next year, which returns about $200 on our heating costs over electric. That stove has paid its way years ago. We are well past it's ROI for it.

Her vacation on the coast was booked last year, and as we monitor things the remainder of the season has gone up another 25% as usual. We are locked in and the worst of it will be fuel and food, we try to eat out at noon not supper as the cheap menu is still in play. Gas isn't a major problem when we drive a 30mpg car. Its small - but that limits the baggage etc and we (she) needs limits. Still, fuel appears to be $2 a gallon more than last year.

We've never had a plan phone - it's pay as you go and with our current Samsungs it costs us $100 a year each, the phones were $35. Thats about $17 a month for two lines and we do all we need to, text, Maps on the road, etc.

Here's the deal - if you find the budget getting squeezed, take a moment on the golf course to consider what you might do for yourself. Mow your own grass, wash and wax the ride at home, get the kids involved. there is a lot of sweat equity in maintaining and fixing your own stuff. It's not rocket science, and you appreciate it more when you are done. You discover issues that need addressed and don't let them go. Doing that we actually live like the 1950's - when America was a pretty good place, unlike the mess we have today. If we really don't like what is going on - step out of it and live like you want, not like people say you have to. If that is their line in the sand over their assessment of who you are, then they are the problem.

A better hack would be to vote these bastards out who caused all this in the first place. You know they AIN'T scrimping on SHIT right now, they're actually getting richer and expecting us proles to do exactly what you have listed but keep them in power.

Screw that.