January 2025 prices

I thought that I'd put this here so that I'd be able to find it easily in the future.  I wanted to document the prices of some staple groceries and gas prices at the beginning of this political term for a few reasons.  One, Trump campaigned on a promise of bringing down grocery prices.  Two, Trump campaigned on raising tariffs, which historically raises the price of goods.  And three, I'd like to have a record of what prices actually were here in Troy, Alabama at the beginning of this political cycle (presidential and congressional), so that if someone's campaign ads in the future reference price changes, I'll have something to compare to. In other words, I'll know if they are telling the truth or lying through their teeth. 

I had hoped to do this on Inauguration Day, but it was the day before a significant snow event in my area (where average seasonal snowfall is zero), and I didn't want to be in Walmart under those circumstances. So here are prices at my local Walmart on Friday, January 24, 2025.

1 pound 73% lean ground beef = $4.94

4 pound bag of Great Value Sugar $3.14

5 pound bag Great Value All-Purpose Flour $2.38

9.6 oz. can of Great Value Coffee $4.44

1 loaf of Great Value white bread $1.42

A dozen large eggs (which they were actually out of) $4.53 (Bird Flu is currently affecting egg prices and availability)

1 pound of Great Value salted butter $3.96 (unsalted was the same price)

1 gallon of Great Value whole milk $4.02

Regular Unleaded Gasoline $2.79/gallon  Diesel fuel $3.34/gallon

Bananas 50 cent/ pound.  I'm really curious what tariffs do to the price of bananas, because I assume they are mostly, if not completely imported.

Avocados 96 cent each.  These aren't exactly a staple item, but everything I've read suggest that tariffs will greatly increase the price of avocados.

My finger (or thumb) is in the pictures because I'm covering up the QR code on all the price labels.

Reading List 2024

Time for my annual reading list post. Pretty pathetic this year.  Here it goes:

1. Scaredy Cat - Sofie Ryan
2. Listen to Me - Tess Gerritsen
3. Fur Love or Money - Sofie Ryan
4. Lifespan: Why We Age - and Why We Don't Have To - David A. Sinclair & Matthew D. LaPlante
5. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
6. The Scarlet Pimpernel - Baroness Orczy

So I got caught up on my Second Chance Cat Mystery books by Sofie Ryan and the Rizzoli & Isles books by Tess Gerritsen.  I read one non-fiction book that was health related and two classics that I read with my husband.  Not a lot to see here.  No deep dives this year.  In fact, the last book I finished was all the way back in August.  My husband and I are currently reading a novel together, and we originally thought we would finish it before the New Year, but that didn't pan out.

I was much more productive in my creative endeavors in 2024 than I was in my reading.  And that's okay.