I’m not sure about the rest of you, but inflation is eating me alive.

Take my water bill. We have a tiny one bedroom apartment and are now paying $40 a month for water. When we first started here, it was in the $25 range. In this year alone I’ve seen an average increase of 3.5%. What probably annoys me most is that $40 is approaching (and surpassing, in some months) my god-damn electric bill! Crazy. The really sucky part is that there is no water meter for the apartment, but instead it’s an average for the facility, so if some numb-nuts keeps filling up the pool, it hurts us all. On the flip side, our facility is mostly seniors, on very fixed incomes, which means they play close attention to their use.

Rent, up 3.33% this year. I’m expecting another hike this fall.

Gas. Don’t even get me started. I’m just glad that I do a majority of my work at home and have a fuel efficient car.

Natural gas. On the bright side, this is “included” in the rent. For how long, I don’t know. And how much of the 3.3% rent increase is due to natural gas costs?

Amazing, electricity is pretty stable. Maybe it’s just because it’s clearly high and low when I expect it to be. For example, my water bill was still over $40 in November in December. One of the months Evelyn was on vacation, the other we were in Chicago. That chaps my hide. The electric bill for December was $25. The average is $50. That makes sense.

Food. Up, up, up. Mainly due to the “ever shrinking package”. You still think you’re paying $9 for a bag of frozen chicken breasts. The problem is that bag used to be 5 pounds and is now 4. Shit, take a look at most of the containers these days, comparing them to old ones. They are shrinking, shrinking, shrinking. Fruit juices and pop are probably the worst offenders here. This is a big reason why I’ve become so dilligent in keeping track of food costs.

(An aside about food costs: I’ve mentioned this before, and it bears mentioning again. For food staples, find the cheapest source and shop there. Don’t go to a “nice store” because it’s nice. It costs too damn much. I know I’d rather wander through a newer “cooler” store, but we do most of our shopping at a boring, old-school, H-E-B. It saves us 20% in food costs. That’s hundreds of dollars a year. I guess this goes for any king of shopping. By your electronics stuff at Buy.com, not Best Buy. SD card at Best Buy, $28. Same card at Buy.com? $9, with free shipping. Every penny counts.)

Now, I’m bitching and moaning, but I am fortunate to have the capability of working more hours to make up for the cost increases. A lot (most?) people don’t. I look around at the seniors in our area and see an average of 3.5% of their fixed income being eaten away. I look at my parents, also on a fixed income, and see how it’s harder for them to keep up with prices.

And to return to that idiotic tax “rebate” we’re supposed to be getting: I don’t want it. Sure, $600/$1200 (or whatever) would be nice, but I’ll just dump it into savings. After all, it’s my money in the first place. The government is just loaning it to me until the 2008 tax season. Remember 2001, people? That stupid $300/$600 check was counted as income. Either way, I’d rather see that money go to seniors living off their social security. People who have lived and worked all their lives and for whom it’s difficult to earn additional money. Those are the people who need it most. Not me, who can just work harder. Not most others, who are young and able to earn a wage.

So I challenge those wage earners out there: Give away your check. Give it to a senior. Give it to a charity. Give it to a pound. Give it to someone in real need. Please don’t give it to yourself, who probably doesn’t need it. If you do need it, I understand, but please give it some thought.