Beef prices rising..again

"The average retail price of beef from January through April this year is 7.7% higher than the same period a year ago, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service data, while it's remained steady over the past few months, says John Michael Riley, an assistant professor in Mississippi State University's department of agricultural economics. And the average price in 2011 was 9.8% higher than in 2010.

Higher Prices Will Continue

Shoppers are going to continue to see higher prices at the meat counter — and not just for beef. Chris Hurt, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, says he expects the average price of beef to rise to about $5.30 a pound next year. So far this year through May, retail prices have averaged $5.03 a pound — a record high for this time period (it was $4.72 a pound for January-May 2011 and $4.83 for all of 2011). The latest Consumer Price Index for all food is projected to increase 2.5% to 3.5% in 2012"

Courtesy of Yahoo finance

An average increase in the price of beef over the last two years of 8.5%, all very predictable, mostly under the radar as well courtesy of the prevalence of food stamps among US consumers.

Now here at the Last Cause, we believe in giving value for value, so this is not a shot at "greedy cattle barons", though most ranching in the US is more then likely done on mass scale by corporate farms and not by small ranchers.

A few substitutes for beef include Elk and Deer and other game animals, which has been covered here before, though one does have to wonder why, even in the early yrs of a new century, such game is not allowed via various laws, to be sold or traded?

The Bicycle experiment

Lately I've found, with additional time on my hands, that I have a renewed interest in bicycling, a past time I loved as a young man moreso than driving an automobile. Being forced into frugality, my selection for bicycles to engage in this past time is limited to the products at the local Goodwill Thrift Store.

Which means..Huffy bicycles, at one time Huffy was just considered a lower end bike, now among bicycling purists Huffy is akin to cow flop with rims that may or may not melt when exposed to direct sunlight.

At least that is what my online research (research=lurking on Bicycle Forums and reading old posts) has shown. Undaunted, I picked up two Huffy bikes, one a Superia 15 speed, the other an ancient Santa Fe 10 speed. The Superia appears to have been what I'd politely call a "good idea at the time" bicycle, someone bought it, rode it maybe 5 times, parked it in the garage and eventually donated it to Goodwill, the tubes are fine, the tires are fine, the brakes work etc. But with air in the tires, and a relubing the crank, forks, and wheels, it was road ready from Day 1.

It also cost a whopping 12.50 cents

The Santa Fe is a different situation completely, it was more or less from the "rode hard, put away wet" category, the 1 3/8th inch tires were flat, the front derailuer does not work, the bearing were all dry as sun bleached bones, the inner tubes had holes, the rear dereaileur was out of adjustment, and to top it off, it came from an era where tires and tubes are not standardized a 26 inch road tire could mean one of 3 possibilities and no amount of googling will solve the mystery one has to try them out or take the wheel to the local bicycle shop were to enjoy the faintly patronizing looks as the innocent question of "do you have a tire to fit this rim" question is asked.

I have no intention of mentioning that it belongs to a Huffy, least wise the patronizing look turns into thinly veiled contempt as they consider this klutz in front of them basically married their Sister, or at least 1st cousin, by owning a Huffy and having the gall to walk into THEIR shop with such a piece of garbage!

Pardon the digression.

The Sante Fe cost a whopping 10 dollars, but the reality is a Huffy of that vintage is worth 100 dollars..at most. So repairs are an expense that is not going to be recouped. However the advantage the 10 speed has over the 15 speed is simple, it is a lighter, quicker bike if one has to peddle 10 miles less weight and less rolling resistance is the way to go.

I found the tires and tubes needed on Amazon.com for 32 dollars delivered which is somewhat expensive, however if the Santa Fe works I suspect that it will be ridden far more than the more durable, but heavy, Superia. 

At the end of it all, the benefit from a cost point of view will not be all that great, even with gasoline at 2.80 a gallon, my vehicle achieves 22 mpg, meaning to recoup that 42 dollars I'll have to peddle 70 miles or so to just break even and since it is the Fall heading into Winter, that seems like a tough deal to manage to accomplish. However the health benefits should not be ignored as if one does not have health, what do you have to replace it?

And so it begins, we are beginning to see the effects of all of the money that has been created even down to the "can of sauce" level of the economy, what used to be 98 cents is now 1.19, add in the coming increase in sales taxes and we are looking at a 1.25 a unit price.

The way around this is to rely on oneself and purchase Canning Jars and lids and the industrial sized cans of stewed tomatoes, and stir up your own sauce with a blender and can it before hand. Doing thus also lets the cook make their own sauces to taste, add basil from the garden or oregano or extra onions or garlic in either whole form, or powdered form.

Another clever way to enjoy pasta and to save some money is to harvest wild greens such as Nettle Tops or Kale or what have you, and make Pesto sauce with them, leave out the pine nuts and such pesto will be much more affordable to create and it utilizes one's own environment to improve your bottom line.

Frugality is the new fad...

When a major media outjest manages to run a story on the new sincerety, one has to take notice.


The nightmare of a consumer driven economy, the Urban Professional cuts back spending even when there is disposable income available, no worries though, tax increases and regulatory burdens and the hidden tax of inflation will destroy the value they are hoarding. That is the issue with merely hoarding cash under the mattress, it loses it's buying power to inflationary termites.

It could be said that official inflation is quite low, and that would be a truism, however in this downturn we are experiencing producer price hikes at the overseas manufacturing locations, the US inflationary measures also do not account for food or fuel, they basically are worthless as a economic measure in a Global Economy.

Those new to value hoarding would be well served by purchasing items that will increase in price over the long term that are fit to warehouse. Otherwise sticker shock at the local Wally World could make it to America's Funniest Home videos.

The idea to use plain vinegar over even plain jane fabric softener is a good one.