My inflation post from a couple weeks ago has created a bit of a stir. Can we talk some more about that?

First, an apology.

My intent when I wrote this truly was to be an encouragement. I wrote it to share what has worked for our family as we try to keep costs down. And I wanted us to focus on what’s true instead of the scary information we might read that causes us to panic. I desire for us to focus our energy on what is true and on what works as we navigate inflation together.

I attempted to write in some caveats and considerations, because I know we all come from different places and are experiencing inflation in different ways. But what I failed to consider is that so many people would read my words through a lens of pain and feel that I was digging a knife into their wounds.

I’m so sorry I did that. Please forgive any hurt I caused.

I want you to know that I heard you and I am listening. You aren’t alone and you aren’t doing this wrong. In fact, you’re doing very well and friends, we are all in this together.

Where I, Laura, am coming from.

My heart wants to help. Like yours, our family has been affected by inflation. But as I’ve been doing for years and years here at Heavenly Homemakers – when I see a struggle and I’ve found something that works for me, I offer suggestions. Since 2007…

• Want to keep like simpler in the kitchen? Here’s how.
• Want to eat a healthier diet? This works for us.
• Want to be in the Word more? I love digging in like this.
• Hoping to save money on groceries? Yes! Maybe try this.

So this new struggle I was addressing was inflation. As inflation has affected families in so many ways, I was attempting to shed light on truth through what I’ve learned in my context. Might they help others struggling? I hope so.

Here are a few experiences I’ve had in the past year and a half.

• As grocery prices were beginning to spike, we were still living in York. One day, I was shopping for a few items at a locally owned grocery store in town and it seemed that overnight, all the prices had skyrocketed. As in, the prices were scary for very basic items. I felt suddenly panicked, for sure. Then about a week later I was able to shop at Sam’s. Their prices were wayyyyyy less scary compared to the small town store I’d been in. I felt relief, big time. Since then, I’ve seen all kinds of price increases in every store. But – and I am a BIG SHOPPER – I’ve found through my hard work of price comparisons that there are stores that are much more reasonable and stores that I have to avoid because their prices truly are so much higher.
• We moved to Lincoln, NE in June, 2023. I now have access to Costco, Sam’s, and Aldi and really and truly – I can keep our grocery budget reasonable because of their offers. Yes, their prices have increased, but not at a scary level in my experience. I am so thankful for this, and as I said here, I know that not everyone has this luxury. Meanwhile, I occasionally run into other stores in town to grab a gallon of milk or to take advantage of a loss leader sale item. THEIR PRICES ARE REALLLLLY HIGH. Milk at Aldi is $2.62, but just down the road the store brand at Super Saver is $5.00. This is why I suggested trying to shop around if you can. It was just based on my experiences of seeing how prices from one store to the next might offer something very different – right here in the same town.
• Regarding our move to Lincoln, our property tax and home owners insurance quadrupled compared to what we were paying in York. I don’t want to talk about it. :/ We moved in the middle of price increases so I don’t know how much of our new expense is due to inflation, based on the fact that we moved to a bigger city with a higher costs of living, or because we now live in a larger home that God provided for us. Probably all of the above. But we know God put us right here for His purposes and He will continue to provide.

Inflation. What is true?

As I stated here, inflation is real. All of us are affected and none of us like it.

Some of us feel its affects more than others depending on where we live, what we do, and all other variables.

Also true: God is good. He is provider. He cares for you. He loves you.

What can we do?

This post offered some suggestions that truly do work for our family. Will they work for you? I hope so, but maybe not. Nothing works in every context, no matter what we’re topic we’re discussing.

I do know that we all need to lean into inflated costs as many of them seem to be here to stay. I heard my grandparents talking about rising costs in their day, and here we are, talking about it in ours.

Because of this, it seems that most of us have to make some sort of changes to our lifestyles. Unfortunately, some don’t have any wiggle room because they have done wiggled all the wiggle that can possibly wiggle. Someone mentioned here that they have to choose between buying food or paying for medication. This is not ok, and I’m so very sorry.

This leads me to what I think needs to be shouted very loudly:

Those of us who can help, must.

There are some people around us who are suffering and if we are making life work through this inflation journey, we need to step up and let God use us in whatever way He calls us to to help those around us.

This will look different for each of us. But God is faithful to show us how to love our neighbor.

As an example, since we moved to Lincoln, our family has loved being volunteers every week with Food Net. The program is amazing as the entire city of Lincoln works together to prevent food waste. Instead of throwing perfectly good (but not sellable) food into the trash, it gets donated and given to thousands of people in our community. As a family who hates to waste food, this organization speaks our language and provides a perfect way for us to serve with our kids and love on our community.

There’s more to be said.

But for now, I’ll wrap up this post with an extra hug and a prayer that you all hear my heart. Life looks different now. We are all going to be ok.

If you can help, help. If you need help, ask. As I’ve learned through the past few years: typically we all get to do both at the same time in some way – serve and be served.

You are loved. You care seen. You mean more to me than you know.