Tightening My Belt
By MARILYN
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
United States
March 11, 2026 10:02am CST
Happy Wednesday Everyone! looks like our beautiful weather is coming to an end. Sun was out earlier but now clouds are rolling in and we're due for rain and thunderstorms.
The lawn crew has been here for the past few days aerating the lawn and planting seeds so we'll have nice green grass. They won't do the entire spring startup for another few weeks.
After being out yesterday, today is just a routine day. Not complaining
This has been an expensive month for me so, my goal is to tighten my belt and get through the next few months without any unnecessary spending. Who knows how much the prices of things will go up as we deal with this war.
Are you seeing a jump in prices? Gas has jumped up here every day so far.
17 people like this
17 responses
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
26m
I don't think there's one darn thing that hasn't increased in price. Even buying pretty much the same groceries week after week the cost has gone up considerably.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (251026)
• United States
8m
@Marilynda1225 So darn true. Hubs is out now picking up a loaf of bread that our friend, Sandi - the one with cancer requested. It is $6.99 and of course we won’t ask her to pay for it. We don’t buy sliced bread, so I had no idea, nor did my husband. Unbelievable! I don’t know how families can survive.
@Deepizzaguy (119073)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
17h
Due to the bombing of Iran, gasoline prices have gone up.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
16h
Gas is s going up so fast it makes your head spin
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
35m
It's really hard for a family. Honestly I don't know how families are managing these days. I see it with my own kids and how expensive it is raising children.
1 person likes this
@dodo19 (47743)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
Just now
@Marilynda1225 It's definitely not easy, I can tell you that. All we can do is the best we can.
@toniganzon (74439)
• Philippines
15h
Every week our gas prices has increased. Our government is considering removing the excise tax and VAT. Prices of basic commodities have been increasing since the start of the war. Yesterday, when I bought my fur babies' dog food, the price has increased again for the nth time this year. Their dog food comes from Canada and with the inflation I expected that.
Basic commodities have been increasing as well.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
34m
I agree that 'everything" is increasing in price and even with a so-called sale it's still expensive.
@wolfgirl569 (130937)
• Marion, Ohio
17h
Everything is going to keep going up. Our electric bill is almost 300 this month. But that is after that extreme cold spell
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (130937)
• Marion, Ohio
15h
@Marilynda1225 We never use ac just fans so ours should drop
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
16h
My heating bill skyrocketed with this crazy cold winter. Hopefully spring will be decent and offset the jump in heating/electric and we won't need the a/c right away
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (21511)
•
15h
I just jumped to the end of the post
Are you seeing a jump in prices?
I did the online weekly shop tonight
£10 more than last week. £60 instead of £50
Gas has jumped up here every day so far.
So petrol, for the cheap low octane E10 has jumped from £1.29 per litre to £1.42 per litre in 3 days , ouch
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
30m
Yes prices here are jumping up and big jumps not little ones.
Our weekly grocery shopping has also increased by quite a bit week after week and we basically buy the same stuff week after week.
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
16h
I think we're all going through the same thing. Its sad that you not only have to think twice about spending but now three or four times before making a decision
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (204233)
• United States
23h
Everything has been routinely high, but I presume it will be getting higher now..Oh joy!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
22h
With the winter bringing us higher heating bills and the price of groceries constantly going up we certainly don't need this. I live on a fixed income so stretching it can be a challenge.
@celticeagle (186567)
• Boise, Idaho
18h
I have been saving all my points on all my sites where I can get gift cards or money to my PayPal account. Every little bit helps and adds up nicely. Hope all goes well for you financially and you make it through okay.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
16h
Saving all your points sounds like a good way to add some extra money. Gift cards always come in handy.
I'm sure ill be fine but just being careful not to spend willy nilly
@LovingMyBabies (85827)
• Valdosta, Georgia
20h
Yes, gas especially has been rising around here a lot. Also, food...keeps going up. =(
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
16h
Its just harder and harder and I especially feel bad for families trying to stretch that dollar
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
28m
Definitely not fun and I know it's going to trickle down from gas prices to everything else. It's ridiculous.
I feel so bad for families trying to make ends meet. It's hard enough for us older folks but I see how expensive it is for my kids raising their kids.
@DaddyEvil (169787)
• United States
20h
Gas for the car jumped to $3 a gallon from $2.60 a gallon after I last filled the tank several weeks ago but it did that 40 cent jump two or three weeks ago when the war first started. We still have 3/4 of a tank of gas so I haven't been too worried about it.
Pretty has been saving up to buy herself a new bed and a new mattress for me.
It is chilly here and supposed to drop to freezing tonight but then back to the mid-50s Thursday. (I just stepped outside to bring in the mail. *shivering* and got back in my warm bed.)
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
23m
I hope you can get your new mattress and Pretty her bed. I need a new bed but will have to put it on the back burner for now.
Our few beautiful days are now back to rainy snow mix today. Winter is still hanging around 
@LindaOHio (216159)
• United States
3h
Prices of crude oil have risen considerably since the war.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (55848)
•
16h
Yes, every time I leave the house, things are more expensive than they were when I bought them last time. And as the experts say and we already know, groceries generally never go down once they've gone up. Eggs have gone down since last year, but here they are on the way up again. And gas has gone up nearly 80 cents a gallon here since the war started. My belt, like yours, is tight!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (89168)
• United States
32m
Pretty soon our tightened belts will strangle us 
Seriously, though, it's really rough when things are going up in leaps and bounds and not just by a few cents here and there. Gas prices jump up every day but I'm grateful our car is good on gas and my daughter works from home so she saves on the expense of commuting.
Seriously, though, it's really rough when things are going up in leaps and bounds and not just by a few cents here and there. Gas prices jump up every day but I'm grateful our car is good on gas and my daughter works from home so she saves on the expense of commuting.
@RasmaSandra (95214)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
17h
I stick to things i can afford and only now and then get something I have been wanting mostly I tryt to get through each month with as little expense as possible,
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (374040)
• Rockingham, Australia
13h
Fuel has increased enormously here. Farmers and cartage businesses are concerned about whether they'll be able to purchase enough fuel to continue operations. Farmers are due to start seeding soon.
