Is Price Gouging Happening in Washington State?

The other day, I was at the grocery store and bought 1 tiny bag of Hot Cheetos (don't you judge me, lol), a bottle of cheap wine (again, please stop judging), some pepperoni, 6 potatoes, and a small thing of beef jerky. That itty bitty bag of groceries cost me THIRTY-THREE dollars!

I kept looking at the receipt like it was a typo. I was livid at having to pay so much at the store (but I was mostly upset about the cost of the Hot Cheetos).

It wasn't long ago that I was complaining that chips cost nearly $4 a bag. Do you remember those times? Are we now supposed to call it "the good ole days of yesteryear", even though it was literally a couple of years ago?

Now, a small bag of chips costs us nearly $7! 

I understand that inflation makes everything cost more, but I thought somebody in the news said prices only went up because of the "supply chain issues" during COVID. COVID has BEEN over, so why are we still paying through the nose for stuff?

It hurts my heart (and my wallet) especially when I get a raise at work and feel "rich" for about two seconds, whoops, lo and behold, the cost of literally everything just went up, too! The struggle continues for all of us!

Price Gouging in Washington State: Are You Paying Too Much?

I asked some of our readers if they felt we were being hosed price gouged in Washington (which is the #8 most expensive state to live in America), and here's where many of us feel we are being hosed price gouged.

GROCERIES

MEDICAL INSURANCE PREMIUMS

CAR INSURANCE

RENT

GASOLINE FOR THE CAR

ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING (Shout out to Lacey, who says it's so hard to keep up with costs as a single parent. I can truly relate to that. )

DID I MENTION RENT?

EGGS (AND OTHER MEATS)

"Car insurance groceries gasoline all consumer goods of course there's price gouging and greed." - Jennifer in Yakima

One listener mentioned that the cost of everyday things are only going up because the minimum wage keeps going up. To that I say, what are we supposed to do, get by living on scraps? Hard pass.

Minimum wage hasn't been keeping up with the times. Some of us are one paycheck away from losing our homes.

"Give it on up for Homelessville!" - Justin Timberlake on SNL

via GIPHY

In Washington, the minimum wage is currently $16.28 an hour. The federal wage is still $7.28, which if you think about it is less than $8 an hour!

I'm not sure how some people who don't have the means or ability to gain skills to get a higher paying job are getting by living off of that in any state in the country.

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