2013 is going to be an expensive year…

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original photo by: Christian Fischer

You may have heard something about this drought we’re going through? We’re getting warned that the price of corn has increased by 38% already, and though others expect it to climb, some are saying it’ll only result in a few cents more being paid at the grocery store. I couldn’t disagree more.

I’m not an economist. I’m not a farmer. But I have common sense. Corn is everywhere. It’s in breakfast cereals, sodas, fruit juices, snack foods, potato chips – and when not used as some sort of high fructose corn syrup, then it may be used as feed for chicken, pork, and other livestock. Corn is only one of the crops that’s suffering this year, you can count on many, may more vegetables suffering as “berry season” appraoches. I haven’t had a good watermelon yet, this year. Everything is about to get more expensive.

It’s going to be gradual. Infact, this is the time of year when livestock herds are going up for auction most frequently, so you might see prices drop over the next few weeks and months. But if you’re the kind of person who likes to have a Christmas ham? You’ll be paying more than last year. Go ahead and watch prices – early next year on in to next summer, I expect prices to rise. Substantially. That $2+ bottle of cola won’t just be in over-priced vending machines anymore, and everything from Dorito’s, to hamburgers, to heads of lettuce are all going to get more expensive. Pick your favorite product, watch its price over the next 12 months. Chart it in Excel, I dare you. It’s about to get pricey, and you should at least plan ahead a little right now. Prices won’t double, but when the price of every single thing you buy goes up, your wallet will take a punch. Be ready.