The holidays are upon us, and while it may seem like people are spending more money than ever before, that's not exactly true.
According to the most recent consumer spending report, folks actually spent 0.2% less in October – a critical change compared to September's cheerier 0.7% rise.
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The most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) doesn't paint a much rosier picture.
Data from the October 2023 CPI shows that the price of many goods and services are higher compared to past prices. Here's a breakdown of how different items rose over the past 12 months:
- Food: up 3.3%
- Food at home: up 2.1%
- Food away from home: up 5.4%
- Energy: down 4.5%
- Electricity: up 2.4%
- New vehicles: up 1.9%
- Apparel: up 2.6%
- Medical care commodities: up 4.7%
- Shelter: up 6.7%
- Transportation services: up 9.2%
In all of 2022, food prices jumped 10.4% overall. It's too early to see how much food prices might jump in 2023 since we've still got another month to go, but it's safe to assume it likely won't decline much.
The fact of the matter is that life has gotten more expensive over the past few years, and it can be hard to find a good deal anywhere.
Enter the Trader Joe's unit of the privately held German discount-grocery chain Aldi. Trader Joe's sources spillover and overflow from other retailers, repackages the items, and offers them at budget-friendly prices.
Trader Joe's drops holiday products
Trader Joe's is beloved for its cheaper products, but it also offers a litany of festive items that keeps folks lining up, particularly in December ahead of the holidays. And the grocer has begun dropping some of those products already.
Each week, the store releases its Fearless Flier paper, touting some of its most exciting and innovative products. Some of the items coming back this week are old favorites, while others are entirely new to us all.
Here are some of those items:
- Jingle Jangle chocolate holiday mix
- Dark Chocolate Stars cookies
- Taste Test of Caramels
- Gingerbread House Kit
- Candy Cane Peppermint Joe Joe's sandwich cookies
- Pretzel Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
- Shimmering Candy Cane Body Butter
- Apple Crumble Pie
- Belgian Cookie Collection
- Something Spritzy holiday beverage
- Organic Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls
- Cinnamon Bun-Inspired Pancake and Waffle Mix
- Dark Chocolate Covered Peppermint Cremes
- Dolce Creamy Gorgonzola Style Cheese
- Italian Truffle Cheese
- Fried Olive Bites
- Spicy Snack Bar Mix
- Shrimp Pouches of Many Colors dumplings
- Panapoly of Organic Italian Pasta
- Mini Quiche Duo
- Cookie Mug Hangers
"Bells are jingling, the halls are decked, and atop rooves, reindeer hooves are click-click-clicking, which can only mean one thing: The Trader Joe’s Holiday Guide has arrived!" Trader Joe's writes in its flier.
Many of these items are seasonal, which means they will be available on a limited basis, while supplies last. Typically, Trader Joe's stops stocking them around the first week of January (if not sooner, if your location is popular and folks buy out extremely popular items like the Jingle Jangle mix for holiday parties).
