How bad is inflation?

I decided to head out for lunch with my partner yesterday. And we went to a coffee shop for our chicken curry which we hadn't have for maybe a year? It was a nice bowl of curry with noodles, chicken, beancurd skin and potatoes, as I remember. It was great tasting, and the last time I remembered it was $4 a year ago.

I was looking for my CDC voucher in my phone without being aware of the signboard, when my partner signal me to go home. And I soon realized why.... It was $6 a bowl. And for both of us, that would be $12. While I could pay with them with CDC vouchers, (thanking myself for paying taxes), I couldn't stop but ponder, did inflation went up by 50 percent over a year, or did my memory fail me. Nevertheless, I decided I wouldn't pay that amount for my meal, particularly if it is just to make myself full.

Instead, my partner cooked that day. Thanks to COVID, and working from home, he is now an excellent cook. Much better than me. I aim not to get food poisoning when I cook - i.e. get food cooked. My partner aims to cook great food.

Instead of buying from the coffee shop, we bought stuff at a grocery shop and ate lunch and dinner.

Lunch, we spent about $2.20 for both of us. Dinner, maybe at most $3.80. A bowl of curry noddles could feed both meals for 2. And, honestly, this is not too hard to cook. And actually，the food my partner made was as satisfying or more than the food we actually intend to buy.

Photos below, my lunch and dinner. Multiply by 2 to include both of us.

curry noodles

think of this as mixed rice - with nuts, vegetables and eggs. Btw I grilled the nuts with an air fryer. You get ~$5 for 800g of raw groundnuts and 7minutes in air fryer with simple washing.

We often complaining about inflation... And they just complain. Me included. We could choose to do nothing about it and complain and blame x y z..., or change what we can control. Earn more, spend less or maybe both.

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