Wagyu actually is a specific breed of cattle, or rather breeds, there are several separate Wagyu breeds. Canada even has a Wagyu association, I think it's only grown in Alberta, though. Wagyu translates into "Japanese Cow" or "Japanese Beef" or something along those lines. Wagyu cattle are genetically predisposed to intense fat marbling, and so command a higher price than "plain old" beef. I tried it. Once. I disliked the slick of tallow left in my mouth, it's that odd texture thing that gets me, so fortunately, I wasn't all that impressed with something that's outrageously expensive, LOL. If regular beef is $10 a pound and Wagyu is $60 a pound, then it had better be 6 times as delicious as the other. I just don't think it is. Annie Annie

In defense of some tile stores, I have to say that the two we dealt with met or exceeded our expectations. We bought our backsplash tile from Arizona Tile locally. We were in several times mulling over what we wantd, borrowing samples, etc. They offered just the right amount of help - not too much, not too little. When we finally decided, we needed to order the tile, the grout, the thinset, and the sealer. They patiently explained the various options on all those things. When the order was in 3 days later, they fetched and loaded the stuff into our car, and called when they discovered they'd forgotten to include one item. We had to drive back to the store, but at least we didn't discover the error when we were mid-job! We got our fireplace tile from Bedrosian's, also local. They also met expectations. Two of our boxes of tile turned out to be 60% broken when we opened them, and Bedrosian's ordered more without any fuss. Neither of these transactions was large, in fact, definitely smallish. They did well for us and I'd recommend them both.

I think this depends so much on local situations. I see ideagirl's point, and as many have stated above, many of us are willing to pay a premium to encourage local business. BUT, this is a two-way street: local businesses should definitely be aware that they are competing for business that is also offered online, often for cheaper, and actively implement the friendly, helpful service that is the big advantage they have over online retailers. Sorry but guilting me into shopping locally is not going to cut it, when I walk into stores that have a huge mark-up and can't be bothered to assist me. I understand the higher costs local business incurs and willingly pays a bit more. Hundreds more? No, because at that point I can't afford it at all. My tactic is to check locally first - go into the store, look around, and see what happens. Unfortunately, I am often ignored and/or treated with utter indifference. At that point my philosophy is that if they don't care to have my business, I'm happy to spend less online.

I generally do not keep track of or remember prices of groceries, and I have citrus trees (lemon, lime, and orange), but I've heard that the price of oranges is going up. I freeze excess lemons and limes when I have them. I bought a new sink and faucet for my kitchen renovation, and the sink cost $740 and the faucet was $600, not including tax. I know that is quite a bit more than I paid for a kitchen faucet in 2014, but I don't remember what I paid for a sink back then - and I bought an identical sink in 2014, which I was lucky to find again, since I did not want a farmhouse sink. The faucets I bought are Hansgrohe, and the new one is fancier than the previous one, but I expect it to last a long time. I bought a shirt and two bathing suits at Revivals Thrift Store, and the total was $7.50. Fabric seems more expensive, and so I do look for sales when buying that. In Rome in 2016, the linen I wanted was €75 a meter, and so I did not buy it. It would have cost me $165 - $185 for enough fabric to make a short sleeve shirt, and I thought that was excessive.