I don't feel as though everything is going up. I feel as thought so many things are awfully cheap. Clothing, houseware. Everything seems incredibly cheap. Imports.

Except ... real estate, medical care, and services generally. And premium quality food.

Some things are up, some are down. Gas prices are still low compared to a few years ago, imported "stuff" seems to be low priced. I, too, try to buy made in USA. I found a toaster I wanted that was ridiculously expensive because made in USA, but figured it might last the rest of my life compared to the carp from China. Only found one outlet where to buy it online, but the guy wanted something like $25 to ship it (probably double what it would cost, since it wasn't bulky nor heavy). So I refused to pay that, even though it made me sad to get a China import (the only option I could find).

I think we haven't seen anything yet in the way of rising costs. Just wait until everything from Mexico (so much of our food) has a tariff. Mexico won't pay that, we consumers will. I try to not buy too much imported food because I don't trust their use of chemicals, etc. but now with the gutting of so many regulations in the US proposed, I'll never be able to trust USA grown food, either, except my local organic growers. But I think many, many things will become much more expensive because of these tariffs.

And as far as your cleaners goes, I wouldn't mind paying more for personal services like that. If her costs are going up, that's the only way she can make a profit. I wouldn't hem someone's pants for $10 or $12...but heck, like you, I wouldn't do it for $15, either! I wouldn't be surprised if her cc charges hadn't risen that much, but I think the suggestion by sushipup to pay cash for a discount is a great one.

The price may have increased, but the original price was really low. IMO, the $10.00 you were paying for years is ridiculously cheap and $15.00 is still a bargain.

I would agree with Mtn about the cheapness of clothing, houseware,etc. And, it comes with corresponding lack of quality. I could pay less today for a lamp at Target than I paid 30 years ago. But, people demand cheap disposable goods today. As far as a service, like your jean hemming, I often have an arbitrary financial line I won't cross. It's never based on anything but my own whim. So, I might be willing to pay $13 for hemming, but not $14.

With hydroponics, micro-greens and other growing methods, I'm hoping our domestic-based agriculture can fill in the gaps of availability when imported produce becomes too expensive for many Americans.

Lukkiirish, my local cleaners have been consistent and competitive in their cleaning prices because this is the bulk of their business. Tailoring is custom work and I have noticed those prices creeping up a bit--but not by what you experienced. I would question that too and I bet you're not the only one doing so.

My dry cleaner gives a discount for cash transactions.

The tailor may have other factors, rent, utilities, salaries, materials, etc. I look at things like this compared with how much I value my time spent on the effort. If it would be worth $15 of my time and I want to do the activity, then do it myself. If not worth my time and I don't like doing it, take it to someone else.

As you might imagine, I'm not in favor of a 20% tariff on goods imported from Mexico. However it would be unlikely to translate into a 20% price increase if only because the 20% is on the wholesale price and as we all know retail prices are usually at least double.

I just got back from the grocery store and avocados are already up 100% from last week. Which is super annoying because they're actually local here.

I can't sew, so I am at the mercy of a professional. That said, I have two sources. One is my expensive dry cleaner's tailor. He is amazing and will even tell me to return an item because in his opinion it will not look right when altered. BTW, $16.00 to hem jeans.

Then, I have seamstress who works out of her home. She sews on her enclosed front porch. Her quality is not as good, but good enough. I would not give her anything expensive to alter. $4.00 to hem jeans. ( I always give her more, by rounding up.)

But....when comparing the hems, hers might look a bit wavy.

So, I go where ever it makes sense for the item.

Yes, you can probably find someone less expensive and hopefully just as skilled.

i am short and it's difficult finding clothing that fits perfectly.

On the whole, I do not think that prices are going up all that much. However, the volume and quality I am receiving for the same money has nose dived. Actually, take it back. Vehicle prices have gone way, way up. I can say, that for my water bill or phone bill, if I pay with a card, the convenience fee for using the card is $3.00 so if that is what they are charging the business, $15 may not be that bad.

As a taller woman whose length is in her torso and not her legs, I learned to just not be picky about the length of my pants. They are a bit shorter than they "should" be but I really do not care all that much. However, my husband is on the short side so he is willing to pay to have things hemmed so that he does not have the extra fabric to deal with. My favorite way of getting around this is ordering his pants from Land's End who hem for free.

Trump is notorious for making outlandish first statements to draw out a big reaction because when the reality is lower people act thankful and forget that its still more than it was to start with. Its nothing new for him (he bragged about it in Art Of The Deal.) Instead of $10 for hemming jeans he would threaten $20 and then settle for $14- one might feel its not so bad since it isnt $20 and forget thats its still a $4 increase.

its also important to remember that some of the imports from Mexico are from American companies like Ford and GM- lower profits for them will result in higher consumer prices for sure.

I agree that pricing for things made in China haven't changed much, but I'm not a disposable type of buyer and try to avoid buying China chunk as much as I possibly can. When it comes to our home or personal items, I'm not a disposable buyer and am willing to pay for quality but like Oly, I'll shop around or just do with out.

Food is where I see prices rising the most. Someone mentioned how prices haven't changed much but sizes have descreased which to me still equates to a price increase.

I've stopped buying a lot of the things we used to splurge on and tend to buy in bulk and repackage foods into smaller servings. We don't buy chips, treats or snacks and I always cook at home, but other than a few staple items, I don't buy much from our local Krogers or Meijer. Our fruits and vegi's are from a local farmer's market and organic (when available) . Dairy is from a local farmer, our meat is from an Amish poultry farm or Costco.

Tonight I stopped by Ulta with my daughter to buy my preferred shampoo/conditioner. The kind I use lasts a long time so it's been a while since my last purchase. Of course the bottles had shrunk by a couple of ounzes and the price had still creeped up. I asked a lady on the floor if there was a comparable product for less and she showed me a few. I chose one that I'm familiar with and I'm hoping it will be fine, but my favorite has hit a number and size that's beyond what I feel is reasonable so I'm moving on.

When it comes to my pants and the hems, maybe it's a demographic thing, because 12.00 is reasonable, but 15.00 in our neck of the woods is a lot.

Sushi, I was thinking along those lines as well and I actually stopped by the Credit Union today so I'd be prepared to pay cash. She didn't ask me to but I know she'll appreciate it.

I like my shirts to fit a little looser than normal AND have short arms so that usually means I have to have 3/4 length to long sleeves shortened. The cost has gone from $6 to $10 over the years. Just recently increased to $10. The seamstress from the cleaners does a good job but I'm already paying $50 to $60 per shirt. Just ordered two more today so that's another $20 for alterations :( At least I got free shipping (just by asking). We have ONE cleaners in town.

Everyone once in awhile, while grocery shopping, it will hit me like a ton of bricks how much more items are costing. It's almost like it's overnight. Seems like you can sail along for months without noticing a jump in prices, then BAM!

The part that really gets me is that for packaged food items (canned/boxed) the prices don't necessarily increase but the quantity per package has absolutely decreased. So you might be paying the same $5 for coffee, but while it used to buy you a pound of coffee, it is now buying you 10 ounces, for example. You pay the same $ (but if you use it regularly you are buying it more often). Quite the deception.

I got married in the late 70s when inflation was out of control. Grocery prices literally increased from one shopping trip to the next. After that, I've never really noticed price increases much as they seem to be pretty gradual. Also, I've lived through the time frame when we shifted from American made products that were more expensive to products made in other countries where labor was cheaper. I can remember buying a Casablanca, made in the USA, ceiling fan for $600 about 20 years ago. The last ceiling fan I bought was less than $200.

I do recall the size of things diminishing during the economic collapse though prices remained the same. Ice cream no longer a half gallon, toilet paper rolls narrower, bar soap hollowed out on one side. And this stuff remains the same now.

Coffee prices remained the same, but contents dropped from 30 oz to 24 oz.

I echo the sentiments upthread about quantities of packaged items consistently decreasing as prices stay the same or even increase. It seemed to start with boxed items like cereal, chips, coffee, etc. The latest appears to be toilet paper, which is now sold on tubes that are just-a-bit shorter than they used to be. All this started during the recession, but appears to have continued as manufacturers are pressed to continue to meet investor expectations.

I should also single out the airline industry as one "entity" that started tweaking things in order to maintain viability during the combined calamity of the recession and increased fuel prices. Both of those crises are over (fuel costs are at record lows), yet we're still being nickel-and-dimed for baggage and "premium" seating in packed planes flying fewer routes.

I believe technology is the exception. It still seems to follow the traditional market rules of pricy innovations when first released (think CRT-projection-plasma-LCD-LED-HD-UHD TVs), but lower prices shortly thereafter as competition kicks in.

I have to pay $10 more per garment to get talls -- if I can even find them.

Lascatx, I'm so short that 4 inches has to be cut from the short sized jeans I buy, I'll be happy to send the 4 inches to you! LOL. I also returned 5 long sleeved shirts I had ordered online from Kohls because the sleeves hit the top of my knee caps. 3/4 sleeves work great as long sleeves for me. I think the clothing industry discriminates against tall and short people don't you?

To add to my above statement, one of my lines in the sand where I will not pay more is an ebook that costs more than the print book. When I see the price higher for the Kindle book than the print on Amazon, I will either wait it out or try my luck at the library.