Coca-Cola: An Economic Indicator?

I bought a 2-liter of Coca-Cola today at the grocery store. In our house, Coke is a treat we (the grownups) rarely indulge in, due to the sugar and sodium content, and switching to the Diet variety is just not an option. It has to be regular Coke.

So, Friday night being Pizza Night here, I thought a little indulgence after a long week might be nice. Let me just say, I am still in sticker shock over this 2-Liter of Coca-Cola. Remember when it was 99 cents for a 2-liter? And even cheaper when it was on sale? Like, four years ago???

The regular price of a 2-Liter of Coke has now reached a whopping $1.79!!! That's almost double the price of only a few years ago! Wow!

I know this is only one tiny indicator of inflation and the effects of fuel prices, but for some reason, this really made it all hit home for me. I have felt really bad about how much I spend at the grocery store lately, but I bet if I compared a receipt from today with a receipt from four years ago, I would see a LOT of differences in prices for basic items. So I'm gonna go a little easier on myself about the grocery slice on our budget pie...

I'm sure there are still a few slivers I can take off and add to our slice of savings, but it's a work in progress (just like me!).

Edited Saturday at 9:45 AM: I looked up the Consumer Price Index for some common household staples and took a 10-year view of these items to see how they've increased. Items I included are: ground beef, whole chicken, bread, gasoline (unleaded, regular), milk (no data was available for some reason for milk), electricity, and coffee. Click here to select items and create your own table of consumer prices. Unfortunately, Coca-Cola was not included. Apparently the government does not agree that Coca-Cola is a good economic indicator...maybe I'll write my congressman.