Money
August Inflation: Why Your Bills Can Outrun the Headline
August inflation reached 3.4% by two federal measures. Here is why household bills can feel different ahead of the October 14 CPI report.
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STORIES WITH TASTE
MoneyLaid Off but Eating Steak: How I Saved $56 at Ralphs
Being unemployed has one surprising advantage: shopping while everyone works. I found four Ralphs rib-eye steaks for $50.96 and saved $56.38.
MoneyStocks Over $1,000 per Share: Inside the Rich Investor’s Club
$ASML, $1,669.59 · $BRK.A, $812,687.68 · $CZBS, $66.68 · $NVR, $5,979.00. From Berkshire Hathaway to NVR, discover why some stocks trade above $1,000 per share—and how record earnings, layoffs and wealth compounding reveal two very different Americas.
MoneyBread, Water, and $47-a-Pound Shrimp at 99 Ranch
A trip through 99 Ranch’s live seafood tanks reveals $47 prawns, $35 turbot and the strange luxury of grocery shopping during mass layoffs.
MoneyAt Ralphs, the Rich Can Make Every Day a Holiday
I went to Ralphs for ordinary groceries and found a locked cabinet of Champagne and wine priced like rent—a funny reminder that, for the rich, any Tuesday can become a holiday.
CultureFrom Status Symbol to $10 Thrift-Store Relic: The Fall of the Crystal Ashtray
At Goodwill, a massive cut-glass ashtray costs just $9.99—a nearly obsolete object that once advertised wealth, taste and the glamour of smoking.
MoneyFor Rich, Costco Will Sell You Some of the Finest Spirits in the World
$XIII, $10.05. Behind glass at Costco, a $3,800 Louis XIII Cognac and a $700 Hibiki 21 reveal a side of the warehouse club most shoppers never expect to see.
CarsA Mercedes for the Price of Two Orange County Incomes
$AMG, $391.33. At Mercedes-Benz of Foothill Ranch, a 2026 AMG E 53 reaches $102,275—nearly 1.9 times Orange County’s annual per-capita income. The technology dazzles; the window stickers deliver the real acceleration.
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