Caitríona Redmond: We’ve had enough jargon — why do we feel like we have less money?

The terms negative consumer sentiment, Vibecession, Boomcession, and K-Shaped Economy don’t quite describe that bad feeling when we struggle with the cost of grocery shopping. It’s time to debunk the jargon and start calling the high cost of living a saga.

We are getting less food for our money. More expensive shopping trolleys mean less money for discretionary treats like cinema trips or family excursions.

I remember when I first started writing for the Irish Examiner, sitting in Belfast on a research trip, looking at the headlines about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hoping it would be a short-lived incursion.

The research aimed to determine if the cost of grocery staples was higher, lower, or similar on either side of the border. Even then, before the conflict-induced spikes in energy began to impact our shopping baskets, Irish consumers were rattled by the impact of heavy rains on the Iberian Peninsula — which destroyed many production areas, causing the price of fruits and vegetables to rapidly increase.