Consumer Alert: Everything from the price of Pampers to rental cars is going up

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Today’s consumer alert concerns the price of parenting.

It’s about to go up. Remember I told you last week that the prices for everything from gas to groceries are going up. Tuesday Proctor & Gamble joined to price hike bandwagon. Keeping diapers on that cute little bundle of joy is about to get more expensive. Proctor & Gamble makes Pampers, Luvs and All Good Diapers. And remember last month, Kimberly Clark announced it’s hiking prices too. It’s the maker of Huggies diapers. The cost of those Huggies are going up in June. Pampers, Luvs and All Good Diapers will go up in September.

Also look for price hikes on other Proctor & Gamble feminine products and adult diapers as well as Scott toilet paper, which is owned by Kimberly Clark. o the question is why?

Manufacturers blame us. Remember early in the pandemic when we were raiding store shelves? Remember when you were hitting four or five stores in search of toilet paper?

Manufacturers are still trying to catch up in that boom in demand by hiring front-line workers, increasing wages, even turning to third-party manufacturers to fill the gap. All of that costs money, so of course, those manufacturers pass along the costs to us.

And the pandemic is causing a huge spike in one the price of travel resources. Last year, we stopped traveling, and subsequently stopped renting cars. The rental market tanked forcing rental companies to sell off some of their fleet. For example, Hertz filed for bankruptcy last May and sold off more than 40% of their cars. So if you can find a rental car, the price has skyrocketed. And don’t even try to get a car without a reservation.

But all is not lost. I found that if you’re willing to search and you book early, you can still find the deals. For example, I searched for the price of an economy car, a Nissan Versa in Orlando, Florida.

If I tried to book it for this weekend, it’s $206 a day, but two months from now the same car is $39 a day. In this cost-climbing climate, if you plan and pre-pay, it could go a long way.

And that’s your consumer alert.