“The number of people cashing out their pensions — including people who are at retirement age — just to be able to afford to live is staggering.”

I'm a Southern California-based writer on the Lifestyle team who likes to try and rank viral foods and read and recommend awesome books.

"Support local florists in your community; don't just order from some online company that has sponsored ads and expect an arrangement to arrive at your door for $39.99. Be smart: scroll down and choose a local brick-and-mortar florist, call a florist in your town, or stop into a store and buy a bouquet from a real person who wants to create something unique and beautiful just for your occasion."

"Also, the vast majority of 'no-kill' shelters are closed-intake, aka managed-intake, shelters. This means they have zero requirement to accept any animals, and can cherry-pick the animals they accept based on whatever standards they want, and turn everyone else away. On the flip side, open-intake shelters are those required to accept animals, hence why they are pretty much always in a space crisis."

"But 60% of people have textured hair, and we're only taught about it if we take outside education. Some schools are fortunate enough to have someone experienced with textured hair to lecture on the topic, but it is not an absolute requirement. If you have textured hair, look for a specialist, because they likely have continued their education further than someone in a regular salon. Lastly, SALLY'S IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY STORE."

"I'm a chef, and I see the direct outcome of all of this every week. Broccolini, onions, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, asparagus, tomatoes, potatoes, green onions, limes, lemons, and oranges are all standard items we keep in my restaurant, and over the last six months, prices have increased anywhere from 30% to 60%.

Plus, the quality of these things has also crashed. Onions are half rotten from the inside, almost every Idaho potato has some blight in it, and tomatoes are mealy and flavorless. There are hard-as-rock limes with barely any juice in them, the tiniest asparagus and broccolini I've ever seen, and the smallest heads of cauliflower. It's very bad, and no one is really talking about it. I used to pay $10 for a case of 5x6 steak tomatoes; they're at $81 as of today.

And this is just produce. Meat and dairy are also wild right now. The market for beef feels like it's in free fall because of the absolutely outrageous prices right now, and things like butter and heavy cream keep going up. Even pork, which has traditionally been extremely stable, is starting to go up. People have less and less disposable income, and with gas as high as it is right now, fewer people are going out to eat as well. I'm extremely nervous for this industry as a whole and have been keeping a close eye on things."

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.