'Greedflation' still pushing up prices

[0:00]Before your money now, are you familiar with greedflation? Well, you may be experiencing it even if you don't know what it is. CBS 4's Zach Myers has more and how to avoid it. Well, greedflation is basically what it sounds like, companies using inflation as an excuse to raise prices in order to boost profits. In case you didn't already suspect this was happening, according to the consumer watchdog group accountable.us, companies including Pepsi and Kimberly Clark have admitted to benefiting from higher prices increasing their profits. Ulta saw profits go up 25% last year, and Tyson boasted profit increases of more than $3 billion in the last couple years. Experts say it will take action from Congress to really stop this, so what can we all do in the meantime? Basically, stop feeding the beast, especially when it comes to groceries. Start looking for generic alternatives to some of the higher priced name brands. Almost every aisle at the grocery store has store brand or generic items for 25% less than popular brands. Now, that can be a hit and miss endeavor because you don't know about the quality until you try it. Fortunately, the crazy coupon lady website has done a lot of research for you. Some things like pancake syrup may not be best for finding an off brand if it's too watery or not enough flavor. However, milk could be something you can easily substitute because generics are often processed at the same dairy as the more expensive option, so you're literally buying the same milk. The crazy coupon lady has a long list of generic versus name brand comparisons and how much you can save. It's usually within a dollar or less per item, but that can really add up over months of grocery trips. You'll find a link to that at CBS4indy.com. For CBS4 News, I'm Zach Myers.