How are you handling rising food and energy costs?

[Tink3815]

YES! I'm stumped as to how and why this is happening. Figuring something will bottom out at some point.

Credit Card debt is at an all time high. Many have had a break from making school loan payments since Covid, so they extra money in their budgets.

 

[dvcgirl67]

Credit Card debt is at an all time high. Many have had a break from making school loan payments since Covid, so they extra money in their budgets.

Yes...I'm interested to see what impact the resumption of student loan payments will have on the economy. While inflation has fallen, overall, it's still sticky and as this thread attests, food prices are still higher than the overall inflation number. Housing prices in my part of the country (northeast) remain high despite much higher mortgage rates because inventory is so low. So many people have mortgages that start with a "3"....that many aren't willing to sell, buy a pricey home to get a mortgage that starts with a "7".

And yet, even the Wall Street Journal had a piece today about the overall economy being resilient in the face of all of that. Unemployment is still very very low and GDP growth, while not robust, also was higher than expected. The stock market is still 10% down from the pie in the sky numbers it hit....but that's not exactly devastating either. Tricky economy for sure.

 

[DCLMP]

I belong to Sams and Costco. Sam's is significantly cheaper for canned goods, condiments, fresh fruit, salads, and vegetables. Some things are a better deal at Costco. If you don't belong to Sam's I would give it a shot. The membership is 45 dollars, but sometimes you can find promos or credit card offers and get a membership for free. Sam's takes all credit cards that's why you'll see American Express or MasterCard giving membership deals whereas Costco only takes Visa.

 

[Imzadi]

I had to buy eggs tonight and I snapped this pic. Large eggs are $6.39. I bought the extra large at $6.99.

I did get a deal on 2 pork chops for about $4.49. That is CHEAP here now.

 

[Nora03]

I went grocery shopping today and spent $424! More than half of that was for meat as I needed to stock up. But I got a dozen large eggs for $3.99, and good price for pork tenderloin. But I also bought a package of boneless chicken breasts that had a price tag of $25, and a large sticker that said $25. On checking my receipt I was charged $30! Now I have to take the packaging and my receipt to get a refund! So annoying! How many people don’t check their receipts and how did this happen?

 

[tvguy]

I had to buy eggs tonight and I snapped this pic. Large eggs are $6.39. I bought the extra large at $6.99.

I did get a deal on 2 pork chops for about $4.49. That is CHEAP here now.

View attachment 773032

I paid $2.74 for 18 eggs on Sunday.

 

[DCLMP]

I went grocery shopping today and spent $424! More than half of that was for meat as I needed to stock up. But I got a dozen large eggs for $3.99, and good price for pork tenderloin. But I also bought a package of boneless chicken breasts that had a price tag of $25, and a large sticker that said $25. On checking my receipt I was charged $30! Now I have to take the packaging and my receipt to get a refund! So annoying! How many people don’t check their receipts and how did this happen?

This has happened more than a few times for us. Now at grocery stores, I always go through the self-scan so I can see each item as it's rung up. Sometimes items on sale have two barcodes the regular price and the sale price. If you scan the wrong one then you're overcharged. I honestly think stores are hoping you don't catch it.

 

[Gladys Belcher]

Grocery Outlet (Bargain Market) has been a blessing to our neighborhood.

 

[Christine]

I had to buy eggs tonight and I snapped this pic. Large eggs are $6.39. I bought the extra large at $6.99.

I did get a deal on 2 pork chops for about $4.49. That is CHEAP here now.

View attachment 773032

See this is where I'm stumped at prices across the country. I live in a high COL area so food prices tend to match that. I *always* buy Eggland's Best XL eggs Grade AA. Wegman's seems to be the only place that carries the Grade AA but no matter. I've been paying $3.99 at Wegman's for them for months. Other stores have the Large Grade A for about $4.20. Last week, I noticed both the XL and the Large in this brand had dropped down almost 50 cents per dozen. Then to see someone else paying $6.39???? It doesn't make sense.

 

[TwoMisfits]

See this is where I'm stumped at prices across the country. I live in a high COL area so food prices tend to match that. I *always* buy Eggland's Best XL eggs Grade AA. Wegman's seems to be the only place that carries the Grade AA but no matter. I've been paying $3.99 at Wegman's for them for months. Other stores have the Large Grade A for about $4.20. Last week, I noticed both the XL and the Large in this brand had dropped down almost 50 cents per dozen. Then to see someone else paying $6.39???? It doesn't make sense.

Different stores loss lead (or seek different profits from) different products, depending how they think it drives their consumers to shop there.

Safeway this summer is trying this out officially with its "price lock" on certain products (what Wegmans has had for awhile). The store somewhat reduced the prices on products bought a lot and put price lock stickers on them so the price won't increase til November. Bakery French bread for $1.99 is my favorite one (since it comes out to almost the same price now as the generic store sliced bread, so yes, if I'm at Safeway, I'm buying a loaf of bakery bread)...

 

[Minnesota!]

Hmmm, $75 a week for 2 people. So you average $5 a person per day for food? You must have some pretty cheap grocery stores. We’re seniors too. And we still eat quite a bit.

I spend about $75/week for 4 people. Granted, we bought a cow 15 months ago, so a large chunk of meat is from that, but...

My wife did make gravy with the drippings. Not sure how much 2 tablespoons of flour costs. Limited seasonings as I had an ablation done 2 weeks ago and I was on a soft bland diet.......that ended today. It was done in the crockpot.
I had oatmeal for breakfast today, and cottage cheese today for lunch, not sure how many pennies that cost!!!!

You eat like I do. My oatmeal (or quinoa) typically has stuff in it - seasonings, berries, nuts. But lunch is usually a bowl of cottage cheese with some seasoning, or the last few days its been a granny smith with some PB. Dinner for me sounds a lot like yours, too. I am a pescatarian, so it is usually a small salad with some kind of protein in it - cottage cheese, shrimp, eggs, etc. If it was just me that I had to feed, I could easily get by on $5/day.

I have 3 boys - 2 teens (both 6'4, 265+) and a husband of the same size. I meal plan, shop around sales, and cook simple, healthy things. A 2# pork loin would yield leftovers, because I make so many "cheap sides"....veggies, salad, usually some quinoa or lentils. I always make "a leftover container" before they even dig in so that it is out of sight, out of mind.

I grocery shop Aldi each Monday for between $50 - $75, and then Costco 1 - 2 a month for my almonds, the block cheddar, a chicken or two to make pasta salad with (lunches for the fam), sour cream, and in the summer, I get my son his fave tortilla chips and some shredded cheese so he can have his daily nachos that he makes with leftovers from the night before. Otherwise, I do not buy shredded cheese the rest of the year...that kid can shred it by hand

Just got a bunch of eggs - they are under $1/dozen. Will hardboil up a few containers for sandwiches, salads, quick breakfasts. Will make an egg bake or two, and many meals will be taken care of for well under $10.

I feel for people who live where they are still outrageous. Our lake place is in small town and their groceries are EASILY 3x the cost and the wages are half of what they are here. I can see how people can get jaded, thinking nobody is able to survive.

 

[hrhdhd]

This has happened more than a few times for us. Now at grocery stores, I always go through the self-scan so I can see each item as it's rung up. Sometimes items on sale have two barcodes the regular price and the sale price. If you scan the wrong one then you're overcharged. I honestly think stores are hoping you don't catch it.

At Publix if something scans wrong, I get it free. (Except alcohol and tobacco.) I usually try to pick a checkout line with someone ahead of me so I can unload my cart before my transaction starts to watch the scanner.

 

[focusondisney]

I spend about $75/week for 4 people. Granted, we bought a cow 15 months ago, so a large chunk of meat is from that, but...

You eat like I do. My oatmeal (or quinoa) typically has stuff in it - seasonings, berries, nuts. But lunch is usually a bowl of cottage cheese with some seasoning, or the last few days its been a granny smith with some PB. Dinner for me sounds a lot like yours, too. I am a pescatarian, so it is usually a small salad with some kind of protein in it - cottage cheese, shrimp, eggs, etc. If it was just me that I had to feed, I could easily get by on $5/day.

I have 3 boys - 2 teens (both 6'4, 265+) and a husband of the same size. I meal plan, shop around sales, and cook simple, healthy things. A 2# pork loin would yield leftovers, because I make so many "cheap sides"....veggies, salad, usually some quinoa or lentils. I always make "a leftover container" before they even dig in so that it is out of sight, out of mind.

I grocery shop Aldi each Monday for between $50 - $75, and then Costco 1 - 2 a month for my almonds, the block cheddar, a chicken or two to make pasta salad with (lunches for the fam), sour cream, and in the summer, I get my son his fave tortilla chips and some shredded cheese so he can have his daily nachos that he makes with leftovers from the night before. Otherwise, I do not buy shredded cheese the rest of the year...that kid can shred it by hand

Just got a bunch of eggs - they are under $1/dozen. Will hardboil up a few containers for sandwiches, salads, quick breakfasts. Will make an egg bake or two, and many meals will be taken care of for well under $10.

I feel for people who live where they are still outrageous. Our lake place is in small town and their groceries are EASILY 3x the cost and the wages are half of what they are here. I can see how people can get jaded, thinking nobody is able to survive.

My $200 is all in. It includes all meat , staples & toiletries. I don’t have a cow for meat in my freezer & I don’t have a Costco to buy other staples & toiletries from. If I was just buying produce & a few foods at the grocery store, I’d probably be able to spend $100 a week too. But my husband loves fillet steak, I get salmon for myself usually. So I spend probably $50-60 on meat & seafood alone every week. But I bet Costco twice a month probably adds up too.

 

[shh]

Unfortunately, a lot of bulk shopping doesn't include low sodium items.

Plus, when it's just one or two people, things like sweet potatoes and other bulk stuff goes bad. Even canned and other shelf stable foods - you can only keep them so long.

 

[shh]

I have been meaning to mention this on here for a while and kept forgetting. For those who don’t know, Flashfood is an app that is linked to local supermarkets to provide discounted food that is close to their sell by date. Here in Massachusetts, it is affiliated with Stop and Shop stores. I have not used it because I don’t really go to Stop and Shop, but I have looked on the app and it seems to provide some big discounts on things like fruits and vegetables as well as prepared foods.

The app is free and the website is Flashfood.com.

With all the crazy prices, hopefully this can help people out!

I think I will start a new thread mentioning this to let more people know about it.

this is great - unfortunately no stores in my state participate - yet.

 

[White Cat]

I had to buy eggs tonight and I snapped this pic. Large eggs are $6.39. I bought the extra large at $6.99.

I did get a deal on 2 pork chops for about $4.49. That is CHEAP here now.

View attachment 773032

I was grocery shopping in Manhattan a few times recently and was really shocked at the food prices. I know they were always a little higher than I was used to but know it’s really high.

 

[Imzadi]

See this is where I'm stumped at prices across the country. I live in a high COL area so food prices tend to match that. I *always* buy Eggland's Best XL eggs Grade AA. Wegman's seems to be the only place that carries the Grade AA but no matter. I've been paying $3.99 at Wegman's for them for months. Other stores have the Large Grade A for about $4.20. Last week, I noticed both the XL and the Large in this brand had dropped down almost 50 cents per dozen. Then to see someone else paying $6.39???? It doesn't make sense.

$3.99 was about the price I was normally paying pre-pandemic. I don't think the prices will ever go down to that price again here. Basically, to the store owners, since the stores are able to get people to still buy at $6.39, WHY lower it much?

We don't really have Walmart in Manhattan. The Targets we have are "mini-Targets" with a skeleton amount of merchandise. The city regulated them from having large stores here as they say having those big box stores here would put the little mom & pop stores out of business as there's no way they could compete with Walmart's and Target's prices.

That was fine pre-pandemic as the mom & pop stores kept reasonable prices, (yet still higher than the rest of the country.) But, since then, with the supply issues and now inflation as excuses to keep prices high, they've been able to raise prices and keep them high as there is no competition. Since they've been able to get us fools to pay $6.39 for a dozen eggs, WHY lower the prices much? Basically, the prices are this high because they CAN.

 

[Imzadi]

Just got a bunch of eggs - they are under $1/dozen. Will hardboil up a few containers for sandwiches, salads, quick breakfasts. Will make an egg bake or two, and many meals will be taken care of for well under $10.

Wow, I'm so envious. I said up-thread I did happen to see one of the mini-Targets had eggs for $.99/dozen a couple weeks ago. I just couldn't believe it. I thought the eggs had to be genetically altered or going bad in a couple days. Now, I'm thinking it was priced incorrectly for this area. I've noticed the online prices are even higher for here than if I input the zip code for further away. Even Trader Joe's now has eggs for around $4 here.

 

[Minnesota!]

Wow, I'm so envious. I said up-thread I did happen to see one of the mini-Targets had eggs for $.99/dozen a couple weeks ago. I just couldn't believe it. I thought the eggs had to be genetically altered or going bad in a couple days. Now, I'm thinking it was priced incorrectly for this area. I've noticed the online prices are even higher for here than if I input the zip code for further away. Even Trader Joe's now has eggs for around $4 here.

On Instacart, eggs (from Aldi) are 1.09 and 2.29 from Cub, so they must be cheaper in person. We got our eggs this last time from Kwik Trip because we were there. Regionality of prices is just so...weird.

 

[disneyseniors]

I don't think I have paid less than $3 for a dozen eggs in over year. I am paying consistently $200 a week or more for groceries.

I bought 18 egg count at Walmart this week for $1.99. I guess that was a really good bargain. Food prices at Walmart are coming down in our area, but still up a lot at the family owned stores.