How are you handling rising food and energy costs?

[HeatherC]

Just came back from the supermarket and was once again shocked at the prices. Just one example, was Skippy and Jif Peanut butter was $5.99 a jar….and not the large jars. I used to get it for like $2.50. The store brand was on sale for $1.49 so I grabbed the last one.

I then stopped for gas in the way home and realized it had gone up between 5 and 10 cents literally overnight.

Today is also the first day National Grids new pricing goes into effect for electricity which will be an increase of 65%.

This got me thinking how are people honestly feeding their families, heating their homes, paying for child care, etc. We are extremely fortunate that we are able to absorb these costs without wiping out savings, etc.. My heart goes out to those struggling now and I fear it will just get worse over the winter.

I know I have become much more conscious with our spending and have decided that I am going to try and pick up a few extra things each week and donate it to our local food pantry as well as get better at meal planning.

How are things affecting your family?

 

[TwoMisfits]

One way was taking my spouse to the grocery store to see items that I can't eat, but he and the kids do, so he can know not to waste them.

He almost fell on the floor last week when he saw the regular price of Hillshire Farm 1 lb lunch meat for turkey or ham was $11.99 now. He didn't even want to pay the sale price of $8.99, so I only bought one.

Same for cereal. Regular price of the smallest box of multi-serve Cheerios/Lucky Charms/Cocoa Puffs is $5.99. Not a misprint.

So, now, when I go to Safeway, I only buy about 3-4 things if they are regular price. Everything else, it's on sale (and sometimes, not even bought then) or skipped. It has made shopping and cooking interesting, like the 1940s, since I don't buy a recipe item if it's regular price - I see what I have to sub for it. So, it's like forced scarcity on myself.

PS - I was sad b/c my HMart had kept sushi prices the same for 2021 and 2022, so it was now a "great deal" for 2022 sushi prices, but that great deal ended last week. When they raised the prices 80% (also not a misprint - $4.99 became $8.99), I wrote off that item from my "lunch treat" list...

 

[slo]

It hasn’t affected us much, because I only buy what we need and have been doing this for about 5 years now. I’ve become a master at meal planning and making out grocery lists. I keep a pad of paper on the fridge for DH & DD19 to write down what they need. I do grocery shopping on Thursdays and before I go, I do a last call for requests. If they say they don’t need anything and it’s not on the list then they are out of luck until next week. My money spent has lessened by doing this. What started me doing this is constantly spending $200+ at the grocery store and still having nothing to make for dinner. It took awhile to really develop what I do now and I’m glad I do it

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I've started shopping at Aldi again, I don't like Aldi.

 

[GreatLakes]

We aren't really doing anything other than paying more. We don't have to adjust what we eat and aren't going to make less healthy decisions to save money but we are in a position to not have to do so. I think a lot of people will have to make different buying choices, leave their homes a little cooler this winter, and plan trips to tackle multiple errands at once to minimize gas usage. Hopefully prices stabilize as quickly as possible so it is less painful for people.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

It hasn’t affected us much, because I only buy what we need and have been doing this for about 5 years now. I’ve become a master at meal planning and making out grocery lists. I keep a pad of paper on the fridge for DH & DD19 to write down what they need. I do grocery shopping on Thursdays and before I go, I do a last call for requests. If they say they don’t need anything and it’s not on the list then they are out of luck until next week. My money spent has lessened by doing this. What started me doing this is constantly spending $200+ at the grocery store and still having nothing to make for dinner. It took awhile to really develop what I do now and I’m glad I do it

I do this too, but I've been doing it for about 20 years. Keep a list on the fridge to write things down when we run out and I keep a spiral notebook on the counter that lists all the "menu" items. I cross things out as we cook them. Start a new list of meals every weekend before I go shopping. Carry things over from the previous week and plan out the new meals to add.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I've been buying what I need and cutting out things I don't need such as snacks, drinks (like juice or tea), packaged lunches, etc. I've also been buying the store brand for certain things such as pasta, eggs and bread. The only thing I refuse to buy the store brand of is peanut butter. It just doesn't taste right. I went to the store today and the prices for treats such as cookies, ice cream and chips were crazy. Maybe it'll be better health wise to cut those things out for a while. I do stock up on certain things when they go on sale such as pasta, butter, olive oil and yogurt. I'm also not going out to eat in restaurants and will be cooking food at home + eating leftovers.

 

[tvguy]

Same for cereal. Regular price of the smallest box of multi-serve Cheerios/Lucky Charms/Cocoa Puffs is $5.99. Not a misprint.

Wow. I bought the "MEGA" box of Cherrios (21.7 ounce) for $5.98. But that was Walmart and they have a deal with General Mills to offer super sized cereal boxes for lower prices. I'd shop around.
I have solar with a PPA with a locked in rate set 7 years ago, and an all electric house so energy prices haven't impacted me.

 

[TippyThomas]

I live in a community that grows and raises most of what we eat. We do buy staple type products as well, but we buy in bulk and all of us get a better price because of it. I live alone so it's probably much easier for me to handle rising costs much more than larger families. I only have to go to the grocery store once a month because all of the things I need are already on hand because of the way we process our food needs.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Wow. I bought the "MEGA" box of Cherrios (21.7 ounce) for $5.98. But that was Walmart and they have a deal with General Mills to offer super sized cereal boxes for lower prices. I'd shop around.
I have solar with a PPA with a locked in rate set 7 years ago, and an all electric house so energy prices haven't impacted me.

Oh, as said, I no longer buy regular priced products at local supermarkets - they are out of my price range.

I haven't bought the $6 Cheerios...my kids have been eating microwave eggs and jelly (technically Aldi's strawberry preserves) with toast until cereal goes on sale again (b/c they are name brand for cereal...no going generic there for them)...

 

[Pink Partridge]

This got me thinking how are people honestly feeding their families, heating their homes, paying for child care, etc.

I wonder this every single day. I was just saying on another thread that I don't know where people are getting their money. Every restaurant, microbrew, festival, etc. we go to is packed. We have been to Disney twice in the last year and you could not move.

The grocery store is so shocking to look at prices. Eggs, my favorite trail mix, peanut butter, you name it! Out of control.

We are managing just fine. We live grossly under our means. Always have. So we have wiggle room in our budget.

But, I will say I am very annoyed when going to the grocery store or filling up my gas tank.

 

[kdonnel]

I've started shopping at Aldi again, I don't like Aldi.

I love Aldi.

But shopping at Aldi takes some adjustments.

You must plan you meals around what you know Aldi carries. If you instead just plan your meals and then expect to find all the ingredients at Aldi, you will probably be disappointed.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We bought a garage ready freezer this summer along with a food saver machine. We are able to buy large packages of meat on sale, wrap, label and freeze. I bought 10 lbs of butter when it was $3 and froze it. We don't use much bread and used to throw too much away, so I keep a loaf (separated in sections of 4 slices) in the freezer and replace every couple weeks. We buy large packages of meatballs and chicken breast at BJ's, separate into meal size bags and freeze. We picked up seasonal fruits and vegies and froze. DH found frozen rolls (size of golf balls) which I bake occasionally. I'm spending about $400 a month now to maintain.

I never wanted a freezer and don't know how I did without it. It was $100 and electricity is probably $6-8/month. We also bought a small toaster oven at the same time which saves probably the equivalent in electricity as we rarely use the oven now.

We stocked our pantry with as much non perishables as possible and have enough laundry detergent, TP, PT and other soaps and cleaning products for about a year. Ridiculous, but we feel better.

This situation is totally out of control and this winter will be brutal for many people, especially here in New England.

 

[Pink Partridge]

He almost fell on the floor last week when he saw the regular price of Hillshire Farm 1 lb lunch meat for turkey or ham was $11.99 now. He didn't even want to pay the sale price of $8.99, so I only bought one.

Lunch meat prices are jaw dropping

We have been getting the precooked Kirkland oven browned turkey breast at Costco and making our sandwiches with that. It is impossible to slice it as thin as lunch meat, but it is so much cheaper and better tasting.

Also, grab a rotisserie chicken ($4.99 for entire chicken) and pick the meat off. A little salt and pepper...Yum! Goes great on a hearty bread.

 

[Pink Partridge]

I've started shopping at Aldi again, I don't like Aldi.

I don't like Aldi either. I don't even think they are that cheap.

I know some people hate WalMart, but I find them to be the most economical. Our Neighborhood Walmart is very clean with friendly, long-time workers.

 

[Moliphino]

I haven't really changed the way I shop. I shop sales and stock up when things are cheap. I try not to buy things full price unless it's an urgent need.

There's not much I can do about electricity costs. We get report cards from the electric company and we're always already much lower users than most. We're keeping the house colder to save on oil costs (haven't had a fill since about May/June, still have over half a tank right now).

 

[Meriweather]

Nothing has changed much other than paying more.
I have always made a menu and shop sales.

 

[hopemax]

Mostly just shop the ads. I also noticed the cereal prices. And chips! So now when they have a sale, we stock up. I bought organizing bins for the pantry during pandemic, and now we are still using them. DH shops with me, so he sees. He ran out of cheese and really wanted more. The Tillamook block was $12.99, but he wanted it. Next week, it went on sale for $6. He learned his lesson. So now when we make the list he asks what is on sale because he doesn’t need it now but will soon.

After a previous question asked here about electricity bills, we learned that even with DH working from home, we must already practice good energy habits and our bill is significantly lower than other people. Gas, we don’t drive that much anyway.

 

[jo-jo]

Groceries, I buy sale items . Shop around. There are times, I go to Lidi, giant and shoprite on the same day. Also do get other items at BJS or walmart. It's all about price. Not running for two items, but they are all close enough that gas doesn't factor in too much.

We try to last from sale to sale. Last last year, we bought a ton of folgers/maxwell house. We didn't buy any again until a few months ago when we saw it for $1.99 a 10 oz can. Got 8 cans. Would have bought more but there were limits. Some items we just won't buy anymore. Some items have gone up x amount so we will only buy it when it's on sale for only a 15 % increase not the now normal 25% increase. DH loves a certain jelly. Found it online at for nearly $1 less per jar than walmart with a scheduled delivery. So I ordered so many jars every two months.

oil heat. locked in price in the spring. Had heat on for about an hour by accident. I almost freaked. Have a Nest scheduled to turn up heat while at church, so grandkids don't freeze. I forgot to readjust it. I see lots of layers this year.

 

[ronandannette]

{{sigh}} We're just figuring it out on the fly. Our groceries, utilities and most distressingly our gasoline prices are off the dial. We have no set budget for any of these things and pay all household expenses out of our chequing account (no credit-card churning for points). So far we haven't run out of money on any given month, nor have we made radical changes to our spending habits but I can certainly see the time coming. We'll be thinking very carefully about a spending plan for Christmas, which is a time of year where our usual out-go doubles and I think we just won't have that extra this year.