My wife went to save-a-lot and saw around a 20% jump in much

olivehill · #21 07/31/11, 10:30 AM

Only 20%? Tell her to count her lucky stars. Some things here have increased as much as 250% (cream cheese). And there's probably things out there I haven't noticed that have increased even more. Welcome to rampant inflation. Oh, wait, there's no inflation. Silly me!

**ladycat** · #22 07/31/11, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olivehill

Only 20%? Tell her to count her lucky stars. Some things here have increased as much as 250% (cream cheese). And there's probably things out there I haven't noticed that have increased even more. Welcome to rampant inflation. Oh, wait, there's no inflation. Silly me!

Here's a video I posted yesterday at youtube, a clip from NBC Nightly News. It's about the drought, but during the video they say grocery prices are up 4% since last year.

Where do they get their figures? 4% my foot!

Mutti · #23 07/31/11, 10:41 AM

Sugar is $2.09 for 4# at Aldi...cheapest I can find so bought enough to fill two 5 gal pails. .52/lb. Will last us a long long time and we have honey to extract if it ever cools down a bit. Aldi seems to be holding the line on prices still. Keeping my grocery receipts and stil save a good 30-40% there when I make the trip. Local stores are just outrageous except for sales and they aren't that grand anymore. Only major prep I need to do is salt. Got a bunch of buckets I can fill.

olivehill · #24 07/31/11, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladycat

Here's a video I posted yesterday at youtube, a clip from NBC Nightly News. It's about the drought, but during the video they say grocery prices are up 4% since last year.

Where do they get their figures? 4% my foot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99XBnwDCk9Y

Well, I figure its got to be the things that are miraculously low balancing out the overall figure. I don't see it though. There are a few things that have stayed solid, but everything else is up in price. Do they not take into consideration the size of the item? I have no idea. But they are certainly out of touch with what I'm seeing in the store, that is for sure.

mightybooboo · #25 07/31/11, 07:02 PM

They do nonsense like if steak prices are up you eat cheaper burger,therefore no inflation.

Gotta love it!

farmerpat · #26 07/31/11, 11:21 PM

They keep saying that we are probably going into a double-dip recession. Well, I've got news for them -- the recession NEVER LEFT! And yes, I've noticed the cost of food here has double and often tripled in the space of a month on alot of items. We are very rural here and don't have stores like Aldis and others. We have 2 local small grocery stores in 2 neighboring towns - 32 miles round trip in both directions, and both are VERY VERY expensive. One isn't as bad as the other, but alot of the produce and dairy is old, and once something is gone, you have to wait a week or more for the trucks to come. The other one is so prohibitively expensive that the only thing I get from them are "loss leaders" and shop very very very carefully. Don't know what I'm gonna do -- the grasshoppers have decimated my garden for the second year in a row, so I have precious little out there to rely on.

olivehill · #27 08/01/11, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmerpat

They keep saying that we are probably going into a double-dip recession. Well, I've got news for them -- the recession NEVER LEFT! And yes, I've noticed the cost of food here has double and often tripled in the space of a month on alot of items. We are very rural here and don't have stores like Aldis and others. We have 2 local small grocery stores in 2 neighboring towns - 32 miles round trip in both directions, and both are VERY VERY expensive. One isn't as bad as the other, but alot of the produce and dairy is old, and once something is gone, you have to wait a week or more for the trucks to come. The other one is so prohibitively expensive that the only thing I get from them are "loss leaders" and shop very very very carefully. Don't know what I'm gonna do -- the grasshoppers have decimated my garden for the second year in a row, so I have precious little out there to rely on.

Can you drive further to another town? I drive an hour one way to go to town, I just don't go often. (Actually, that's a lie. I do go often but not for groceries. I just happen to be there often right now for other reasons. If it's just shopping I'm going for I do not go often. But you get the point.) If you make a list and check it twice there's no reason it can't be a biweekly or even monthly trip.

I like to support local stores, but when it comes to paying 100% more for shampoo... I have a hard time justifying it.

kaitala · #28 08/01/11, 12:13 AM

Noticed that myself when last food shopping. Granted, I did spur of the moment food shopping so no coupons, but $275 later.... ARRRRGH!

RE: paper products- while I do use rags for much of the typical cleaning, we have a 3 year old and three dogs. Someone, somewhere is bound to pee, poo, or puke, and if it were just the kid, I think I could deal with rags (she's potty trained, and good about making it to the commode if she is sick). But a giant warm puddle of dog puke (sorry for the graphic nature) and rags just is too gross for me until it's SHTF scenario. And rite aid has paper towels on sale now. I'll cling to having plenty of rolls on hand for that.

SquashNut · #29 08/01/11, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaitala

Noticed that myself when last food shopping. Granted, I did spur of the moment food shopping so no coupons, but $275 later.... ARRRRGH!

RE: paper products- while I do use rags for much of the typical cleaning, we have a 3 year old and three dogs. Someone, somewhere is bound to pee, poo, or puke, and if it were just the kid, I think I could deal with rags (she's potty trained, and good about making it to the commode if she is sick). But a giant warm puddle of dog puke (sorry for the graphic nature) and rags just is too gross for me until it's SHTF scenario. And rite aid has paper towels on sale now. I'll cling to having plenty of rolls on hand for that.

That's when the rags get thrown out.

kaitala · #30 08/01/11, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SquashNut

That's when the rags get thrown out.

Oh, I get that!!!! But until the situation degrades so much that I NEED to use the rags, and throw them out, I'd much MUCH rather have paper towels for that grossness than throw out precious rags! From cleaning to first aid to vehicle maintenance, rags are priceless, paper towels are only for the gross disgusting stuff. Ewwww.

farmerpat · #31 08/01/11, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olivehill

Can you drive further to another town? I drive an hour one way to go to town, I just don't go often. (Actually, that's a lie. I do go often but not for groceries. I just happen to be there often right now for other reasons. If it's just shopping I'm going for I do not go often. But you get the point.) If you make a list and check it twice there's no reason it can't be a biweekly or even monthly trip.

I like to support local stores, but when it comes to paying 100% more for shampoo... I have a hard time justifying it.

The next closest one is a 2 hr round trip. The problem is with the cost of diesel (that's all we have for farm vehicles) to go to the store and back. We go maybe once every 2 months when we have a 6 hour round trip to the dr I have to see and we stock up at Sams and Walmart and etc., but for the every day stuff (like a baler part or something for the tractor or groceries we can't grow ourselves) we have to bite the bullet and make the drive. I hate Walmart, but if I don't shop at the 2 local expensive grocery stores, then that is my only option because in order to get any other choices in shopping, it is a 6 hour round trip and definitely NOT financially desirable.

farmerpat · #32 08/01/11, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaitala

Noticed that myself when last food shopping. Granted, I did spur of the moment food shopping so no coupons, but $275 later.... ARRRRGH!

RE: paper products- while I do use rags for much of the typical cleaning, we have a 3 year old and three dogs. Someone, somewhere is bound to pee, poo, or puke, and if it were just the kid, I think I could deal with rags (she's potty trained, and good about making it to the commode if she is sick). But a giant warm puddle of dog puke (sorry for the graphic nature) and rags just is too gross for me until it's SHTF scenario. And rite aid has paper towels on sale now. I'll cling to having plenty of rolls on hand for that.

I have farm rags and house rags and wash both. I've washed farm rags in a empty mineral tub of hot water and homemade soap and bleach outside that have been used when birthing calves and used on calves with scours or after minor surgery on the goats. I just hang them outside in the sun to dry for a couple of days, and the sun sanitizes them just fine. The house rags just get throwin in the washer with hot water and homemade laundry soap and hung outside in the sun.

mightybooboo · #33 08/01/11, 12:09 PM

2 hour round trip,500 worth of groceries???????????

Definitely a payoff on that.At 15 mpg and 8 gallons at 4 per,thats only 8% of total on gas.I would choke paying the local grocery store prices here.

**ladycat** · #34 08/01/11, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmerpat

I hate Walmart, but if I don't shop at the 2 local expensive grocery stores, then that is my only option

That's my problem. It's Walmart, Albertson's, or United.

Albertsons is a dirty, poorly stocked store with the highest prices in town. They do have a fantastic sale periodically, but those are the only times I go in there.

United is clean and well stocked, but their prices are almost as high as Albertsons. They also don't have good sales very often. Their sale prices are higher than Walmart's regular prices. Once in a while they'll have a really good sale on a few items that makes it worthwhile going in there.

One of the United stores, Market Street, is where I get my produce and some of my organic foods. They even have some bulk organics. That's all they're good for- produce and organics, I mean. Because their prices are soooo high.

We have a regular Target (not a super Target), and they have an itsy bitsy tiny grocery section with convenience store prices. Once in a while they have a fantastic deal on cereal or something.

CVS and Walgreens have a few groceries. They're out of the question for regular grocery shopping, but I do get a few free or really really cheap grocery items here and there with their rewards sales.

I have no choice but to do the bulk of my grocery shopping at Walmart. If I want to do better, we'd have to go to Ft. Worth. The gas and time it would take negates that idea.

farmerpat · #35 08/01/11, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ladycat

I have no choice but to do the bulk of my grocery shopping at Walmart. If I want to do better, we'd have to go to Ft. Worth. The gas and time it would take negates that idea.

That's my problem too -- I can make the drive to Denver but it is a 6 hour round trip in a F-250 crew cab diesel --NOT financially feasible. When I do have to go see the specialist (this Wednesday, for example), I always schedule the appt around 11:00 so we have time to spare to drive the 3 hrs there, and then still have time after the appt to go to Sams, Walmart, Target, Lowes, etc. before I have to then endure the 3 hr drive back here. I literally start making a new list for the next trip the day after we complete the current trip, and that way we hopefully don't forget anything. I wouldn't be in too bad of shape grocery-wise if I hadn't been so deathly ill this spring. We ate up so much food from the pantry because I couldn't cook and the guys just grabbed what they could to put a meal on the table. The grasshoppers wiping out the garden two years in a row hasn't helped either, and neither has the fact that I'm still pretty weak and don't think I'll be able to can up much of anything this year. We do grow our own pork and beef (and some poultry but not all), so that helps alot with the cost of groceries, but I fear it's going to get alot worse in the very near future. Winter's coming and I think prices are only going to keep going up and up. I know we'll be eating ALOT of cabbage and potatoes this winter!

**ladycat** · #36 08/01/11, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmerpat

I wouldn't be in too bad of shape grocery-wise if I hadn't been so deathly ill this spring. We ate up so much food from the pantry because I couldn't cook and the guys just grabbed what they could to put a meal on the table. The grasshoppers wiping out the garden two years in a row hasn't helped either, and neither has the fact that I'm still pretty weak and don't think I'll be able to can up much of anything this year. We do grow our own pork and beef (and some poultry but not all), so that helps alot with the cost of groceries, but I fear it's going to get alot worse in the very near future. Winter's coming and I think prices are only going to keep going up and up. I know we'll be eating ALOT of cabbage and potatoes this winter!

I empathize! Not only are my food stocks low, but we have double the bills for the rest of the year. And now we have the threat of lowered SS and other benefits, or maybe not receive them at all. I'm trying to not worry, but if stuff htf any time soon, we're not well prepared at all!

GoldenCityMuse · #37 08/01/11, 03:04 PM

I had better get some more lentils from HEB at 67¢/lb.
We are eating up a lot of stored foods from the storage unit, and I have given up eating meat.

Still using up coupons from McDonalds for free breakfasts though, so that is extending my cereal a lot.

mekasmom · #38 08/01/11, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mldollins

of what she buys. Did we miss something? She is now beginning to shop in ads and buy in bulk when things go on sale...ie...buy 5 oils, 5 peanut butters...etc....when on sale and just store and rotate.....

Again, what did we miss?

I've shopped that way for ten years or more. It's just a way of life to some people, and is more frugal than the way you were doing it before. Welcome to frugality as a lifestyle.

mekasmom · #39 08/01/11, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutti

Sugar is $2.09 for 4# at Aldi...cheapest I can find ............... Aldi seems to be holding the line on prices still.

I went to Aldis last weekend, and they are almost as high as WM now. I know DG went up a lot last year, so I don't shop there anymore except the clearance aisle and tp, kittenfood, and clearance toys for presents. The only thing I buy at smaller grocery stores are loss leaders and things out of the coupon sales they send out once a month.

Ohiogal · #40 08/01/11, 04:10 PM

Went to GFS today (Gordon Food Service). Prices are up across the board...butter 2.99 a lb. Used to get it for 1.69 a lb (last year). Flour - 25 lbs, 10.49. Used to be 8.49. Sugar no bargain - Walmart beats them at .41 a lb at 25 lbs. The absolute stunner though is the coffee, cocoa and other commodities - 150% increase in prices in some cases!