Groceries today totaled almost $100!

Grocery prices here are all over the map. A lot depends whether you can wait and buy on sale…or have to have it right now. I live where egg prices still push 3$ a dozen for regular white, this being because the local producer wiped out by bird flu twice. I shop mostly staples…cook pretty much all dinners from scratch. This plus using store ad’s for pricing helps hold prices down. But that said…hero bread was pushing 9$ a loaf. What in god’s name is the deal with hero bread?
 
hollydolly said:
we don't pay taxes on food in the UK... food is tax free except when paying to sit down to food in a restaurant... tax free if you have the same food as take out.. but with regard to groceries in the supermarket..no Tax... ..and delivery prices are minimal sometimes free depending on the time of day
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No sales tax on food here. Things like paper towels, etc., are taxed.
 
GoodEnuff said:
No sales tax on food here. Things like paper towels, etc., are taxed.
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women's sanitary products are zero-rated tax... but household cleaning products, including paper towels and toilet rolls, are considered standard-rated goods for Tax purposes ( here it's called VAT...Value added Tax)..again included in the price, and not added at the checkout...

All of our taxed goods , are priced inclusive of tax.. so in the Uk whatever price you see on the shelf, is the price we pay at the checkout...
 
Processed foods have become so “customized” and up-priced these days. Notice the many different variations of Cheerios, (like prebiotic high protein . . .) all priced through the roof!

The answer is to go with unprocessed Whole Foods. Even if you were to spring for a pot roast you would be money ahead. I have found that all the fruits and vegetables I buy have not increased in price much. Also, things like rice, oats, nuts have not increased so much.

And as a bonus, you will enjoy better health with Whole Foods.
 
We have a kind of sugar tax in Holland. Meat and sugar and alcohol are way cheaper in Germany. They want you to eat healthy. All food has 9 percent tax and alcohol and clothes are 21 percent.

Since 2024 Tax increase: The consumption tax on sugary non-alcoholic beverages has increased from 8.8 cents to 26.13 cents per liter. This applies to soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, energy drinks, and non-alcoholic beer. So they sometimes put a tiny bit of milk in it, so they can sell it as dairy.
 
Nathan said:
Honestly, I am shocked and surprised when the cashier rings up a total that's less than $100. This morning's trip to the grocery store was $184.36, but that did include a pound of ground chicken, a package of boneless chicken thighs, a bottle of wine and a couple bottles of whiskey, for the holidays.
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hollydolly said:
it's the alcohol that costs the money... when my x husband who is a heavy drinker and I would go grocery shopping, the bill might come to £100... when I broke down the recipt very often the food I'd bought was as little £30.. the rest was his alcohol.. JD.. beers.. etc..

...so eventually what happened was we'd pay for seperate items at the checkout... he'd pay for his own booze...
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In Texas, only beer and wine can be sold in grocery stores, and even those have alcohol content limits and restrictions on the time of day they can legally be sold. Hard liquor (such as Jack Daniels, vodka, or any liquor containing an ABV (alcohol by volume of 17% or higher) can only be sold in liquor stores, and even liquor stores must close by State law on Sundays, and 3 holidays: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
 
I think as long as producers, shippers and sellers can find ANY excuse:
covid, gas prices, drought, frost, min. wage rising, you name it - there will
always be a rise in prices because it's become so easy to justify.
I thought when gas jumped to $5 or more a gallon I could understand the rise in cost.
But then when gas went down to less than $3 a gallon I didn't see prices lower on the shelves.
Eggs were the only thing that seemed to lower after the issue was solved and I do believe it
was because many stopped buying them and worked around having to use them as often.

The jump in min. wage; I noticed less cashiers (lines open) pushing people to use self-checkout.
But at the same time I noticed a lot more store shoppers on the floor filling orders for delivery.
I listen to people in check out lines complaining about this but they never mention observing store
delivery shoppers.

I think about when an item/items are recalled due to a producer or manufacturing flaw/health risk
why ---- are the consumers being charged for their mistake? They raise the cost of having to recall items
due to supply and demand but do they ever drop down once supply is back?
Anyone noticed this or do we just get used to paying the price and slough it off as inflation?

I can see where if a company wants a bigger return to come in (maybe a CEO wants a bigger house)
there are several ways and reasons to make that happen by claiming it is in concern for the public safety.

I am a deep thinker and a realist and that last shredded cheese recall - seemed to me I saw the cheese
area of the stores around still looking pretty full during all that. Did they really have replacements on the ready?
That would seem pretty planned to me if they were restocking as they were pulling off the shelf.

Maybe WE consumers are just as much to blame as all the many reasons they have to give. If we quit accepting
what the news says as gospel and change what products we have gotten used to and use options (like we did with eggs)
instead and leave stuff on the shelf. It may just send a message, We are not buying the excuses any longer.

My vent is over, backlash if you must or maybe it may help us think a bit deeper because Lord knows we've never
been duped before have we?
 
IrishEyes said:
I think as long as producers, shippers and sellers can find ANY excuse:
covid, gas prices, drought, frost, min. wage rising, you name it - there will
always be a rise in prices because it's become so easy to justify.
I thought when gas jumped to $5 or more a gallon I could understand the rise in cost.
But then when gas went down to less than $3 a gallon I didn't see prices lower on the shelves.
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I've observed that too. Another one that got me when I was in my late teens or early 20s, was that in the fall. gas prices increased due to the increased need for heating oil that was coming. But did it go back down in the spring when no one needed heating oil? No, gas prices went up because of the coming traveling season. In the fall they went up again after the traveling season because of the need for heating oil.

I don't know if others noticed it, but they stopped using those reasons about 50 years ago. I'm still perplexed when people talk about the high price of gas when it's two dollars a gal less than it was 25 years ago.
 
hollydolly said:
are these hotdogs of which you speak...American Huge?

Here hotdogs are really cheap...one of the cheapest thing you can buy but they're only about 3 or 4 inches long.. the much bigger ones in a jar are £2.85... still very cheap
wikinger_12_hot_dogs_bockwurst_style_in_brine_1030g_74884_T1.jpg
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I’ve never seen hotdogs in a jar packed in brine before! Maybe we have them in America and I’ve just not been aware of. I’m really curious as to how they taste.

Personally I’d be thrilled if I could keep my grocery bill to just at $100. It’s usually at least $30 above that. And that’s with me shopping sales, using store loyalty cards, and online digital coupons. My poor cats have had to adjust to less expensive food. It’s hard to convince a cat of the need to save money.
 
hollydolly said:
well they say London is one of the most expensive cities in the world.. and we don't pay anything like those prices...
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Our grocery prices in Northern Nevada are higher than Deb’s. California’s are higher than ours. I have no clue what the difference is between countries but know there’s a huge variance between states.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I always thought that the sales tax in Pennsylvania was confusing.

Things like no tax on underwear but tax on swim suits, no tax on nails but tax on screws, etc…
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Yes, everyday clothing is not taxed, but things like sports clothing, formal wear, furs, costumes are taxable.

Hardware items like nails, screws, and lumber used for maintenance/construction are subject to sales tax. I have always paid tax on nails.
 
Teacher Terry said:
Our grocery prices in Northern Nevada are higher than Deb’s. California’s are higher than ours. I have no clue what the difference is between countries but know there’s a huge variance between states.
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I'm not comparing other American states to Debs'..I'm comparing it to ours in the London region. Both London and New York are said to be 2 of the most expensive places in the world...
 
MountainRa said:
I’ve never seen hotdogs in a jar packed in brine before! Maybe we have them in America and I’ve just not been aware of. I’m really curious as to how they taste.

Personally I’d be thrilled if I could keep my grocery bill to just at $100. It’s usually at least $30 above that. And that’s with me shopping sales, using store loyalty cards, and online digital coupons. My poor cats have had to adjust to less expensive food. It’s hard to convince a cat of the need to save money.
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Personally I can't stand them, but lots of people like them. of course we can buy hotdogs not soaked in Brine as well... all sorts of different types... but not me.. Because I don't like them
 
MACKTEXAS said:
In Texas, only beer and wine can be sold in grocery stores, and even those have alcohol content limits and restrictions on the time of day they can legally be sold. Hard liquor (such as Jack Daniels, vodka, or any liquor containing an ABV (alcohol by volume of 17% or higher) can only be sold in liquor stores, and even liquor stores must close by State law on Sundays, and 3 holidays: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
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I am told your supermarkets can't sell cigarettes either, as they can and do here..or pharamaceuticals .. is that correct ?

Our supermarkets in the UK sell everything one might need at home.. groceries, hard liquor.. cigarettes, pharmaceuticals.. even prescription glasses and hearing aids..


In Spain, supermarkets sell Hard liquor, but they're not allowed to sell Pharmaceuticals.... and cigarettes must only be bought in Government run Tabac shops...
 
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Nathan said:
Yes, to be sure. Jameson- $19.99/750ML, Livingston White Zinfandel- $8.99/1.5L.
...ground chicken- $8.99/Lb.
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Wow! That's cheap! Although in Cdn$$ that's about $27.00 still .... here's the price I'd pay for a 750 mil bottle if I bought it here; and that's on sale :oops:: Tax & deposit included but still, that's a sizable difference.

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