Have Your Grocery Bills Increased Or Decreased?

OneEyedDiva said:
Have your grocery bills continued to rise or have you seen a decrease too?
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Over all we really don't know
We've only spent $20/wk thru most this winter while trying to eat out of the freezer and pantry

We do pick up flour, oil, eggs....stuff like that

It's all noticeably higher than 2023
 

I am a lone male, which means a great deal in terms of preparing meals. I am not making meals where others always expect meat, potatoes, & veggies. So, I've learned to substitute items and vary meals considerably. For example, as mentioned bread has risen sharply. So, I've been using a homemade pancake, waffle, or tortilla instead of bread. For a peanut butter and jam sandwich I don't use bread, but simply put a spoonful of peanut butter and one of jam in a bowl which satisfies me. This means that yes food prices have risen. But, my overall food bill has not because I've learned to substitute or go without.

Surprisingly, I've gained weight. Cut back and gain weight. Go figure. I've begun eating my big meal in the early afternoon. I've discovered that I don't get as hungry for snacks in the evening as before when I ate a large meal in the early evening for some reason. Doesn't seem logical. But, it is what it is. Snack food is the most expensive item, ounce for ounce, in my food bill I have found. Eating less of that cuts my food bill a lot.
 
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Increase. Pet food hasn't come down at all at the stores. Walmart is the cheapest for the cats.

The price went up on our side of beef & whole pig this year, but it's still cheaper than the stores. The bulk food store prices are up a little, but not like at the supermarkets. Making things like various seasoning mixes & baked good from scratch are cheaper than the boxed mixes. Canned goods are about the same. Dairy seemed to come down a bit.

Hoping to do more canning & freeze drying this year from the garden.
 

I use the Vertex Family Budget Planner spreadsheet and record my purchases. It automatically tallies by month and year, that's how I'm able to keep track. I've been micromanaging my finances for so long that it would seem weird if I stopped. I'm surprised that some members have seen their grocery bills double! I guess my shopping habits, including what I don't buy, have helped.

I very rarely buy name brand bread anymore, so instead of paying that $5 a loaf...yes @hollydolly, I've seen that pricing, I pay $2.29. The only meat I buy are Bubba turkey burgers and chicken (very rarely). I shop the Costco and local supermarket sales for many of my items. I also buy some Great Value (Walmart brand) items which helps save. I stopped buying Activia yogurt, which had a large jump in price partly because of the jump but also to help reduce the amount of sugar I'm consuming. Now I buy Bowl & Basket (Shoprite brand) plain yogurt instead and flavor it myself.

During this quarter's tally, I spent an average of $16 a week at supermarkets and $47 a month at Costco. I eat less than "normal people" from what I gather but still have a weight problem, so @Wes... I feel ya.
 
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... :ROFLMAO: ..... šŸ˜‚ .... šŸ‘  ...šŸ’.. $200 gets What $80 got 10 years ago.
But you can live well on a Foot long Sub a Day of varying ingredients easier.
HAVE YOU NOTICED THE PRICES ON DOG TREATS.
 
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Wow, a reasonable quality grain & seed loaf is about Ā£1.50 ($2) here. One thing that has increased dramatically is the price of fish. This does vary a lot depending on season and weather, but the trend is very much upwards. Some of this is down to the high cost of fuel for the boats.
Now the cheapest fish is farmed salmon and trout and quite often there are good offers to be had.
 
From a pre-pandemic level, my food prices have generally gone up about 30%. I compensate by generally trying hard to minimize waste, buying more house brands, and fewer luxury foods. I buy coffee in bulk packaging at a bargain outlet store selling for much less than the grocery store, and itā€™s a brew I can still enjoy.

As a benchmark item, eggs pre-pandemic went for $1.99/dozen in my area, rising to an absurd $6.29/dozen during the height of the pandemic and avian flu. They are currently selling for $2.99/dozen due to another resurgence of avian fluā€¦ šŸ”

Some items have really gone up. A box of ordinary cereal that once sold for $2.69 is now pushing the $5 markā€¦ šŸ˜©
 
perplexed said:
Increased and what is going on with eggs again? Eggs have gone way up in price again!
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Yes, I've noticed this... and I don't know why. They were ridiculous during "the egg scare" but then went back down to about a dollar and a quarter. A few weeks ago they climbed to around $1.80+. This week I saw they were over $3 again. What really bugs me, though, is bread because I buy Schmidt's 647... only low calorie/low carb bread that actually tastes like bread. $4 a loaf now and yeah, I've been paying it, but feeling guiltier each week because Great Value bread is $1.42.
 
I really don't know how you do it. It is like scavenging for our food. You all are so good at it. The prices of food change like every week/day and then when you need to shop , you would like to get a good supply of what you need. I am glad that Misa does the hunting and shopping. She is a natural. She likes and hates shopping at the grocery store online ( a store she worked night shifts in the dairy section for about a year ). It is tough work. I appreciate your skills. :)
 
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One thing that we have been doing for the past few years is a once a month shop. We may have to stop by for a couple of things in between, but we've saved in doing this. It keeps us from buying the "extras" that add up when you go every week that you didn't really need when you go there. I also go online & check the sales at our stores before we go & make a list & stick to it as much as possible.
 
Fyrefox said:
From a pre-pandemic level, my food prices have generally gone up about 30%. I compensate by generally trying hard to minimize waste, buying more house brands, and fewer luxury foods. I buy coffee in bulk packaging at a bargain outlet store selling for much less than the grocery store, and itā€™s a brew I can still enjoy.

As a benchmark item, eggs pre-pandemic went for $1.99/dozen in my area, rising to an absurd $6.29/dozen during the height of the pandemic and avian flu. They are currently selling for $2.99/dozen due to another resurgence of avian fluā€¦ šŸ”

Some items have really gone up. A box of ordinary cereal that once sold for $2.69 is now pushing the $5 markā€¦ šŸ˜©
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The only cold cereal I eat is regular Cheerios. About a year ago, an 18 oz box cost $4.99 at Walmart, which usually has cheaper prices. But I wait for Costco to have a sale and I get two 20.35 oz boxes for $6.29. I noticed the price of eggs went back down. I got a box of 18 for $2.29 about 3 weeks ago.

@Capt Lightning I guess there's a reason why the farmed salmon is cheaper. It's on the list of 17 fish that people should never eat. Here's an excerpt from the article. Similar conditions caused me to stop eating shrimp, which I love, because I usually eat it at restaurants and there's no telling where they're from. Unless farming of salmon is under better conditions in the area where you are located...consider the following:

"7. Farmed Salmon​

Americans consume a lot of salmon. Unfortunately, the majority is the unhealthiest kind.

In fact, most salmon marketed as ā€œAtlanticā€ salmon is farmed, meaning that fish are raised in conditions often ridden with pesticides, feces, bacteria and parasites.

Whatā€™s more, studies show that farmed salmon is more likely to contain harmful contaminants like PCBs, which are pollutants linked to insulin resistance, obesity, cancer and stroke. Theyā€™re also often treated with antibiotics and tend to be higher in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids.

For a better alternative, skip the Atlantic salmon, and opt for wild-caught Alaskan salmon instead."
Fish You Should NEVER Eat
 
Yes up. I have noticed a few things come down a very little bit but really, even if things are stabilized, they are not coming down in price in an significant amount.

I used to get 20 pounds cat litter at WINCO Foods for 7.99 and 8.99 (their prices fluctuate) Now it's 11.93.
 
Every time i go shopping, it's more money. a four pack of muffins used to be $3.99. Now a four pack (noticeably smaller in size) is $6.49. A bag of salad used to feed four people, now you are lucky if you can get two servings. A bag of potato chips used to be double the size, now it is half a small narrower bag. Why? Can't blame high prices on Covid anymore. We are used to paying higher prices. Prices will never go down.
 
I am so jealous of those SF members in the US that pay such low prices for eggs. I pay $7.99 for a dozen brown eggs. Prices do vary re nest laid, free range, the most expensive today $10.99 cheapest $4.59. I do not buy eggs from caged birds. Bread I pay $6.99. Cereal I try to buy when its on special jumbo size $8.99 I am constantly shocked at food prices as they seem to rise each week but consider myself lucky that I can afford it, so many people less fortunate.
 

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