I don’t know how they think we’re all going to survive with these prices.
Groceries will blame inflation and whatnot, yet they’re printing record profits.
That’s because the truth is the other way around. It’s the hoarding of record profits by the corporate class what drives the inflation
That’s their point.
Margins are down.
. So it isn’t the stores gouging you. Somewhere in the chain. Someone is though
Wife has been canning for a few years now and we have a pantry of fruits, veggies, and dehydrated food. She goes to the farmers markets during harvest time and goes to town on entire cases of tomatoes, corn, beans, etc. That will last all year for our family of 5. We also pay a friend to raise a pig on her ranch and butcher that once a year. Just got ours (over 400 lbs!). Pork is A LOT cheaper that way. Haven’t found anyone to go half or a quarter in on a cow. We also would need another deep freezer and don’t really have room for it.
We also meal plan weekly so we only buy groceries for what we need to make meals. That saves a ton of money as you aren’t wasteful as much. Oh and we either do pick up or delivery as you spend more when you’re in the store and see things you want but don’t need.
We make almost everything we can from scratch. Wife recently found a recipe for baked oyster crackers with butter and seasoning on them that make dirt cheap snacks and they’re fantastic. The store brand oyster crackers are $1 for 16oz. That’s almost cheap enough to not make those from scratch too. We haven’t bothered yet.
I’ve always been interested in the idea of canning, but it’s not really a thing in the UK. I know that veg is cheaper and gas is more expensive here than in America but still, surely it costs so much money to can things that you can’t be saving much? Is it only worth it if the produce was in season and therefore really cheap?
Definitely not about cost on the veggies. At best it’s break even compared to the store. It’s more about knowing it’s the veggie and water only. Or seasoning too if you like them a certain way. We’ve found corn to be higher quality too. Plus, where we live peaches are fabulous and better than anywhere else in the country so we get to can the best and control the amount of syrup used so they’re healthier. Sorry Georgia, you don’t actually have the best peaches.
Totally get that. Much nicer to know you’re not eating too much processed crap.
Jealous of the peaches!
Yeah, I’m making a lot myself too, but I sadly don’t have the storage space for large amounts of food. And the homemade goods are often more expensive, unless you can get veggies on the cheap from a farmer
We probably aren’t saving much on the veggies overall for sure. Some are cheaper than canned but others aren’t. However, we know exactly what’s in it and we buy it once a year so we’ve budgeted for it.
That’s the way to do it. Raising pigs or cows, if you have the space or know someone who does, is way cheaper than store bought pork/beef.
Pork is the cheapest meat on the shelf right now
It is, and it’s even cheaper if you raise your own. Plus it’s better quality meat.
Depends on your location. Where I live, chicken is cheaper.
i’m gonna assume this post refers to the US’ prices.
it’s definetely noticeable in germany, but i’ll manage. my worker’s union is currently negotiating prices with my employer, and so far it’s looking pretty good.
but i pray for you guys, they really don’t seem to make life worth living over there.
Could easily be Canada too
ETA: Here’s a good video on Canada’s and the states’ inflation problems from an outside perspective.
Yes, sorry. I’m in the US.
Aldi.
If you have one near you, get your staples from there. It’s so much cheaper than Kroger, Costco, Publix, and Target.
Shout out to WinCo also. As a heads up they only take cash/debit though, not credit.
No Aldi in WA State.
Aldi is a great option when you don’t need something specific, like a cut of meat. Or a single lemon instead of 50 of them. I do Aldi first then Wegmans or Price Rite for whatever is not there.
Lidl is even better. Aldi is more for snack by me. I still goto Stop and Shop for niche things.
Not sure if it’s just me but my grocery spending hasn’t changed in the last year. It’s definitely more expensive then say 2 years ago but seems like prices have stabilized.
I cook often so most of what I buy are produce and it’s generally cheaper than other stuff.
I agree. On one hand I look at prices of stuff and think “damn is it really this much now? Was half this price last year”. But on the other hand, my shopping receipts really haven’t doubled since a year ago, I don’t feel like they increased at all… But I also buy produce and cook for myself most of the time.
Yeah if you actually cook food it’s not that bad. It’s frozen food and junk food which has exploded in price
I haven’t changed my shopping habits, but I definitely notice the ripoffs of significantly higher prices on some of the same food items I’ve been buying for years. Overall it’s still much cheaper to buy groceries and make your own food than the vast majority of restaurants and such.
Fast food prices have gotten more noticeably higher than groceries have in my area. So I assume that most of the people I hear complaining the loudest about “Inflation” are the ones who eat fast food as a staple of their diet.
Nah, I remember when I could fill an entire cart with food and it’d be about $75 way back in the ancient days of 2019. Now I’d have to pay double to do that and even then I might end up with less food.
We are in Canada. I scratch cook everything and we grow the vast majority of our own food. Most grocery shopping is staple stuff like flour and sugar. Our grocery bill has trippled in the past 2 years and it’s still rising. Our gardens have gotten considerably bigger to make up for it.
Left it all behind and moved to a cheaper country
Where did you move to?
South Korea. As long as you speak English you can become a teacher. Took me about 3 years to become comfortable with the language, at which point you can move on to other careers.
Salary is less but cost of living is way less. Also very fun. Other countries are good too, so take your pick. China is cheaper, Japan is a little more expensive. South Korea is a little grindy, so one of those two might be better. You can also go Europe or Africa if that’s your taste.
Super Hans is the man
I haven’t reached the point yet where I’m personally dumpster diving, but I have a friend who has an inside connection at a major grocery store. They call when it’s time to take out the garbage, set it outside the compactor, and my friend swings by to snag it. It’s incredible how much gets thrown out. He preserves what can’t be used immediately and gives it away to those who don’t have a problem with the source. I’ve benefited from a 5 lb bag of jerky and a box full of dried fruits, veggies, and other items.
Otherwise, I’m always on the lookout for sales and deals. When I find one I stock up, like the one going on now at Amazon for Sweet Sue canned chicken that worked out to 78 cents for a 5oz can.
I’m fortunate enough to have a few acres and access to water at agricultural rates, so I grow enough produce to supply myself and a few other families that subscribe to my farm-to-home service. It’s enough to pay the costs and buy the grandkids some nice presents, but I ain’t getting rich off it.
Were vegetarians and don’t buy any prepared foods or much processed food. Inflation hasn’t been uniform. Rice, beans, tofu, and a lot of vegetables are at or near the same price as pre pandemic.
My partner and I are mostly-vegetarian and it’s insane how much stuff still costs. Soy milk is constantly $2-3 a half gallon more than cow milk, veggies are expensive unless you’re only getting rice and beans, and don’t even get me started on meat substitutes
Fortunately for us we make a lot of money so we don’t look at prices.
Same here.
Same here as well. I’ll still try to find cheaper options but I won’t remove an ingredient from the cart because the total is too much.
food stamps
also, wtf is up with the food co-op?
All the wealthy retired hippies shop there. Their prices are crazy. All the employees make a smidge over minimum. Except the managers make a bit more. But still.
I’ve yet to go to a coop that wasn’t much more expensive for questionable quality food.
$8 a pound for pumpkin seeds. Can you believe that? It’s one step above what you’d pick out of a compost pile. Very nice and clean of course, but still. It should be dirt cheap. But no.
Eating fingernails with a side of depression
that hit a bit too close to home
Ever pick your nose?
Yeah, extra protein
On a similar note to what @[email protected] I have an instant pot and that’s made cooking stuff that’s cheap but usually takes time to make really easy, brown rice or a potato based soup are a click away. At of course the cost of an upfront investment.
Also, some recipes can be really cheap if you have the time. Rossotto, homemade bread (with yeast or baking soda), baked beans (from dry bulk pinto beans), pasta (homemade & store bought) naan bread & homemade wheat tortillas, and baked oatmeal are all things I enjoy that come to mind and might be worth trying. They taste good and can be made for super cheap.
Wishing you luck internet stranger
I’m a vegetarian and my instant pot is great for beans. I didn’t bring that up since canned beans are cheap but they’re high sodium and are probably more contaminated with plastic than dried beans. I would never bother with dried beans without the instant pot but they’re super easy with it. So I guess depending on your diet either an instant pot, slow cooker or air fryer can really have a huge impact on your grocery bill.
how do you prepare them? Whenever I tried using a pressure cooked for dried beans they turned out mush.
Part of it probably depends on what beans. I eat a lot of chickpeas and I think they’re a harder bean and less likely to get mushy. The other one is black beans and definitely they would be easier to overcook. Did you do the quick release? If not, next time quick release then immediately drain them and give them a quick rinse in cold water. I’m just using the bean setting on my instant pot so if that’s what you’re doing and it’s still mushy with the quick release, figure out how long that cooks for and drop it by a minute or two.
Hmm yes, I tried both, quick release and letting it cool down, also with chickpeas. Always ended up in mush…
I have a stovetop one, so there’s no program for me, I just tried what some recipies on the internet recommend.
Oh ok. I have to guess they’re cooking too long then but I’ve never used a stovetop one so IDK how much you should adjust it.
I still have 50 lb of COVID rice in my pantry.
I’ve been slipping over to Aldi or Costco for produce. Sure I have to buy more at Costco, but the price is there are still lower per pound than they were at my grocery store before inflation.
I make a lot of stuff from scratch I don’t rely on a lot of mixes. The price of bulk flour and the price of bulk rice hasn’t gone up nearly as much as Purdue chicken breast.
Rice, brother. Lots of rice.
