True cost comparison of daily life (Kapalua: sales, hotel, home)

[JorElaMac]

I know housing and utilities are going to be high. But what about everyday things? Is anyone willing to give me a rough idea of how my daily food and sundry prices will change?

A typical day now:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal $3.98 for 42 oz. (lasts about 2 weeks)
Or box of Quaker Oatmeal Squares about $4 when not on sale (last about a week)
Berries 2 packs of blueberries or raspberries for $6.00 (last about 4 days)
Milk about 3.99 a gallon (lasts until it spoils)

I can use water to make oatmeal if milk is crazy expensive and I have no idea if berries are available? I am open to suggestions on another less expensive fruit.

Lunch:

Sushi out most days with a diet soda. Around $15, that includes two medium sized rolls.

Or a turkey and Swiss sandwich if I am at home:
Loaf of organic whole grain bread $4
Deli Turkey $8 a pound (about 4 sandwiches)
Alpine Lace Swiss $4 (about 6 slices)
Tomato - .99c a pound
Lettuce – 69c a head

Diet Coke. $1.19 for a 2 liter
Fruit- usually a Fuji apple $1.99 a pound


Snack
Apple $1.99 a pound
Peanut butter $4.99 for small jar Jiffy (lasts several weeks)

Dinner:

Take out or chicken breast with zucchini or broccoli

Take out of ravioli or Chinese $7 – 8 dollars, soda at home

Chicken Breast $2.99 a pound
Zucchini .79c a pound
Broccoli $1.99 a pound

Other daily use items:

Shampoo $1.00 Suave
Conditioner $1.50
Sunscreen $5.99 8 oz tube? Banana Boat
Toilet paper $1 a roll (Scott)
Deodorant $2.99 (small Secret roll on)
Dish soap .99c (Sun)
Laundry Detergent $6.99 (Sun or Arm and Hammer)
Gasoline: $3.90 a gallon



You don’t need to compare the whole list! Just trying to get an idea of how my everyday expenses will change.

I am also open to ideas on how to eat healthier or cheaper. I am alone and will be working long hours so cooking at home isn’t always cheaper where I live now thus all the take out! (so please don’t judge me) LOL

[PaliPatty]

Here are the weekly local ads from Long's (CVS), Safeway, and Foodland to help you with your research.

Longs Drugs Weekly Saving Guide - Oahu

Safeway

Weekly Ad | Foodland

Shopping at Walmart, Costco, or Sam's Club will save you even more, in most cases. The Big Box stores will generally sell stuff in multi-paks so that might not work out that well for you as a single person but Walmart, IME, has the cheapest single-unit everyday non-sale prices on just about everything.
To take advantage of the sales at Safeway and Foodland you'll need their free membership cards. Costco and Sam's Club require paid membership, of course.

[JorElaMac]

Originally Posted by PaliPatty

Here are the weekly local ads from Long's (CVS), Safeway, and Foodland to help you with your research.

Longs Drugs Weekly Saving Guide - Oahu

Safeway

Weekly Ad | Foodland

Shopping at Walmart, Costco, or Sam's Club will save you even more, in most cases. The Big Box stores will generally sell stuff in multi-paks so that might not work out that well for you as a single person but Walmart, IME, has the cheapest single-unit everyday non-sale prices on just about everything.
To take advantage of the sales at Safeway and Foodland you'll need their free membership cards. Costco and Sam's Club require paid membership, of course.

Perfect! Thanks so much for this. Other than dairy, prices look close to the same.

[mdand3boys]

Are you comparing sale prices in Hawaii to your local, regular pricing?

[Jungjohann]

Rubbah slippah $2.99????

muss be retread

[JorElaMac]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

Are you comparing sale prices in Hawaii to your local, regular pricing?

Yes, just to get a rough idea of prices. Sales are what I usually shop here, so I can be a little flexible. The prices I quoted for my current prices were mostly sales, so it is a reasonable comparison for my purposes.

The way everyone talks about prices, I was afraid a loaf of bread was going to be $10!

[manapua12]

16 oz cottage cheese low fat small curd (my usual):

$2.25 at walmart on keeaumoku st (kraft)
$3.50 at foodland ala moana shopping center on sale usually (meadowgold)
$4.75 at Longs Drugs downtown hotel st, (meadowgold)

I buy this almsot every day,

you learn to price shop and compare, sometimes the aisles get bare if there is a sale.

sorry cannot type today lol


sometimes longs is cheaper than foodland and vice versa. Most likely Walmart is cheaper, but it's less convenient and horribly crowded 24/7. I go to safeway on Beretania also at times.

you can go to chinatown and get a tub of strawberries for $1.00, Same tub at the grocery may be $4.99 or a little lower. Chinatown one ususally has to be eaten the same or next day, probably why it's cheap.

pound of shiitakes at foodland is $12.00 but in chinatown they are $6.00/pound

so many variations here and some stores have sales. I tend to buy what I want if it's on a sale price, Love the polska kielbasa but at $6.,50 a pack do not , but they go on sale often for $3.50 pack

[JorElaMac]

Originally Posted by manapua12

16 oz cottage cheese low fat small curd (my usual):

$2.25 at walmart on keeaumoku st (kraft)
$3.50 at foodland ala moana shopping center on sale usually (meadowgold)
$4.75 at Longs Drugs downtown hotel st, (meadowgold)

I buy this almsot every day,

you learn to price shop and compare, sometimes the aisles get bare if there is a sale.

sorry cannot type today lol

Wow that is a big difference depending on the store. Maybe I should start a price book once I get there?

Thanks for the info, it really helps. I was afraid I was going to be living on rice a fruit.

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by JorElaMac

The way everyone talks about prices, I was afraid a loaf of bread was going to be $10!

Nope, it's the MILK that's ten bucks..

(of course, you have to be grocery shopping at the Kahala Mall, Shoppes at Wailea, or Kapalua Bay Resort to find it)

uuuurrrrpppp,,, scuze me

[OpenD]

You're the "move in 3 weeks" guy, right? Sounds like a wild ride!

Since this subject has frequently been discussed on these forums, you can grab a lot of quick information about your question by using the Advanced Search feature to pull up previous threads on the topic.

A couple of things occur to me about your shopping list...

If you are coming from a major city you may not see a lot of difference at first, but a quarter more here, a dollar more there, and it adds up over time. And then every once in a while you'll run into something that just takes your breath away. Like $10 milk.

Manapua12's observation is spot on... prices on the same item can vary a lot from one place to another, from one day to another. So getting the best prices on things requires active shopping, rather than just jumping in the same place all the time to get the same things. If you have a smartphone, look for a shopping comparison app to help you keep straight about what the good prices are.

Also, nearly everything on your list has to be shipped in from the mainland. Once you're settled, you might start looking around for local equivalents or substitutes and less expensive alternatives. For instance, half a solo-size papaya usually costs less than a half-dozen apples. Plate-lunch almost anywhere is maybe half the price of a couple of sushi rolls.

In general, it appears you can save the most money by preparing more food at home. A $15 lunch plus an $8 dinner is $23, which seems to be higher than the rest of your daily shopping budget. So cutting back there, even if it is just a meal or two a week, will help make up for the higher prices on your peanut butter and bread.

Good luck!