Orlando makes the list of the 5 Fastest growing cities of 2013 (food, education)

[JennyMominRI]

Originally Posted by Standard Staples

$1,500-$1,800/month in food? Talk about fine dining...

I regularly shop at Whole Foods, Fresh market, with some staples coming from Target and Publix. I only spend around $900 for a family of 5 including cleaning supplies etc.

[HomesickFloridian]

Originally Posted by HomesickFloridian

Same same, and I see your previous post quoted too and again I fully agree.. Run the A/C sometime at night now before going to bed to drop the temp and dry the air as the house is well insulated and with it open during the days the temp rises and doesn't fall quick enough to make it comfortable for sleeping so a short run of a/c does that and it's all good for the rest of the night being off..

My house is about the same size and so far we're even lower in electric, my entire water and electric bill combined last month was $166 approx. 1/3rd of which is water usage and I've been told already it's dropped another $11 next month.

I should've included that my house is 2 stories so the heat rises and while comfortable on the first floor not nearly cool enough for sleeping upstairs where the bedrooms are mostly located..

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by JennyMominRI

I regularly shop at Whole Foods, Fresh market, with some staples coming from Target and Publix. I only spend around $900 for a family of 5 including cleaning supplies etc.

Excellent point Jenny. There's a big stereotype regarding Whole Foods being uber-expensive but for whole food items it's not that much different when comparing quality points. One can say they're getting Ground Beef for $1.99 a pound at Publix or WalMart but what's the source? Most Americans are clueless about the food chain and think all food is sourced similarly and delivered out of one big warehouse to a grocer near you.

[HomesickFloridian]

^And others are over-sold by the marketing hype of paying more for products that aren't necessarily all they're hyped up to be..

[annerk]

I'm trying to get off the beef merry-go-round and use fish and free range organic chicken breast as my primary protein sources.

[JennyMominRI]

Originally Posted by HomesickFloridian

^And others are over-sold by the marketing hype of paying more for products that aren't necessarily all they're hyped up to be..

I CARE more about animal welfare than organic,and I prefer to buy local. TARGET has about as many organic items as whole foods. I can often find the organic stuff cheaper at Whole Foods than TARGET though, especially Who Foods 365 brand. We have serious health issues and its worth it to me to stay away from processed food and stuff. I cook a lot from scratch which makes things cheaper.

[sean1the1]

I Can not believe you guys are arguing over how much much you spend a week on food... SMH

[nat_at772]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

While the average salary of $39,000 a year is on the "low" end of all the metro areas in the US, poverty isnt just how much you make but also the way you live

Some people (like me) could live quite nicely on $39,000 a year. Id probably have a reasonable apartment around $600-$700 a month (there are good apts in this town for those prices) Id have enough money to buy my gas, make my car payment, buy plenty of food, as well as have all my utilities paid, even after taxes, still with enough left over to save and go out every once in awhile

I was just wondering what area of town you live in. I'm actually in Seminole County so I'm not in Orlando but I'm just off of Aloma/436 area and the "good" apartments over here are extremely expensive. We thought about moving to the Berkshires of Winter Park because it was the ONLY one who was under 1K within this area but the day we went to fill out our application there was a news crew there covering a story about a resident who had broken into several homes. We then talked to a current tenant who told us she was living as soon as her lease was up due to problems with break-ins and vandalism.

When I was searching all the affordable properties seemed to be in areas I wouldn't want to live, live Pine Hills.

[HomesickFloridian]

Originally Posted by JennyMominRI

I CARE more about animal welfare than organic,and I prefer to buy local. TARGET has about as many organic items as whole foods. I can often find the organic stuff cheaper at Whole Foods than TARGET though, especially Who Foods 365 brand. We have serious health issues and its worth it to me to stay away from processed food and stuff. I cook a lot from scratch which makes things cheaper.

Animal welfare for a dead animal you're going to devour? That's rich.... In that case vegetarianism is more in line with reality. FYI that has very little to do with the ACTUAL reason food is "organic", "free range" and nonsense like that.. Just goes to show you are a perfect example of the marketing hype I was referring to.. Just because one may shop at stores like Publix for example doesn't mean that you are forced to buy processed food and the like, all it takes is an educated consumer to buy the right food no matter WHAT store you shop at.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by HomesickFloridian

Animal welfare for a dead animal you're going to devour? That's rich.... In that case vegetarianism is more in line with reality. FYI that has very little to do with the ACTUAL reason food is "organic", "free range" and nonsense like that.. Just goes to show you are a perfect example of the marketing hype I was referring to.. Just because one may shop at stores like Publix for example doesn't mean that you are forced to buy processed food and the like, all it takes is an educated consumer to buy the right food no matter WHAT store you shop at.

Clearly you're uneducated as to the food supply system and the differences between organic/natural or conventionally produced. Have you read Fast Food Nation, Omnivore's Dilemma or seen the movie Food Inc? Clearly not.... As an FYI, here's yet another example....

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/abou...fare-standards