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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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It's a lot easier for those of us that enjoy cooking. I do all the cooking, my wife does the dishes. This weekend I made 3 loaves of sourdough French bread. I grind the pork and make our own breakfast sausages. I know several people that would starve if they had to cook their own food, and live on prepared food and takeout. That's going to cost a lot more money.
It's a lot easier for those of us that enjoy cooking. I do all the cooking, my wife does the dishes. This weekend I made 3 loaves of sourdough French bread. I grind the pork and make our own breakfast sausages. I know several people that would starve if they had to cook their own food, and live on prepared food and takeout. That's going to cost a lot more money.
I'm not against cooking but definitely not one to make things from scratch. But even if you don't eat out much going to the store and buying ingredients is almost as expensive as eating out.
I do cook breakfast most mornings and dinner most of the time.
Some folks don't have the money to eat healthy buying fresh fruits and veggies meats etc it can add up going to stores like sprouts, Whole foods, and Trader joes trying to eat organic is expensive as well.
I hear a lot of good things about Aldi's good bargains. If this keeps up thought I'll be doing my shopping at the local Dollar Tree lol.
I keep hearing "eating healthy is expensive" and I don't agree. Chips Ahoy cookies $5-6 a pound. Frozen vegs about $1.50 a pound. Strawberries 2 lbs. for $5. Lunchables $2 for about a 3-4 ounce package. 75 oz. of Coke, $6.59. Just a few items from my local grocery circular.
Now is it EASIER to give your kids cookies, Coke, and chips, rather than cook a meal? You bet. Just go ahead and set them up for poor health and bad eating habits.
In an attempt to provide sales and "specials" on certain items, the grocery stores have BOGO sales. These are very frustrating to those of us who live alone and don't need two pints of tomatoes when one will suffice. The second pint rots before the first pint is consumed.
I don't need two of almost anything. I don't have a basement in which I can store the second non-perishable package of toilet tissue and I can't eat enough for the BOGO of perishable items. I often don't take the second pint of tomatoes or the second container of cut fruit. I would just have to throw them in the trash. So, the grocery store may think they are providing sales and value, but not for many people, particularly seniors, who cannot avail themselves of these promotions.
I wish I could just BO at half the price and not have to GO to get value.
ISome folks don't have the money to eat healthy buying fresh fruits and veggies meats etc it can add up going to stores like sprouts, Whole foods, and Trader joes trying to eat organic is expensive as well.
You don't need to buy organic to eat healthy. Nor do you have to shop at Sprouts, Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's. Although, we find Trader Joe's to be pretty reasonable on their produce prices, and Whole Foods also has some good sales.
I don't feel like we're paying much more then we were a few years ago.
We shop at a few different stores throughout the week, and buy some items in bulk at Sams so I'm not sure exactly how much we spend weekly for a family of 3, but it's under $100. I do a weekly trip to Aldi's, where I usually get most of our fruit, vegetables, dairy, and snack foods. Meat we get at Sams, and then other random assortments are gotten at other stores.
Are the large club packs of meat on sale after game days? Last night, I picked up chicken quarters at .99/lb and boneless pork at around $2.42/lbs. Chicken for grilling usually runs around here at $1.29-1.49/lbs. On a side note, brisket was at $2.49/lb, only 50 cents over its pre pandemic low but didn't get any.
As to the how, I usually make a mix bean stew with one chicken part for the meat. Let the chicken stew with it, then pull the chicken, let it cool down, pull the meat off and cut it up, then back into the stew. The big killer in cost, though, would be what to put in it such as croutons. Homemade corn bread might work, bring the cost down (maybe, haven't run those figures), or French bread but I have not tried that yet. My stews for a single person usually last me for 3-4 dinners.
EDIT: All this talk about food got me motivated to put a stew on. Admittedly, part of it was because for the past many days, I have been eating "decadent" dinners because of no stew and the need to eat quickly at night. Yogurt today, boneless pork last night, 2 cans of chili Sunday, and triscuits with cheese, I think, Saturday and Friday. So in reference to our issue about how to beat the high cost of living, don't get decadent and easy but keep the dedication to be lower going.
Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 02-21-2023 at 07:41 PM..
I always split shopping between a few chain stores, and recently added in a Big Box to the mix for certain staples. Seeing prices at least 50% above pre-covid, and that is with my "chain-inflation" trade down behavior. Lots more store brands, off-brands, and bulk purchases.
Big brands like Unilever, P&G, Kraft/Nabisco, etc. they are all sticking it to people hard. It's good product they make but it if it's not on a steep discount, I ain't buying it.
I have a Winco store with low(er) prices about 20 miles from me but just making a round trip will cost me a couple gallons of gas. Sometimes you have to spend on groceries to save on gas.
Meantime, our only two stores in town (12 miles away from me and they're the closest) are a Safeway, where the prices have gone up by at least 50 cents to a dollar+ on almost everything, and a QFC (Kroger) that has more variety but even more expensive prices.
The full amount of food stamps that people have been getting since the pandemic started is also going to end next month. Mine will be going from $260 per month to $23 per month. I should be OK and I'm even thinking of cutting them off completely but there are going to be a lot of families hurting for food next month.
And also to add, the sales on food are next to useless now. There used to be sales on milk, eggs, bread, meat, vegetables, fruits, stuff like that. Now all the sales are for chips, soft drinks, booze, candy, and sometimes for Hamburger Helper or frozen meals. We still have buy one, get one free sales but if you really watch the prices, all they do is raise the price for the sale. Or you have to buy four of something to get the sale price. I live in a trailer. Where am I going to put four of anything? I use the space that was supposed to have a washer and dryer in it for a pantry and I'm lucky to have that.
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