If you have NOT found it hard to manage grocery prices, what are you buying where?

[Anonymous]

We spend $175 per week for two adults. Split 75% from Sam’s (basics, produce, household goods) and 25% from Safeway for things I can’t get at Sam’s (organic peanut butter, unsweetened soy milk, smaller amounts of fresh meat, preferred yogurt, etc.)

We limit trips mid-week and accept that the day before the grocery run will be scrounging. We waste very little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Biggest concern- what happens when the big box stores and companies stop absorbing costs of tariffs/taxes and raise their prices? Most are saying January is when we will see true prices. If it gets much higher, I will have to be very careful about what we buy and avoid waste at all cost.

I don’t think big box stores are absorbing costs.
On some items they are as bad as supermarkets.

They are, but won’t be able to for much longer. They stocked up before tariffs hit, are absorbing the cost, and finding ways to ship through other countries where possible. They say they will have to stop absorbing in January, they expect to run out of stockpile.
“Like many other retailers, Costco continues to push a multipronged approach to navigating tariffs. The retailer has opted to absorb some of the costs while also continuing to work closely with its suppliers to move its production to countries “where it makes sense” and consolidating buying efforts to lower the cost of goods, Millerchip said.”

https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/costco-sku-flexibility-tariff-strategy/803124/#:~:text=According%20to%20Millerchip%2C%20having%20experienced,notable%20issues%2C%E2%80%9D%20Millerchip%20said.

[Anonymous]

For us it's less about finding a new place to shop (we sort of rotate between TJs, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, and sometimes Target for certain shelf staples) but thinking about what we are eating and trying to default to things that cost less.

We have certain meals that involve only inexpensive ingredients, so even with higher prices, it's not too painful. Stuff like red beans and rice, spaghetti and meatballs, lentil curry, crunchy tacos, etc.

We avoid prepared foods and high budget items like bakery bread (we make bread at home and even with flour being through the roof, it's still relatively affordable).

And then there are things I just know from experience. It's worth it to buy meat and produce at WF because the cost is similar to other stores but the quality is better. But dairy and shelf staples are often more expensive at WF (unless its 365 brand) so we try to get a lot of those at TJs where their distribution model is keeping the price of things like pasta, beans, frozen food, nuts, and snacks lower than elsewhere. And then we know that HT and Target will often run specials on name brand items like breakfast cereal (which I loathe but is all one of my kids will eat in the morning so we still buy it) so we stock up on those when they are on sale.

We were given a free Costco membership as a gift last Christmas and I've bought a few things there where buying in bulk actually makes financial sense (I mostly think it's a racket but I get flour, olive oil, baking soda, and a few other staples there and it lasts a long time and does have a lower per unit price).

That's about it. We've been doing this for years now, first due to belt tightening pre-Covid when I got laid off, then during Covid when I paused my job search to take care of kids home from school, then post-covid to deal with inflation. I feel like the longer I do it the better I get at it, but it gets harder and harder. Bread flour prices just went up another 20%. Meat and eggs have actually come down a little from their peak, but produce, milk, yogurt, and cheese have all gone up.

The worst is when you have to buy something you don't normally buy and it turns out it now costs 3-4x what it used to. Halloween candy sticker shock is real ($10 for a bag with maybe 20 pieces of candy? And I have to buy two per kid just to have enough for their class?). If this goes on, I think the expectation that people can do stuff like that is going to have to adjust. We are okay financially and can spend $40 on classroom candy for halloween but I hate it. I am sure there are some people for whom that's just impossible. A lot of schools and kids activities rely on parents always being able to just foot the bill for little add ons. How can that continue? Most of us are not wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who aren't just trying to use grocery prices to score political points and truly are just managing your household budget, what have you been doing to make it work? What have you changed?

We eat a lot less and what we do eat is less varied. I just had cream of wheat with almond butter for lunch.

Tonight, we’ll make a big pot of spinach coconut dal and eat that over rice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grow 10% of our food - eggs, fruit, vegetables
Make 25% of our food - bread, yogurt, crackers, chips, applesauce, fruit leather
Cook 85% of our meals

Shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco and part of a CSA

You aren't very good at math are you?

Seems fairly obvious that some of these are ingredients in meals, doesn't it?

I'd actually be surprised that a household that produces their own eggs, fruit, and vegetables (probably not in the DMV unless you eat apples all year?) still buys 15% of meals outside the home.

It’s clear to me that person has broken this down into categories so it makes perfect sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is off-brand for DCUM, but the regular item I have found hardest to manage is Diet Coke. Prices got stupid at "normal" grocery stores but also went up insanely at Costco. I started actually googling who is selling it as a loss leader (Target, Giant, and Safeway on my rotation of places to check) and stocking up.

You can just quit as coke or beer aren't essentials of food pyramid. Your health would improve as well so extra saving on healthcare.

Of course they can. Clearly they don’t want to, so they’re buying on sale.

[Anonymous]

We don't buy red meat or expensive seafood anymore. We grow veggies in the summer. Cut back on coffee since it went up 40% due to stupid tariffs. Rarely drink canned drinks or wine anymore. Costco bulk and sales. ALDI for some produce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're vegetarian at home and buy mostly at Trader Joe's and sometimes Whole Foods. But we also hardly ever eat out and don't drink (alcohol ever or coffee out, no sodas...) so that helps as well. We don't buy packaged snacks like granola bars, chips...

+1. The way we manage prices is by changing what we eat. We basically eat non-processed foods, and buy that in bulk. So most of my shopping is done at Costco, MOM's bulk bins, ethnic grocery stores, and TJs. While some of these prices are higher, I figure I'm saving in future health costs by eating healthier now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're vegetarian at home and buy mostly at Trader Joe's and sometimes Whole Foods. But we also hardly ever eat out and don't drink (alcohol ever or coffee out, no sodas...) so that helps as well. We don't buy packaged snacks like granola bars, chips...

+1. The way we manage prices is by changing what we eat. We basically eat non-processed foods, and buy that in bulk. So most of my shopping is done at Costco, MOM's bulk bins, ethnic grocery stores, and TJs. While some of these prices are higher, I figure I'm saving in future health costs by eating healthier now.

+2. We have stopped eating meat, fish, and cheese. Our main protein comes from bulk nuts stored in the freezer, nut butters, beans/pulses, and eggs. We are still buying butter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know this is off-brand for DCUM, but the regular item I have found hardest to manage is Diet Coke. Prices got stupid at "normal" grocery stores but also went up insanely at Costco. I started actually googling who is selling it as a loss leader (Target, Giant, and Safeway on my rotation of places to check) and stocking up.

You can just quit as coke or beer aren't essentials of food pyramid. Your health would improve as well so extra saving on healthcare.

Of course they can. Clearly they don’t want to, so they’re buying on sale.

Some things like Coke are on sale so often the real price is not really real. Giant had buy 2 get 2 most weeks. So does Walgreens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For us it's less about finding a new place to shop (we sort of rotate between TJs, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, and sometimes Target for certain shelf staples) but thinking about what we are eating and trying to default to things that cost less.

We have certain meals that involve only inexpensive ingredients, so even with higher prices, it's not too painful. Stuff like red beans and rice, spaghetti and meatballs, lentil curry, crunchy tacos, etc.

We avoid prepared foods and high budget items like bakery bread (we make bread at home and even with flour being through the roof, it's still relatively affordable).

And then there are things I just know from experience. It's worth it to buy meat and produce at WF because the cost is similar to other stores but the quality is better. But dairy and shelf staples are often more expensive at WF (unless its 365 brand) so we try to get a lot of those at TJs where their distribution model is keeping the price of things like pasta, beans, frozen food, nuts, and snacks lower than elsewhere. And then we know that HT and Target will often run specials on name brand items like breakfast cereal (which I loathe but is all one of my kids will eat in the morning so we still buy it) so we stock up on those when they are on sale.

We were given a free Costco membership as a gift last Christmas and I've bought a few things there where buying in bulk actually makes financial sense (I mostly think it's a racket but I get flour, olive oil, baking soda, and a few other staples there and it lasts a long time and does have a lower per unit price).

That's about it. We've been doing this for years now, first due to belt tightening pre-Covid when I got laid off, then during Covid when I paused my job search to take care of kids home from school, then post-covid to deal with inflation. I feel like the longer I do it the better I get at it, but it gets harder and harder. Bread flour prices just went up another 20%. Meat and eggs have actually come down a little from their peak, but produce, milk, yogurt, and cheese have all gone up.

The worst is when you have to buy something you don't normally buy and it turns out it now costs 3-4x what it used to. Halloween candy sticker shock is real ($10 for a bag with maybe 20 pieces of candy? And I have to buy two per kid just to have enough for their class?). If this goes on, I think the expectation that people can do stuff like that is going to have to adjust. We are okay financially and can spend $40 on classroom candy for halloween but I hate it. I am sure there are some people for whom that's just impossible. A lot of schools and kids activities rely on parents always being able to just foot the bill for little add ons. How can that continue? Most of us are not wealthy.

We are not givng out chocolate this year. Lots of other enjoyable candy and small treats.

[Anonymous]

I used to drink a coke every day at work because I would buy one at the work vending machine. Now that I'm furloughed and no longer have access to that machine, I've stopped drinking coke entirely. It made me realize how many things I eat just out of habit, and how easy it is to break those habits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grow 10% of our food - eggs, fruit, vegetables
Make 25% of our food - bread, yogurt, crackers, chips, applesauce, fruit leather
Cook 85% of our meals

Shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco and part of a CSA

You aren't very good at math are you?

Seems fairly obvious that some of these are ingredients in meals, doesn't it?

I'd actually be surprised that a household that produces their own eggs, fruit, and vegetables (probably not in the DMV unless you eat apples all year?) still buys 15% of meals outside the home.

I should have clarified that's the rough breakdown over a year. And we do live in the DMV area so we tend to have less homegrown produce in the winter (still have an indoor garden for avocados, citrus and lettuces/herbs year round) and so we eat out more in the winter

[Anonymous]

More beans, less meat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those who aren't just trying to use grocery prices to score political points and truly are just managing your household budget, what have you been doing to make it work? What have you changed?

Nothing changed.

Always bought healthy stuff from around the outer edge of the store. Buy in bulk and meal prep.