Anonymous
06/22/2022 10:48
Subject: Re:I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:Family of 5 that eats whatever we want because we almost never eat out.
Steaks,
Shellfish
chicken
sausages
10 bottles of wine and a case of beer every months
blackberries
cherries
apples
strawberries
all the veggies you can shake a stick at
nuts
And I still come in around $700 a month.
I have no idea who you people are that can't do this.
This drives me crazy. We shop at Lidl, buy things on sale, make food from scratch, buy zero alcohol, and still spend more than $1000 per month (and recently sometimes closer to $1400). No one is being posh. Things are just expensive, especially when you have growing teens.
Agreed, PP is not sharing something. Maybe they live very far out where stuff is cheaper.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 10:36
Subject: Re:I just spent $68 at Giant...
Family of 5 that eats whatever we want because we almost never eat out.
Steaks,
Shellfish
chicken
sausages
10 bottles of wine and a case of beer every months
blackberries
cherries
apples
strawberries
all the veggies you can shake a stick at
nuts
And I still come in around $700 a month.
I have no idea who you people are that can't do this.
This drives me crazy. We shop at Lidl, buy things on sale, make food from scratch, buy zero alcohol, and still spend more than $1000 per month (and recently sometimes closer to $1400). No one is being posh. Things are just expensive, especially when you have growing teens.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 10:35
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Are you guys actually saving money at farmers markets? Every time I’ve gone in DC the prices were insane. Maybe it’s cheaper in suburban areas but not worth driving far with the way gas prices are.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 10:08
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:Since when has Giant and Safeway ever been an affordable place to shop? Unless the items are on sale, it's overpriced.
Not if you use the Member programs. I always, always, always save at least 25-35% off of the total buying my regular brand items. So if the total is $100 before tax then my actual cash outlay is $65-75 before tax using name brands for the items I generally buy. I can't do that at other stores. And I don't have the time to deal with running around to a bunch of other stores trying to find deals. AND I don't like to buy huge bulk items at places like Shoppers.
So, yes, Safeway and Giant are better for me and I always save money at each. I shop more at Safeway because it is closer and the parking is better but I will go to Giant, too.
NP.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 09:48
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:butter=$4 (plugra baking=$3.69)+flour=$5 (King Arthur organic=4.67)+sugar=$4(Domino=3.59)+milk(4.79)+fruit(mango, orange, blue, straw, blackberry=$12)=~$30. How are you getting $68? If you run a pastry shop, try restaurant depot.Anonymous wrote:and bought basically nothing. A few staples that we were out of (sugar, flour, butter). A pound of ground chicken for dinner tonight. A gallon of milk. Some fruits and vegetables. And that was it. Skim milk is now $4.55 a gallon!
Is anyone else getting really concerned about this?
OK, we have a literalist here. For you, friend, I will recreate my receipt:
Loaf of whole wheat bread - $4.89
Eggs - $3.19
Kefir - $5.00
Butter - $6.49
Skim Milk gallon - $4.49
Cheese - $4.49
Sugar - $2.99
Flour - $2.79
Ketchup - $2.25
Ritz crackers - $5.39
Ground chicken - $4.29
Sliced ham - $5.49
Blueberries - $6.99
Raisins - $4.29
Bag of spinach - $3.29
Bag of arugula - $2.49
Bananas - $1.06
Total - $69.87
This is a standard grocery shopping list for me, give or take, for the last 5 years. Two or three years ago it would have been $20 less. That is my point.
DP but this list is not "basically nothing". It's pretty much a weekly grocery trip, and $70 doesn't strike me as crazy for that list. You could skip the kefir and Ritz Crackers and save yourself $10.
Completely unrelated to cost but I cannot fathom buying Kefir and skim milk.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 09:44
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:and bought basically nothing. A few staples that we were out of (sugar, flour, butter). A pound of ground chicken for dinner tonight. A gallon of milk. Some fruits and vegetables. And that was it. Skim milk is now $4.55 a gallon!
Is anyone else getting really concerned about this?
Yep. We went for our standard weekly grocery shopping last night. Used to cost us around $110; it rang up at $148. We’re lucky that we can afford it, but it’s really getting disturbing.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 09:43
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Family of 5 that eats whatever we want because we almost never eat out.
Steaks,
Shellfish
chicken
sausages
10 bottles of wine and a case of beer every months
blackberries
cherries
apples
strawberries
all the veggies you can shake a stick at
nuts
And I still come in around $700 a month.
I have no idea who you people are that can't do this.
Your 3 kids must be under 5, or two are twins that you are still breastfeeding. Talk to me when you have teenagers! Family of 4, we do not go out to eat, and our groceries that used to be $1200 a month are now $1500-$1600 a month.
I have two boys, 9 and 11, and this is about what we spend. You just have to shop the sales.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 09:28
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:Family of 5 that eats whatever we want because we almost never eat out.
Steaks,
Shellfish
chicken
sausages
10 bottles of wine and a case of beer every months
blackberries
cherries
apples
strawberries
all the veggies you can shake a stick at
nuts
And I still come in around $700 a month.
I have no idea who you people are that can't do this.
Your 3 kids must be under 5, or two are twins that you are still breastfeeding. Talk to me when you have teenagers! Family of 4, we do not go out to eat, and our groceries that used to be $1200 a month are now $1500-$1600 a month.
Anonymous
06/22/2022 08:32
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:butter=$4 (plugra baking=$3.69)+flour=$5 (King Arthur organic=4.67)+sugar=$4(Domino=3.59)+milk(4.79)+fruit(mango, orange, blue, straw, blackberry=$12)=~$30. How are you getting $68? If you run a pastry shop, try restaurant depot.Anonymous wrote:and bought basically nothing. A few staples that we were out of (sugar, flour, butter). A pound of ground chicken for dinner tonight. A gallon of milk. Some fruits and vegetables. And that was it. Skim milk is now $4.55 a gallon!
Is anyone else getting really concerned about this?
OK, we have a literalist here. For you, friend, I will recreate my receipt:
Loaf of whole wheat bread - $4.89
Eggs - $3.19
Kefir - $5.00
Butter - $6.49
Skim Milk gallon - $4.49
Cheese - $4.49
Sugar - $2.99
Flour - $2.79
Ketchup - $2.25
Ritz crackers - $5.39
Ground chicken - $4.29
Sliced ham - $5.49
Blueberries - $6.99
Raisins - $4.29
Bag of spinach - $3.29
Bag of arugula - $2.49
Bananas - $1.06
Total - $69.87
This is a standard grocery shopping list for me, give or take, for the last 5 years. Two or three years ago it would have been $20 less. That is my point.
To claw back some of that 20 I would do better on the butter and crackers and bread....you can find those cheaper or on sale and $7 blueberries I would just say nope.
I agree. Buy the berries when they are on special. I do HT express lane so that avoids impulse buys and I tend to buy the things that are on sale. I don't spend that much on butter either. My last shop showed that I saved 49%. Also buy store brands rather than things like Ritz crackers.
Anonymous
05/18/2022 10:17
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:OOOh! I've been wanting to try this and have done Veggie Fairy which I loved but was pricey. Which farm do you get the cheap dairy and produce?Anonymous wrote:I shop primarily at WF and via Prime (which carries the 365 brand and is always cheaper than Giant), and get all my dairy and produce through local farms. It is actually very cheap.
Not PP but we get milk delivered from south mountain creamery and sounds like it is not much more than giant for delicious fresh milk.
We used to belong to a CSA but skipped it this year for a couple reasons. It averaged out to $25-30 per week for a generous box of seasonal produce however I think they’ve had to raise prices too. It was Calvert farms.
Anonymous
05/18/2022 09:58
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
I agree that food costs have gone up a lot. I'm concerned but not sure what to do on a large scale, although we have made changes as a family to lower our costs.
Safeway is our closest grocery store so I use the app to put coupons on my card and accumulate rewards. I found that there produce isn't that great and I've had some issues with fruit being tasteless and spoiling fast so I prefer to get fruits at the farmers market or Whole Foods. The biggest thing we've done to cut costs is to eat at at home more instead of ordering out and go through the fridge at the end of the week and come up with meals based on what is going to go bad in order to minimize food waste.
Safeway is our closest grocery store so I use the app to put coupons on my card and accumulate rewards. I found that there produce isn't that great and I've had some issues with fruit being tasteless and spoiling fast so I prefer to get fruits at the farmers market or Whole Foods. The biggest thing we've done to cut costs is to eat at at home more instead of ordering out and go through the fridge at the end of the week and come up with meals based on what is going to go bad in order to minimize food waste.
Anonymous
05/17/2022 22:33
Subject: Re:I just spent $68 at Giant...
Are things like blueberries absolutely required? We try to get the produce on sale. If apples and plums are on sale, that’s what we have. Other weeks it could be grapes and oranges, etc. while I am closer to aldi now, I used to not be. About once every 3-5 weeks, I’d go to one and get a bunch of things: flour, oil, canned beans, canned tomatoes, eggs, frozen items, etc. could you try that?
Anonymous
05/17/2022 22:31
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:butter=$4 (plugra baking=$3.69)+flour=$5 (King Arthur organic=4.67)+sugar=$4(Domino=3.59)+milk(4.79)+fruit(mango, orange, blue, straw, blackberry=$12)=~$30. How are you getting $68? If you run a pastry shop, try restaurant depot.Anonymous wrote:and bought basically nothing. A few staples that we were out of (sugar, flour, butter). A pound of ground chicken for dinner tonight. A gallon of milk. Some fruits and vegetables. And that was it. Skim milk is now $4.55 a gallon!
Is anyone else getting really concerned about this?
OK, we have a literalist here. For you, friend, I will recreate my receipt:
Loaf of whole wheat bread - $4.89
Eggs - $3.19
Kefir - $5.00
Butter - $6.49
Skim Milk gallon - $4.49
Cheese - $4.49
Sugar - $2.99
Flour - $2.79
Ketchup - $2.25
Ritz crackers - $5.39
Ground chicken - $4.29
Sliced ham - $5.49
Blueberries - $6.99
Raisins - $4.29
Bag of spinach - $3.29
Bag of arugula - $2.49
Bananas - $1.06
Total - $69.87
This is a standard grocery shopping list for me, give or take, for the last 5 years. Two or three years ago it would have been $20 less. That is my point.
Yep sounds about right. We live in Arlington and the prices have gone up at our Giant in just the last month. I think people who live a little farther out don't realize this. I think the prices were lower to begin with and hold steady longer. Even Aldi has slowly raised their prices so for all those who are going to chime in about Aldi, same thing happening there.
Prices everywhere have gone up. Only the blind, deaf, dumb, and willfully ignorant (those who got the child tax credits up through Dec) - didn't acknowledge it.
Its actually worse for people farther out. Can you imagine living in a smaller town when your only grocery store is 15 miles away and the next nearest one is an additional 10-12 miles? The cost of gas has risen. People in rural or exurban communities with average salaries can't afford to be driving 30-45 miles between grocery stores looking for the best-priced meat and apples.
On top of that Walmart drove out all the mom-and-pops so its even worse when several towns or counties share one local grocery store. I've seen some individuals in far out areas who make a once every two-three week trip to the store because the nearest one is an hour away.
You get there and they are out of produce or its so unaffordable you can't afford it - you have no choice but to make hard decisions.
And these were the decisions that many exurban people made despite people telling them that their life choices could blow back on them.
Don’t live 100 miles from where you work just because you want a big house and land.
Don’t buy a behemoth vehicle that gets crap miles to the gallon.
Don’t shop at Walmart when Walmart is actively killing the mom and pop near you.
These people made choices - they weren’t forced, they had choices and they made them - and the ones in my life were incredibly smug about it all.
Anonymous
05/17/2022 21:51
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
99% of the people in this thread should be eating 20% less anyway.
Anonymous
05/17/2022 20:10
Subject: I just spent $68 at Giant...
Maybe buy less kefir. And blueberries.
Ritz crackers? Get store brand or on sale.
Butter looks pricey, was it fancy butter or store brand?
Ritz crackers? Get store brand or on sale.
Butter looks pricey, was it fancy butter or store brand?