Three years ago in Mar-May 2019, I kept track of food expenses so we’d know how much we spent per person per month ($251). I typed in all grocery purchases and categorized the items.
Today I compared those prices with what we’re paying now (May-July 2022). Not an easy task since we don’t buy all the same stuff, I had to pay attention to quantities and whether the price was regular or sale, etc. There’s an 11% increase. Some prices haven’t changed: lemons, celery, bell peppers, green beans, bunches of parsley & cilantro. What’s changed the most are cereal, goldfish crackers, my favorite frozen lunch Amy’s Matar Paneer, and oddly, red onions.
I wish I could keep produce fresher longer. I’ve learned how to keep parsley & cilantro fresh for 2 weeks; no luck with salad greens. I don’t have much of a freezer and don’t belong to Costco. I’ve thought about shopping at an international market or a grocery store in a lower income area in case prices are lower there. Not sure what else I can do.
Try doing some research on foods that store well. Then when those that do keep better are on sale you can stock up on them.
My wife has discovered that whole cabbages can last months in the fridge and she juices fresh lemons and freezes the juice in little plastic containers. You can dice fresh onions and put them in vacuum or ziploc bags and freeze them.
Check out some food storage sites for having a supply if things get really dicey.
I just watched a save-$$-at-the-grocery-store video where the woman suggested buying a bag of onions and doing like you say, chopping them up and freezing them. I’ll have to try that. I haven’t been able to get a cabbage to go bad.
I’ll also go check out Lidl and Aldi. I’ve shopped at them in Europe but not here in the U.S.
I think it’s likely a cumulative effect… (cost of raw materials + energy costs + people costs + profit margin) = cost of production + (cost of product + energy costs + people costs + profit margin) = cost of distribution + (cost of product + people cost + fixed costs + inventory shrinkage + profit margin) = CONSUMER COST
Regarding Walmarts…
Depends on your Walmart. I moved a bit further up county. The one closest to me I don’t like. Feel like need head on swivel. But, my friend that lives 5 miles further up county told me the one further up county is night and day different. Not for quick jaunts with gas prices, but close enough for regular shopping trip. I need to check it out. Same with the local grocery store but different reasons. The 3 grocery stores are all clean and safe, just different layouts and stock for same brand store.
One trick I’ve learned with salad greens is to store them in either a plastic resealable bag or plastic Tupperware-type container along with a sheet or two of paper towels. Lettuce goes bad quickly mostly due to moisture. Keeping a dry paper towel in with chopped lettuce/salad greens really helps it last longer. Green onions keep longer if you stand them up in a small juice glass with a little water and store in the frig.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for the tip! I went to Lidl today and their prices are noticeably cheaper. I’ll try to go regularly but not too often since it’s 40 minutes one way, without traffic.
