How are you handling rising food and energy costs?

[TwoMisfits]

I buy eggs every week and they have been $4.39 for the 18 count for a couple months now.

I too was shocked at the price of mayo recently. I prefer Hellmans, but wasn't willing to pay over $6 for a squeeze bottle of mayo, so I bought Kroger brand. Last week though, Duke's was on sale for buy one get one, so I got 2 of those and paid 5.74 total. Luckily, we aren't super brand loyal to much of anything, so I can usually just buy whatever is cheapest and we are fine with it.

At my store (Safeway). eggs were $5.19 for generic 12, $7.99 for generic 18. Needless to say, I'll probably swing my Aldi's, b/c as of Dec 22, they were still under $4 ($3.64 at my last shop), which is still too high (since they more than doubled at Aldi's in 2022), but better than $5.19.

My oat milk also went up to $5.79 (from $4.79 last week), so that was a bummer...

 

[disneyseniors]

I honestly don't know how families with children or the elderly on a fixed income can afford food/heat costs now?
When my Mom worked, the average hourly pay for a secretary was 3.79 dollars. If you worked at what was the norm back then, your social security reflects that now. She is doing okay due to my Dad's pension, but without that she would be hurting financially. (we wouldn't let her of course).

I know our food bank is 40% more busy that last year. That's a significant increase post covid. A lot of stores and bakeries that I know donate to the food shelf and senior centers. It's a sad situation all around and I hope this inflation will recede this year.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I honestly don't know how families with children or the elderly on a fixed income can afford food/heat costs now?
When my Mom worked, the average hourly pay for a secretary was 3.79 dollars. If you worked at what was the norm back then, your social security reflects that now. She is doing okay due to my Dad's pension, but without that she would be hurting financially. (we wouldn't let her of course).

I know our food bank is 40% more busy that last year. That's a significant increase post covid. A lot of stores and bakeries that I know donate to the food shelf and senior centers. It's a sad situation all around and I hope this inflation will recede this year.

My state just reduced the state sales tax on food effective a few days ago. Instead of 6.5% it's now 4%. Then add on city, county, special tax districts.

However it was warned when it passed that if inflation kept up the savings would end up a wash for at least this first step down. Presently the governor is trying to get it down to 0% instead of by 2025 being 0% but that's a political thing (shouldn't be but is) so I won't hold my breath. It took so many years to even get an agreement to reduce the state sales tax. At 6.5% it was one of the highest in the nation.

If you buy pre-made food (includes things that have utensils sold with it), food that is heated or heated by the store (so I'm thinking that means rotisserie chicken since it is heated under heat lamps but guess we'll see), etc you'll still have to pay 6.5% then the other taxes.

For us if we purchase from our nearest Walmart it puts our tax at 6.975% instead of 9.475%. Some other locations that I have lived though the original tax would be over 11% so a reduction of 2.5% is really nice too. Every little bit helps but it'd be nice if we didn't have to also combat inflation and shrinkflation.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I honestly don't know how families with children or the elderly on a fixed income can afford food/heat costs now?
When my Mom worked, the average hourly pay for a secretary was 3.79 dollars. If you worked at what was the norm back then, your social security reflects that now. She is doing okay due to my Dad's pension, but without that she would be hurting financially. (we wouldn't let her of course).

I know our food bank is 40% more busy that last year. That's a significant increase post covid. A lot of stores and bakeries that I know donate to the food shelf and senior centers. It's a sad situation all around and I hope this inflation will recede this year.

Our Church hypothermia shelter is struggling to get folks to donate food for the week. Normally, the donators are fixed income and families with kids, and when they ask for specific foods and you don't know how much they'll be in two weeks, and you already have to buy your own groceries, you don't sign up.

I'm not sure what they'll do in 12 days if they still have as few of sign ups as they do - probably raid the Church basket and go shopping and hope for the best later...

 

[DLgal]

Before we used to joke when we grocery shopped together like, "Would you like to buy a pineapple to leave on the counter to rot and then throw away?"

OMG, this is a running joke in our house too.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

When I go grocery shopping I've always only gotten things I know I need that I will eat. I also try to get coupons if I can or buy whatever is on sale. I also freeze things that I may not finish right away so it doesn't go bad.

 

[HeatherC]

My state just reduced the state sales tax on food effective a few days ago. Instead of 6.5% it's now 4%. Then add on city, county, special tax districts.

However it was warned when it passed that if inflation kept up the savings would end up a wash for at least this first step down. Presently the governor is trying to get it down to 0% instead of by 2025 being 0% but that's a political thing (shouldn't be but is) so I won't hold my breath. It took so many years to even get an agreement to reduce the state sales tax. At 6.5% it was one of the highest in the nation.

If you buy pre-made food (includes things that have utensils sold with it), food that is heated or heated by the store (so I'm thinking that means rotisserie chicken since it is heated under heat lamps but guess we'll see), etc you'll still have to pay 6.5% then the other taxes.

For us if we purchase from our nearest Walmart it puts our tax at 6.975% instead of 9.475%. Some other locations that I have lived though the original tax would be over 11% so a reduction of 2.5% is really nice too. Every little bit helps but it'd be nice if we didn't have to also combat inflation and shrinkflation.

We are lucky I guess, that here in Massachusetts we don’t pay tax on food or clothing. It always catches me off guard when I am in another state.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We are lucky I guess, that here in Massachusetts we don’t pay tax on food or clothing. It always catches me off guard when I am in another state.

I remember going to NYC for the first time and getting dr scholl's inserts and not paying tax. I was caught off guard for that reason lol. When we went up to MN one year for Thanksgiving we hit up Mall of America and we just kept joking about no sales tax.

The state next to us does a 3 day no state sales tax for school stuff. Our governor is trying to get that for us.

I remember back in 2010 working for my alma mater we'd get people in sometimes from Los Angeles and they would exclaim "I didn't know you guys had so high of tax" because we're in the middle of the country, most don't associate it with that.

It's a miracle that is got passed considering how long it's been promised, hoped, wished and willed for even with the restrictions it's still something. It was always one of those "I'll believe it when I see it". I did hear of a momentary glitch that some people got double taxed when it switched over but that's to be expected. Retailers need to make sure their systems are set up correctly.

It's more that just over the course of the year things add up over time. I'd love to not pay state sales tax on clothing but I'll count my blessings that at least certain categories of food it'll be eventually 0% for the state portion.

 

[firefly_ris]

At my store (Safeway). eggs were $5.19 for generic 12, $7.99 for generic 18. Needless to say, I'll probably swing my Aldi's, b/c as of Dec 22, they were still under $4 ($3.64 at my last shop), which is still too high (since they more than doubled at Aldi's in 2022), but better than $5.19.

My oat milk also went up to $5.79 (from $4.79 last week), so that was a bummer...

They were 4.39 a dozen at my WNY Aldi last night. Better than the 7 bucks the local grocery store wants though.

 

[pineapplepalms]

I paid $4.99 for pasture raised brown eggs at Trader Joe's last week. Overall, I find that TJ's is an all-around good place for grocery shopping. Yes, prices have gone up in the last year like everywhere, but it's still reasonable. This week I'm going through the freezer/fridge/pantry and using up what we have. Always a good way to start the year. I want to try and do better with respect to food waste.

I agree, I shop at Trader Joe’s a couple times a week and get most of our groceries there. Prices are still reasonable and I haven’t noticed huge shifts. I get the family pack of organic chicken and it’s 3.49/lb. It’s also just fun for me to shop there since I love checking out their new seasonal items, and whatever seasonal produce they have in the middle displays is usually really good and well priced (sumo oranges for example, so much less $ than I’ve seen elsewhere). Although the store isn’t huge, I can usually get most things we need, and once in a while I’ll supplement with stuff from Target, Costco, Thrive Market, and occasionally Whole Foods for some specialty ingredients.

 

[tzolkin]

My oat milk also went up to $5.79 (from $4.79 last week), so that was a bummer...

Oat milk is the easiest and cheapest plant milk to make at home if you have a blender.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Oat milk is the easiest and cheapest plant milk to make at home if you have a blender.
My daughter mentioned this to me...but I drink less than 4oz/day...so it wouldn't be cost effective. All the rest here drink dairy milk. My oat milk is only for my morning meal of coffee and fiber cereal...

My daughter mentioned this to me...but I drink only 3-4oz/day (and the family drinks none)...so it wouldn't be cost effective, since I'd probably use more electrical energy making it in small batches or I'd be pitching some when it "loses" its quality (since, for now, I can take 2.5-3 weeks to finish each container with no degradation in quality).

All the rest here drink dairy milk, since they don't have allergies. And my oat milk is only for my morning meal of coffee and fiber cereal...I don't drink it as is b/c no "fake" milk is all that great according to my personal taste buds, but it serves purposes for me...

PS - Of course, I never drank dairy milk as is, either...so I'm an equal opportunity anti-milk drinker...

 

[tzolkin]

My daughter mentioned this to me...but I drink only 3-4oz/day

Most recipes are for 4 cups, but I would think you could scale it down to only make a cup or two at a time. But, I do understand since we take a while to go through milk too.

PS - Of course, I never drank dairy milk as is, either...so I'm an equal opportunity anti-milk drinker...

I don’t drink milk either even though I grew up on a dairy farm. I have always considered milk to be a “food” (or ingredient), not a beverage.

 

[DCLMP]

I agree, I shop at Trader Joe’s a couple times a week and get most of our groceries there. Prices are still reasonable and I haven’t noticed huge shifts. I get the family pack of organic chicken and it’s 3.49/lb. It’s also just fun for me to shop there since I love checking out their new seasonal items, and whatever seasonal produce they have in the middle displays is usually really good and well priced (sumo oranges for example, so much less $ than I’ve seen elsewhere). Although the store isn’t huge, I can usually get most things we need, and once in a while I’ll supplement with stuff from Target, Costco, Thrive Market, and occasionally Whole Foods for some specialty ingredients.

I only buy the two-buck chuck, beer, and some of the seasonal holiday stuff. I don't find it works well for a family of four. I do better bulk shopping at Costco or Sams. I used to shop at Sprouts a lot, but it's gotten too expensive.

The Sam's in our area has really good produce from Mexico and so does Food city.

 

[sasywtch]

I agree. In my experience, most items are just a few cents cheaper at Walmart but Walmart does not typically run sales so it's actually often more expensive to buy something at Walmart than to buy it on sale at our local grocery store.

Here, Walmart is not the cheapest and I think (inho only), they have the worst product/fruit that goes bad quickly. However, since it's two blocks away...well, I do my quick shopping there or Costco. From best prices to worst-WinCo, Foodmaxx, Safeway, Raleys/Belair, Trader Joes/Sprouts. The eggs here have doubled as my daughter eats scrambled eggs 4 times a week so buy them often. My two adults kids that live here are extremely wasteful when it comes to food and it drives me nuts but it's not my $. Speaking about me only, if it was two days before payday and I had cheese/crackers and soup in the pantry, I'd be eating that instead of grocery shopping but that's just me. Other things have definitely gone way up. Butter, sausages. I'd estimate that we are paying about an extra $100 a month for 2 people than what we did 2 months ago. I can't imagine what a family of 6 is paying extra.

 

[sasywtch]

I track our expenses and savings with spreadsheets so I know that our food cost has about stayed the same/ decreased slightly in the last few months. However, we went vegetarian over the summer and probably 95% of our diet is vegetables and dried legumes. I know that prices have been skyrocketing because everyone has been talking about it, but I haven't noticed as much because I haven't been buying most of the items that have seen the large increases.


I had no idea that there was an issue with eggs until my oldest daughter mentioned it to me. Now I have been looking and they are between $6-8 around here depending on what store you go to. We have chickens and were wasting dozens of eggs over the summer because we really don't eat them much.


I agree. In my experience, most items are just a few cents cheaper at Walmart but Walmart does not typically run sales so it's actually often more expensive to buy something at Walmart than to buy it on sale at our local grocery store.

Do you have elderly neighbors or neighbors with kids that could use some eggs? Our neighbor was giving us a dozen eggs a week until he got rid of them.

 

[barkley]

egg report here-went shopping yesterday and they were $4.48 for store brand large 18 packs. not on sale but there was a sign that indicated that due to supply issues customers were limited to 2 cartons (any size carton) each.

My state just reduced the state sales tax on food effective a few days ago. Instead of 6.5% it's now 4%. Then add on city, county, special tax districts.

However it was warned when it passed that if inflation kept up the savings would end up a wash for at least this first step down. Presently the governor is trying to get it down to 0% instead of by 2025 being 0% but that's a political thing (shouldn't be but is) so I won't hold my breath. It took so many years to even get an agreement to reduce the state sales tax. At 6.5% it was one of the highest in the nation.

If you buy pre-made food (includes things that have utensils sold with it), food that is heated or heated by the store (so I'm thinking that means rotisserie chicken since it is heated under heat lamps but guess we'll see), etc you'll still have to pay 6.5% then the other taxes.

For us if we purchase from our nearest Walmart it puts our tax at 6.975% instead of 9.475%. Some other locations that I have lived though the original tax would be over 11% so a reduction of 2.5% is really nice too. Every little bit helps but it'd be nice if we didn't have to also combat inflation and shrinkflation.

no grocery tax here except on prepared foods, soft drinks and dietary supplements. we live near the idaho boarder so we get allot of people who grocery shop here b/c avoiding the 6% tax they would pay on groceries in idaho saves them quite a bit. on the flip side we have sin taxes so locals to us go across the boarder to idaho buy tobacco and alcohol (here it's $30.25 flat tax per carton/20.5% tax on alcohol). i hate the concept of groceries being taxed.

 

[tzolkin]

Do you have elderly neighbors or neighbors with kids that could use some eggs? Our neighbor was giving us a dozen eggs a week until he got rid of them.

We were giving them away to neighbors, coworkers, our kids friends, etc. but I still couldn't get rid of all of them so a lot that sat in our basement fridge for a while were getting fed to the dog or scrambled and fed to the chickens. During the summer we were getting about 42 per week. I bet now that the prices have shot up, people would be more likely to take free eggs. (When we were giving them away, they only cost like $1.19 at Aldi) But, of course, now we are only getting maybe 6 a week.

 

[taradelao]

I have a couple of "side hustles" that used to be strictly for Disney stuff. I teach ESL online, take some surveys here and there and have also started doing "tasks" to assist with AI QA. That money has started to seep from Disney to everyday life.

 

[RedAngie]

Walmart may have everyday lower prices than supermarkets, but for many things I buy Shop Rite or Giant sale prices are lower. I went to Shop Rite’s annual January Can-Can sale yesterday and stocked up on tuna, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, and a few other things.

SR and Giant brands of shredded cheese are cheaper than Walmart’s Great Value every day.

Oh, and the commercials for SR’s Can Can sale brought back the cartoon dancing ladies after those horrible commercials they ran last year.