What’s your grocery bill nowadays?

[holden]

I took DD19 to get junk food for her trip to the shore with friends. We got 3 paper bags worth of chips, pop tarts, soda, etc. Spent $150.

 

[evilmommie]

I'm over the price gouging at the grocery stores and even though we can afford it, I've actually been spending LESS. It's just the two of us and right now we're eating a lot out of our veggie garden and hitting up the local farmer's markets.

 

[2China2009]

I thought the same thing, so I went on aldi.com and tried to shop for one month, $500, 4 people. It's actually do-able but it takes discipline, eating a lot of the same things (which we already do) and some people may complain throughout the month.

I only Shop at Aldi. About $300 month for 2. Every 6 mos I do a Sam’s run.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Aldi has been a life saver. Keeps our weekly grocery tab reasonable (around $80/ wk) for 2 adults. We eat relatively small portions. DH has been better about leftovers for lunch. I work at home so just eat whatever is around. We have found you need to use the produce fairly quickly, but we have been impressed with the quality of their meats. It has definitely cut our grocery spend weekly at least in half. We do fill in with some things from BJs but are really careful about what we get there.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

We stock up on meat/chicken/frozen seafood about once a month for around $100. Miscellaneous items weekly run on the average of about $50. We’re not big eaters and eat pretty simple and I cook pretty much every night. There’s just the 2 of us so about $300 a month total.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Two adults and a 17 year old. Used to be able to grocery shop for a week for about $150, $180 if I went a little overboard. Now that gets me 3 or 4 days.

 

[CGB]

I budget $800 a month for groceries for 4 adults, which includes all meals and health/beauty products, paper goods, and cat food/litter for 6 cats. I usually keep to Sam's Club and Aldi, with an occassional stop at another grocery store for no-salt-added tomato products. If I go over, it's usually because I found a good sale and buy extras to stock the pantry. (I followed a link on this forum to the Grocery Game years ago and learned how to keep a stocked pantry. That has saved me lots over the years.)

 

[MillauFr]

I'm over the price gouging at the grocery stores and even though we can afford it, I've actually been spending LESS. It's just the two of us and right now we're eating a lot out of our veggie garden and hitting up the local farmer's markets.

What do you mean price gouging? Grocery is one of the lowest margin businesses out there. I think most companies have a net profit margin of < 5%.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Aldi has been a life saver. Keeps our weekly grocery tab reasonable (around $80/ wk) for 2 adults. We eat relatively small portions. DH has been better about leftovers for lunch. I work at home so just eat whatever is around. We have found you need to use the produce fairly quickly, but we have been impressed with the quality of their meats. It has definitely cut our grocery spend weekly at least in half. We do fill in with some things from BJs but are really careful about what we get there.

 

[tvguy]

This Sunday, Walmart and local Chain Grocery store, total $106.39 for the week
One year ago this week, Walmart and local Chain grocery store $109.51 for the week
But a year ago we were still working, and now that we are retired, we shop more carefully.

The other day I opened a book and a Grocery store receipt was the bookmark in it. October 2000 our total tab was $148.66 for a week. But both kids were still living at home then, taking sack lunches to school. Lots of Kerns Nector, fruit snacks, and cookies on the list, things we don't buy anymore.

 

[HeatherC]

Our eggs are 1.99/dozen. Which is more than I was paying a few months ago, but still budget friendly. We eat clean and simple...tonight is pork stir fry with lots of in-season veggies over quinoa. Will make a ton, minimal costs..

Stop and Shop near me is selling eggs for 3.99 a dozen. Closest Aldi’s is over 40 minutes away so not reasonable now with gas prices. This is in Massachusetts by the way which does have a high cost of living.

 

[Planogirl]

I am definitely spending more but I have pretty much given up meat which helps a lot. Prices are crazy!

 

[Grand Koalafornian]

What do you mean price gouging? Grocery is one of the lowest margin businesses out there. I think most companies have a net profit margin of < 5%.

It might not be the stores themselves doing the gouging, but the suppliers. Around where I live, grocery prices have gone way up. The same $100/week doesn't get us as much as it used to. I am a lot more attentive to sales, coupons, clearance items, etc. than I used to be, but it's not making up for the price increases.

I actually applied for a few jobs at grocery stores, recently. I'm only making maybe $0.50/hour more than the store employees, it might actually be worth it to get paid less, work closer to home, and get the discount (and also hate my job slightly less than I do now).

 

[AprilsZoo]

It's my understanding that with WIC, you are told you can get two gallons milk, box of cereal, pound of cheese, tuna, etc. Doesn't matter what they cost, they get the items.

Food stamps is different. I looked at a few sites. Seems a family of 5 gets almost $1,000 a month. That's a maximum amount . This is in PA.

I'm no expert. Just did a little looking.

In Az a single adult gets $130, I think per month. It was increased by $10/month during pandemic but that ended a few months ago.
It’s nowhere even close to adequate.

 

[DCLMP]

Wine is critical.

So are IPA's.

 

[jo-jo]

In Az a single adult gets $130, I think per month. It was increased by $10/month during pandemic but that ended a few months ago.
It’s nowhere even close to adequate.

wow. it looks like a single person in PA, according to the chart I found, would be 250. Big difference. Wonder if I'm reading it wrong?

 

[DCLMP]

I really don't know. I just know I've adjusted my shopping and what I buy to compensate for the higher prices. I never used to worry about it that much.

 

[DCLMP]

I'm over the price gouging at the grocery stores and even though we can afford it, I've actually been spending LESS. It's just the two of us and right now we're eating a lot out of our veggie garden and hitting up the local farmer's markets.

Price gouging is not what is causing inflation.

 

[DCLMP]

Anyone that thinks price gouging is causing inflation really needs to take a basic economics class. That's all I can say about that.

 

[AprilsZoo]

Anyone that thinks price gouging is causing inflation really needs to take a basic economics class. That's all I can say about that.

I guess it depends on what you define as “price gouging”… I think retailers are raising prices little by little until they determine what the market will no longer bear. Then they can lower prices by a bit, and we’ll all be grateful prices are falling.
It’s not just a pure function of supply & demand.
For example, the day after it was on the news that water shares from the Colorado River to Central AZ would be reduced, bottled water prices began to increase. Including water that isn’t even bottled anywhere near AZ. I believe retailers realized that people were gonna panic buy so they could charge more and the nervous buyers would pay it… not to mention all the people buying extra because “it’s only gonna go up…” Never mind that in all the drought restrictions to date, no one has gone thirsty — even in CA where the restrictions have typically been much more stringent.
So I would definitely call it price gouging when prices triple overnight, long before any water shortage came to bear.