grocery prices..where a person shops, matters

today , I happened by a well known super center where I usually buy socks and drawers , I decided to buy a few groceries,,

and I was shocked at how much lower the prices were at this store ...EVERYTHING was cheaper than at the local markets I usually shop ..especailly the items labeled "great value"

from yogurt to spaghetti to butter and bread...everything was 30-40% cheaper

so to all those people crying about grocery prices I say

stop being so damn snooty ...stay away from whole foods and trader joes..

live a little...load your pistol and go shopping at wal mart !! lol

 

It does matter though I am not the biggest fan of Walmart for groceries. I go to Aldi and lot though. Walmart is just too much work to shop at and their little grocery store version is just not convenient for me and would require I travel along the road I avoid like the plague and go through one of the most accident-ridden intersections in my city. I don't buy large quantities at once so quick in and out places suit me better.

 

I started shopping at Aldi a lot more since food prices spiked up so much

The cost for many name brand products (when not on sale) like cereal, soda, pasta etc is ridiculous so buying a lot more store brands at Aldi

 

Cheaper places to get groceries have always existed. Here, Walmart actually isn't the cheapest. We have cheaper. But all of them have increased in price over the past few years, quite dramatically, that's the issue. Yes, those used to shopping at high end grocery stores can shift to cheaper ones, but one of those used to shopping at the cheaper ones? They are the ones in trouble.

 

I originally started at Lidl but ours closed down so then I migrated to Aldi. I've gotten kind of used to their products now but in the beginning I thought they were way too bland. I have just learned I need to spice them up myself and they are fine. The only big chain grocery is our area is Food Lion and they have gotten absolutely ridiculous on the price of everything. There are a couple mom and pop grocery stores I go to as well. One is just super cheap on meat (well other than hamburger) as they still have proper butchers processing things and the other just has spices galore for reasonable prices considering the volume of product you get. There are a few different delis I will very infrequently go to if I am just craving some sliced meat for a rueben or some super thick bologna for a fried bologna sandwich but they are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. COVID really changed my shopping habits, especially when it comes to food. I cook way more.

 

The items that haven't risen in price have reduced in volume. Yep, the packaging is smaller. You are paying more per oz/lb. But it's not just groceries, it's everything, even lamp shades, toothpicks, and socks.

 

I have no idea which grocery stores are cheaper. Then again, my wife and I have busted our asses to get to a point where it isn't an issue for us to have to shop around for the lowest prices.

 

Well, aren't you something!...

I could very easily say the exact same thing, except I would not want to come across as a d-bag who feels the need to exalt myself above others for literally no reason.

Why would you bother to type out this post? What point are you making? Do you think of yourself as better than those who seek bargains?

 

I don't think I'm "something" at all. Nor am I better than anyone else. I'm just proud of my wife and I for getting ourselves to a really good place. Sorry that bothers you. The fact that it does says more about you. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

The trouble with the “cheap food stores” is that items come sizes which are hard use if it’s just my wife and I. We can buy steak at Costco and freeze it, but when perishable item comes in lots that are far more than you use in a reasonable amount of time, it usually doesn’t make sense. We make Walmart and Costco runs every few weeks, but most of the time it’s Publix for us.

 

The poor are not going to Whole Foods or Trader Joes.

 

Many of us don't have an Aldi, or anything like it. Being on a fixed income and a very tight budget, I've shopped at Walmart many times, but when the pandemic sent the prices of everything from food to toilet paper up more than 30%, and the SS COLA increase is a mere 9%, the situation is unsustainable. The largess of a thriving economy doesn't trickle down to seniors for years after such inflation.

 

Lot of retailers have gone to old reliable and cut weights and amounts..

Same packaging new low prices and less product..

Old trick..

 

A bunch of people were talking about how they bargain hunt because groceries have gotten so expensive. You found it necessary to jump in and gloat to them that you dont need to bargain hunt.

While I too have no need to bargain hunt, I would never jump into that conversation with your contribution in a million years, because you are exalting yourself above the bargain hunters or certainly appear to be.

Yes, being bothered by that does say a lot about me. It says I am a nice person that cares about the feelings of others. Conversely, it reflects poorly upon you. You didnt further the conversation. There was truly no reason for you to jump in. All you did was brag to the people that say they bargain hunt that you have no need to.

You are "something" indeed. Don't sell yourself short.

 

So being proud of accomplishments is now gloating. I never disparaged anyone. That you took it that way again speaks volumes about yourself.
Btw…do you not see the irony of you being proud of yourself??? Do you not see that YOU aren’t furthering the conversation??? Do you not see how you are actually disparaging me??? Hypocrisy thy known as…Hahahaha
And while I’m very flattered…I’m not the subject of this thread. So please move on.

 

Jumping into a group of people discussing their bargain hunting out of necessity and interjecting that you dont have to is not gloating in your mind? Being proud of your accomplishments is great and all, but do you think this was the best situation to declare your success?

Perhaps you should find a group of cancer patients discussing their chemo treatments and then declare that you have taken great pains to live a healthy life and therefore you know nothing about chemo because you are cancer-free.

It is the same principle. It is a mean-spirited comment that was unnecessary.

 

Hahaha….that you think your example of cancer patients is the same thing again speaks volumes about you. Nothing I said was “mean” but I guess you’re an overly sensitive Karen. And again, I’m flattered but this thread isn’t about me. Since your ego can’t handle not having the last word I will allow you that last word. Enjoy.

 

I have moved about 60% of my grocery shopping to Walmart. The house brands are just fine. Example. The house brand diswasher detergent comes in a bottle that is exactly like those of the Dawn brand. The detergent has the same blue color as Dawn. Walmart doesn't manufacture dishwasher detergent so who made it? Any guesses? Walmart has a limited selection of brands compared to the supermarket but what they carry is of good quality and priced below the supermarket.

If you wear Wrangler or Lee jeans then they are nearly 1/2 the price at Walmart compared to some other retail stores. I bought my Samsung 65" TV from Walmart on line. I couldn't believe the price. It was delivered to my door with no additional shipping charge which is good because it wouldn't have fit in my car. A Samsung TV is a Samsung TV regardless of where you buy it.

 

There is no reason to keep talking this to death. I have said what I wanted to say.

 

I have been at the Universal Theme Parks this week. The restaurants have raised prices a little and made the portions are smaller, which is good. I am too fat anyway.

 

Folks need to stop taking offense so easily. Here, let me help you out--I shop at Aldi and I have no problem wearing rural king $12.00 jeans. It isn't because I can't afford to shop at Whole Foods (though we don't have one) or anywhere else. It is because I am frugal. My student loans are now the only debt I have. I could have afforded a new car but bought a used one. I could have afforded a new truck, but bought a 2015. The reason my student loans are my only real debt is because I had a ton of other debt and I cleared it and have sworn I will never get back into those habits again. It is that simple. I now use part of my extra money for home upgrades, part of it goes into savings and part of it goes into my robinhood. Buying a $1.20 loaf of bread at Aldi instead of a $3.99 loaf at Food Lion is close to three more dollars I have for one of those things. Nickels, dimes, quarters add up.

 

I started this topic because recently I have noticed rising grocery prices being discussed on more than one news outlet I browse

several millennials and gen X;s are bitching and moaning about their difficult lives


fortunately, I have retired comfortable and the price of food is irrelevant in my living expenses..

I dine at restaurants, mostly local places or upper scale chains..I never use a drive through and the only fast food I eat is pizza

but every couple months I decide to cook for myself for a week or 2

matter of fact...dining out is more an entertainment expense than a food expense ..

while I am out west I shop at fred meyers or safeway...and back east I shop at publix or winn dixie

I went to a whole foods one time and even I noticed the ridicules prices..and besides..who eats kale if not in a soup??

I go to costco once or twice a year to buy steaks..they sell better cuts of meat then most butcher shops
yes it is pricey, but delicious

the reason I am now able to do this is because as a younger man I did not overspend my earnings

I saved money for 40 years...my goal in life was to retire comfortably...I did dream of being wealthy,,,but doesn't everybody??

I think in todays world the standard of the middle class for the millennials and Gen Zers is unrealistic.

seems a Gen Z person thinks they must own 2 homes, drive a tesla and have a 401k worth a half million to be middle class

in today's world if a person does not have all the above, they feel they are poor

the middle class seems to be as unhappy as the poor in todays world

in my day if a person could qualify for a mortgage that person was considered middle class

recently a very wealthy talk show host did a segment on the materialism of the world today

for 10 minutes he talked about the negative effects of materialism and how the world should change

and then the next day the same guy is on a podcast selling T shirts and soap

 

Good for you.

I’m frugal as well. Don’t like waste. Spending more for something just for status or ego is wasteful in my opinion. It’s not a responsible use of resources.

 

I feel the same about what used to be a half gallon of ice cream. A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips, right?

 

7 Eleven?