Oh my goodness! I went grocery shopping yesterday and was shocked at how much prices are going up. Eggs were $3.68 for a dozen large eggs. Milk has gone up (I left it there and we will be using some powdered milk I have in the pantry instead), and butter prices were totally ridiculous! Winco finally got their tortellini back in the bulk section. I filled up about 3/4 of a produce bag and it cost me $26 for that alone! YIKES! I needed to restock that in my pantry and will now consider it a luxury item to be used sparingly. I noticed that all the prices have gone up on flour, sugar, oats, and other baking supplies. I did buy a 25 pound bag of flour to put back for later because I can see that there are going to be further increases in cost for that. Since I make all our bread, I need to make sure that I have a good supply on hand. Canned veggies have gone way up in price and I am so glad that I bought cases of them when they were just .50 a can.
I did manage to find some marked down meats, frozen foods and fresh veggies. All of these were found at the Moscow, Idaho Walmart. Italian sausages were marked down to $3.68. I found a 12 pack of them at that price. The rest of the packages were 6 count. I think the person marking things down made a mistake marking it at the same price. However, I am not going to complain. I repacked the sausages into bags with 4 each and then froze them. I found frozen pizzas for $3.98 each. I bought 2 of them and cooked one up when I got home and then packed the pizza slices into 2 bags for Jeff to take for some of his lunches at work this week. I also found apple dessert pizzas for $1 each. They are now in my freezer for a nice treat later. The 2 packages of marked down stir fry veggies will be used in a nice Yaki Soba dinner brimming with veggies for dinner tomorrow.
Lasagna is on the menu this week. I could not justify buying Mozzarella cheese at the high prices, so I am going to substitute some Colby Jack cheese that I already have instead. It will change the taste, but I'm sure it will still be delicious. I did pick up some mushrooms and will be using them in a chicken stroganoff. I have everything else here that is needed and the sour cream in my refrigerator needs to be used up. Since I will be using mushrooms in this dish, I will only be using one boneless, skinless chicken breast. The mushrooms will really bulk things up. I may throw some fresh spinach in it also right at the end of the cooking time. I bought a bag full of that too.
I am realizing that there are many things that we will not be buying in the near future due to prices increasing. We live on a single income that by all accounts in very low. If we had to pay a mortgage (or rent) right now, we would be applying for assistance for heating, food, and other things. We actually qualified for heating assistance, but did not take advantage of it since there is a limited amount of money to go around in that fund, and we knew there were people that needed it more than we did.
Going forward, our plans are to double the amount of food we grow in our garden and put even more of it up this coming harvest season. We will continue to provide berries from our garden to our family and friends. I will not be growing plants that take up a huge amount of space and provide little in return. Our greenhouse will be put into use as soon as Spring arrives to start and even grow early crops in. I have been monitoring the temperatures in it even now to see if it would be possible to grow things in there during the Winter. So far it is a no go.
I am curious to hear how others are faring with the increases in costs of grocery items. My heart goes out to all that are really struggling right now and I know that many more of us may be in that same position soon.
Milk is still very affordable here. At 3.68 a doz. I don't think that is bad. That is only .30 an egg - pretty cheap for a serving of pure protein. I watch the sales and buy clearance. Prices in the midlands are still not too bad - yes, they have gone up - but I am happy to just have supplies.
ReplyDeleteI feel for those who struggle. Liking simple meals sure comes in handy!
Milk is $3.99/gal. here; $2.69 for half a gallon; eggs are $5.99/doz. for large eggs; $5.49/doz. for medium; $8.99/18 large (store brand). So, basically, $0.50 per large egg. I had one, scrambled, for brunch, today, with a slice of multigrain bread, toasted.
ReplyDeleteThe loaf of multigrain bread cost $2.99; regular white sandwich bread is $1.99. I alternate between the two.
I buy store brand butter when it goes on sale for $3.99/lb. (with digital coupon); regular price is $4.99/lb; brand name butter is currently priced between $5.99 and $8.49 per lb., depending on the brand.
And, yes, four, sugar, etc., have all gone up.
I have planted some snow peas and I am hoping that I'll have a good snow pea harvest this year. Last year's garden didn't do well at all due to the drought and the high temperatures. Sometimes, the cost of watering doesn't justify the expense of growing vegetables! But, I'll try again, this year and see if I can grow some tomatoes and green beans.
If the heating assistance is a government program, please do not hesitate to use it - it's not actually a limited fund, and will be increased by need. Otherwise the government allocates more taxpayer money to things like military equipment (but not the servicemen)
ReplyDelete-That is a LOT of Tortellini because their bags are huge! I bet you're under $1/meal on it.
ReplyDelete-I am buying organic farm eggs for $3d, I have to pick them up so 14 mile round trip e/o week. (She was $2d until November).
-I'm finding reasonable price increases in general on foods I buy, given the current cost of fuel and production. No box/bag food, all ingredients here. I buy fresh produce at Costco when Farmer's Market is over. I don't think anything I buy has gone up more 20%.
I would use your fresh fruit to barter with other gardeners for what you need if money is that tight. Those who've received free over the years will understand, I should hope. Or barter for services you would otherwise pay for. Found Money either way!
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I went to Winco here in Northern California today and paid $10.28 for eggs. I will still buy them - they are still a good protein and 1 egg is .86 cents. I'm hoping this is just due to the bird flu and once they get a handle on it, prices will come down. I'm not ready to give up my eggs.
ReplyDeleteI’m not ready to give up eggs, either, no matter the price. Aldi had their ‘cheap’ eggs for 4.59.
DeleteAnother Debbie
I am in Eastern Washington, and assume you are in the same general area from the stores you mentioned. Starting tomorrow, Safeway will have the 2 pound bags of shredded cheese, or 2 pounds of brick cheese for $2.99, with the Safeway card and digital coupon. There is a limit of 2. Thought this might help.
ReplyDeleteI meant $4.99. I wish it were $2.99. Sorry
ReplyDeleteHave you ever looked into containers of water in your greenhouse to be warmed during the day and at night they will release heat to the plants. Or, you could cover plants in the greenhouse like they were in freezing weather and see how the temp is under the plant cover. I envy your greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful I found the commodity food distribution site local to me that I can go to twice a month. It really helps stretch the budget. I'm really focasing on sales, such as they are, at the grocery store. Two weeks ago, there was a sale on chicken legs/backs at $0.49/lb in 10# bags with no formal limits. The first morning of the sale and 5 minutes after the store opened, there were exactly three bags available! I took two and didn't even feel bad. And I'm also making sure to fill out the store survey for 5% off that comes with my grocery store receipt but sadly can only get one once a month - but I marked up my calendar so as not to miss it. There aren't any senior days here which is sad.
ReplyDeleteBut have you seen the price of seeds???? I put in an order at Territorial Seed last night and was shocked. I did place my order but didn't order everything I wanted. I focased my seed purchase on pumpkin and winter squash varieties that are good keepers and not available locally. Two kinds each.I also wanted to buy some asparagus crowns but they wanted $25 and only sold them in packs of 25 which was way more then I needed or wanted to spend. So I will try and get some crowns locally to start. Same for berries and strawberries. I think I'll be missing the free blackberries from up north but have picked persimmons and citrus here so that's a nice offset. And a local friend here has supplied me with local honey and as much as i want of that so that's a nice resource.
I'm eating more beans and lentils. i love adding cooked lentils to any cooked burger to stretch it. And it's probably better for my cholesterol levels too - win win
No veggie seeds at my local dollar tree - only flowers.
Sending hugs and prayers - SJ now in California
I know it won't help you this year, but I order my session from Territorial as well and in December they have a 15 percent off sale from on all their seeds,both old and new varieties. I order mine then.
DeleteSome of the prices here has gone down. Milk is $3.32 a gallon, eggs $3.82 a dozen right now. Both less than the previous trip. WIC helps a lot for my one year old. Every month we got 3 gallons of milk, a tub of yogurt, 16 oz cheese, a dozen eggs, $25 in fruit/veggies, a pound of dry beans or 4 cans, 32 oz whole wheat bread or pasta, 2 boxes of cereal, and 2 jugs of juice. I live in a small town with 2 options for groceries so we don't get good sales unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI try to garden every year but our soil sucks and I live in a wooded area so we don't get a lot of sunlight. I was able to grow several zucchinis and peppers last year so I'll focus on those again.
about the utilities - i signed up for a 'medical baseline allowance' with both my electric and natural gas providers. i had to complete forms for each and get them signed off. i had my GP sign them but other health practioners can sign the forms. Anyone in the household who uses a CPAP on a regular basis will qualify for the electric allowance. Also, anyone who's health is negatively effected by temperature swings can get it but you have to say it's for both swings in hot temps in the summer and cold temps in the winter. That's me with my ME/CFS. The allowance should help reduce my costs. Didn't know if your providers have anything like it but it might help out. Cheers, SJ now in california
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