Where are you people buying $5 a pound butter? Is it Pelugra or Organic?
Butter at the store I shop at mots often was $1.79 a pound yesterday....store brand, but it's as good as Land O Lakes.....which is something like $2.69 a pound.
$5 butter???
Linda C

May, Meijer is pronounced (here in Michigan) My Er. It is a local store that was started by a local boy, Fred Meijer from Grand Rapids. He is a solid local philanthropist and has done a lot of good things for Michigan and its communities, including paying for the sculptor that did the bronze statue of DaVinci's horse. In fact, he paid for two, one is in DaVinci's birthplace in Italy, the other is at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

They aren't as cheap as WalMart on most things, but their quality is usually tons better, their produce is way better and although I couldn't find a single 9x13 glass cake pan with a lid at WalMart that wasn't made in China, I found one at Meijer for only $2 more that was made in America.

I like Meijer, but I still don't drive 30 miles one way to shop for groceries on a regular basis.

Annie

I agree Linda. Meals that are inexpensive for you and me to make aren't nearly as cheap as the rest of the world looking to have it all done for them. $20 might buy one meal at a decent restaurant, so I assume that's what they're comparing it to... you know cooking half-prepared stuff is cheaper than eating out.

Good question May. I always thought it was MY-er.

Nashville is dirt cheap for food and housing, but our salaries suck! if that counts for anything. :)

foodonastump, that's very interesting.

I compared my "very inexpensive" food bill to the location which seemed to have the most expensive, in Mystic, Connecticut.

Although there's a big difference in housing (37 for mine and 131 for Mystic) there's not much a difference in food cost at all (106 for mine compared to 113 for Mystic).

When compared to Dallas, Texas, my food is actually MORE expensive (106 compared to 101).

Although I have very little choice in where I shop, it would appear that in other places have more choice and so maybe could get things less expensively if they shopped differently. And, of course, I think it depends on what you are buying. Fresh produce in February in Michigan is a lot more expensive than it is in July, unless you have to have something like avocado, which is never local in Michigan, LOL. And I wonder how they figured what people bought?

I can tell you that if I didn't grow much of my own food and do my own canning and freezing, I sure wouldn't have been able to afford groceries a couple of years ago when I was a single mother.

Annie

Thanks. I thought it might be my-er but you know, you never can tell.

As far as cost of living/cost of groceries, here in Houston, it's cheaper than a lot of parts of the country, and more expensive than others. We're lucky because Houston is a large city which means lots of options. Within a two mile distance of my house I have 5 grocery stores which range from pretty cheap to moderate to moderately high. And near my work, there are two high $ (what I consider to be) specialty gr stores (whole foods & central market). On the west side of town there's a place called Phonecia which has very reasonable (cheap!) prices on cheese & wine & some specialty products. Too far for me to go regularly but whenever I'm on that side of town I try to stop in.

So, depending on where I shop, price of dinner can vary greatly. I'm usually pretty frugal but I like to live a little so I splurge when I want to. No matter what I do, it's way cheaper than eating out.

If you want $1.79/lb. butter, Linda, stay where you are. If, however, you want inexpensive fresh seafood...Mystic's a good place to live. So, we eat more lobster & fewer cookies.

I would scan my receipts into the computer, as evidence for this prosecution, but I don't know how to then get those scanned images online. So, the defense rests.

/t

I live in a very rural area of CT and Land o Lakes is $4.89 lb.

Everybody knows how low-they-will-go to save money on groceries. I'm happy and content with store brand non-organic butter. But I know plenty of people who are happy with store brand margarine. I like organic vegetables but I won't spend the money on them. But I make most of my bread or buy artisan. I've heard people say " $4 for a loaf of bread?! Never!" Whatever.
I'd rather have a nicer home and an older car too...
To each his own.

you send the lobster....I've got the butter to dip it into....
I was born and raised in Essex County New jersey, my parents lived there until 1979 and I spent time there every year.
Recently I was spending about 2 months a year in the Philadelphia area and cooking and shopping for food.
My son and his family live in the north western suburbs of Chicago, also a high rent district.
We all have choices where we shop....my son can run to Dorflers and pick up a couple of steaks for dinner....or he can run about a mile farther to Dominicks. Perhaps the Dorfler's steak is better? maybe....but not worth twice the cost.....and gas in his area is through the roof! Much more expensive than in eastern Pennsylvania or New Jersey.
I can drive 40 minutes to the Seafood market here and buy fresh fish from both coasts, flown in fresh daily. Then I can go down the road a bit and hit Fresh Foods....and stop by Barbara's Bake shop and buy a cake or some bread.....and easily pay as much for those things as you do at your neighborhood store.
But daily I shop at Fairway, where a whole beef filet is $8.99 cut and wrapped to your order and broccoli is $1.89 and where I can feed 100 people lunch for about $125 people....using butter, cream, chicken fresh veggies etc.
And I can do a similar thing in Chicago....but it will likely cost more like $160 to feed 100 people lunch.
And I can buy $5 a pound butter, but I don't say
I have to pay that.....any more than I say I have to pay $600 for a wool coat....but I can if I choose, or I can search the sale rack and buy that coat for $250 if I plan ahead.
No one is doubting what you pay for groceries, but I say that if youw ould shop, you could certainly spend less.
And all those cookies you make every year for your husband's co workers? Are they made with $5 a pound butter?
Linda C

Gee, you are all lucky you aren't paying what we pay in Canada for groceries.

I still can't believe the low prices on meats and dairy even in Tricia's neck of the woods. Beef Tenderloin is never less than $16.99 a pound in the grocery stores and usually closer to $19.99. The butcher sells tenderloin for $19.99 to $23.99 a pound. Whole little fryer chickens were on sale last week for $1.99 but they are usually $3.99 to $4.39. One of our grocery store flyers has boneless skinless chicken on sale this week for $6.59 a pound. That same store has Fresh Pork back ribs on sale for $5.49 , but they are usually priced at $8.99 a pound. Costco has deals on beef tenderloin if you buy a whole one and the price fluctuates between $10.99 and $12.99. One of my local grocery stores had their New York Strips on sale last week for $10.99 but they regularly sell for $14.99 a pound or higher. The cheapest butter is $3.99. It is a store brand and I never see it lower than that. Most butter is in the $4.99 range with specialty butter being in the $5.99 to $6.99 a pound. Guess our dairy isn't subsidized like it is in the US.

The vegetables in the grocery stores vary, but red peppers sell for $3.99 a pound at this time of year. But a little further down the road is a vegetable market that has much better prices so I can pick up red peppers for $1.69 and green onions 2 for $.99 instead of the $.99 for one bunch in the grocery stores.

One of the things I missed most about living in the US is the grocery prices.

Ann

(yeah but I bet you don't miss our health care prices......darfc)

I find it interesting how the prices vary across the country (and the continent, thanks for chiming in Ann!). I just paid $0.79/lb for whole chickens and $1.77/lb for boneless skinless chicken breasts last week. These prices are about $1-1.50/lb less than normal, so our prices in Eugene, OR seem to be less than many of those listed here. I checked the cost of living scale and we're just above average (105 vs average of 100). I guess I'm lucky in more ways than one, we have relatively good prices and I am able to splurge a little. My average grocery bill is around $65/week for the two of us, making all but one or two meals at home, so I guess I'm not too much of a "splurger."

Bri

Butter in the Syracuse area is $2.19/lb, Wegman's brand. When we go to Ct for the summer, I am always shocked at the prices. At the Big Y in Guilford, CT, the cost of butter is easily double.
Our grocery prices are not too bad. It is one of the many things I love about living in upstate NY.

Jo

I've never shopped for groceries in New York - I always ate out there, but I do agree that in the larger cities there is generally a wide range of prices for groceries. I can get bargain basement prices at my local Lebanese market, especially for produce, and they also have a Halal meat department, although I haven't bought meat from them. I have to say that I've not been extremely price conscious when it comes to food - at least not since I was in my 20s and 30s and had more reasons to spend money on other things. I make a lot of inexpensive meals, however, but that's just because I love beans and rice, and I spend whatever it takes to get good green vegetables, which is never that much. I'm not a big meat person, but I do buy Alaskan King Crab legs when they are $12 a pound, which I consider a bargain. I can't even find them where my mother lives, and so I'm happy to have that option. The last chicken I bought was 10 thighs, which I poached and made a gallon of stock. I still have thigh meat that I need to use tonight or freeze.

As for Linda's original post - I don't shop for just one meal at a time, and so those shows are really meaningless for me. I keep a lot of things in stock, and then I just buy what I need to complete a meal - normally a fresh vegetable. It's hard for me to imagine someone shopping for just one meal, which is why I find the Today shows' food segments rather silly. I don't really like any food shows that I've seen made in NY for that matter - it's a different coast with different sensibilities.

Lars

I just recieved this email. It's not food related.
But it is FOOD for thought !!!
LOU

----- Original Message -----
Subject: Fw: FW: Check the label
A GOOD THOUGHT!

We Need To Do This!

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else and perhaps ever their job.... so after reading this email ... I think this lady is on the right track. Let's get behind her!!

Hi friends,
This may seem like a funny email but I was so surprised by what I discovered, thatI had to share it with you. When I think of the job situation in this country, I can't help but think this helps in some small way. I don't know how many households there are in the U.S. but if these were the only things we bought think of the impact....

(She wrote:)
This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled "Everyday Value." I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - the USA So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here - from a company in Cleveland OH !

So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets....yep you guessed it Bounce was more money and made in Canada, the Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

So my challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!

Besides, you might save a little green in the process.

Tricia, please let me apologize. All I can say is that I had a horrible couple of days lately and I should not have been even reading the forum. I realize that you did not mean anything bad by your post. It struck me that way last night, though. I know that NY and CA, etc. are more costly places. I wasn't trying to say that Texas is worse, just that it's not cheap. Not all of it, anyway. So many people here have been hanging on by a thread for years, not just lately, and likely will be doing so for the rest of their lives. Not people who once had it easy, but people who are "the working poor" and can barely survive with foodstamps, and cheap crappy apartments. I thank my stars I'm not one of them, but I used to be. I know this has to have been this way all over, but man, when you really see it... it makes me "want to spit" as we say.

I've been incredibly emotional lately. I'm thinking I better just be a hermit for a while until I get a grip. That's no excuse, I guess, but I hope you'll forgive me. If you don't, that's ok too.

So last night I did a little shopping around and found that the store where I typically buy my butter has the most expensive butter in the area. $4.79 verus $4.19 at the cheapest place, for Land of Lakes.

Later in the evening I cleaned out some old food in my fridge. Included was a $7 package of deli turkey which I bought a week ago but never got around to using. A $5 ball of smoked mozzarella which never got used because the $4 filo dough crumbled hopelessly when I tried to make those apps that were on a recent thread. A $3.50 container of field greens that I had bought for that same app and never got around to using otherwise. A half a loaf of whole wheat bread ($2) because I never seem to get through a loaf before it gets stale.

There was more, but that's all that comes to mind. So there's $21.50 worth of food in the garbage, all of which were just bought in the past week and a half. I probably use less than four pounds of butter in a year - I don't care if it's FREE elsewhere!

Lars - this is why I, for one, rarely buy for more than two days worth of dinner at a time. Even at $.99/lb, chicken is very expensive if it just ends up in the garbage!

trsinc,

It's OK. I understand about people struggling in Texas, and all across the country. Our oldest daughter (Houston) has for almost ten years volunteered extensively for a no-kill animal shelter. Recently, she's been telling us of the large numbers of animals they're taking in because people can no longer afford to either feed them or provide vet care. I'm watching CNBC waiting for the job claims numbers...they were just released & it sure looks like things are going to get worse before getting better...doesn't bode well for tomorrow's unemployment release.

Linda,..."And all those cookies you make every year for your husband's co workers? Are they made with $5 a pound butter?"

I didn't make them in 2008 nor did I prepare a holiday dinner. Instead, we donated our entire holiday gift budget to our local food bank & delivered meals to the needy on Thanksgiving Day. I made several posts about our decision...you must have forgotten?

When I have made all of those cookies...yes, I use butter at whatever the cost may be.

And, no...I don't drive 1/2 hour one way to save $.50/lb. on butter (if I could). That doesn't strike me as either environmentally friendly nor, for that matter, much of a savings.

eandhl,

Very comparable price on the butter. Dairy is expensive all over New England. I try to buy Cabot (made in VT) but it's not as readily available here as it is in northern NE. CT is a beautiful state...I'm not leaving because of the price of butter & I'm pretty sure you're not either! :)

jojoco,

We discussed the sticker shock issue between upstate NY & CT before...it is amazing the difference in prices over such a small geographic area, huh?

Ann,

Plugra here is also $6.99/lb. (don't think I've ever seen it less). I use it only for sauces (which I rarely make) and butter cookies...just places where the difference is noticeable.

/t

I've been reading this thread with interest. I have to confess I don't shop the grocery ads and never remember prices after they are in my basket. Where I shop is based on time permitted, amount I need to shop for, and current finances. As a freelancer when I have lots of money I tend to have little time and vice versa. I do compare prices at the store, though, and am rarely brand loyal.

When I have the time or I need to do a big shop I go to Winco, our local low budget, pack it yourself store. There are other pack it yourself stores but Winco seems to beat them in price and selection. The produce isn't as lovely sometimes. Since hard times have hit every economic level I've noticed that the demographics at that store have changed - better dressed folks in the store and nicer cars in the parking lot. I use the other full service stores as the corner market for a few items now and then. I buy my meats at Costco and divide and freeze.

I only have Alice I to feed for the most part. I supplement ex's and son's food supply from time to time. And frankly, I stock the freezer with them in mind. There is always something there I can take to them in a pinch. (But keep it under your hat.)

As for the $5 meal. The other day Alice and I ate out at a local Mexican place and split an entree. The bill for both of us was under $7.

In '02, I took 3 months and drove from California, across Canada and then back across the Northern US (stopping on the East Coast to visit family). The differences in food prices was really quite startling. The larger the chain, the less variation in prices, which is understandable, I guess since large chains can purchase in bulk. Interestingly enough, WalMart prices were the most consistent despite the Urban Legend about WalMart moving into a town, undercutting everyone and then raising prices once all the businesses go belly up.

I live in a town of about 20,000 and we have 3 good sized grocery stores. One is the foo-foo store where I think they polish each apple before putting it on the stack, arrange their meat counter with sprigs of parsley and slices of lemon, and serve gourmet coffee drinks at a bar. I almost never shop there.

Down one block and across the street is probably the most popular store, which is halfway (in both prices and looks) between the foo-foo store and the last (and least expensive/attractive) store on the other side of town.I tend to bounce between the last two stores depending on what I want to buy and what side of town I happen to be on. I mean, I'm not going to drive all the way across town to the cheap store if all I need is bread and milk, even though those items are cheaper there. Spending the gas would make that a false economy, after all.

But it is interesting to me that I can pay $3 per pound or $6 per pound for the same cut of meat depending on where I shop right here in one town!

As for cooking on a budget, I think it all depends what you're used to. In a family where Mom and Dad both work and dinner ends up often being take-out or expensive convenience groceries, dinner for under $20 might sound fairly good. You can't even feed 4 people at MacDonalds for $20 unless nobody eats very much!

I think most of the people who post in this forum don't eat the way some of these sorts of folks eat. I mean, the fact that this forum interests us indicates that we COOK!

But I have known many people who either don't know how to cook, don't have time to cook, or don't care to cook, and the amount of money they spend on feeding themselves and their families is staggering. If you're accustomed to stopping at Starbucks every morning on your way to work for a $4 foo-foo coffee, and eating at the expensive deli near the office for lunch ($10-$15), $20 dinner for 4 may not sound so bad!

trsinc, I've been there too, the working poor, and wondering where the next meal was going to come from. There were times when I skipped a meal entirely so I could feed my kids and I was working full time making a wage so low that I still qualified for food stamps and commodity food. Pride made me go back to farming and gardening instead. When someone has done that it gives them a whole different opinion on "budget food".

Barnmom, I don't feed my ex, but there's always something in the freezer for Amanda's house. I just like to cook and sometimes I make a big batch of something I know she or the grandkids really like, just so I can take them some. Oh, and I just got a flyer from the local Commission on Aging, they serve lunch 4 days a week, open to the public and you can buy whatever they are serving that day for $4. Seniors over 62 pay $2. Today's menu includes baked chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes with gravy and fruit salad. And that's not even cooking at home and it includes coffee, and I'm assured by the Director that they make a profit at $4 a meal.

foodonastump, a lot of people waste a lot of food. I take leftovers to work for lunch (somehow going hungry got me past any aversion I might have to leftovers!) and I'm fortunate to have my big freezer so I can freeze things like those 89 cent per pound chicken breasts and cook them when I want them. Any stale bread goes into the food processor and becomes crumbs, then they go into the freezer too, for when I need them for breading or meatballs, whatever. I freeze butter too, when it's on sale. Any scraps go to the chickens or into the compost.

Lou, I agree, I've started reading the labels on everything. Now, I don't really have a problem with buying things from Canada, heck, they're like a next door neighbor. It takes much less fuel and shipping to get things from Canada than it does to get things from California. And did you know that a lot of our mustard comes from Canada? I think people in Texas might say about the same things regarding Mexico.

However, when the tag says "China", though, I'll most likely put it back. They have been manipulating their currency to their advantage, they've poisoned our pets and our children. I'm going to go out of my way to NOT do business with them. We're not doing ourselves or the environment any favors by buying cheap crap that's going to end up in our landfills after being shipped halfway around the world.

There, THAT'S my rant for the day.

Annie

Tricia, I was just talking about regular higher end grocery store butter. I haven't seen the Plugra here. Our Avalon Organic butter sells for $8.99 a pound and it is probably the closest to the Plugra that we can get.

Ann

Amen, Annie!! You go girl~

Like Ann I am always amazed at the cost of groceries in the US......it is so cheap compared to our prices.

I'm not that good, actually I'm not good at all, at knowing the prices of things. I do shop the flyers and love to score on the "day before best by" meat specials ...always 30 - 50 % off but that's more of a "thing" with me. The actual price doesn't register in my brain unless it is a "luxury" item. If I need bread , I need bread...but I am very aware of all the specials.

Because of this thread I purposefully checked some prices while in the grocery store today.

Store brand butter ..... 4.59 a pound, brand name 5.79
Pound of bacon............5.99 a pound
Chicken breast, bone in , skin on , on sale......3.39 a pound...skinless bone out.....8.59 per pound
Bone in skin on thighs....3.29 a pound, skinless.. 5.90 per pound
Fryer chicken......2.90 per pound
Pork tenderloin......8.79 per pound
Lean ground beef ..on sale....1.99 per pound
frozen turkey ....on sale 1.99 per pound

I'm not going to even bother with the fruits and veggies....they are all expensive February in Canada !!!

and this one just for fun......KD on sale 1.25 per box!

Tricia:
I make the Best in the World, Pizzelles.
You mean I could do even better if I didn't use Butter ?
Now don't get your Churner upset, only kidding.
I don't make the Best in the World
Lou

Rabbit... 2 cent bullet. Venison... free if you eat road kill... and about two hours work with a knife. Trick is to get there first.... road kill deer go fast these days.

Wine about a buck a gallon if you make your own.

Pickled asparagus traded for gallon of wine. I've not done it recently but I can probably trade wine for beets, onions, saurkraut, or pickles.

There... you have choice of rabbit or venison with asparagus and wine for about $4.02. A gallon of wine also doubles as entertainment as a quart will make people stupid drunk. Add a starch if you like for not much more.... even store bought potato/bread/rice/noodles won't bust the budget.

Actually on my table this week!... not just a fantasy meal. A very fine sulfide free apple/blueberry dry wine currently on the wine list!... probably the second best wine I've ever made. A light wine with slight rose tint from the berries... no bite, a little tannin note from the berries, fruity/yeasty smell, 12% alcohol.... no pickled tummy from sulfides. Food is not a budget item for me so I'm just eating what looks good to me. A couple hundred bucks worth of free meat from a fresh roadkill will certainly have a positive impact on my bank balance. Time to harvest a couple wild rabbits. Taking them now will ease food pressure on those that remain and the population will bounce back in time to eat my garden for me.

I feel like royalty munching tenderloin and asparagus... about three glasses of wine and I start to think I am royalty.

I boiled chicken breasts for sandwich meat this week. They were on sale just under $3/lb... boneless skinless. Made soup from the leftover broth by adding back a breast and 2lb bag of frozen mixed veggies. Figure... 6 quarts of soup for about $3. Not the best soup but very tasty for a cheap pot of no effort soup. BBQ chicken sandwiches with 1/2lb of lean meat for about $1.70 each counting the tasty bakery bread (now cheaper then store bread). Whole chicken would have been cheaper but I don't have time to smoke one this week.

Labor is my biggest expense. I get lazy and don't want to go hunting or make wine.

Annie is right about eggs. Probably the cheapest complete protein around.

: )
lyra

We have sure have deviated from inexpensive meals, haven't we? LOL!
Heres' the recipe from Today....
Could you make that for less than $20....especially considering that things like corn starch, water and vegetable oil are things I consider staples. I also consider lite soy sauce and garlic as a staple...but that's another story.
 2 tablespoons cornstarch
 2 tablespoons lite soy sauce
 2 tablespoons water
 3 cloves garlic, minced
 1 pound chicken breast, thinly sliced
 2 ounces raw almonds, slivered
 3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
 3 each green onion stalks, thinly sliced
 2 large carrots, peeled, thinly sliced diagonally
 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
 10 ounces broccoli florets, separated
 1/4 cup oyster sauce
 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken stock or water

And I still don't consider dinner for 4 for under $20 to be a budget meal!
Linda C

A lot of shopping is about choices. I saw bacon at Safeway for $5.69 for a pound package, Oscar Mayer. I didn't buy it. But I also stopped at the little indie market on my way home, and same exact bacon is on sale at $3.50. I bought some. I am fortunate to have a large Safeway about 3 miles away, and the little store right on the way home, about 1-1/2 miles.

When something is expensive, I usually alter my menus and shopping list accordingly. And I don't drive across town to buy a pound of butter, either, but I do keep an on-going shopping list for when I do go across town for other things, and then I stock up at the cheap bag-it-yourself store on the items that they have as staples.

You can choose to spend a lot more on groceries, or you can shop wisely for bargains, adjusting your menus as you see what is available. I'm just not the sort to buy something expensive/out of season as a rule, altho I'll have a weakness for asparagus or some such every once in a while. But otherwise, I consider it an indulgence and not a staple.

I'm amazed by the price variation at the local grocery stores where I live. I am not as good as I should be when looking for sales but I have neighbour who goes through flyers religiously and she saves a lot. Yes, she did influence me and I am starting to shop around a lot more rather than relying on sheer convenience. Here's my "cheap" meal but it's good, so we think. Brown some hamburger, dice a few potatoes, add enough beef broth to cover, simmer until potatoes are soft, make a roux, add to thicken to a gravy. Serve with peas and carrots. I think that adds to about $5/family. Cheap and it's good. Sometimes I really like the basics though.

Here in our small NW PA community prices are very, very high.
It doesn't make sense to me.
We have a high elderly population, a high percentage of the population is on fixed and/or gov. assisted income, and yet, even Walmart ground meat is $2.89 lb. for the fattier stuff.
Their butter is $2.54/lb.

That's just a couple examples from Walmart. The regular grocery store is even more expensive.

Cream

I agree, sushipup, a lot of shopping is about choices. I don't drive that 60 miles round trip for cheap butter either, instead I go to Grand Rapids three or four times a year and I stop at Penzey's where I got a jar of ground ginger for $2.45 as opposed to $4.69 at the local Walmart. I stock up at Sam's Club where I buy yeast in bulk for bread and about a year's worth of cleaning supplies at a time. I'll go to the Mediterranean Market where I can get a couple of jars of tahini for hummus for $2.29 each and they are over $9 at yup, you guessed it, Walmart. I just don't find that WalMart is the cheapest here for anything I buy, although if I lived on frozen pizza and sweetened breakfast cereal they would be cheaper.

Fortunately I have shelves in the basement and a big freezer in the garage, so I can stock up when it's cheap and save money.

Cream, I think $2.89 a pound for cheap burger is obscene, but a serving is supposed to be 3 or 4 ounces, so that's still about 72 cents a serving. Eggs are cheaper, they're $1.49 a dozen, making an egg about 12 1/2 cents each....

Of course, Michael's venison is about the cheapest protein available.

LindaC, if I had to buy every single thing on that list, at my regular prices, I'd have about $20, but I also consider things like corn starch, garlic and oil staples. Realistically, I'd have to buy red peppers, chicken, oyster sauce and the almonds, which would cost me somewhere around $10. I have brown rice, so I'd serve that on the side....

Annie

Yes Linda C, we sure have deviated. And for the last two hours I haven't been able to shake the visual of a transvestite on the side of the road field dressing some roadkill. That really deserves a picture on the WFD thread!

venison is about the cheapest protein available

well, that depends too. If your husband is a bow hunter and insists on going out of state to hunt with his buddies, thereby having to pay out of state license fees and if he (and his buddies) are not the world's most successful hunters so an elk goes home only once every few years and a deer maybe every other year - oh and don't forget the gas to drive or airline ticket to fly to Utah .... we eat VERY expensive game at our house, LOL!

To be fair, he also hunts in our woods, so that venison is quite a lot cheaper. And we charge most of the Utah bit to our "vacation" part of the budget.

There are two approaches to grocery shopping.

a) Decide on a menu. Write up a shopping list. Go to the store and buy the ingredients.

b) Go to the store. See what is cheap or on sale. Buy the cheap stuff and make a menu around it.

I like the second approach. Knowing I paid little for a good meal makes it all the more enjoyable. Also, I get satisfaction from a cash register tape which shows a large "savings" figure at the bottom.

I always check the marked down produce cart. Often there are good quality fruits or vegetables at a cheap price. Some foods, such as eggs, beans and organ meats are good values even when not on sale and make delicious dishes.

Jim

No, Prairie Love, I didn't say "venison is about the cheapest protein available", I said "Michael's venison is about the cheapest protein available".

Since his is road kill and costs nothing in the hunting camp, it only costs the time it takes him to cut it up, otherwise, it's free. Now THERE'S a budget meal!

Annie

I wonder if Michael uses a salt lick at the edge of the road....?? LOL!
My "great white hunter" provided good cheese.....and that was great....but sometimes I wish I had married a guy who ran a lobster trap line...or one who spent a couple of months on a fishing boat hooking halibut.....
We had the pork and the beef.....but a freezer full of halibut would be nice....
Linda C

hi lindac

Your son must live really close to me. Dorflers is just around the corner LOL. Is there meat worth more. Sometimes! For really special dinners we will buy it there. They butcher exactly to my specs, have grass fed cattle they can special order rtc, but most times we shop at garden fresh or Joe C's. They're MUCH cheaper than Dominicks. Heck, even Jewel is cheaper than Dominicks.

And for $20 I could give everyone a TV dinner and wouldn't need to cook at all and if I buy them on sale I can get away with that at under $12.00 for the family

That's my son that lives near Dorflers....
But Joe Caputo's! be still my heart! Wonderful stuff....and cheap!! B ut it's down the road a pieca from my son.
Linda C

loves, you are not too far from me either.

Linda, tell your son to check out the Wisconsin Cheese facotry in Melrose Park. Owned by one of the Caputo Bros., they carry some of the same things for less and the cheese shop is heaven for a mouse.

Annie it it on the head. Shop wisely and not impulsivley and you can do it. With a bit of practise, it is easier. Butter for $5.00? Give me a break. No you don;t run for one pound at $1.29, you grab 6! Shop the sale items only. A ham for .69/# and I buy 2. Cut one up for soups and casserole, run it through the foodsaver and I have it for a few months. Same for pork, beef, chicken, and fish and even for veggies. Dried peas and lentils were on sale last week for .79 per pound bag, so I bought 6 of each for soups and stews, all for next winter. Why shoudl I pay $1.29?

I know that with Lent coming, I need to make room for the fish sales, and for the Easter sales, there willl be more ham and some lamb, plus goat and pork at good prices.

Stop at the smaller indie stores and you may be amazed at what they have. The same beef tenderloin that is sold at Costco I can find for half price at other markets. And don't forget places like Aldi's.

Road Kill Venison? Sounds good to me as I am all out of it.

Peppi
"Chew with your mind open"

Just thought you might be interested to see what Ralph's (kroger) prices are all about. They're far from the cheapest place to shop,and their meat is mostly "select" grade and not prime or choice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ralph's weekly ad

I was in our local grocery last night, a small chain owned by Kroger, and they had whole beef tenderloins for $4.99 a pound. About $35 to 45 each. They had five left.

Didn't have enough cash with me last night to buy, but DH is going over some time today to buy a couple for a friend. In return for a couple of steaks for our freezer, I'll cut it up and wrap in bacon and put them in the freezer for him. He's a single guy and it's easy meals for him and I get a few steaks for us.

I am a HUGE sale shopper. I use my loyalty cards and ALWAYS shop sales. I buy all of my meat from the marked down bins that is close to the "sell by" date and usually pop it in the freezer. I got two whole chickens last night for $2.75 each--less than half the price they were yesterday. A chicken will feed four of us easily. I bought a whole boneless ham for $9.00. I'll bake it this weekend and we'll have ham for sandwiches and scalloped potatoes and omelets and soup....LOL. I bought a couple loaves of store brand wheat bread for $0.44 each. I'll put them in the freezer for later. A dozen larger sized hamburger buns were $1.25--also for the freezer.

We also live in a rural area with an excellent farmer's market in the warmer months.

To me it's a challenge to get the best deals possible. I NEVER pay full retail for anything.

Ah, I miseed the crucial "road kill" part! And here I was just trying to be silly because it's a running joke in our house about how expensive our venison is.... oh well.

With 4 kids and me staying at home, I always shop the sales and stock up. I have been going 2 weeks between grocery trips and that is 50 dollars a week for a family of 6. I will admit, like Annie, we have our own grass fed beef in the freezer, each year for Christmas my folks give each of us a quarter of beef. My freezer outside is completely full, I pick cherries, peaches, pears, apples, rhubarb, peppers, apricots, strawberries and raspberries in the summer and freeze for the winter months. I also made 10 gallon bags worth of baby food for Hudson and he wasn't even born until October. I can say that I have bought maybe 3 jars of baby food total for my first 3 and will give the baby homemade too. I will admit we do eat our share of Spaghettio's and frozen pizza, but with kids they love that stuff. Dan comes home each day for lunch so I try and cook a big meal each night and have the left overs the next day. Today we will be having left over spanish rice made from Annie's salsa, and quisadias from left over sliced cheese we had for snacks while watching the superbowl. It is harder when Dan is gone at night, those are the frozen pizza nights.

As for prices here is what I picked up this week:

1 lb strawberries $2
2 lb bananas $1
red and green grapes $1.54 a pound
Cauliflower $1.89
butter $2.50 lb
cheddar cheese 2.50 a pound
whole wheat bread $1.89 a loaf
Cream Cheese $.89
Yougurt 6 for 3.00

I shop the ads and the store brands unless the other is cheaper which is rarely. I stock up on staples, canned goods, and snacks. I also shop out of my freezer and my canning closet. Even though we might be in the middle of nowhere groceries are pretty resonable and housing even more so. I always stock up, taking 4 kids to the grocery is no fun:)

Stacie

Wow Vivian, $4.99 a pound for Beef Tenderloin. I'd be stocking up my freezer with whole tenderloins if I could get them for that price. I thought I was doing well when I bought three whole chickens last week for $8.00 each. Regular price would have been $14.00 and they were just little 4 pounders.

We have some wonderful farmers markets here to, but they are extremely expensive. At least double the price of the produce in the grocery stores. Field tomatoes are never less than $3.50 a pound and more often are over $4.00. Green onions are at least $1.50 a small bunch, various lettuces are $2.00 to $3.00 a head. A dozen corn is $4.00 to $6.00 a dozen. When Annie posts pictures of her local farmers markets and the prices, I'm envious.

Corn here is about $4 a dozen right now, it'll be $2 a dozen in the summer. Iceburg lettuce is $1.99 a head and I just picked up a red pepper for $1.29, that's really cheap for this time of year. I love it in the summer here, because my little farmer's markets are all locally grown stuff from local farmers, not trucked in from all over. Oh, but my hens gave me 9 eggs today! Good girls, but I've been feeding them all winter for no eggs, I figure these eggs cost me about $5 a dozen right now, LOL. Elery calls them my "golden chickens".

I bought 10 pounds of split chicken breasts for 89 cents a pound. I spent my high school years working in a chicken joint, so less than 10 minutes gave me boneless skinless chicken breast and the bones are simmering with onion and celery for stock.

Oh, and Ann, my grocery is having a two day sale, yesterday and today. That's why the chicken breast is so cheap, but they also have whole "New York Strip" for $2.79 a pound. I don't need any but I don't see anyone buying them, it must be because they are about 10-15 lbs each and that's a $35 investment, I guess.

I ought to go buy one and I could do steaks for Ashley's 21st birthday in June, no way do I have enough steaks from my beef to feed all those aunts, uncles and cousins!

They're also selling smoked picnic hams for 99 cents a pound, but that's not a sale, it's just what it is.

Annie

It has been interesting reading this thread and seeing the price differences.

If I could get beef tenderloin for $4.99 lb. my freezer would be stuffed with it. The usual price is $14.99 a lb. at either Giant or Safeway. Whole Foods - $24.99 lb.

Annie I can get Picnic Shoulder here for .99 lb. when on sale. In fact I just bought two last week and stored in the freezer.

Ann at my farmers market in the summer time tomatoes are $.99 lb. Right now in the store they will cost you about $4.00 and they don't even compare to a fresh picked vine tomato.

Corn is very cheap at the farmers market as well as fruit, etc. but of course that won't come about until summer months.

We have loads of pick-your-own fruit farms around so I go crazy with that. I pick a bushel of apples for $8.00 and believe me that is a LOT of apples and I fill bags of them. Same with the blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.

We do have farms where I can get my own meat but it is very expensive. I buy my meat and seafood through various stores which are all close to my home. I look for the sales and stock up. We have Wegman's, Harris Teeter, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Safeway, Giant, etc. We have it all. We also have access to Mom & Pop type stores where you can get specialized items. I personally like Safeways Ranchers Reserve beef. When they have a sale it is normally pretty darn good and I stock up. Ribeyes for $3.99 lb., Chuck Roasts and Eye Roasts for $1.69 lb. as an example.

Dairy has really increased in my area in the last year or so.

Down here in Central Florida prices are mixed. At Publix (our largest grocery store) we have whole boneless pork loins for $1.99/lb. I bought a 1/2 of one. Large eggs $1.39/doz, boneless, skinless chicken is $4/lb., butter is $2.69/lb. and bacon is Hormel black label 2 lb/$5.

I go to the farmer's market every other week because the produce is so good and prices are reasonable. Large red peppers (premium!) are 3 for $2, jalapenos and tomatillas (sp???) are $1/lb. Fresh, fresh green beans are $1.25/lb. Freshly picked strawberries are $3.50/quart, eggplant $1/ea., fresh radishes $1/bunch; cauliflower $2/ea., lettuce $1/ea, fresh greens $2/huge bunch.

The produce is really great at this time of year and good eats!

I wish I had a produce store near me like the one in Longwood, FL on 434 near 17-92. Great quality and cheap prices. I refuse to pay more than $1.50 for an avocado, so I seldom have them. There, I can get one for $0.79. I'm talking about Haas, not Florida, avocados. Similar prices on other things, of which there is a great selection.

Jim

I have found here anyway, that once I cut off a chicken breast from the bone and peel the skin off, the pile of bones and skin is about the same weight as the pile of breasts.
I don't use much chicken broth and we don't eat the skin so it's never worth it to me when the cost for boneless skinless is .79 cents more per pond.
Skin on, bone on split breasts lowest prices are .99 and boneless skinless are 1.79 as loss leaders.
Sometimes I do buy them to make broth and for a baked chicken dinner but not often.

To put this in a perspective (not mine) the Times yesterday had a heart wrenching article on the difficulties of trying to live in New York city on $500,000 a year. I guess that's a kind of real, Linda.