Affording groceries during times of rapid price increases
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
During the past two years alone, the price of some household staples such as bread, milk, and eggs have increased in price by as much as 69%*, while the median household income has only increased 1%*. In this video, I discuss these increases and offer tips to help your family cope with the rapidly increasing cost of groceries.
As I’ve found myself watching Youtube far more than I do television, I am going to start expanding my youtube channel, so please be sure and visit me on youtube by clicking here and be sure and click the red “subscribe” button!
References for this video:
- Soaring Food Prices: Compare Cost Increases
- Food Prices Soar as Incomes Stand Still
- Milk Prices Could Go up 60 Cents a Gallon
- Rice: The Ultimate Budget Extender
- Money Saving Tip: Rethink Bulk
- Come Home to Supper
“American families have always shown remarkable resiliency, or flexible adjustment to natural, economic, and social challenges. Their strengths resemble the elasticity of a spider web, a gull’s skillful flow with the wind, the regenerating power of perennial grasses, the cooperation of an ant colony, and the persistence of a stream carving canyon rocks. These are not the strengths of fixed monuments but living organisms. This resilience is not measured by wealth, muscle or efficiency but by creativity, unity, and hope. Cultivating these family strengths is critical to a thriving human community.”~Ben Silliman
My husband installs siding for $12 and hour, and work in the winter is iffy. One thing I’ve had to learn is if he has had a good week, that’s not blowin’ money. I use it to buy what’s on sale for the freezer and stock up on the staples I use all the time. On weeks when he’s had no paycheck, we haven’t done without. We also freeze and use deer meat. I had to learn how to cook it so it was good, because all I had ever eaten was horrible. Sometime I feel like the Proverbs woman because I will meet someone and they tell me my husband brags on me all the time about how much money I save him and how well I feed him. I enjoy eating out, occasionally, knowing my savings has made it possible.
Christy you are on the money! I’ve applied all these tips to my household over the last 2 years and it is amazing and unbelievable how much you save! I also use the couponing for personal items like razors and other toiletries and pay next to nothing what I used to… another tip for those that don’t have time for couponing or aren’t interested is plan your meals around sale items at the grocery store if you don’t already! Stockpiling is also very helpful and convenient. I bought name brand sugar months ago when it was on sale for .99 with coupons (the 4 lb. bags) I bought like 5 or 6 packages and still have it on hand. Meatless meals are wonderful and healthy, planting your own garden is wonderful, it saves money plus is environmentally friendly:) Wonderful tips you gave Christy and they all work WONDERFULLY!
One more thing, invest in a crock pot! You can buy cheaper cuts of meat and they will cook up really nice and tender in the crock pot! You can also cook a meal while you are at work or out for the day and not be tempted to hit the drive thru!
Some ways that I save money are stockpiling (buying now at a cheaper price for future use), cooking simple, filling meals, my husband and son hunt and I freeze the venison and use it all year. I also LOVE Kroger and the great sales they have. Match up the sale with a coupon and you can save a lot of money. I use Southern Savers because she matches up the items on sale at each store with the available coupons out there, including where you can print them. In the last two weeks I got 12 cans of cat food free thanks to that site! I use mostly off brands. Stretch breakfast costs by doing homemade. I can make a batch of 15 homemade chocolate chip pancakes for very little. I put the leftovers in the fridge and we heat them in the microwave. You can also freeze them and can do this with homemade waffles and french toast too. When buying/trying generics don’t be afraid to try the off brand non-food items too. Any money you save there can go for more food items! I used to swear I would never buy off brand toilet paper or feminine products but I sure buy it now if it’s cheaper than the name brand! I tried the brands of different stores until I found ones I liked and I now buy those if I can’t get name brand on a good sale. Look for marked down items that you can use for other things. Walmart regularly has loaves of french bread marked down. Slice it and make homemade french bread pizza or french toast. Kroger marks their bread down to .49 a loaf most days. I buy as much as my freezer can hold at one time! By doing all of these things I spend about 100.00 a week on groceries. That includes food for four (sometimes 5) adults, 2 small children at times, pet food for 2 dogs, 2 rabbits, a cat, and all cleaning, paper and personal products.
I also check circulars weekly and try to shop the best sales. Aldi consistently has really good prices for daily staples, but it is an hour from me, so I have to plan my trips when I am in the area. I also have Save A Lot in my town and they often have really good buys on canned vegetables and on name brand items. I am retired, therefore have more time than younger shoppers to look for the best buys. I try to post really good buys on Facebook for my friends. At this point anything we can do to help each other is a blessing. Thank you Christy for wanting to help us.
Thank you for this post! This is such a strugglefor most families. We grow a garden and can and freeze, I make my own laundry detergent, clean with vinegar, tey to buy on sale, but my grocery spending is still way out of control. We live in a small town and Wal-Mart is really our only option therefore the prices are worse! I would n like to do more couponing but most items are prepackaged goods that we don’t buy. I usually make as much as possible myself. So frustrated! Im glad you addressed this issue!
So, who do you vote for? Happy? Better think next election.
Thank you, Christy. You spoke on a subject I was just pondering. As a Christian, my first “line of defense” is prayer, and to trust God. I give God my problems, then I remind myself not to take them back, but to trust. Then I act on the guidance I receive. After all, Jesus never told anyone to sit back and take it easy but to take up our beds and walk, to invest our talents and so on.
A few months ago, I found a flyer for a grocery store I never knew existed. The store is a little further than I usually go, but the sale prices are the best in my area. Because I don’t receive their flyer in the mail, I looked them up online so I can shop their sales. I suggest other folks look at grocery stores where you seldom, if ever, shop because you may have this experience, too. It’s been a huge blessing.
Aside from this new store, I shop at AlDi. I also cut back on the variety of foods purchased. We stick to the basics.
I am a big fan of your new cookbook, Christy. Not only are the recipes very good as is, but they are adaptable to from-scratch cooking (my style), and to substitutions according to taste and budget. I am an even bigger fan of your God-given gift for encouragement.
Just in case this helps someone: the grocery store where I found great sale prices is Fresh County. Chicken runs 66 – 88 cents/lb., , most pork is under $1/lb., beef is usually about $2/lb, The vegetable prices vary but there are many low prices. I stick to the same ol’ things, but I vary the way I cook them. Also, it helps that I was raised to feel blessed and grateful to have any food, never mind what kind.
ALDI always has great fresh fruit and vegetable prices which I always buy extras on the ones that freeze well including onions and peppers. They will email you their weekly ad if you sign up. I also freeze milk bread and crackers when they have the special sales.
You can freeze crackers?? I hadn’t thought of that Marsha!
as long as they are left in their original package or packaged with the air squeezed out the best you can. Sometime I will even crunch them up and packaged them in 1/2 cup portions for some of your yummy recipes like the Uptown beef Patties which I love, or meatloaf etc. Graham crackers are great to pulse the entire box of crackers making crumbs then put in a plastic container with a tight sealing lid then you can just measure out what you want for recipes straight from the container. On saltines they toast up nicely in an iron skillet or spread on a cookie sheet and put in the oven. Warm crackers taste so yummy with your chicken stew. Which I think is my all time favorite stew. I could eat it 3 times a day.
Thanks Marsha!!! I am so glad to hear you like the Chicken Stew, it is one of our favorites as well! 🙂