The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: franksolich on May 17, 2012, 08:43:05 PM
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/1128988
Oh my.
Proud Liberal Dem (9,046 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
Stretching dollars at the grocery store on household supplies, food
I was just kind of curious what everybody is spending at the stores nowadays on household supplies and food?
My wife-who handles the shopping- routinely walks in the door every other week with approx. $400-450 worth of items for a grand total of $800-900/mo. which is, frankly, killing our household budget. For reference purposes, this is a 5 person household: Two thirty-something adults, a 5-year old and two teenagers. Is this extreme and/or out-of-sync or pretty much par for the course? My wife and I seem to disagree about what is "normal" (relatively speaking) for families our size to spend. I would be interested in hearing others weigh in on this.
cbayer (107,069 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
1. Editing because I apparently can't read.
I figure on about $100/week for two of us, so she may not be far off.
2-3 meals a day for 5 people can really add up. Even if you figure only $5/person/day, that's $175/week. And that would only be food.
Sherman A1 (8,831 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
2. Seems a bit on the high side, but not too much, grocery prices are up about 6% over last year. There are a few ways to save, but really it's just a matter of timing & gaming the system whenever you can do so. I am sure that she is doing as much as she can to keep costs down.
independentpiney (1,055 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
3. We're about $450- 500/month for 2 adults and a teenage girl with 2 teens and a 5 year old you may not be that far out of line. I would consider myself a fairly frugal shopper too.
woodsprite (5,024 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
4. Sounds about right
We're a family of 4 - 2 adults, and 2 teens.
Curmudgeoness (7,060 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore
5. I cannot compare my budget with yours, since I live alone and don't have teenagers (who definitely will be eating more). I spend less than $200 a month for food and household items, so if I were to compare that to your budget, you are not doing too bad.
(And if you think that your wife is spending too much on all this, why don't you take over the shopping for a couple of months and see if you can do better....you might be surprised at how well she is doing.)
If you are trying to cut your budget, some suggestions I would make if you aren't already doing these:
Use coupons, but only for things you use.
Buy in bulk when things are on sale.
If you don't have one, buy a freezer and purchase things only when they are on sale. (I never buy meat that is not on sale, but buy it on sale in bulk and freeze it. Same for v*****s.)
Processed foods are much more expensive than putting together meals from scratch. Make a lot at once, and either eat as leftovers or freeze half for another time.
Buy store brands. I cannot say this enough.
Shop at discount grocery store if there are any near you.
Buy household products at dollar stores.
Avoid the fancy cleaning supplies and the newest products that are usually more expensive than old standards.
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His wife needs to go to Aldis.
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His wife needs to go to Aldis.
I knew you'd show up; I'd picked this campfire just to draw your attention, as I did with two others to get USA4ME engaged in his own interests.
<<sneaky.
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I knew you'd show up; I'd picked this campfire just to draw your attention, as I did with two others to get USA4ME engaged in his own interests.
<<sneaky.
Let's see you do that to ME !
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Let's see you do that to ME !
It takes a while to know members' interests.
In the case above, with Ballygrl, I know she's into such things, and wanted to drag her away from that damned women's forum into here.
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WALMART!
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It takes a while to know members' interests.
In the case above, with Ballygrl, I know she's into such things, and wanted to drag her away from that damned women's forum into here.
It turned out to be a short drag !
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It takes a while to know members' interests.
In the case above, with Ballygrl, I know she's into such things, and wanted to drag her away from that damned women's forum into here.
We have a Wimmins Forum??
Window cleaning, sammich makin', foot rubbin' sort fo thing?
Dang, I need to get out more.
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I knew you'd show up; I'd picked this campfire just to draw your attention, as I did with two others to get USA4ME engaged in his own interests.
<<sneaky.
I know you did, so that's why I posted.
<<more sneaky
:-)
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It turned out to be a short drag !
It's part of "marketing."
If one can identify a particular person's interests, then one brings over campfires from Skins's island involved with that interest.
With USA4ME, for another example, anything on banking and financing draws him like flies to honey.
It's not malicious or manipulative; it's just trying to please members, by catering to their interests.
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I knew you'd show up; I'd picked this campfire just to draw your attention, as I did with two others to get USA4ME engaged in his own interests.
<<sneaky.
LOL! times are tough, screw going to the regular grocery store, although I do have to go there for a few items I can't get at Aldis, but most of my shopping is done at Aldis and we save a lot by shopping there. I also do BJ's for things like soap, detergent, paper products, water and some frozen items.
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It's part of "marketing."
If one can identify a particular person's interests, then one brings over campfires from Skins's island involved with that interest.
With USA4ME, for another example, anything on banking and financing draws him like flies to honey.
It's not malicious or manipulative; it's just trying to please members, by catering to their interests.
Yeah, but the malicious, and manipulative, those are value added !
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WALMART!
Yep! there are a couple things I can't get at the other stores so we hit Walmart once a month at least.
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LOL! times are tough, screw going to the regular grocery store, although I do have to go there for a few items I can't get at Aldis, but most of my shopping is done at Aldis and we save a lot by shopping there. I also do BJ's for things like soap, detergent, paper products, water and some frozen items.
You know, one of the joys of being single--there's miseries too, in about equal proportion--is that I don't have to worry as much about what groceries cost, as do married people, and married people with dependents.
Being single and a dairy-and-eggs fanatic, the grocery bills never add up to much.....even if I happen to go to the most-expensive place.
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You know, one of the joys of being single--there's miseries too, in about equal proportion--is that I don't have to worry as much about what groceries cost, as do married people, and married people with dependents.
Being single and a dairy-and-eggs fanatic, the grocery bills never add up to much.....even if I happen to go to the most-expensive place.
That's possibly insensitive in some way. Can I get a jury ruling on that ?
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LOL! times are tough, screw going to the regular grocery store, although I do have to go there for a few items I can't get at Aldis, but most of my shopping is done at Aldis and we save a lot by shopping there. I also do BJ's for things like soap, detergent, paper products, water and some frozen items.
I'm sorry... :rotf:
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I'm sorry... :rotf:
Yeah, it got me too.
Then I finally figured out it's probably one of those obscure northeastern supermarket chains.
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Proud Liberal Dem
My wife-who handles the shopping- routinely walks in the door every other week with approx. $400-450 worth of items for a grand total of $800-900/mo. which is, frankly, killing our EBT allotment.
Fixed.
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Yeah, it got me too.
Then I finally figured out it's probably one of those obscure northeastern supermarket chains.
:p
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That's possibly insensitive in some way. Can I get a jury ruling on that ?
Yeah, it looks as if I might've pulled a Pamela, subtly gloating in front of everybody about something I have but they don't.
Ooops.
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I think doing BJ's for "frozen items" has the most sex appeal.
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You know, one of the joys of being single--there's miseries too, in about equal proportion--is that I don't have to worry as much about what groceries cost, as do married people, and married people with dependents.
Being single and a dairy-and-eggs fanatic, the grocery bills never add up to much.....even if I happen to go to the most-expensive place.
But at Sam's Club you can get sour cream in 55-gallon drums.
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I think doing BJ's for "frozen items" has the most sex appeal.
Earlier today, I was in the big city, and then on my way back here stopped at the "in" supermarket, Hy-Vee.
Hy-Vee's really the "in" place to buy groceries, up here on the roof of Nebraska.
I don't care for Hy-Vee though, because it's just too damned big; one practically needs hiking-boots.
I prefer the smaller places, but those were out of my way. Because of 0bamagasoline prices and the distances involved, I try to be efficient about "travel." And Hy-Vee was on my way back here anyway.
I took a grocery cart and hiked directly back to the dairy section, and then directly back again to the cash-registers.
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But at Sam's Club you can get sour cream in 55-gallon drums.
But not even I could do 55 gallons of sour cream in time enough before it spoiled.
However, when I was at Hy-Vee today, I picked up six quarts (six one-quart containers) of sour cream at $1.38 each, enough to see me, maybe, through next Monday.
I think that at $1.38 each, they might've been on special, but I didn't check. I would've gotten them even if they were $5.00 each.
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Yeah, it got me too.
Then I finally figured out it's probably one of those obscure northeastern supermarket chains.
Monica knows exactly where it's at.
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Monica knows exactly where it's at.
You know what freaks me?
Monica's sparkling old dude shops at Safeway in the Baltimore area.
Safeway is so 1960s-ish.
In fact, it wasn't until the sparkling old dude one time mentioned Safeway, that I was aware it still existed.
There used to be a couple hundred Safeway stores plastered all over Nebraska, but they all closed down when I was still reasonably young, and so I assumed they'd gone bankrupt or something.
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You know what freaks me?
Monica's sparkling old dude shops at Safeway in the Baltimore area.
Safeway is so 1960s-ish.
In fact, it wasn't until the sparkling old dude one time mentioned Safeway, that I was aware it still existed.
There used to be a couple hundred Safeway stores plastered all over Nebraska, but they all closed down when I was still reasonably young, and so I assumed they'd gone bankrupt or something.
They went the way of A&P !
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You know what freaks me?
Monica's sparkling old dude shops at Safeway in the Baltimore area.
Safeway is so 1960s-ish.
In fact, it wasn't until the sparkling old dude one time mentioned Safeway, that I was aware it still existed.
There used to be a couple hundred Safeway stores plastered all over Nebraska, but they all closed down when I was still reasonably young, and so I assumed they'd gone bankrupt or something.
There are still lots of them out in California, they are a lot nicer, in general, than the Lucky's supermarkets.
I usually shop at HyVee because they have the best produce selection locally.
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There are still lots of them out in California, they are a lot nicer, in general, than the Lucky's supermarkets.
I usually shop at HyVee because they have the best produce selection locally.
I remember the HyVee when I live in Omaha. They are in Iowa too.
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There are still lots of them out in California, they are a lot nicer, in general, than the Lucky's supermarkets.
I usually shop at HyVee because they have the best produce selection locally.
When I lived in Omaha, I used to go to the Hy-Vee around, oh, approximately 75th and a little bit north of Dodge Street. It was built on the site where once stood a world-class amusement park, Peony Park.
I dunno why they tore down Peony Park; it rivaled amusement parks in cities much bigger than Omaha.
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Tom Thumb, down here is owned by Safeway. 800-900 a month in Groceries? Are you freaking kidding me???? What. The. Hell?
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When I lived in Omaha, I used to go to the Hy-Vee around, oh, approximately 75th and a little bit north of Dodge Street. It was built on the site where once stood a world-class amusement park, Peony Park.
I dunno why they tore down Peony Park; it rivaled amusement parks in cities much bigger than Omaha.
Since I live right downtown, I usually drive to the one in Council Bluffs since it is closer, but I have been the one around 75th.
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They went the way of A&P !
Which went that way because of union demands. A&P told the union to take concessions or that they would fold. The union said no.
They folded.
Wonder what happened to all of those union workers?
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When I lived in Omaha, I used to go to the Hy-Vee around, oh, approximately 75th and a little bit north of Dodge Street. It was built on the site where once stood a world-class amusement park, Peony Park.
I dunno why they tore down Peony Park; it rivaled amusement parks in cities much bigger than Omaha.
OMG I went to Peony Park all the time. I almost drown in the pool there when I was about 4.
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OMG I went to Peony Park all the time. I almost drown in the pool there when I was about 4.
It was a great park.
I dunno why the big guy didn't make it one of his "restoration projects," to pad his resume for the Bellevue city council.
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You guys are so bad! :lmao:
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You guys are so bad! :lmao:
You notice another parallel among we Nebraskans.
BEG almost drowned in a pool at Peony Park when she was four. franksolich almost drowned in a pool at Chadron State Park when he was seven.
I'm sure that when dutch508 and MrsSmith check in, that'll make four of us who had bad experiences in swimming pools.
But never in any river, where the risks are greater.
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Why are these lousy primitives having problems buying groceries in this glorious Obama economy?? :confused:
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As I recall, they had a monkey island there.
It was great fun to throw warm marshmallows to the primatives.
Watching a primative peel a warm marshmallow was interesting.
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Which went that way because of union demands. A&P told the union to take concessions or that they would fold. The union said no.
They folded.
Wonder what happened to all of those union workers?
GM ?
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Why are these lousy primitives having problems buying groceries in this glorious Obama economy?? :confused:
Yeah, I thought that was all going to change at 11:00 p.m. central time January 20, 2009.
The primitives promised us it would.
It's in the DUmping Ground somewhere, but there was that famous comment by the lonestarnut primitive in late December 2008, when the primitives were talking about the hungry.
The lonestarnut primitive said she hoped they could hold on for another month, until January 20, after which they'd be fed.
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Why is food up 6% under Obama? This is absurd!
I'd say use coupons, but there are no good coupons/sales anymore because of that Extreme Couponing show. We eat a lot of pasta in our house so we stock up when there's a great sale. Albertson's is selling Barilla pasta for .75 a box when you buy 10. Buying 10 items is mix and match, so we don't have to buy 10 boxes of pasta... but we are going to. :) That pasta will last us weeks and will provide our family with inexpensive meals.
Food 4 Less (a Kroger chain) regularly sells their chicken drumsticks for .79 per pound. We can get 13 drumsticks for less than $5 a package. We usually buy two packages of drumsticks when we go to Food 4 Less. When we get our house built, I am buying a stand alone freezer and will stock up on chicken & meat when it's a really good price.
We are a family of three. Two adults and a picky eater. We don't shop at Trader Joe's or anything like that, so our food bill never comes out to an astronomical price.
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Yeah, I thought that was all going to change at 11:00 p.m. central time January 20, 2009.
The primitives promised us it would.
It's in the DUmping Ground somewhere, but there was that famous comment by the lonestarnut primitive in late December 2008, when the primitives were talking about the hungry.
The lonestarnut primitive said she hoped they could hold on for another month, until January 20, after which they'd be fed.
It appears the lad was correct.
They've survived on three years of BS, already.
Stupid DUmpmonkeys.
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Why is food up 6% under Obama? This is absurd!
I'd say use coupons, but there are no good coupons/sales anymore because of that Extreme Couponing show. We eat a lot of pasta in our house so we stock up when there's a great sale. Albertson's is selling Barilla pasta for .75 a box when you buy 10. Buying 10 items is mix and match, so we don't have to buy 10 boxes of pasta... but we are going to. :) That pasta will last us weeks and will provide our family with inexpensive meals.
Food 4 Less (a Kroger chain) regularly sells their chicken drumsticks for .79 per pound. We can get 13 drumsticks for less than $5 a package. We usually buy two packages of drumsticks when we go to Food 4 Less. When we get our house built, I am buying a stand alone freezer and will stock up on chicken & meat when it's a really good price.
We are a family of three. Two adults and a picky eater. We don't shop at Trader Joe's or anything like that, so our food bill never comes out to an astronomical price.
The stores here, when there's a 10 for $10 sale? you don't have to buy 10 to get it for $1, you can buy 5 and it'll still be $1 each, you can also mix and match here.
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The stores here, when there's a 10 for $10 sale? you don't have to buy 10 to get it for $1, you can buy 5 and it'll still be $1 each, you can also mix and match here.
Only a few of our stores honor that rule. I like the mix & match sales where they offer numerous items at a discount. The 10/$10 sales are lame now. It's usually stuff we don't need/want. With the mix & match sale, you save .50 cents or more (depending on their sale) on each item for the week.
I was able (one time) to buy a dinner for our whole family for $3 with those Mix & Match sales. Love it. :)
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One thing I remember is the bargin bin.
Meat that had "expired" the day before.
Had to hit the store early.
Don't see that much anymore.
I ate well in my younger years.
There are many things that can assist a person.
Being friendly with the work staff is one of them.
I suspect the DUmmies forget that part and demand special treatment.
My friends at Kroger and HEB are priceless.
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I also do BJ's for things like soap, detergent, paper products, water and some frozen items.
You really shouldn't cheapen yourself like that...just my .02.
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You really shouldn't cheapen yourself like that...just my .02.
Ha!
I love you Bally!
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You really shouldn't cheapen yourself like that...just my .02.
Maybe she does that beer money. :naughty:
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I also do BJ's for things like soap, detergent, paper products, water and some frozen items.
BG you are a hoot. :lmao:
It doesn't help when BEG quotes you and puts it in 86-point font, either. :rotf:
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What the hell are these people buying?
Cindie
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BG you are a hoot. :lmao:
It doesn't help when BEG quotes you and puts it in 86-point font, either. :rotf:
No, it doesn't.
Now, put your big girl panties on and grow a pair.
I hope I'm in the right thread to isult BH wuth impunity.
Probably not.
crap
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Being a member, or I should say a member in good standing of the BJs club is always such a hoot to mention :lmao: you don't get jokes like this when you belong to Costco or Sams Club!
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The stores here, when there's a 10 for $10 sale? you don't have to buy 10 to get it for $1, you can buy 5 and it'll still be $1 each, you can also mix and match here.
I have found (here at least) that the stores offer those deals on things like pasta, but not on more expensive items. I can get pasta for $.89 a box when they do those deals, but if they have one of those deals on something more expensive, they require you buy the full number of items to get the discount.
I get my meats from Costco and stick them in the freezer. SO much cheaper than the grocery stores!
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I have found (here at least) that the stores offer those deals on things like pasta, but not on more expensive items. I can get pasta for $.89 a box when they do those deals, but if they have one of those deals on something more expensive, they require you buy the full number of items to get the discount.
I get my meats from Costco and stick them in the freezer. SO much cheaper than the grocery stores!
We seem to have those deals for pasta, sauce, soup, condiments and some snacks.
BJs doesn't have meat at great prices, sometimes you get a sale, but not often.
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I don't usually take my husband on the grocery trip, as I like to be unencumbered, and I don't want any editorial comments on the upcoming menu, but he tagged along a couple weeks ago and had extreme sticker shock. He couldn't believe what things were costing now. You have to look for the deals, and freeze when you find them.
Not including beer and pet supplies, we are two people, we average once a week $50 at Dollar General and $50 at the grocery.
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What the hell are these people buying?
Cindie
Scoobie and I have to really WORK at spending more than $500/month for five people. Wally World and Market Basket are where we go, and she has finally gotten me to (on some things) buy the generic or store brand. Some things I'll never bend on, but meh.
I've given up on Hannaford's. $5.49 for a pound of bacon? AYFKM?
I've noticed that the summer produce is gonna be wicked expensive again this year. Corn is still 40 cents an ear and whole watermelons at WalMart last night were something on the order of $1/lb or more. Tomatoes are still way up there too.
And since when does a whole chicken cost 98 cents a pound? Really?
At least Market Basket has hamburger on sale for $2.49/lb this weekend and boneless pork chops for $1.99/lb. Sad when that's considered a good deal.
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The stores here, when there's a 10 for $10 sale? you don't have to buy 10 to get it for $1, you can buy 5 and it'll still be $1 each, you can also mix and match here.
Yup, both Acme and ShopRite offer 10 for $10 and you don't have to buy 10 items. And for all the perverts here :tongue:, BJs is a membership only warehouse store, like Sam's and Costco, and it rules! :-)
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Yup, both Acme and ShopRite offer 10 for $10 and you don't have to buy 10 items. And for all the perverts here :tongue:, BJs is a membership only warehouse store, like Sam's and Costco, and it rules! :-)
Awwww. poop. :(
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If you live in a participating location, and want to get produce, vegetables and fruit, for a good price, check this place out.
I have been getting all of my produce with them since January. Their bread is good too, and freezes exceptionally well. Aside from beer, some weeks I don't even have to go to the regular grocery store. (http://www1.bountifulbaskets.org/?page_id=6)
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Sparks, I about had a heart attack when I saw bacon for over $5. It had always been a $2 item. Bacon is a luxury good now? I have to save up for it?? Last weekend, Price Chopper had steak for $5.99/lb. Fair enough. But in the ground beef section, the 93% was also $5.99/lb. WTF!! OTOH, I think 98 cents / lb is fine for whole chicken. For $6 you've got Sunday dinner, and leftovers.
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If you live in a participating location, and want to get produce, vegetables and fruit, for a good price, check this place out.
I have been getting all of my produce with them since January. Their bread is good too, and freezes exceptionally well. Aside from beer, some weeks I don't even have to go to the regular grocery store.
(http://www1.bountifulbaskets.org/?page_id=6)
Oh hey! They have a co-op in Mountain's Edge where we will be living soon. I'll have to try it out sometime. I'm reading more information on it right now. Sounds kind of fun.
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Oh hey! They have a co-op in Mountain's Edge where we will be living soon. I'll have to try it out sometime. I'm reading more information on it right now. Sounds kind of fun.
It is, you need to be pretty patient, it is all run by volunteers. They have a site on FB, you might want to check that out for more ins and outs. I priced my $15 basket at the grocery store one day, and the same stuff would have cost me over $45.
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Sparks, I about had a heart attack when I saw bacon for over $5. It had always been a $2 item. Bacon is a luxury good now? I have to save up for it?? Last weekend, Price Chopper had steak for $5.99/lb. Fair enough. But in the ground beef section, the 93% was also $5.99/lb. WTF!! OTOH, I think 98 cents / lb is fine for whole chicken. For $6 you've got Sunday dinner, and leftovers.
That's exactly what my wife does--gets a whole chicken. The leftovers last us another two meals each.
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But it was only a couple years ago where a whole chicken was 59-69 cents a pound and 80/20 hamburger was $2.39/lb.
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Yup, both Acme and ShopRite offer 10 for $10 and you don't have to buy 10 items. And for all the perverts here :tongue:, BJs is a membership only warehouse store, like Sam's and Costco, and it rules! :-)
Shop Rite is awesome!
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I really liked Albertson's/Apple Market/Osborne but the one here closed. :(
I think there's another one on the south side of town.