Possible Shark Sightings

So we went grocery shopping on the weekend, because we are Party People, and I don't know if you've noticed, but grocery store prices have gone up a bit. Flour - do you buy flour regularly? If you're not a baker, flour might not play such a big role in your life, but flour is TEN DOLLARS MORE EXPENSIVE than it was five years ago and twice as expensive as it was last summer.

Remember a few summers ago when all of the news outlets were like "SHARK ATTACK! SHAAAAAARK!"? I spent that whole summer quietly convinced that I was going to get attacked by a shark, even though I live inland and the last shark sighting here was, mmm, never. I'm a naturally anxious sort, and even though I can tell when the news outlets are just fear mongering, when there is fear to be mongered ("mongered"?) I am your gal. And so this weekend, standing at the check out line with my groceries costing me FIFTY DOLLARS more than they did six months ago, I could hear every fiber of my being shrieking "SHAAAAAAAARK!"

We have to do some cost-cutting, obviously. I'm not going to cry too much about this since there are people starving in the world, and places where there are food shortages and so my groceries costing substantially more still makes me lucky. Still, though - it's hard to look at our already pared-down budget and try and figure out what we can cut, when we already live such relatively spartan lives. It makes me feel sort of grim and tight-lipped, although another part of me feels a sort of pioneer resilience to this, that I may as well roll up my sleeves and start making my own laundry soap because there's really no sense in complaining.

A while back, I was talking with a friend who I've known since The Girl was a baby and her daughter was a baby and we both were young and poor. We were laughing about how very, very poor we both had been and then she said "Things aren't any easier now, are they?". We both went silent as we wondered how that could be, how we could be making technically middle-class incomes and still feel as poor as our student days, as the days when we walked for hours with our babies in second-hand slings, too poor to go into stores.

Of course, we're not that poor anymore. But your expectations and worries keep adjusting accordingly regardless of how much money you make - I worried when we were poor and I worry now that we're not poor and I'd probably keep worrying about money if we made a million dollars a year, although that doesn't seem too likely. And now my groceries cost more and we have to cut back a little bit, but my children are still well fed and the wolf isn't actually at the door and the surface of the lake is still calm and shark-free.

So without trying to monger fear: are you cutting back right now? How are you handling the higher food prices?

Comments

[chelle]

We have been trying to cook more whole foods and keep it simple. We walk to the store and try to cut out some extras. Food is getting wildly expensive though!

[nycene]

we remain blissfully unaffected by the increase in gas prices. we live, work and play downtown (have never owned a vehicle and haven't travelled by air in years). if we can walk or bike, we take transit and occassionally (when feeling spectacularly lazy) a taxi cab.

we get our heavy stuff delivered enmass by grocery gateway (canned goods, dry goods, cat litter, bottled pop and juice). we buy meat and eggs (rarely and in smallish quantities) from the organic butcher down the street. the only dairy we get anymore is yogurt from the health food store (in a great big returnable jar) to which we add our own flavourings (cheaper, healthier and more environmentally friendly) than those little plastic pots of yogurt from the grocery store.

we bought a share from plan b organic farms and get the bulk of our produce delivered. as far as meal planning goes, what is in the box determines what we eat, starting with the stuff that will spoil (such as berries and greens) and later the sturdier stuff (such as cabbage and potatoes). this week has involved a great deal of kale and swiss chard, which are quite nice with apple cider vingegar (WHO KNEW? - thank you KITCHEN PARTY). everything else we pick up on an as needed basis from the fruit and veggie market across the street.

the biggest savings to our food expenses came when i went on mat leave and stopped spending 5 - 10 dollars a day on lunches at work and started cooking more meals at home (rather that picking up take out on my way home). my gawd that has made a huge difference.

[Mary]

It is tough! I also love to bake, and like you, we had our poor days...I so don't want to go "Tightwad Gazette" poor again! Milk is SO expensive, eggs too...we already have chickens, are we going to have to milk a cow in the near future? Pioneer resilience? Good term! I need to get better at gardening!

Maybe the sharks are getting my bell pepper plants?

[Lisa b]

I can just picture you rolling up your sleeves and making the most tasty dishes.

I need to learn to cook more. We are very spoilt here but since we've been so very painfully cheap (we earn the most of all of our friends but own the oldest car etc etc) for so long we are ok, but still the sticker shock when I do a big shop.

[Heidi]

Well, I can see that this post hit a nerve in your readers. WE are doing what everyone is doing--less meat, couponing like crazy and we are going to cut out all drinks but milk, apple juice and coffee (maybe we'll have OJ too). I also just started trying to make my own bread again.

Also, I will be scrounging through cupboards to find something for dinner before running out to the store.

What else we need to do is cut our consumption of gas, because gas prices dictate many of these price increases for everything else.

[heather]

We have been shopping almost exclusively at costco for more than a year, so I haven't really noticed a big hike in grocery costs. The gas on the other hand is out of control. We have stopped grabbing lunch on the fly and almost entirely eliminated restaurants on the weekend. That actually saves a shocking amount of money--too bad it's all going into the gas tank.
We buy all our fresh produce from a produce stand that is only open June-Septemeber--tastes great because most of it was harvested that morning and it's about half the cost of the grocery store food trucked in from hundreds of miles away.

[Kathy]

I've never liked meal planning, but I found an author (a Canadian one at that) that does all the work for you! Sandi Richard, who now has a tv show "Fixing Dinner" too, wrote "Life's on Fire, Cooking for the Rushed" I couldn't live without her books (she has a summer one, one called "The Dinner Fix" and a healthy family one too) Since the meal plans are done by the week, and the grocery list is already done for you, I find I can actually DO the cooking. I'll be honest, some of the ingredients are on the expensive side, but usually one jar does several meals... so the first few weeks are more expensive as you pick up sauces etc that you'll use more than once. I save a LOT of money when I follow the meal plans... and as I get more familiar with her cooking style I'm confident enough to use the recipes that you can find online at Foodtv.ca http://www.foodtv.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?titleid=83516&Category=AF
to make my own meal plans.

This year we actually put in a garden again too, so I'm looking forward to fresh produce from the yard... I don't know that I'd call it free tho, after buying the plants, putting in sprinklers, organic fertilizer etc... it's probably costing more than just buying it from the store >_< But the hubby is happy, his family has always gardened... now I just have to let his mom show me how to make pickles... again...

My only other "best tip" would be to look for a discount bread store... I have one close to me, "McGavins" I can buy 5 loaves for $3.89. It's "day old" bread, which means you have to store it in the freezer until you use it, and keep the loaf that's out in the fridge, but the great Prebiotic, Multigrain, and Squirrely breads are available in that deal too as well as astd buns, flat breads and tortillas, you just have to check once in a while to find what you want. Luckily it's just around the corner from my house so I don't have to drive across town to do so : )

We've been experimenting with Quinoa too, it's a protein replacing grain you can get at healthfood stores. It seemed expensive, but since it expands so much when you cook it, and you don't have to add meat to make a healthy meal, it saves money. I can't get my family to eat lentils and beans, but they will eat the Quinoa!

[Shalee]

We're paring down on meats, making meals that last longer (spaghetti sauce and rice dishes) and making all of us adjust our quanties. Just because a body wants more food, doesn't mean it needs it. By no means are we starving, but we're learning to do with less.

We've looked to other ways to save as well: we'll be using our wood burning fireplace come winter, wearing more sweaters and we're already cutting out extras like eating out, travel and activities that involve extra costs. It's amazing how much a walk in the woods or a game night with friends can be satisfying changes!

I think you're right about the frenzy that the media causes. They will show/print anything that will drive their sales/advertisements/ratings. I can't justify paying for services that are all gloom and doom. Since most people just believe what they hear rather than finding out for themselves/making changes, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy after all.

[Laura]

I'm mostly in denial. We're a family of picky eaters, so that's likely hurting us to some degree. Plus, we just got married a few years ago and I have really enjoyed learning how to cook all these great meals and now I'm supposed to just eat beans and rice? Sigh. I noticed sugar has doubled in price when I wasn't looking.

I do try to only buy one meat a week and cook off that until I go back to the store. I have also cut a lot of our recipes in half, cooking a lot less. My husband will eat ALL of whatever I cook so there's never leftovers and we just end up eating a huge amount of food each night. I've realized that half the meat can be used for most recipes (our little family doesn't need an entire pound of meat in each meal) and then I make overall less of that recipe.

It is hard though to buy healthy foods on any kind of tight budget. I can pay five dollars for a loaf of bread that doesn't have any HFCS or other junk or I can buy a white loaf for a dollar. I just can't do the latter. So I walk around the store, not screaming SHARK!! but humming la-la-la-la with hands over my eyes. Productive....really, it is. ;)

[Laura]

I'm mostly in denial. We're a family of picky eaters, so that's likely hurting us to some degree. Plus, we just got married a few years ago and I have really enjoyed learning how to cook all these great meals and now I'm supposed to just eat beans and rice? Sigh. I noticed sugar has doubled in price when I wasn't looking.

I do try to only buy one meat a week and cook off that until I go back to the store. I have also cut a lot of our recipes in half, cooking a lot less. My husband will eat ALL of whatever I cook so there's never leftovers and we just end up eating a huge amount of food each night. I've realized that half the meat can be used for most recipes (our little family doesn't need an entire pound of meat in each meal) and then I make overall less of that recipe.

It is hard though to buy healthy foods on any kind of tight budget. I can pay five dollars for a loaf of bread that doesn't have any HFCS or other junk or I can buy a white loaf for a dollar. I just can't do the latter. So I walk around the store, not screaming SHARK!! but humming la-la-la-la with hands over my eyes. Productive....really, it is. ;)

[christine]

the cost of flour is killing us. the cost of everything is actually killing us, and like you, we live so spartan a life anyway i sometimes feel like i have no idea where to cut back next.

it literally keep me up at night.

[All Rileyed Up]

I do a terrible job of handling food prices. I think standing in the crowded grocery line and screaming "shaaaaaark!" may be what I do next. It sounds like fun.

[Susan]

Timely post. I just got back from the grocery store and realized that I have $40 left for the week and still need to buy food for 4 suppers as well as toothpaste and formula. Talk about stretching a dollar!!
DH and I have been having some "big talks" lately about money. We're determined to stay on budget and not go into debt, as well as preserve my status as SAHM, but it is truly approaching impossible. Lately we just don't eat out (maybe once a week at a hot dog stand at most), we always eat leftovers (that's new for us), and we are doing more nights where we have breakfast stuff for supper. I guess it's time to start clipping the coupons- though I've never before managed to make that work for us. Worth a try!

[Sarah]

I hate being at the point where the only thing left to cut is quality--white flour instead of whole wheat, etc.

I've been trying to put our freezers to better use by freezing more fruits and veggies and leftovers instead of letting them languish in the fridge.

[LoriD]

We already have a pretty low grocery budget. We're not big meat eaters and buy very little processed food, so we're just paying a little more for groceries these days. I buy the fruits and vegetables that are on sale and go to the u-picks for seasonal berries (for the freezer).

[Kath]

I get the same sinking feeling about grocery prices AND fuel prices. One day I have to sit down and compare how much it costs to drive to Real Cdn Superstore (cheap food but farthest away) vs. walking to Calgary Coop (more expensive food but no gas costs). It seems I can't do anything these days without feeling afraid and/or guilty. Oh, and once 4 years ago I *DID* make my own laundry soap, and it clogged up my washing machine and we had to pay $250 for the repairman. WOO-FREAKIN'-HOO. Great money-saver! I have tried all the advice on the frugal living sites, but I agree with one of the other commenters...it costs me MORE to make my own bread, sew my own clothes, make my own bisquick (which I never cooked with ANYWAY).

[Pieces]

I meant "lovely" town not "lovey" town. Although maybe you all stand around giving group hugs in the town square.

[Pieces]

LOVE this post. I am exactly the same way with the media and the shark thing. I still think they are being a little end-of-the-world with the economy and I wonder if the whole thing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. There is no denying the cost of food, though. We have survived so far with thegrocerygame.com. I have spent exactly the same amount of money on food in the last year as I did the previous year. Not bad. They cover stores in Canada but maybe not stores in your tiny, lovey town.

[mom huebert]

I think I fit right in with many of your other commenters. We have always lived frugally, always cooked and baked from scratch, always avoided expensive processed foods. So now what? I don't know how else to cut costs, unless we start letting the sales dictate our diet, and I refuse to live on boxed macaroni-and-cheese and cheap hot dogs, no matter how low the price. I think maybe we pray....

[Aliki]

I HATE the cost of groceries.

I hate feeling that plunge in my stomach when I pay the bill. We're party people too, like you, and it's hard to find a middle ground.

We're not doing too much to cut back that's actualyl working, except to try and shop at Trader Joe's more and just make do with what we find there. The larger grocery stores just make me spend more momney, I find.

[Kyla]

Ugh. I think my ulcer is burning. LOL. We shop once a week and we buy only things we are SURE will be eaten. Nothing new to try, no "Oh, maybe so-and-so will like this!" Nope. Just the standard stuff.

How much is flour up there?! It is $2-3 here.

[Angeline]

Though many says eating out is more expensive than cooking from home, it isn't so for us over here. a S$10 could feed my family, yet a raw fish already cost 5 and some pork cost another 4 and the soup? all these plus electrical bills easily chalk up to S$15-16...

btw I have been eating bread as a meal for days now....a loaf of S$1.75 bread could last me for 3 days...*wink*

[Jennifer]

We live in Europe, so things were already expensive. Not they're just more expensive. We almost never eat out anymore. Not that we did a lot before, but we might go out for pasta or fish or something when we didn't feel like cooking. Now we go home and fix it.

Hopefully my husband will continue to earn more as prices go up. That sounds crazy, but I am spoiled and love my traveling. It's my big luxury and I gave it up when were first married and poor. I don't want to have to give it up now that we're not poor anymore just so my kids can eat. Eating is over-rated anyway.

[Mary-LUE]

Hey! It is my first comment for you over here... I'm so bad about paying attention to the cost of food, but for the last couple of years, I have been distressed over the general increase in cost of living. Our utilities have really increased, and now the gas prices. Yikes! I run around the house turning off lights. My son calls me a vampire. I hover between being worried about it and playing Scarlet O'Hara with all her determined "Tomorrow is another day" mentality.

[Kelley]

I haven't noticed anything in the flour market going up. I paid 2.25 for a five pound bag the other day.

All my good ideas are gone and posted by other people. I've never done a menu plan but I think I'm going to give it a try...for right now we are all just hungry until the next pay check. Moving costs so much.

I have noticed a lot of my Ontario neighbors at my local shops. I don't know if that is a good idea for you but I counted seven ON plates at the Farmer's Market today.

[Kelley]

I haven't noticed anything in the flour market going up. I paid 2.25 for a five pound bag the other day.

All my good ideas are gone and posted by other people. I've never done a menu plan but I think I'm going to give it a try...for right now we are all just hungry until the next pay check. Moving costs so much.

I have noticed a lot of my Ontario neighbors at my local shops. I don't know if that is a good idea for you but I counted seven ON plates at the Farmer's Market today.

[Jennifer]

ugh, I hate this topic. I hate the fact that I DO feel poor sometimes, even though by the world's standards I'm so very rich.

I hate worrying about how much I'm spending on groceries.

I hate the fear that is spreading everywhere.

I hate trying to save money.

I hate not being able to get whatever I want when I want it.

I hate it that I find myself actually expecting to get whatever I want whenever I want it at times.

I hate complainers, and therefore I'm hating myself!! :)

Cutting the budget? Someone PLEASE tell me how, with 3 kids who are all eating more than ME! Beans and rice, anyone?
My friend said to me just the other day, "evidently I missed the class on how to stay within the grocery budget." Me, too, evidently.

[Minnesotamom]

Eat vegetarian more often. Dried beans, lentils and rice tend to be much cheaper than meat (and better for us, too).

Also, I think I just might make my own laundry soap. We never used to go through so much before baby, but now it's getting so that it might actually make a difference.

[Woman in a window]

OK, I think I'm missing the boat 'cause I find homemade goods quite expensive. I put up salsa, jams and pickles and this costs a lot of money. Should I cut that out? Eh...no, to me that's quality of life. Ironic, isn't it, it'd be cheaper to just buy a jar of pickles every so often. They wouldn't be nearly as good and we'd thereby save so many, the little green things would just float around in the jar begging for someone to crunch them!

It's expensive too to keep my jelly cabinet full of baking goods. I'm pretty crazy though. When it comes to food...well...we'll cut somewhere else. Always shop the sales though. When is cheese ever going on sale again?

[Jennifer]

I envy those of you who can shop a farmer's market for deals. The farmer's market here is 2-5x more expensive than the store. For produce, anyway. Cheese is the same price.

I am in my second stage of paring down. Last summer I stopped buying what I considered frivolous, easy-to-replicate food items, like those boxed grains with a bag of herbs inside, and store-bought sauces.

This summer I'm on stage two, which means 1> I switched to a cheaper grocery store even though I prefer the locally-owned one and 2> I only buy cheap cuts of meat (or no meat) and 3> no pre-made frozen foods and 4> no low-nutritional-value snacks, like pretzels. With all these changes my grocery bill is about $25 over this time last year, which I figure is good because both my kids eat more.

I see other places I can cut back on my grocery bill, but like one of your other commenters said: the next step for me is to cut back our utility bill. I'm getting REALLY GOOD at managing the temp in the house by opening/closing certain windows & shades at different times of day.

[Alpha DogMa]

The boys and I are reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy right now. The frugality of those times is amazing. And shaming.

...Eliza Jane answered, "And I'm not going to waste melon rinds on any pig! I'm going to make watermelon rind preserves."

Not even rind went to waste! Meanwhile I've let a bag of carrots liquify in my fridge. I'd surely have starved to death in pioneer days. Or been forced to spend my life as a hired hand and cavort with the likes of Lazy John and French Joe. How shameful.

[edj]

Like you, it's hard to imagine paring down much. But we just do without things we can't afford. We eat cheap fruits and veggies, buy frozen sometimes, eat leftovers, make things from scratch, and do other boring, unoriginal things, like stocking the freezer with sale items and making shopping lists and menu plans. Nothing earth-shattering chez nous. I do clip coupons and watch sale items but only at my regular stores, as who has time to drive all over to save 50 cents? Not me.

[Susanne]

Oi, it's insane! Flour jumped from $9.99 to 14.99 in one shot. I buy grocery items on sale. I don't meal plan too far ahead because what I make for supper will depend on what meat and grocery items had been on sale. We eat the leftovers. Once a week, it's clear the fridge and all the leftovers are heated and eaten for supper. Sometimes we just go without something until it is on sale. I usually don't drive all over town for sales, I basically stick to Costco and Canadian Superstore. What I burn in gas to get to other places nullifies any savings I might get running all over.

[Rachel]

We have a big vegetable garden and are now reaping the rewards of our hard work in free zucchini, peas, spinach (actually almost done now), and carrots. Tomatoes and other summer squash are just around the corner and then we'll have corn and melons and beans.

We have adopted the WWII mantra ("Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without") in many areas (I am about to make a new cover for the dog's bed out of our old jeans, for example) but especially as it applies to leftovers and food in the fridge. We used to throw away SO MUCH FOOD just because it sat in there and we forgot about it and it went bad.

We actually just bought a fuel-efficient car, which on the face of it doesn't seem terribly frugal, but it VERY nearly pays for itself in gas savings, and since prices are only going to be going up in the future, most likely, it's a good long-term investment. Sort of.

We buy staples in bulk and stock up heavily when there are big sales (anytime there's meat for under a dollar a pound at the local grocery I buy $25 worth at least, for example).

Overall, I try to have your "pioneer woman" attitude about it -- it makes it, if not exactly a game, at least a challenge that I want to meet and beat, which is better than seeing it as a disaster that I need to panic and freak out about.

[Cristan]

I've been focusing on energy consumption more than food prices. Example, we don't use our air conditioner unless it's over 78 degrees (F), I'm drying clothes outside.

I AM using coupons consistently for the 1st time, as well as planning the menu.

[Kimberly]

When the store has cereal on sale for $1.88(!!!!) I buy ten. Etc. I find that if I buy lots of stuff that is even slightly perishible, though, I throw half away. So, one cost-cutting measure is to only buy fruit and veg that I am going to use in the next two or three days. Now, it happens that we live in a huge metro area, and I am, every day, going by some store or another, so I can pop in and get something. I do hate to shop, though, and would prefer to do one HUGE shop a week. But then, as mentioned before, things go bad. And, I also, like another commenter, am refusing to cook so much at once. My hubs and I can only stand to eat pot roast so many times before I throw it out. So, I will take the "valu pak" of meat (who can eat 6 pounds of ground beef? no one, but at $1.50 a pound, I am buying that much) and split it up, and freeze some, either cooked or uncooked depending on my laziness.

[Sherri E.]

We cut out the meat-- not that we ate a lot of it to begin with. And advance menu planning (largely inspired by your methods!) helps, too.

I'm with you-- it's hard to figure out how to pare down the budget when we already live such (relatively) spartan lives.

I keep reading these articles about cutting out Starbucks (check) and doing things like skipping your weekly manicure. Weekly manicure? I _might_ have had one manicure in the past two years. It seems like so many of the cost-cutting strategies recommended by these articles are strategies we already employ by default, for philosophical reasons or whatever. Cut out the cable TV? We don't even have a TV. And so forth.

[Tracy]

I've always cooked large portions. This meant that my thin hubby could eat 3 or four pork chops, etc. Now, I fix just enough for each meal. If there are leftovers, we use them for another meal even if everyone isn't eating the same thing for supper. Previously, we just ate them for lunch.

[Katrina (Callapidder Days)]

I start to feel sick to my stomach every time I have to go grocery shopping. My husband asks me why the grocery expenses have gone up by 1/3rd and I assure him that I hate it too. Between the kids being another year older (with appetites increasing accordingly) and the jump in prices of so many basic items... I just can't get out of the store for anywhere near what I used to spend. I'm trying to cook things that are more cost-efficient, but it doesn't seem to work -- my family just eats it faster and I need to make *more* of it. I've become a dedicated coupon-clipper, though, which helps. A little.

[bren j.]

We are menu-planning like crazy (seriously, we wrote up a whole MONTH in advance and now I am obsessed with my menu plan. OBSESSED!). And doing coupons and going to a different store if the meat's on sale there....But I hear you - it's hard when you feel like you're already as pared back as possible and you already make 95% of your meals from scratch.....and you just want to poke the eyes out of people that make twice as much as you and are still complaining about money when they spend at least a third of their income on video games! ARGH!
I did notice the price of Cheerios went down. Thank goodness for small mercies!

[Omaha Mama]

Grocery prices? What grocery prices? Huh???
Okay ~ Happily in denial here. Please just let me stay.

[ser]

I feel the creeping panic about food prices, too. Things I have done: only buy organic dairy but not usually produce any more, make as much of my food as I can (bread, refried beans, etc.), shop the farmers market as much as possible, and shop without my kids around.

[Mary Beth]

We're trying to make more desserty type things rather than buy premade stuff (like ice cream - sigh) and buying staples, like flour and sugar etc., from the super stores. Instead of a 5 pound bag - I'm the proud owner of a 15 pound bag of flour.

And you know as soon as you start making your own soap, the price of lye is just going to skyrocket!

[Mad]

I was just noticing the price hikes here--after months of watching food riots on the news--but now that it is summer, I can relax a bit b/c so much of what we eat comes to us local from the farmer's market or from our garden. I imagine that come fall I will start having to make adjustments. Right now I am tempted to hoard pasta and rice b/c that is where inflation seems to be hitting hardest. The only problem with that strategy is that one does not hoard pasta, one simply eats more of it.

[Chantal]

I was at Upper Canada Village last weekend (you would love it I think) and I watched a film on what life was like back then. I found myself wondering if our lives will go back to that sort of routine and scanning the film for ideas. I know I am going a bit overboard but sometimes I wonder...

Oh yes and I usually buy my flour from them (they stone grind it themselves) but it had gone up by $2 for a 5lb bag and I chocked and didn't buy it. Now I regret it of course, I should have bought it, thankfully I live close to there and will probably visit again over the summer.

[ewe_are_here]

I cannot believe how much more groceries cost now than they did just six months ago. Everytime I try to cut corners to save a bit more, everything else just goes up again.

Grrrrrr.

I try to shop instore specials and marked down items as much as I can.