Ugh Rising costs

miki

miki

New member
I drove to town to buy some groceries and a little more gasoline.

$20 in gas= 5 gallons (1/4 tank of gas!!)

Days are now gone where I was able to separate my meat into 2 future meals (I'm talking about chicken, hamburger meat and pork which is all I got). All of the meat packs have gotten smaller (much smaller!) and the price remains the same or higher. Even my boxed and canned items have gotten smaller with a higher price (pancake mix, cereal, canned soup, etc.). I even bought a 5lb ham to cut up into chunks for meals, did I say 5lbs? Wait, it's now 4lbs and $2 more.

I tried to stick directly to my shopping list, purchasing some generic items instead of brand name and tried to make it where I had some extra $$ to buy some fresh stuff. I thought I could do it, boy was I wrong. I couldn't even get everything off the damn list much less extra's.

When is the government going to step in and say either raise labor wages or lower the prices?! How are we all suppose to live? I don't even want to call for the propane costs...

Sorry, don't mind me...just venting and I know everyone feels the same way.
 
I will call you on food prices and raise you 3 years of unpaid school tax :laughing:

Seriously, hun, I feel you on so many levels. I don't know where to quit with my gripe. Something's gonna have to give. I don't know what but something.

Keep taking it day by day. I say that because it's all we can do(we meaning hubby and I). I'm sure others feel the same way. All I know is I'm frustrated beyond any tolerable limit. I'm debating putting the kids in daycare. The only jobs I will be able to get are minimum wage job. I don't know what else to do, though. I'm at a loss.
 
I hear ya. What use to cost us 150.00 a week is now up to 200.00 or more. Its crazy. We aren't buying steaks and stuff either. We buy the kids snacks and things at dollar general because its cheaper. We started shopping at walmart again because its cheaper. I hate walmart. :cussing: We don't buy our meat there so we have to go to yet another store for that.

Everything has gone up. Its going to get to the point where people have to choose between food or paying bills. It shouldn't be that way. We have discussed me getting a job also but after the cost of gas and paying someone to watch the kids there goes all the money I would have made. Thanks to SA though my wins help out. A little bit here and there.

Things will get better soon I hope. If gas keeps rising I dont know what we will do. Its a huge part of our budget right now.
 
[glow=pink,2,300]
I will add an amen to that. I think I picked the wrong year to retire!
[/glow]
:love: :wave: :love: :wave: :love: :wave: :love:
 
When is the government going to step in and say either raise labor wages or lower the prices?!

I failed economics, but if wages go up, don't prices as well? :scratch:
 
Not sure if this will help, but when we were dirt poor, I'd get Hamburger Helper, and add only half as much meat to stretch it.

What makes me angry is the cheapest foods are the most fattening/bad for you (Highly processed) while raw/natural foods cost an arm and leg!! :nono:
 
My husband, brother, and I live in the same 3 bedroom house (rented) - thank heavens the landlords really like us; we've lived here 4 years and they haven't raised the rent :sunny:

A month ago, my husband decided to ride the bus, to and from work which is 10 miles away, and I get up to take him by car to the bus stop, which is 5 looooong blocks away (he walks it on the way home - it's all downhill and he gets some exercise). It saves us a TON of money, and he likes it (temperature was 101 degrees at about 6 p.m. for the last few days, so I pick Bob up when he gets off the bus, too).

Even though there are 3 of us, the prices at the grocery store are astronomical. This week, my brother and my husband teased me because I went to the grocery store 3 times to buy meat - hamburger was just $.99 a pound, and so were pork roasts and pork spare ribs. I got freezer paper and freezer tape, and went to town :laughing: We have 2 side-by-side refrigerators, 1 in the kitchen and 1 in the garage (I got the garage refrigerator at an estate sale for under $200), and both freezers are now full of meat. I will have the last laugh on them, though, when meat goes up, up, and away!! And, I got a deal for my brother on Diet 7-Up - buy 2, and get 3 FREE! Wow......

I'm so glad our "kids" are out of the house now (they're all in their 30s). I don't know what we'd do, except cry when we go to the grocery store :cry:

Kate
 
:sunny: This may help some of you on your grocery bill.

http://biz.yahoo.com/cnnm/080613/061308_savings_groceries.html?.v=1&.pf=family-home

Per the above article
www.couponmom.com www.coupons.com and www.eversave.com

Kroger customers can go to Shortcuts.com, enter their loyalty card information, click on coupons they want, and have the savings automatically applied to their bill at checkout.

The online grocery shopping at www.Amazon.com

Be sure to check out the coupon postings and links here at SA, every little bit helps
 
Amy, while I agree that raising wages will cause everything to go up, everything is already going up and they say it's going to go up even more.

I wish we could print coupons, no stores around here accepts them and I rarely get to the store in time for a sunday paper (I live in the country and the stores will get about 5 of the Memphis TN. papers every week), not to mention they are $2 or $2.50 each and then gas being so high it almost defeats the purpose of driving to pick one up.

I shop at Walmart, Dollar tree and save a lot, etc. I am very thrifty, use the coupons I can/do get and trade free's I get that I won't use for other free's. I also price match at walmart but, there is no way in you know what I will shop for meat at walmart. The family pack of hamburger meat is $18 there!! I don't buy steak or roasts, once in awhile I will pick up those cube steaks to bake in the oven but, not often. Only when they are available in a pick 5 at Save a lot and now those packs (cube steaks among some other meats) are too small to feed a family of 4 when I use to be able to split a pack of meat in 1/2. We also rarely eat out anymore.

I have ordered twice from Amazon grocery but, spent all my amazon on DD's birthday that is coming up but, once her birthday is over I will try to order from there again. It helped with some sides a lot!

I am trying to make new things from scratch and picked up a few spices/seasonings to follow the recipes from the hillbilly housewife.

Angel food ministries is also not an option for us for a couple reasons. We have done this already and the stuff they gave us was different than the list and when we counted up the cost we could have purchased more stuff (and better) for what they charge. The other reason is my husband works during distributing time and the church in town that does this will donate your stuff to charity if you are late to pick up.

Things will get better one day, just have to hold onto the hope and keep trying. Thanks for letting me vent and not judging, I know everyone is going through these tough times and it's nice to have an ear once in awhile since I don't really talk to people.
 
I went to the grocery last night and spent a fortune...it is really hard with the kids out of school because they are snacking all the time. Ashelyn eats like crazy ~ I guess she is going through a growth spurt or something...

I like the Kroger thing ~ thanks Pam! I think I will use that quite a bit.

One thing that we did that has really helped us is we got a Kroger credit card ~ the Mastercard, not the regular rewards card. They send you checks to use at Kroger for every $1000.00 you spend. We buy things using the card and then write it in the checkbook as a check and pay it off every month. They also have where you can get 15 cents off per gallon of gas if you spend $100.00 in Kroger a month. It is really helping. I got $25.00 in checks the other day. I save them up and then just get free groceries on one trip!
 
My biggest problem is buying crap I dont need. With the dark knight movie quickly approaching. yeah!!.. Its on everything. So, I buy things just to get the batman toy. :laughing: I should have a bunch of boxes of cheerios before the movie opens. :nono: I dont even like cheerios. whatever. I gotta have those toys.
 
3mnkids1 said:
My biggest problem is buying crap I dont need. With the dark knight movie quickly approaching. yeah!!.. Its on everything. So, I buy things just to get the batman toy. :laughing: I should have a bunch of boxes of cheerios before the movie opens. :nono: I dont even like cheerios. whatever. I gotta have those toys.
Click to expand...

lol Send us the food. hey I know, we should make the manufactors put Christian Bale on all the food packages. You would be buying that all up. You'd be like, ummm I really don't need prune juice, but He looks so good on the bottle. :laughing: :crazytongue:
 
tiffandrock said:
3mnkids1 said:
My biggest problem is buying crap I dont need. With the dark knight movie quickly approaching. yeah!!.. Its on everything. So, I buy things just to get the batman toy. :laughing: I should have a bunch of boxes of cheerios before the movie opens. :nono: I dont even like cheerios. whatever. I gotta have those toys.
Click to expand...

lol Send us the food. hey I know, we should make the manufactors put Christian Bale on all the food packages. You would be buying that all up. You'd be like, ummm I really don't need prune juice, but He looks so good on the bottle. :laughing: :crazytongue:
Click to expand...

:laughing: Dont say that :nono: Its hard enough as it is. You should see me in the store... ok, If I buy this I can get a batman figure, if I buy that I can get a batman spinner or if I buy that thing I can get the little coloring book... wth... I will buy em all. Its everywhere. I already have the kids and hubby looking for stuff that says win this or win that now they gotta keep their eyes pealed for anything batman too. The cheerios are going to kill me. 4 toys~ 2 batman 2 joker. I have the two batman and I know the next box will also be batman. I will have to buy twenty boxes of cheerios to get the joker's. :cry:
 
ping1970 said:
I went to the grocery last night and spent a fortune...it is really hard with the kids out of school because they are snacking all the time. Ashelyn eats like crazy ~ I guess she is going through a growth spurt or something...

I like the Kroger thing ~ thanks Pam! I think I will use that quite a bit.

One thing that we did that has really helped us is we got a Kroger credit card ~ the Mastercard, not the regular rewards card. They send you checks to use at Kroger for every $1000.00 you spend. We buy things using the card and then write it in the checkbook as a check and pay it off every month. They also have where you can get 15 cents off per gallon of gas if you spend $100.00 in Kroger a month. It is really helping. I got $25.00 in checks the other day. I save them up and then just get free groceries on one trip!
Click to expand...

http://www.mealtime.org/content.asp...ne+Snacks&utm_term=Edibly+Fun+and+Easily+Done

Edibly Fun, Easily Done
Contending with a throng of hungry, thirsty kids looking for some munchies? Not to worry. You can easily turn your kitchen into a neighborhood hot spot with Mealtime.org's variety of "Edibly Fun, Easily Done" creations that include fun dipping sauces, bite-sized portions and kid-friendly favorites and are sure to hit a home run with every kid on the block.

Mealtime.org collaborated with cookbook author and father of three, Chef Andrew Schloss, to create these kid-friendly offerings that are loaded with fruits and vegetables that kids need as part of a healthy diet. Each recipe uses a variety of shelf-stable canned foods so they’re edibly fun, easily done any day of the week, without making an extra trip to the store.
 
You know, we are all in the same boat. We all have made changes in out lives to adjust to the times. It's horrible! But, dwelling in the negative just makes you feel worse.

Pasta makes great meals. Mix some sauce and beans/legumes in and it makes a wonderful, inexpensive protein filled meal. Tuna fish is still reasonably priced as well. Instead of buying boxed cake/brownie mixes, buy some flour, sugar, cocoa, eggs... and keep them on hand. It only takes an extra few minutes to bake something from scratch and it tastes so much better too. Use jello to make popcicles. They are wonderful and very inexpensive, especially if you use generic gelatin.

Take advantage of bulk meat sales. Buy family packs of chicken... split up and freeze.

Find a local hostess/friehoffers/Entenman's outlet store. You'd be amazed at how much you can save at those stores.

Most importantly, plan your weeks out carefully. Make sure, if you are going to one part of town that you try to do all your errands, on that side of town, during that one trip. Avoiding unnecessary trips is key. And, if you are not out in no man's land, try walking. Not only is it good for you, you'd be amazed at how much gas you'll save in a week.

The one thing I can suggest to help keep you from being depressed over the issue is to obsess over the the positives rather than the negatives. If you try a new recipe that costs 1/2 of your usual dinner, be proud of yourself. Don't dwell on whatever you had to give up for a while. Get excited over the changes.

If none of these work, get your friends together and start a co-op. Go to the local produce stock house and buy cases of fruits and vegatables and split them up. You'll be amazed at how much you will save.

Hang in there and try to find the positives in your days. There's not a lot we can do about the rest!
 
Wolfie said:
You know, we are all in the same boat. We all have made changes in out lives to adjust to the times. It's horrible! But, dwelling in the negative just makes you feel worse.

The one thing I can suggest to help keep you from being depressed over the issue is to obsess over the the positives rather than the negatives.

Hang in there and try to find the positives in your days.
Click to expand...

I so agree - focusing only on the negative can cause a dreadful spiral - been there, done that, got the scars to remind me to never do that again!!! :nono: :laughing:

With all the bad news going on in the world right now, I find avoiding watching the news reduces my stress levels tremendously - and remembering that there are others out there way worse off than we are helps me to put things into perspective too. :)

When I found out I was 1 of at least 40,000 exposed to Hepatitis B, C and/or HIV {since then the # has risen, not sure what it is now? :scratch: } anyway, I had to have a blood test to determine if I had been exposed. I was never told {letters were sent out} but since ALL the clinics in town were owned by the same Dr. {hard to call him that :nono: :nono: :nono:} and the VA had sent me to a local clinic, I asked if I possibly was exposed/needed to be tested, and was told yes. This was long after the news broke.

I had to see a counselor 1st, and he was prepared for anything - so he thought - he was NOT prepared to my answer to "So, how do you feel about this?" I told him I felt nothing about it - that the odds of me being infected were so low, and that I wasn't about to waste my time worrying about an outcome that probably wasn't going to happen. His jaw dropped open as a look of amazement crossed his face - I asked him if all the others he'd had to counsel had freaked out and dumped all over him - he nodded, and I told him I was sure glad I didn't have his job!!! :laughing:

He also told me if I didn't get a results letter by the end of the month {April} to call and ask. I had an appt on June 6th., and I asked my Dr. to check, since I never did get a results letter, and I'm clean as a whistle - just imagine the wreck I'd be if I'd worried that whole time!!! :crazytongue:

Geez, I do take an awful long time to make a point, huh? :laughing:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top