Can we talk about grocery prices? Who wants to guess $

[RedAngie]

I miss SuperFresh. They always had great fresh produce at great prices. I used to walk my granny cart over two sets of railroad tracks to get to the one closest to my house.

Did your SuperFresh become anything else?

Acme took over the SF in my area. Another older junky SF building is still vacant.

 

[ronandannette]

Not sure if we’re tracking this anymore but I got a dozen regular eggs yesterday for $4.29 and milk was $6.29 a gallon (plus container deposit).

 

[Pink Partridge]

Not sure if we’re tracking this anymore but I got a dozen regular eggs yesterday for $4.29 and milk was $6.29 a gallon (plus container deposit).

Wow! Canada, right? Still quite pricey. I just got eggs for under $2 at Neighborhood Walmart.

 

[Beezle2]

Just got back from Wegmans, the details of my mini cart of ingredients with only one premade thing:
fresh honeydew $5
fresh pineapple $5
small mushrooms $4
portabella mushrooms $6
about 12 bananas for home made smoothies $3
a whole roast chicken $10
pack of 4 steaks $25
large package of raw chicken thighs $16
large package of chicken breast $20
bag of raw frozen shrimp $15
organic milk $7
organic half and half$8
package of 18 eggs $8
2 packages of cooked plantains with one for lunch and one for dinner $9
2 boxes of those Kleenex pop up hand towels because they are more hygienic $12
1 box snack size baggies and 3 bags because I'm paying for those now $5

Hint, I have had car payments that match

$158 Bob
At our local Aldi's I would be able to do it for under $75

 

[TippyThomas]

$158 Bob
At our local Aldi's I would be able to do it for under $75

I went to Aldi this morning and got eggs for $1.78 and milk for $2.51. Love Aldi's!

 

[TwoMisfits]

I love Aldi's, but it can never be a single shop.
Normally, at least 1-2 loss leader produce items are out of stock or awful quality.
Usually another 2 produce desired items are out of stock or awful quality.
Normally 3-5 planned purchase items are out of stock.
And they just don't have the variety since they focus on essentials.

That said, I shop there 2-3/times per month, trading off with HMart, Safeway (has the most allergy stuff for me), and Trader Joe's (I only go here every 2-3 months, but it becomes one of my 2 shops of the week when I do). I just don't have the budget NOT to shop there.

 

[TippyThomas]

I love Aldi's, but it can never be a single shop.
Normally, at least 1-2 loss leader produce items are out of stock or awful quality.
Usually another 2 produce desired items are out of stock or awful quality.
Normally 3-5 planned purchase items are out of stock.
And they just don't have the variety since they focus on essentials.

That said, I shop there 2-3/times per month, trading off with HMart, Safeway (has the most allergy stuff for me), and Trader Joe's (I only go here every 2-3 months, but it becomes one of my 2 shops of the week when I do). I just don't have the budget NOT to shop there.

That's one thing I struggle with at Aldi's. They'll have an excellent item and when I go back to grab more, it's out of stock or not coming back. It happens so often, at least much more often than other stores. That is my biggest complaint about Aldi.

 

[NYCgrrl]

love Aldi's, but it can never be a single shop.
Normally, at least 1-2 loss leader produce items are out of stock or awful quality.
Usually another 2 produce desired items are out of stock or awful quality.
Normally 3-5 planned purchase items are out of stock.

Agreed.
I was so pleased when a new one opened near me but it’s too much work to catch the sales or know when items are in stock. If I was still a normal carb eater I’d probably shop there a lot; their bread aisle is ginormous.

 

[barkley]

Rarely mentioned regarding men like me with Prostate Cancer (PCa) is that *For men with BRCA1/2 mutations, the risk is much higher — ranging from 25-50 percent — and if prostate cancer does develop, it may be more aggressive. The average prostate cancer patient is in his mid-60s when he's diagnosed, but particularly men with BRCA2 mutations may be diagnosed at a younger age.*

My PCa is the most aggressive being GLEASON 10 and my sister was diagnosed with Breast Cancer but I have not yet had the testing even though the kit is sitting on my counter. In 2015 I chose to be the FIRST to receive an Experimental Triplet Immunotherapy Injection that is yet to receive FDA Approval because no trials are taking place; however, the FDA has given approval for the combo of Opdivo + Yervoy (yes Breast Cancer is included) as has been seen in the TV commercials.

My cousin literally saved my life by being tested at Johns Hopkins when he was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Our mothers were sisters and both had breast cancer. He was super concerned when he handed the records to me, hoping I would be be ok and also able to help his son. I had mine done in an offhand way, I didn't even absorb the positive because I always assumed it was positive with the number of relatives who had it so I felt no angst it felt business as usual. Stuff got real fast when I was talking to the Gyn Cancer Dr, seems there is what I call "Family Math" that evaluates statistics and BRCA2 is for quite a few cancers. Found out my chances were 65% for Ovarian and would climb as I aged, made him say it 3 times than another apt with family because ovarian cancer is fairly rare and I thought I wasn't hearing him right. Dr said it was a non rush to get them out in 2 months ( shock rush to me) & guess what, there was a clump of abnormal cells in one of my ovaries, not cancer but I'll be damned if it wasn't on it's way. I'm having my Pancreas watched too, there is some weird stomach stuff as well and who knows what else is linked really.

Only reason to not do testing is for life insurance because you probably can't get it if you are positive so line it up first. This is why I was waiting but when I was dragging my feet my Immunologist put it best by saying, "Look, the cats already out of the bag in your records." Sometimes I hate knowing but then I think about my ovaries and realize I might not be here if I didn't. You are already a survivor, knowing BRCA status won't make life harder but you could save a blood relative's life like my dear cousin did, God rest his soul. Just a thought

This stuff is very closely held but I told them to open mine even after I am gone to any family members further out in relation, thinking on it I need to make sure that directive actually was attached to my records.

thank you for sharing this information. the advent of this type of testing has the potential to save so many lives. sharing the information with family members can have tremendously far reaching benefits. i have a 20 plus year cancer survivor step-neice. diagosed in her late 20's (while pregnant). she was fortunate it was caught when it was-double mastectomy and very cautious treatments during the course of pregnancy. she started digging around her family medical history and came to understand how 'cancer' was a dirty word that if spoken was whispered in previous generations (i remember this mindset from my childhood). her family members started recalling grands/great grands/aunts/great aunts...who had passed in the 40's, 50's and 60's but noone had any recollection of their causes of death being openly discussed. sure enough when folks began looking at old death certificates the pattern of a genetic predisposition emerged. set a fire under that family and got some to get that mammogram, start being more dogged about self exams...a few cases were diagnosed much earlier than they likely would have absent this information. more recent generations are being educated.

knowledge is power.

 

[Beezle2]

I went to Aldi this morning and got eggs for $1.78 and milk for $2.51. Love Aldi's!

I have to admit I don't buy everything at Aldi though. I buy locally sourced chicken and beef. I stopped buying those weird giant chicken breasts a long time ago. And we buy grass fed beef. Aldi's has it but it is from Australia.. that feels weird to me. There is a local farm we chose instead.

 

[TippyThomas]

I have to admit I don't buy everything at Aldi though. I buy locally sourced chicken and beef. I stopped buying those weird giant chicken breasts a long time ago. And we buy grass fed beef. Aldi's has it but it is from Australia.. that feels weird to me. There is a local farm we chose instead.

Yes, I have many friends and acquaintances from my previous community that I still buy food from very regularly. I bet about 80% of what I eat comes from them. I had to get eggs because the normal person I buy from was low on stock. Hopefully I can get the fresh ones next time.

 

[Beezle2]

Yes, I have many friends and acquaintances from my previous community that I still buy food from very regularly. I bet about 80% of what I eat comes from them. I had to get eggs because the normal person I buy from was low on stock. Hopefully I can get the fresh ones next time.

I hope to die rolling around in Amish butter

 

[TippyThomas]

I hope to die rolling around in Amish butter

You and me both!

The one thing I miss the most is my mothers cooking. It would be very difficult at best for any of my old friends to invite me to dinner because of the crazy rules we'd have to follow to do so. It's probably better that I'm not eating like I used to because I am absolutely not working and moving like I used to so I'd probably gain a ton of weight.

I'll just enjoy it here and there when I can. I'm sure my heart and arteries thank me.

 

[disneyseniors]

Well, that's just gross.

One thing I have learned on these boards is that MN seems to have some damn reasonable grocery prices.

I'm in N. Mn. and in a smaller town. We only have Walmart, Aldi's, Target, and family owned stores. I have never tried Aldi's but I hear it is comparable to our Walmart - within a dollar difference by someone that price compared between these stores. I buy certain items at Walmart, Target and the family owned stores. Walmart is the cheapest, but Target comes close. I buy very little meat and items on sale at the family owned stores. I am retired and have the time to shop around and compare. We still spend a lot on food for the 2 of us - over 100 a week. I feel bad for some families who can't afford these high prices. We have a food bank that is used by a lot of people in our area, including a lot of the elderly.
We had the opportunity to buy l/4 of a cow last fall, which is a lot of meat for us. It evened out to just $2.75 a pound and the meat is the best I've ever eaten. This is a small time farmer and you have to know someone who knows him to get this meat. We are going to buy meat like this every year now. It's a big cost at one time, but it is worth it.

 

[Minnesota!]

I'm in N. Mn. and in a smaller town. We only have Walmart, Aldi's, Target, and family owned stores. I have never tried Aldi's but I hear it is comparable to our Walmart - within a dollar difference by someone that price compared between these stores. I buy certain items at Walmart, Target and the family owned stores. Walmart is the cheapest, but Target comes close. I buy very little meat and items on sale at the family owned stores. I am retired and have the time to shop around and compare. We still spend a lot on food for the 2 of us - over 100 a week. I feel bad for some families who can't afford these high prices. We have a food bank that is used by a lot of people in our area, including a lot of the elderly.
We had the opportunity to buy l/4 of a cow last fall, which is a lot of meat for us. It evened out to just $2.75 a pound and the meat is the best I've ever eaten. This is a small time farmer and you have to know someone who knows him to get this meat. We are going to buy meat like this every year now. It's a big cost at one time, but it is worth it.

I do the majority of my shopping at Aldi, some at Costco (the rotisserie chickens get us many, many meals for $6), and then I check the sales at HyVee because they have some reallllly good sales that allows me to stock up on things. Depending on what I need/want that week, we spend between 60/100 a week for me, DH, and a teen boy. When other kid is home from school, it goes up a bit since he likes certain deli meat, etc.

That said, we, too, bought cow from a small farm in western Wisconsin. Paid about what you did, overall, under $3/lb for everything - steaks, roasts, ground, stew, etc. It will last us probably 2 years and was an incredible investment - this was our third time and we will never go back to store bought. We have a cabin near Superior and the prices in the small towns on the way up are insane. Makes me super grateful for my $3 Mayo, 1.50 sour cream, $2 strawberries, etc. THe small towns, where wages are way less, get hosed as far as grocery prices.

 

[barkley]

(the rotisserie chickens get us many, many meals for $6)

no matter what we go to costco for i always grab one-they are the best value. we might eat it over the next couple of days or i freeze it either whole or debone it for a future recipie. have a friend who had a weekly ritual for work lunches was to get a costco roisserie chicken and multiple bags of different varieties of frozen steamer veggies. very healthy and cost effective.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Did your SuperFresh become anything else?

Acme took over the SF in my area. Another older junky SF building is still vacant.

I don't know. I stopped going to that mall when the SuperFresh closed down, and I moved to NJ soon after.

 

[TippyThomas]

For those of you who have shopped Costco and Samsclub, I have a question.

I am a Samsclub member and really don't have a Costco as near as the Samsclub. It's actually probably twice the distance away, maybe even more. Is Costco really that much different than Sams to make it worth the trip and membership? Just curious if I should give it a shot or not.

 

[dizneegirl]

For those of you who have shopped Costco and Samsclub, I have a question.

I am a Samsclub member and really don't have a Costco as near as the Samsclub. It's actually probably twice the distance away, maybe even more. Is Costco really that much different than Sams to make it worth the trip and membership? Just curious if I should give it a shot or not.

I think it kind of depends on what you shop for. As far as groceries, pharmacy items and household basics, they're pretty similar. Sam's might be a little more resale oriented (multi packs of candy, snacks, etc.). Costco has more diverse clothing, softlines, gift-type items. You may be able to get a free day pass, if you just wanted to go look around sometime when you're near one. I go with my mom sometimes, but haven't felt the need to switch my Sam's membership, or add a Costco one.

 

[TippyThomas]

I think it kind of depends on what you shop for. As far as groceries, pharmacy items and household basics, they're pretty similar. Sam's might be a little more resale oriented (multi packs of candy, snacks, etc.). Costco has more diverse clothing, softlines, gift-type items. You may be able to get a free day pass, if you just wanted to go look around sometime when you're near one. I go with my mom sometimes, but haven't felt the need to switch my Sam's membership, or add a Costco one.

Thanks so much! Your description alone lets me know I'm probably okay just sticking with Sams. I really only use it for grocery items so it seems one over the other in that regard doesn't work. I appreciate the info and help.