grocery question.....your thoughts?

[momxx5]

As fellow budget watchers, and with a few threads about groceries and the rising costs, I would love for y'all to share your thoughts?

I just got back from getting a few groceries and cannot believe how much items are shrinking in quanity while rising in costs.

Thus would you rather have pasta remain in 1lb boxes with rising costs or have smaller ounce boxes (i.e. 12oz) with prices status quo(what used to be cost of 1lb)?

Thoughts?

 

[momxx5]

To answer my own question......with a family of 7 I would much rather see the 1lb boxes. I get so frustrated as everything is shrinking in quanity.

Example......bag of bagels now = 4 bagels(used to be 6!). I don't want to buy 2-3 pkgs.

 

[StephMK]

We are a family of 5 & I'd much rather see the original sizes and increased price. We are paying increased prices anyway by having to either buy more or more frequently.

With all the trying to be green, why are manufacturers creating more packaging by messing w/sizes? We aren't stupid and it's really annoying to see ads for "new & improved" that aren't. I saw this recently at a grocery store - great new price for a big pack of Diet Coke - well yeah, new price but they are now 20 pk not 24. 4 lb sugar, etc.

 

[eliza61]

My peeve is that some items are going up and shrinking!!

 

[beansmom]

i have to agree...i want the old 'standard' sizes...even if it costs a TINY bit more. Everything skyrocketed with the gas gouging last year...but when gas went down, nothing else did.

Why?

Because we have to pay it. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

 

[oldbay]

I prefer the smaller sizes and the same prices because I can use more coupons. Using your example, if it is two boxes of pasta - I can use 2 coupons and get a bigger discount than if it is one larger box.

I also find I waste less food with smaller boxes - food not going stale, etc... It is a big reason I stopped shopping at Costco, even as a family of five we never finished anything before it went stale or lost interest in it.

 

[clutter]

As a family of 2 (mom and kid with differing tastes), I LOVE the smaller sizes. Less that I end up throwing out. We can't even finish a bag of Oreos over a couple of months.

 

[akcire]

It depends.

The smaller sizes are nice in that they are easier to consume, plus the coupon benefit a previous poster mentioned.

What I HATE about some of the smaller sizes is the way they effect recipes. I made a jello salad the other day for Thanksgiving and could not figure out why it did not fill up the same mold I have used for years. I went back and looked at the recipe card--all the sizes from 5 years ago were 2-4 oz bigger. This made my jello mold look really anemic.

I ended up gong and buying double the product contains are previously (2 cans not 1) and then throwing out the extra that did not fit in jello mold-2. Which was both a waste of food, time, money-and annoying.

 

[Justsyd2]

I love having the choice of buying smaller sizes. I think most people do, that's what precipitated the change. There's less food and packaging waste, and also less caloric intake!

 

[formill]

I was in our Dollar Store yesterday and noticed that they had packages of things that had 10 in them (ie;stationery items) and then same racks the new stuff coming in only has 8 items in the package. Our "Dollar" store is now not everything for a dollar like it used to be......most is $1.25 and some is up to $2.

 

[Swimalie]

I'd prefer the "old" sizes. I'm used to cooking with them and if the sizes change, I'd have to adjust my cooking.

 

[puffkin]

I prefer the smaller sizes and the same prices because I can use more coupons. Using your example, if it is two boxes of pasta - I can use 2 coupons and get a bigger discount than if it is one larger box.

I also find I waste less food with smaller boxes - food not going stale, etc... It is a big reason I stopped shopping at Costco, even as a family of five we never finished anything before it went stale or lost interest in it.

I agree with this. Except for things I can easily repackage and freeze, I kind of prefer the smaller sizes. We waste much less food now which ultimately saves us money. I use a lot of coupons so I almost always choose the smaller sizes than the bigger ones because it works out to be a better deal.

 

[oldbay]

I was in our Dollar Store yesterday and noticed that they had packages of things that had 10 in them (ie;stationery items) and then same racks the new stuff coming in only has 8 items in the package. Our "Dollar" store is now not everything for a dollar like it used to be......most is $1.25 and some is up to $2.

That is bound to happen eventually. Growing up we had the five & dime stores where things were that cheap! I was actually wondering a few days ago what the dollar stores would do eventually with inflation.

 

[blanq]

As fellow budget watchers, and with a few threads about groceries and the rising costs, I would love for y'all to share your thoughts?

I just got back from getting a few groceries and cannot believe how much items are shrinking in quanity while rising in costs.

Thus would you rather have pasta remain in 1lb boxes with rising costs or have smaller ounce boxes (i.e. 12oz) with prices status quo(what used to be cost of 1lb)?

Thoughts?

Shrinking quantities are a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I would rather they just charge more instead of playing that game. The biggest problem I have is that so many recipes are based on how items are packaged (for example: 1 lb of pasta, or 14.5 oz can tomatoes). When companies start mucking with the quantities, it totally throws off my recipes. I HATE it!!!