How are you handling rising food and energy costs?

[Christine]

I don't get the angst over the cost of turkey. Compared to any other meat it's cheap. Even at 2 dollars a pound.

It's just become a sport now, lol!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

That would be for me! I think it freezes well, doesn’t it?

Yes it does freeze pretty well. But I was thankful for turkey soup because her turkey itself was dry. It needed that liquid. HAHA.

 

[NotUrsula]

Btw some of the names of these supermarkets crack me up!

This is nothing; I grew up with Piggly Wiggly (which still exists, they are now a part of the IGA group.)

Also the leading local market chain here is Schnucks. When I first moved here I kept calling it Schmucks. (And I feel like one when I'm forced to shop there; it's WAY overpriced.)

 

[Colleen27]

I'm seeing FAR fewer of those "fill your cart and get your turkey for pennies" holiday grocery promotions around here this year than in previous years. I suspect our stores' usual suppliers were pretty hard hit by bird flu.

Speaking of full carts, I'm seeing far fewer of those, too. I used to constantly see people in the supermarket with carts loaded up past the topline, but I very seldom see that anymore; either they are making do with a lot fewer extras or they are shopping for smaller amounts more often.

I think part of that is a trend that pre-dates both the pandemic and rising prices; I know a lot fewer people who stock up on shelf stable stuff and a lot more people who are making the effort to "shop the perimeter" even though it means shopping more often. Meijer still runs their "10 for $10" sales but I see fewer people with carts full of Chef Boyardee and Spaghetti Os and Hamburger Helper even when the sale price is the same as it has always been. And that change has been around long enough that it has actually reshaped the shelf allocation at some of our local stores - the ones that are recently remodeled have larger produce and dairy departments, with more room for pre-cut fruit and veggies, pre-packaged salads/sushi/sandwiches, and a better selection of cheeses, yogurts and snack packs and relatively less shelf space. The same desire for "real food" without a ton of time and effort that Hello Fresh and all the other ingredient delivery services sprung up to accommodate is shaping how people grocery shop too. It'll be interesting to see if that changes as prices rise. Will people go back to cheaper filler foods like mac & cheese, pasta, just-add-meat "helpers", etc. or continue to prefer fresher food despite the cost?

 

[barkley]

I don't get the angst over the cost of turkey. Compared to any other meat it's cheap. Even at 2 dollars a pound.

Especially when you can usually get at least a couple of meals and a soup out of it!

a couple of meals? a couple of weeks ago we just finished up the last of last year's turkey (made soup, still have 1 container in the freezer) but we get at least a dozen meals after the thanksgiving and post thanksgiving gorge fest but i'm with you on the prices-even at what they are going for now it's a bargain. we are planning on doing the same thing we did last year-2 smaller (for us-10/12'ish pounders) one in the oven and one on the big green egg (smoked turkey pizza is an awesome treat)

 

[TwoMisfits]

LOL my mother would get a 25+ pounder for 4 people. Gallons of Turkey Soup. Gallons upon Gallons of Turkey Soup. And by the time we ate it all, another one for Christmas.

My spouse has told me when I redeem the free one, to get the biggest...

Normally, I get a 12-14lber for our family of 6. But he wants the 21-22lber. I have now told him that he's gonna take it in and out of the oven if I get that one b/c I won't be able to...at least safely.

But with the price of lunch meat turkey, he wants to have a 4-5 days where he can enjoy turkey sandwiches, especially b/c my turkey is better than lunch meat turkey. Normally, he wants the turkey gone by Saturday. So, he has agreed to lift it when needed.

 

[DCLMP]

a couple of meals? a couple of weeks ago we just finished up the last of last year's turkey (made soup, still have 1 container in the freezer) but we get at least a dozen meals after the thanksgiving and post thanksgiving gorge fest but i'm with you on the prices-even at what they are going for now it's a bargain. we are planning on doing the same thing we did last year-2 smaller (for us-10/12'ish pounders) one in the oven and one on the big green egg (smoked turkey pizza is an awesome treat)

I


Id cook turkeys more often, but that would take the fun out of Thanksgiving.

 

[DCLMP]

It's just become a sport now, lol!

I just paid 8.99 a pound for chicken wings.

 

[Christine]

My spouse has told me when I redeem the free one, to get the biggest...

Normally, I get a 12-14lber for our family of 6. But he wants the 21-22lber. I have now told him that he's gonna take it in and out of the oven if I get that one b/c I won't be able to...at least safely.

But with the price of lunch meat turkey, he wants to have a 4-5 days where he can enjoy turkey sandwiches, especially b/c my turkey is better than lunch meat turkey. Normally, he wants the turkey gone by Saturday. So, he has agreed to lift it when needed.

Not sure if it's true or not but my grandmother never liked getting the "big" birds. She'd just get two smaller ones. She thought the breast meat was terrible on the larger birds. I don't know if that's true or not.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Not sure if it's true or not but my grandmother never liked getting the "big" birds. She'd just get two smaller ones. She thought the breast meat was terrible on the larger birds. I don't know if that's true or not.

I've done a big one in the past (10 years ago) when I hosted for 12. My family still loved it then...and free is free...although I guess not technically free, but paid for in another way...

 

[MICKIMINI]

We have about a dozen *free range turkeys* wandering around our back yard lately. I swear it happens around Thanksgiving every year LOL!

 

[greeneyedchick]

Just came back from the supermarket and was once again shocked at the prices. Just one example, was Skippy and Jif Peanut butter was $5.99 a jar….and not the large jars. I used to get it for like $2.50. The store brand was on sale for $1.49 so I grabbed the last one.

I then stopped for gas in the way home and realized it had gone up between 5 and 10 cents literally overnight.

Today is also the first day National Grids new pricing goes into effect for electricity which will be an increase of 65%.

This got me thinking how are people honestly feeding their families, heating their homes, paying for child care, etc. We are extremely fortunate that we are able to absorb these costs without wiping out savings, etc.. My heart goes out to those struggling now and I fear it will just get worse over the winter.

I know I have become much more conscious with our spending and have decided that I am going to try and pick up a few extra things each week and donate it to our local food pantry as well as get better at meal planning.

How are things affecting your family?

We aren't going on vacation this year. We rarely go to restaurants but we still order pizza and Chinese take out on occasion. I shop at Aldi's as much as I can and take advantage of BOGO sales. I pay much more attention to the cost of food at each store and make note of which store has the best price. We've been shopping more at Goodwill. Thankfully, upcycling clothes is trendy with my teens, so they don't mind. Altered the thermostat by a degree or two. Cut back on some streaming services. Try to be more mindful of where I'm driving. I'm also more mindful of the cost of junk food. I picked up a thing of Entenmenn's donuts today. They were $8! I thought that tha was insane since they aren't good anyway and put them back. I've done that with cookies and chips, too. It's good for my waistline.

 

[DCLMP]

I went to sprouts yesterday. I wanted some pre made mashed potatoes. They were 9.99 for a tiny container. I bought 3 russets instead. There was only a handful of potatoes left. Is there a potato shortage I haven’t hear about? Kroger was supposed to have butterball turkeys today for 99 cents a pound, but the shipment didn’t come in.

 

[White Cat]

Not sure if it's true or not but my grandmother never liked getting the "big" birds. She'd just get two smaller ones. She thought the breast meat was terrible on the larger birds. I don't know if that's true or not.

We just buy breasts. So much easier.

 

[QueenIsabella]

We have about a dozen *free range turkeys* wandering around our back yard lately. I swear it happens around Thanksgiving every year LOL!

Have you seen them fly? They look like a bowling ball with wings. Scared the snot out of me, first time one flew in front of my car!

I go for the smaller turkeys, because my family doesn't like eating them for days. OTOH, DH does love him some turkey salad for sandwiches, and DD19 doesn't eat beef or pork, so might like some turkey slices for her freezer (she lives in an on-campus apartment). So, maybe I'll go a little bigger for the second turkey I get.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Something else I focus on is that we shop at a particular grocery store on the day our football team is playing because we automatically get 5% if you are wearing anything team related (we keep an Eagles baseball hat in the car just for this purpose as a backup). Then I've been strategically using the 4 10% off coupons we received for getting our COVID and flu vaccines this year which can be combined with the 5% discount. I still have 2 left. And when they don't receive shipments for sale items I speak with courtesy to get a rain check that includes these discounts. In one particularly ridiculous situation I contacted corporate and received a more than fair credit back to my loyalty card that I plan to use for meat purchases. In this economy I don't hesitate to politely speak up when discounts or coupons are not properly applied. It takes some extra time but I find it is well worth it.

 

[focusondisney]

I went to sprouts yesterday. I wanted some pre made mashed potatoes. They were 9.99 for a tiny container. I bought 3 russets instead. There was only a handful of potatoes left. Is there a potato shortage I haven’t hear about? Kroger was supposed to have butterball turkeys today for 99 cents a pound, but the shipment didn’t come in.

Actually, there was. I‘ve read several articles, this one was good. Mostly the shortage was in August & September, but I’m sure that effected prices for premade products. Sounds like it should be easing anytime now. I know I’m still not seeing as many baking potatoes & they’re smaller than I’d like.

https://www.thepacker.com/news/produce-crops/what-idaho-potato-shortage-means-retailers-consumers

 

[barkley]

I


Id cook turkeys more often, but that would take the fun out of Thanksgiving.

when i working and doing a 90 minute commute each way turkey was my go to for weekend cooking. i could throw one in the oven in the morning and get all my housework done b/c it's so low maintenance to cook. every weekend i chose one big cooking project to create freezer meals -i did a turkey per month.

I went to sprouts yesterday. I wanted some pre made mashed potatoes. They were 9.99 for a tiny container. I bought 3 russets instead. There was only a handful of potatoes left. Is there a potato shortage I haven’t hear about?

my state produces the second largest amount in the u.s.-crops have been destroyed due to weather but also fires b/c the smoke just absorbed into the plants and ruins them. i personally like the packets of instant potatoes esp. the flavored ones like 5 cheese and such.

 

[RamblingMad]

I went to sprouts yesterday. I wanted some pre made mashed potatoes. They were 9.99 for a tiny container. I bought 3 russets instead. There was only a handful of potatoes left. Is there a potato shortage I haven’t hear about? Kroger was supposed to have butterball turkeys today for 99 cents a pound, but the shipment didn’t come in.

Sprouts isn't super dependable on produce.

 

[DCLMP]

Sprouts isn't super dependable on produce.

Since when?