Spam sales up on BUDGET concerns?

[tonilea]

Is it just me or do my fellow budgeteers think Spam is expensive. According to this ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24861341/ ) article, the average price is $2.62 for a 12 oz can. I rarely pay more than $2 a pound for meat (chicken, beef and pork) and usually more like $1.

Because I am a nerd, I figured up the price per pound for Spam - based on this article and it is $3.49. That really isn't cheap!

 

[3NJDisneyDivas]

$1 for a pound of meat?!?!
WOW. Around here, the best price for chop meat or chicken breast is $1.99 a pound for 3 pounds or more.
As for spam, even if they were giving it away, I wouldn't eat it. My mother used to make some n-a-s-t-y food growing up & fried spam slices was one of them.
Lisa

 

[tonilea]

$1 for a pound of meat?!?!
WOW. Around here, the best price for chop meat or chicken breast is $1.99 a pound for 3 pounds or more.
As for spam, even if they were giving it away, I wouldn't eat it. My mother used to make some n-a-s-t-y food growing up & fried spam slices was one of them.
Lisa

I never pay more than $1 a pound for chicken breast (bone in). I just debone them at home. I got ground round this week for $1.99. Pork steaks or chops I can usually get for $1 lb (bone in, of course).

 

[3NJDisneyDivas]

I never pay more than $1 a pound for chicken breast (bone in). I just debone them at home. I got ground round this week for $1.99. Pork steaks or chops I can usually get for $1 lb (bone in, of course).

That's great. I wish we had those prices here in NJ. Just curious, I see you are in Arkansas, what is the gas prices like? Here it is (as of yesterday) $3.77 a gallon. Plus we can't to pump it ourselves. Everything has gone up around here. The best price for soda I've seen in months was 12 packs of Pepsi 5 for$10. That was the norm last summer.
Lisa

 

[rockyroad]

That's great. I wish we had those prices here in NJ. Just curious, I see you are in Arkansas, what is the gas prices like? Here it is (as of yesterday) $3.77 a gallon. Plus we can't to pump it ourselves. Everything has gone up around here. The best price for soda I've seen in months was 12 packs of Pepsi 5 for$10. That was the norm last summer.
Lisa

I think that she is talking about finding a deal and stocking up.

I live just across the river in Tn and I have seen bone in chicken breast on sale for $1 a pound a couple of time in the last few months, but I have never seen pork or beef for that price.

I usually keep some Treat in the cupboard.
We like it better than Spam and there is a lower fat version.

My mom used to cut it into little cubes and brown them and add them to a big salad with lots of homegrown cherry tomatoes and her homemade salad dressing...yumm...
Or use it, cut thin and fried almost crispy, instead of bacon on a blt.

I have noticed that the sale price of soft drinks has really increased.
I haven't seen a 12 pack for $2 in a long time.

 

[tonilea]

That's great. I wish we had those prices here in NJ. Just curious, I see you are in Arkansas, what is the gas prices like? Here it is (as of yesterday) $3.77 a gallon. Plus we can't to pump it ourselves. Everything has gone up around here. The best price for soda I've seen in months was 12 packs of Pepsi 5 for$10. That was the norm last summer.
Lisa

Gas was $3.79 yesterday. Milk was $3.38, but I did get at Sam's last week for $3.04. $2.50 is the best I have been able to do on a 12 pk of soda in a long time w/o coupons (and those are few and far between).

I use price matching at Wal-Mart which saves me about 40% on my grocery bill. I even got some Top Sirloin steaks the other day for $1.99 lb.

And yes, I do stock up. I recently got split chicken breasts for .79 lb and bought five 5.5lb packages. Deboned and repackaged, then I take the bones and some of the tenders and boil them in a stockpot and use it to make chicken noodle soup and use the rest of the boiled chicken for chicken salad or in recipes that use chunked chicken.

I also got Farmland bacon this week for .50 a lb. The store had it two for five and I had some $2 off one coupons.

 

[3NJDisneyDivas]

I
I usually keep some Treat in the cupboard.
We like it better than Spam and there is a lower fat version.

My mom used to cut it into little cubes and brown them and add them to a big salad with lots of homegrown cherry tomatoes and her homemade salad dressing...yumm...
Or use it, cut thin and fried almost crispy, instead of bacon on a blt.

What is Treat?
Maybe I will re-visit Spam & do it thin & crispy. I'm still a little skeered of it.

 

[IlliniMouse]

Spam is always in my cupboard. My Mom was born and raised in Hawaii where Spam is a staple. If the docks strike and nothing can get in, Spam has a long shelf life and is pretty versatile. I make spam fried rice, spam musubi, stir fry with fresh green beans and eggs, or fry spam to serve with breakfast. It has went up in price, but I can still get it here for $1.99 on sale.

For the posted wondering about other prices..Gas here in NW IL is $4.15. (We're 2 hours from Chicago, so that isn't a Chicago price. ) Pop sales here for Memorial Day weekend were great. We could get 24 packs of Pepsi for $4.99 + get a free 12 pack with the purchase of two 24 packs. Otherwise 4/$12 is a good deal here. I've noticed you just don't find TP and paper towels 2/$10 anymore. 2/$11 seems to be the best price with 2/$12 being the norm.

 

[Todd&Copper]

I had a coupon for a free single serve packet of SPAM and bought it last month (well, got it for free). Upon opening the package, I thought it smelled weird, but I re-sliced it into thinner pieces and fried it up. When it was slightly golden, I tried to eat it, but the texture was not conducive to my liking and it ended up in the trash.

I'd have to be very, very hungry to try SPAM again.

I do stock up on the white albacore tuns when it goes on sale for 88 cents a can. I do love me a tuna sammich!

 

[budbeerlady]

Spam has always reminded me of cat food. There is just a texture thing I cannot get over!

 

[tonilea]

Spam has always reminded me of cat food. There is just a texture thing I cannot get over!

It leaves a "film" on the roof of my mouth that just gags me. I don't think I could stomach it if it was free!

 

[disneyfan55]

That's great. I wish we had those prices here in NJ. Just curious, I see you are in Arkansas, what is the gas prices like? Here it is (as of yesterday) $3.77 a gallon. Plus we can't to pump it ourselves. Everything has gone up around here. The best price for soda I've seen in months was 12 packs of Pepsi 5 for$10. That was the norm last summer.
Lisa

I do find these types of discounts here in NJ. About 3-4 weeks ago ShopRite had a whole boneless porkoin for .99 lb. They would even cut it up for free if you asked. There was a limit of one per visit, but still a great offer. This week they have a 2 pack of london broil for 1.49 per pound. You have to watch for the deals in the newspaper. There is also a great sale on ground beef at Shop Rite. Buy when on sale and stock up. That's what I've always done but now it's so much more important.

 

[Sgt.Tibbs]

Spam has always reminded me of cat food. There is just a texture thing I cannot get over!

lol...that is how I feel about canned tuna! However, i am not much of a fish person to begin with, but every once in a while I will have a tuna salad sandwich. Same with Spam, I grew up on it and every once in a while I will buy it and fry it up. It has to be fried though...I CANNOT eat that stuff cold. GAG

 

[tinytink]

OMG, we love spam. Slice it up and put it between sliced white bread, slice and fry it up and with rice and corn, fried spam and eggs, I can go on and on. I just have not purchased it in a while because it's almost $3 per can here in VA even when it's on sale it's $2.50. It's a great quick fix meal and very popular in Hawaii so I hear. They even serve it at McDonalds in Hawaii.

I love SPAM it's totally SPAM-O. lol

 

[musical2]

This just brings up memories of what we do around a campfire. We would cube Spam, put it in aluminum foil, add, potatoes, onions, and carrots in with it. Put a little olive oil in there so it doesn't stick to the foil. Wrap it closed, then put a grate over the fire and throw it on. It would cook till it sizzles, then we would open it up and eat it for dinner around the camp. Good campground fare!

Sometimes at home the kids ask for it. Then, I do the same thing and throw it on the gas grill.

 

[nunzia]

Is it just me or do my fellow budgeteers think Spam is expensive. According to this ( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24861341/ ) article, the average price is $2.62 for a 12 oz can. I rarely pay more than $2 a pound for meat (chicken, beef and pork) and usually more like $1.

Because I am a nerd, I figured up the price per pound for Spam - based on this article and it is $3.49. That really isn't cheap!

I saw that and thought the same thing! We like SPAM and buy it in 3 packs at SAMS, but I wouldn't call it cheap.

 

[minkydog]

Holy cow! I didn't even know people eat SPAM anymore! I think my mother overdosed us on SPAM and Jello when we were kids. Just the thought of that greasy meat I think I'd rather just be vegetarian if SPAM is my best meat option.

 

[DawnM]

We never buy spam unless I have to get together a gag gift!

We had a friend in CA who used to eat a lot of spam with mac and cheese while he was single. The first meal he cooked for his (now) wife was mac and cheese with spam.....

I don't eat meat anyway, so spam would be even grosser. We also have cut out most processed foods completely (no soda, no soups, and such) other than chips....my family loves potato chips. I figure that is that is their only vice, we are doing fairly well.

Yes, it is expensive, but it also isn't a meat that you typically eat alone. It goes on a sandwich, in a casserole, or is mixed with eggs or noodles or whatever, so that cuts cost over serving a chicken breast whole on a plate.

Dawn

 

[Ciao Mickey]

I do find these types of discounts here in NJ. About 3-4 weeks ago ShopRite had a whole boneless porkoin for .99 lb. They would even cut it up for free if you asked. There was a limit of one per visit, but still a great offer. This week they have a 2 pack of london broil for 1.49 per pound. You have to watch for the deals in the newspaper. There is also a great sale on ground beef at Shop Rite. Buy when on sale and stock up. That's what I've always done but now it's so much more important.

I love Shop-Rite.

I went to Shop-Rite yesterday and they had meatloaf mixture (veal, pork and beef) on sale for $2.69 per lb. I use it when I make my Bolognese sauce.

They also had the ground beef for $1.69 per lb. for the family pack (3 lbs. or more), so I bought a package for burgers (which we grilled tonight). It was the 80%, I ususally buy 85% or higher, but I figured the excess fat would burn off on the grill. They were very good.

I couldn't believe celery was $2.99 and a stinking cucumber was $1.69 for one.

Never tried Spam.

 

[mpls_mm]

I'm sure Spam is cheaper in Minnesota but it is on my list of meats that don't enter the house. It keeps Vienna Sausage, sardines, canned oysters, and canned salmon company on my list. What is that congealed stuff in Vienna sausage anyway?