It finally happened. I experienced sticker shock at Albertsons the other day to the extent that I bought just a few specials and walked away without the other items on my list. The bananas were “Grinch” green. Mashed potato packs were $1.99! And they were out of their store brand of refrigerator biscuits, an advertised special. I suspect they began this sales campaign without them. In my opinion, there’s no excuse for not having adequate stock of an advertised special, especially when it’s your own label.
We were on our way to Walmart anyway, so we finished our shopping there. Walmart has better everyday prices but presents other difficulties. They reconfigured the store last year and pushed the aisles closer together, which means that there’s no hope of social distancing at this crowded venue. Two carts can barely pass in the aisles, and the store is dark. To me, this says they built the store too small to begin with. And then, unless you have a large order, you have to check yourself out. I guess it’s preferable to waiting in line for 15 minutes, but knowing that I must keep my cartload manageable for the self-check, I limit the number of items I buy at one time. You’d think this would be a consideration for the retailer, but maybe I’m in the minority.
You probably know there’s an egg shortage now due to avian flu and other issues affecting supply. The article I read said that some retailers are just not carrying eggs now because of the exorbitant price. I also use egg substitutes, and of course, the price of those is affected as well. I baked a box cake last week and noticed that the directions said I could substitute 1/4th cup of Greek yogurt for each egg. As it happened, Silas left two partial containers in the fridge amounting to ½ cup, and I used egg sub for the third egg. I was careful not to overbake the cake, and it was moist and delicious. I will try that substitution again. I’m also researching the appropriate use of other egg substitutes, including applesauce, bananas, and flaxseed meal.
Of course, I have eggs at the moment. I bought a box of 18 at Walmart for less than $5.00. KW
[I find the above "Christmas" card thought-provoking. Apparently it's negative statement wasn't seen by those who commissioned it. The message inside is rather impersonal. I suspect it was a business card sent by a broker to his clients.]
I have been shocked for months! I seriously don't know how young families are coping with the prices. I'm a frugal cook, old habits die hard, but even so, certain things must be purchased like eggs, butter, milk, flour, etc. I'm thankful we have a Winco here. I've not shopped our Walmart for food, or for that matter, the Target has food, too. I'm not a fan of self-checkout, so sounds like Walmart wouldn't work for me, anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhen grocery prices began to be noticeably higher, and not by just a little bit, I was grateful that I wasn't feeding teen-aged boys. I went to the store just about every day when my boys were teen-agers. It just felt like they ate anything that was in the cupboard. And I was philosophical about inflation at first, thinking that it was just the two of us and we could weather it through. But now I see the problem on a deeper level. Value for the money is important to me, and I'm old-fashioned in that regard. People have to eat, and we need our staples.
ReplyDeleteI will say that Walmart's self-check is better than Winco's. (We self-check at Winco if we have just a few items, and the bagging area is extremely sensitive.) But I still feel that if the store values my patronage, they should politely provide customer service.
I fear that as I grow older, I will find it harder to navigate the retail world.
Amen to that. It is getting more difficult to do anything. Only answer is to not get old. I've already lost on that front.
ReplyDeleteChris: is there a Target in Moscow now?
ReplyDeleteI've had sticker shock especially at Safeway, so we try to stick to Fred Meyer (Kroger) for the bulk of our groceries. I can't say that there's a lot of belt tightening here with respect to groceries. A person has to eat. We try to save in other ways.
Hi Hallie, yes, we have a Target in Moscow now. It's a smaller one, apparently, but it's nice to have. It's down where the Bon/Macy's used to be. They put on addition on the west side, making it quite a bit bigger than the original space. And I have to agree--there's not a lot of belt tightening with regard to groceries here, either. But as I said, I'm a frugal cook anyway. (:
ReplyDeleteMike and I also find we already follow most of the cost-cutting suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI suppose, if I were so inclined, I would check out Grocery Outlet more often, but we are conservative with the gasoline. We make trips to town when we can accomplish several errands at once so that we make our trips count. And Mike often runs errand on his motorcycle. motorcycle.