Food has become extremely expensive

VanIsle

Always thinking
Nov 12, 2008
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We were warned that food prices would rise about 2 - 3 %. That was about 10 months ago. Not much seemed to change in any store. Then one day I went to do the usual shopping and was awe struck by the price changes. Food everywhere here (on Vancouver Island at least) is up far more than the 2 - 3% predicted. I don't understand why. Not much else has changed. Cost of fuel is about the same as it has been for the past year. It too is up far past what it should be but that's a whole other topic. Transportation costs have not really changed in the past couple of years and store owners are blaming the rise in the cost of food on things like transportation. If that's true, then why didn't they rise in price that much a couple of years ago? It's all about greed.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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I don't know what the rise in prices is about, but I'm seeing it. On my last outing to
Costco last week, I noticed that several of the items I usually buy had gone up in
price by exactly one dollar. $5.99 became $6.99, etc...and not all but several
items. Why the increase, and why exactly $1.00.....I've no idea.
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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We were warned that food prices would rise about 2 - 3 %. That was about 10 months ago. Not much seemed to change in any store. Then one day I went to do the usual shopping and was awe struck by the price changes. Food everywhere here (on Vancouver Island at least) is up far more than the 2 - 3% predicted. I don't understand why. Not much else has changed. Cost of fuel is about the same as it has been for the past year. It too is up far past what it should be but that's a whole other topic. Transportation costs have not really changed in the past couple of years and store owners are blaming the rise in the cost of food on things like transportation. If that's true, then why didn't they rise in price that much a couple of years ago? It's all about greed.

Well look to massive flooding in Australia - Crops down for the past few years in Canada - Problems in the worlds bread basket USA -
Throw in bio fuels -
Then the Govts with QE - printing more cash - Inflation is a comin. Remember the 80's with interest rates and the 70 with inflation
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Markets are being kicked wide open globally. Soon we'll see produce and products from Europe/E.Europe. More from South and Central America and even more from Asia in the stores soon enough.
 

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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We were warned that food prices would rise about 2 - 3 %. That was about 10 months ago. Not much seemed to change in any store. Then one day I went to do the usual shopping and was awe struck by the price changes. Food everywhere here (on Vancouver Island at least) is up far more than the 2 - 3% predicted. I don't understand why. Not much else has changed. Cost of fuel is about the same as it has been for the past year. It too is up far past what it should be but that's a whole other topic. Transportation costs have not really changed in the past couple of years and store owners are blaming the rise in the cost of food on things like transportation. If that's true, then why didn't they rise in price that much a couple of years ago? It's all about greed.

Yep, I can see one sure solution but can't do it by myself and the average consumer isn't helping much. First every major grocery store has one complete aisle devoted to junk food, pop and candy. Boycott that aisle. Read the flyers for every grocery store. Virtually every product with the exception of bread, eggs and milk goes on sale on a regular basis. So don't be loyal to any particular store. Pick a store and buy only what is on sale there............nothing else, that defeats the purpose of their sale. When you start there is going to be some things you have to pay full price for but within a couple of weeks they will be on sale..............buy a months supply and then when you are down to a weeks supply stock on it again where it's on sale. Have an idea in your head what is a fair price, there is no meat that is worth more than $4 a lb. unless you really need fillet mignon. Cheap cuts of meat can be very tasty, even round roasts if done in the crock pot. Boycott the delicattesan, it is a ripoff. Buy a roast and carve sandwich meat off that. We hear so much today about how strapped everyone is - well you'd never know it by looking what's in the cart ahead of you at the check out counter. :smile:

I don't know what the rise in prices is about, but I'm seeing it. On my last outing to
Costco last week, I noticed that several of the items I usually buy had gone up in
price by exactly one dollar. $5.99 became $6.99, etc...and not all but several
items. Why the increase, and why exactly $1.00.....I've no idea.

Because most people are mesmerized with the 99 cents they don't notice the dollar amount. :lol:
 

VanIsle

Always thinking
Nov 12, 2008
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What JLM says regarding stocking up sale items for a month is a good estimate. Don't become a hoarder but - from each grocery flyer that comes to your house, save each for about 6 weeks or 4 weeks. You will begin to see a pattern of what comes on special and when. I used to noitce that the store I worked at had a definite pattern of sale items week by week. This would go on for months and then something would change. When you start to notice changes happening, start saving the flyers again for the same time frame. I guess it will take longer than I've said because you will need to double up. The flyer will have the same items in it week by week for about 4 - 6 weeks but you will have to save the next 4 - 6 weeks to make your comparisons. Flyer #1 will likely be a repeat of Flyer #5 or 6 for example.
Ya gotta love those signs that state the store has checked out the item for you and is competitively priced. No they haven't and no they are not on most products - just the ones that really stand out and that a lot of people buy.
Don't assume that because something is in a sales flyer that it is on sale. Read. Many items have words like "on for the regular low price of".
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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What JLM says regarding stocking up sale items for a month is a good estimate. Don't become a hoarder but - from each grocery flyer that comes to your house, save each for about 6 weeks or 4 weeks. You will begin to see a pattern of what comes on special and when. I used to noitce that the store I worked at had a definite pattern of sale items week by week. This would go on for months and then something would change. When you start to notice changes happening, start saving the flyers again for the same time frame. I guess it will take longer than I've said because you will need to double up. The flyer will have the same items in it week by week for about 4 - 6 weeks but you will have to save the next 4 - 6 weeks to make your comparisons. Flyer #1 will likely be a repeat of Flyer #5 or 6 for example.
Ya gotta love those signs that state the store has checked out the item for you and is competitively priced. No they haven't and no they are not on most products - just the ones that really stand out and that a lot of people buy.
Don't assume that because something is in a sales flyer that it is on sale. Read. Many items have words like "on for the regular low price of".

Some commodities to watch are coffee - sugar - A number of years ago I saw the future prices, and stocked up like crazy - I recall seeing it at 14-15 $ for a large Maxwell can. I had a hard time convincing my wife at the time. After that she was a convert.

And I bulk up - When i see a 25 % savings I bulk up.
 

VanIsle

Always thinking
Nov 12, 2008
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I don't know what the rise in prices is about, but I'm seeing it. On my last outing to
Costco last week, I noticed that several of the items I usually buy had gone up in
price by exactly one dollar. $5.99 became $6.99, etc...and not all but several
items. Why the increase, and why exactly $1.00.....I've no idea.
I've resisted the urge to buy a Costco membership for over a year - probably closer to 2 years. I finally gave in the other day. I was so shocked I was wishing later that I had simply walked back to the counter without a single purchase and asked for a return of my money. Things are not just up by a dollar. Lots of items I looked at were up by a dollar over other stores I shop at and Costco is the only one nervey enough to charge a membership fee and we are stupid enough to pay it. It's the last time I'll pay it. The first membership I ever purchased for their store cost about $35.00. A few days ago I paid about $64.00. Since I could see no savings through shopping there, I will never make up the money. That is supposed to be the idea of the membership. I think Costco is the biggest cheater of all box stores.

Tell me: Why is is that men look at a price - say - $59.99 and they see it as $59.00 and women will see the same price as $60.00?
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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I've resisted the urge to buy a Costco membership for over a year - probably closer to 2 years. I finally gave in the other day. I was so shocked I was wishing later that I had simply walked back to the counter without a single purchase and asked for a return of my money. Things are not just up by a dollar. Lots of items I looked at were up by a dollar over other stores I shop at and Costco is the only one nervey enough to charge a membership fee and we are stupid enough to pay it. It's the last time I'll pay it. The first membership I ever purchased for their store cost about $35.00. A few days ago I paid about $64.00. Since I could see no savings through shopping there, I will never make up the money. That is supposed to be the idea of the membership. I think Costco is the biggest cheater of all box stores.

Tell me: Why is is that men look at a price - say - $59.99 and they see it as $59.00 and women will see the same price as $60.00?

I shop at Costco - and I save money - Depends upon what your purchases are - also I get a refund at the end of each year that more than pays the membership fee.
 

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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What JLM says regarding stocking up sale items for a month is a good estimate. Don't become a hoarder but - from each grocery flyer that comes to your house, save each for about 6 weeks or 4 weeks. You will begin to see a pattern of what comes on special and when. I used to noitce that the store I worked at had a definite pattern of sale items week by week. This would go on for months and then something would change. When you start to notice changes happening, start saving the flyers again for the same time frame. I guess it will take longer than I've said because you will need to double up. The flyer will have the same items in it week by week for about 4 - 6 weeks but you will have to save the next 4 - 6 weeks to make your comparisons. Flyer #1 will likely be a repeat of Flyer #5 or 6 for example.
Ya gotta love those signs that state the store has checked out the item for you and is competitively priced. No they haven't and no they are not on most products - just the ones that really stand out and that a lot of people buy.
Don't assume that because something is in a sales flyer that it is on sale. Read. Many items have words like "on for the regular low price of".

And one more thing don't get sucked in by "Two for the price of one", you'll notice pork chops at $35 a kg. :lol:

You can save some money at Costco if you are feeding a large family and a lot on non edible products that you can buy in huge quantities. There is no saving on their meat. There is not much choice of brand names at Costco. I quit them years ago. You can do as well by watching flyers and case lot sales.
 

gerryh

Time Out
Nov 21, 2004
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And one more thing don't get sucked in by "Two for the price of one", you'll notice pork chops at $35 a kg. :lol:

You can save some money at Costco if you are feeding a large family and a lot on non edible products that you can buy in huge quantities. There is no saving on their meat. There is not much choice of brand names at Costco. I quit them years ago. You can do as well by watching flyers and case lot sales.



Hmmmm..... buying whole beef tenderloin from Costco and cutting your own steaks is ALOT cheaper than buying tenderloin steaks from Safeway. Same with the rib roasts. Check the price per kilo.
 

JLM

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Hmmmm..... buying whole beef tenderloin from Costco and cutting your own steaks is ALOT cheaper than buying tenderloin steaks from Safeway. Same with the rib roasts. Check the price per kilo.

O K I was basing my opinion on when I held a membership which I haven't done for years. Meat used to be quite expensive there, although the cuts were generally top notch.
 

bill barilko

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Mar 4, 2009
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There is not much choice of brand names at Costco. I quit them years ago. You can do as well by watching flyers
X2 they are a clip joint just like all clip joints.

I do notice a lot of non-food items particularly soap becoming cheaper and cheaper-which means it was grossly overpriced in the past.
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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If you're surprised by this, you don't understand the concept of Costco.

On a related note, I'm noticing that the other major chains are cutting down on the number of brands they carry, too.

The more product lines for similar items p say spaghetti - sauce etc - the higher cost for labor, transportation, warehouse space is more congested, causing surplus - deficiencies - wrong items shipped etc. All drives up cost.
Larger buys of a single product results in lower per unit costs at all levels of distribution.
 

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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Also keep an eye on stores besides the grocery stores, sometimes drug stores, hardware stores, dollar stores carry sundry grocery items, I've been known to get a good deal on coffee at hardware stores.
 

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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As regards the subject line-food is still relatively cheap in Canada-anyone who's lived in other countries could tell you that.

That is true, one of the signs actually that we have a higher standard of living than most countries in the world................but that doesn't mean we shouldn't defend outselves from being ripped off by the likes of Jimmy Pattison and Garfield Weston.

How many stores still buy and warehouse product? You'd be surprised at how much is just on consignment.

Ooooooooooooh that explains the head cheese (J.M.Schneiders in the tub) I bought from Buy Lo Foods a years or so ago and when I opened it a couple of days later it was green. (And it wasn't St. Paddy's Day)