Are groceries becoming a luxury now a days?

[Apple1996]

I usually shop at stores like Aldi and Walmart to save money but even there the prices are getting crazy high 🤯

Yes groceries are a luxury. Only the rich can afford to eat

Eh groceries are not a luxury but they are getting pricey

Nah groceries are still affordable

[abc3643]

Groceries aren't a luxury but a necessity. However, many "groceries" aren't a necessity so, if you really want to save money, don't buy those, but channel your money into real groceries.

For instance, do you really need soda / pop? No, but you do need to stay hydrated and healthy. So, instead of the calories and overpricedness of soda, consider a substitute. For instance, when I go to ALDI, I will buy a liter of diet tonic water. None of the sugar, but considerable flavor in a lot of soda. Price? 79 or 89 cents a bottle, I think. I buy like a half-dozen at a time. But all of the sparking / flavored waters there are cheap but satisfying without all that cavity- and diabetes-inducing sugar.

Got a sweet tooth? Grill vegetables. The caramelization process during grilling veggies gives them a natural sweetness that isn't there before grilling. Once you start grilling veggies, it's like seeing God and you will have a nutritional and culinary epiphany. But veggies are both cheaper and more nutritious than candy bars or other empty-calorie sweets. AND, you can grow them yourself for free.

Wanna save on toilet paper? If your shower has a showerhead connected to a hose, then you can go in the tub and literally "bidet" your dirty asshole in the shower. It's also easier on the septic system and you can be more certain that you are clean down there. (I had to learn this the hard way living in hotels that got no service during COVID and TP was in short supply.)

There are oceans of things you can do to save money on groceries and supplies. Shopping at ALDI is a major step toward that. Consider the market for "salvage food" which is food sold after the "best buy date". The best buy date doesn't mean that food goes miraculously bad by Cinderella at midnight. But, because people have a stigma about the date, they don't buy it so that food often will go to salvage grocers who can sell things at a deep discount.

https://www.buysalvagefood.com/

Dented, Dated, Discontinued? At the Salvage Grocery, It’s Called a Deal
Salvage food stores have long been a lure for the frugal and the intrepid. But inflation, environmentalism and some clever rebranding are expanding the fan base.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/dining/salvage-stores-inflation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.QE0.ERQe.UL6Za_eHvTKx&smid=url-share

[zeitgeist057]

Things are getting expensive and will only continue to do so more and more. Also, the lower and middle class people will continue to be squeezed for as much work as possible for as little pay as possible. This is the issue with raising the minimum wage to $15 or $20. It doesn't matter to the rich who control resources. They pay the workers more, then charge more for the goods and services their companies provide, and everyone is paying $20 for a burger. It's the same as when a burger was $5 and the minimum wage was $5.

Additionally, humans continue to overpopulate the planet, 8 billion is not enough, they need to keep having more babies, it's their right to choke out all other life on the planet. The oceans are already being over-fished and we've come to a point where the damage is done and the remaining fish aren't able to reproduce fast enough. Fishermen catch less because there is less to catch (but more human mouths to feed) and the prices of seafood skyrocket. When burgers are $25, I predict it will be $50 for the salmon plate.

Enjoy it while you can, your grandchildren certainly won't be.

Fun fact, there used to be over 50 million wild buffalo roaming America. Now they are around 1/2 million domesticated and less than 50K in the wild.

[IslaTheWitch]

They are for sure more pricey than they were a year ago, but I think they are still affordable :) At least my bread is nowhere to be found if I go in the afternoon and it's not so cheap...

[Apple1996]

I make bread at home a lot because it's cheaper than buying it at the store

[KostasKouvalis]

Are you talking about Germany?

[IslaTheWitch]

I don't know how to make that bread... I do rolls and normal bread at home, but this one I buy...

[IslaTheWitch]

@KostasKouvalis yes sir, and Poland, as I'm there equally often

[KostasKouvalis]

Everything is ALWAYS expensive for Polish people :p

[IslaTheWitch]

@KostasKouvalis but except for IT, salaries are visible lower...

[KostasKouvalis]

From MY personal experience, Polish people want high wages and low prices. Everyone does, but most people don't actually say it. LOL

I remember watching a video from a Dominican Republican guy, "5 things I don't like about Poland." Someone wrote him a comment, "Finally you complain like a real Polish man!" LOL

[mooky06]

Not a luxury and yes they are getting pricey. I try and shop for the week and alternate between any supermarket that has a good sale on food products

[lightbulb27]

time to grow a garden, but it's a lot of work and not free either.

I see lots of people shopping... I also hear many people in the food handoutlines for free food. inflation...

The basics work... beans, rice, shop for deals on meats. Takes time, hope you have support.

I figured these days would come, I was planting trees and gardening long ago thinking prices would go up and sizes would go down. I thought was going to come a decade ago, it just took some time for the inflation to hit home. I don't think it's near over.

some places have it worse... see Venezuala. we are lucky in USA as our govt can steal from the world, but won't get away with it forever. God help us...

[imtiaz45]

In some cases, groceries are becoming a luxury for certain individuals or families due to economic challenges and rising prices. Factors such as inflation, supply chain disruptions, and economic downturns can contribute to increased food costs. Vulnerable populations may face difficulties affording essential groceries, leading to food insecurity. However, the extent to which groceries become a luxury varies across regions and socioeconomic groups. Government assistance programs, community initiatives, and efforts to address economic inequalities are crucial in alleviating these challenges and ensuring that access to nutritious food remains a basic necessity rather than a luxury.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nsVhXWrYVME

[petitedollbabee]

They’re getting that way. A decent shop for the fortnight is $250.. prices are getting ridiculous in most countries. It’s currently $50 for a watermelon here 🥴

[Apple1996]

Omg 50$ for a watermelon is crazy! 😳

[petitedollbabee]

Tell me about it 😭 I don’t know if there was a shortage or what, but at one point in December, they were $60 each.

[JacobJordan]

Cost of living has skyrocketed in the US but the amount people are paid seemingly has gone down or not increased. I already have all my staff being paid very well and I still gave them more because it is amazing how easily to keep staff when you pay them well

[KittygosMeoWW]

Yes, I think eating healthy has always been more expensive but the fact that we have to fear non lab grown food is crazy. I split my groceries between a couple stores now because I bought meat from Walmart once and noticed the chicken at was so weird and would fall apart while I was chopping it.

[DryGermanGuy]

As a German, it’s so funny reading or hearing Americans talk about Aldi. 😂

[Apple1996]

Haha why? Do you guys have that store there?

[RebelinSteel]

@Apple1996 that is even more funny

[Apple1996]

@RebelinSteel am I just being dumb? Is that a German store? 😂

[RebelinSteel]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

[Apple1996]

@RebelinSteel oh I didn't even know lol

[RebelinSteel]

@Apple1996 yep I noticed lol.

[IslaTheWitch]

@Apple1996 don't worry; most people in Poland see OBI, Aldi, Kaufland, and other German companies as native Polish... It's normal. I sit over the border, so I know, but how should they know? No one even thinks of the origins of the store they make shopping every day, right?

[DryGermanGuy]

@Apple1996
Aldi = Albrecht Diskont. It does not get more German than that. 🙂

[Unit1]

It's starting to become a luxury slowly, yes. Even I can't afford to eat 3-4 times a day with a useless bachelors degree in computer science. Geeky shit isn't highly paid.

[Apple1996]

Oh no sorry to hear about the useless degree 😕

[Unit1]

I can barely buy food for myself and women expect me to buy them meals.

[Dargil]

But we have a tropical greenhouse and a garden. We provide some groceries for ourselves.

[Apple1996]

Yeah I usually have a garden in the summertime so that helps a little

[Dargil]

My Filipino wife worked in a farm family until she was 18. She knows stuff. She also had an Armalite AR15 to protect her from Communist and Muslim insurgents. She lived on Mindanao, which is like the Old West.

[Fuentes]

Lol that photo says that's a "cute Japanese Girls with guns"

[Dargil]

@Fuentes What she had including the camo.

[milyjohn]

I met some Filipino guys who live in America. I asked them if they had a visit planned to go back to Phils. They said they would never go for a visit during an election year. So I can understand the Armalite.

[Nice222]

Yes the prices are much higher that last few years, along with everything else. Luckily it is helping me stick to my interment fasting diet. I made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get healthier and so far I have lost weight and saved money by buying less groceries.

[Paris13]

For Those Who Have Even a Big Family Or a Single Pringle on a Tight Budget----Sure Thing. xxoo

[Sharkstealth]

I went to play "free pool" on Sunday night at a bar with about 8 tables. It cost me $42.00 for a small Philly cheese steak much like I would make at home and a couple drinks non alcohol. I would rather buy groceries and play my free pool at home but yes prices are ridiculous now.

[Apple1996]

Eating out I also getting expensive

[jamesgoldman]

They've gone up not unaffordable here but the stores are competing with each other it's a race to the bottom

I don't think it'll get to the point of the baked bean wars of the 1990's

[Agent_Elflord]

It’s nuts, especially with the more nutritious foods

[Apple1996]

So true healthy foods cost more

[Pete671]

Try ASDA yellow brand range, if you are UK, and shop in the evening at the discount shelf. You really need, perhaps, to shop at different places for each shop. And watch the price per kg,,, And don't shop when u r hungry,,,

[exitseven]

price of food has doubled in the last 3 years. We buy more store brands and don't buy luxuries.

[dolemite58]

I can’t believe how few things I’ll get at the store and I’m still always dropping over a $100 😒 can’t wait to have a big garden.

[Apple1996]

I wish I would have done a winter garden 😕

[Guido]

It costs a lot more than it should for one of life's necessary expenses.

The big grocery chain stores are making record profits by gouging us the customers. We cannot boycott them as we still need to eat and they all do it.

[milyjohn]

It's ridiculous. But I think it's by design.

[Keith469]

Inflation has been awful worldwide since COVID disrupted supply chains. Although 46 gets blamed because it's his watch now, it was 45's narcissism that caused all the mayhem.

[Nikki1989]

Not for us, but we only spend 200-300 a month on groceries.