I don’t think they have to justify it, they can charge whatever the hell they like.
We may not be an avowedly capitalist nation but we do have a pretty free-market economy.
You’re right when you say people are going elsewhere though.
The money grubbing mercenary bastard supermarkets are happy making money from people who will blindly continue to shop there. (I know I will, sounds like you will too)
They don’t really care if some poor people who only come in for the loss leaders go and shop somewhere else.
All business just want your money. The extra layers of pretend niceness are just to make getting it easier. You’re old enough and cynical enough to know that Chowder! They’re there for a profit. Not to make sure everyone is fed.
Yes essell I will continue to shop at Tesco but on a greatly reduced level.
It’s Aldi/Lidl for most of my basics from now on.
While I’m ranting I may as well mention the Tesco ClubCard…meh.
For every £1:00 I spend they give me back the princely sum of 1p ONE fucking penny, they send me vouchers offering 25p off Pampers and other such nonsense.
Send me vouchers for 25p off meat/bread/butter and the like, shove the pampers up your collective tight fisted supermarket rectums
The local store is now offering for sale 8 oz. Kraft cheese slices for $5.05 a package. You can buy their 16 oz American cheese slices for $5.87 last time I looked. I’ve had to cut out almost all cheese, butter, pizza and cuts of meat from my diet. I’m back to eating a lot of hot dogs which I hate. Small lemons are $1.00 a piece so none of them ever. Cooking oil is very expensive so no using it for much. The increases are hard enough, but my town has an expensive pretentious market. I hate this town.
Chances are pretty good that the store price reflects the price the store is paying their suppliers. Quite a number of foods have jumped in price recently, reflecting increases in supply, transportation, and other costs.
I just recently discovered those places here (Ireland), and man - what a freaking difference they make! Same food, half the price of SuperValu (the tyrannical grocery despot of note in County Cork).
I’m guessing the reason that even more people don’t go there is a perception that only “those people” (lower class Irish, Eastern Europeans, the elderly) would shop at them. Me, I’ve got no phony scruples at all when it comes to that kind of crap. Fuck that “brand name quality” shit halfway to next Tuesday!
A new Aldi is opening in my area. It’s the same distance away as the Jewel I shop at. As soon as they open their doors, I plan on doing the lion’s share of my grocery shopping there. I just spent $156 on a medium-sized load of stuff. And the only non-food items I had were shampoo and toilet paper!
They’re really insidious about it here in the U.S… Regular prices themselves have increased modestly on most things (more on others), but the real difference is that you used to find way more things on sale each week, now there’s hardly anything…and they’re starting to reduce package sizes, as well.
The thing about this is that while I, a comfortably middle-class, gainfully employed person, can get by well enough by tightening my belt, poorer folks and elderly folks are royally screwed. We’re about to see things not seen since the Great Depression if it keeps going like this.
And while I’m sure a lot of folks may think “Good, you stupid Yanks consume far too much, anyway”, if we as a whole moderate our consumption in a significant way, it’s going to drag the whole world’s economy straight into the shitter.
And eating “right” is more expensive than eating crap. It’s a reason that the USA has poor people who are also overweight. Fresh veg, lean meat, fresh fruit, etc, is getting expensive, while overly-processed things like boxed dinners are cheap. Starches can be cheap and filling but pack little nutritional value.
Yes–the fatty cuts of meat are much cheaper than the lean; cheese “product” are cheaper than cheese etc.
I have cut out pop (soda) almost entirely–I buy one case of it (for a family of 5) and if it’s gone, it’s gone. I now make sun tea and buy lemonade powder for the kids. And water-- tapwater’s good too. I may have to cut out the pop entirely soon.
I buy no alcohol or liquor. Can’t think the last time I had a glass of wine–I miss it sometimes (not often).
I have always washed out plastic ziploc bags for re-use (unless they had raw meat in them). I use cloth dishtowels, not paper. I use vinegar to clean the floors etc, so no expensive cleaning products there.
We eat meatless meals about twice a week now–and I’m looking at 3 times/week. Thankfully, we all like (and can eat) eggs and dairy. With 2 boys in the house, though–we go through milk like water. I’ve taken to buying an extra box or two of cereal for snacks for them (instead of chips etc–I never did a lot of that anyway).
I have always made homemade cookies/brownies etc. Thing is, real vanilla is insanely priced now (it rose steeply about a year ago), so now I use imitation (and I can’t really tell the difference).
I have no qualms about serving leftovers and frequently do.
Sending Daughter to college this fall* will help seeing as she’s vegetarian and things out of season are pricey. Let’s not forget the waste of being vegetarian, either–I shop once a week. I have no time to do more. If the produce spoils, it’s wasted money. <sigh> She’s very good about quantities etc, but even so, there is loss.
Two more things: 1. I miss eating out and take away. It’s so expensive for a family of 5. Can’t think when we last ordered a pizza or ate out as a family.
school lunches kill my food budget. The single serving packaging is expensive. The older son will buy his lunch at school; it’s the younger one. He has a lunch program (but it’s not great); he takes his lunch about 3 times a week on average. I need to eschew convenience and buy bulk and use baggies.
I do buy frozen pizzas and other frozen entrees (they have these neat Chinese meals now for $3.29 per) for the boys when I’m at work (about 3 days/week).
We are spending about $200/ week with these changes. I’m beginning to wonder if it’d be cheaper to invest in a bread maker and make our own bread. We have tomatoes and peppers growing (but that’s only summer). Back in my girlhood, we made our own yogurt–I’m thinking of doing that again as well.
What’s a mother to do?
*false economy seeing as how her meal plan alone is $2000+/year in the dorm.
What is up with that? When I was in UK, the place was crawling with sheep. You’d think it’d be cheaper than beef or chicken, no?
We subsist on chicken and pork for the most part. Lamb has always been $$$$$ here–mutton almost unheard of (and that’s ok–I like lamb, but not mutton). We eat beef about twice a month. Salmon and other fish (esp. shellfish) rarely–we’re a long walk to the beach.
the worst packaged food I ever bought was this Uncle Ben’s rice dish–Ready in 90 seconds or some shit. It was a 3 cheese entree–ok, rice and cheese, let’s give it a go (and I was thinking the boy could have it for lunches when I was at work).
OMG. I put a forkful in my mouth and ran to the sink. It was godawful.
3 small lamb chops and you need a bloody bank loan to purchase