Just a thought…I have a “Thoughts on Inflation(political thread)” in the political forum that would be good to continue the conversation. This is for general discussion in the Parent cafe.
4 Likes
Maybe a moderator could move the political posts to the appropriate spot?
3 Likes
Many credit cards give 2% back on everything. Some give 3+% back on groceries. This makes the comparison 5% off at Target vs ~2.5% off elsewhere. Target would need to be no more than 5 -2.5% = 2.5% higher priced than where you’d alternatively shop to come out ahead. If they prices were identical, you’d save an average of ~$2 on a $80 grocery bill. However, prices are not the same, at least at my local Target.
You mentioned Walmart, so I’ll list the prices of some example products. My nearest Target averages ~15% more than my nearest Walmart, in spite of being located in the same plaza with each other. Target also has far inferior selection, including not offering rotisserie chicken or other deli services. I’d have net loss on nearly every item purchased at Target, even when considering the 5% off debit card.
- Banana – $0.24 Walmart, $0.35 Target (45% higher at Target)
- Cantaloupe – $2.98 Walmart, $3.59 Target (20% higher at Target)
- Starkist Tuna – $4.56 Walmart, $5.49 Target (20% higher at Target)
- Frozen Tilapia – $9.42 Walmart, $10.49 Target (11% higher at Target)
- Frozen Broccoli Florets – $1.16 Walmart, $1.29 Target (11% higher at Target)
- Non-Fat Milk – $1.74 Walmart, $1.89 Target, (9% higher at Target)
- Toasted O’s Cereal – $1.74 Walmart, $3.49 Target (100% higher at Target, no store brand at Target, so using Cheerios)
- Rotisserie Chicken – $5.97 Walmart, Not sold at Target (no good alternative)
In my experience a far more effective way to save on groceries is to not limit to a single grocer. Instead buy specific products at the grocer that is lowest price for that product, considering all available discounts/sales. Stock up on items that store well, rather than making lots of extra grocery trips.
For example, I typically go to Walmart and Costco ~1x per month. I stock up on the specific products that are lowest cost at Walmart/Costco during my monthly trips. For things that spoil quickly, like fruit, I instead go to a nearby grocery or supermarket each week, when i happen to be in the plaza. I also favor in seasons or on sale fruits.
I vary my shopping based on sales and discounts offered that week. My local supermarket has far higher stocker prices than Walmart/Costco, but each week there are a small number of specific products that are far lower priced than Walmart/Costco after sales/discounts. Some have steep enough discounts that the grocer takes a loss on the product, which they expect to may up on the other sticker priced foods. If you do all your shopping at that grocery, you’ll typically have a loss, in spite of the sale. However, if you instead stock up on the products that are on sale and don’t buy the high sticker priced products that are not on sale, you’ll come out ahead.
I also take advantage of things like grocery delivery discounts. While delivery services typically have markup and fees, many also regularly offer 40-50% off groceries if you spend $XX type deals. Credit cards also may give an additional $15 off. When these deals are stacked, net cost is often lower than any in store purchase. There also savings on gas + wear on car, as well as time savings.
By using strategies like above, I average ~$200/month on food for a mostly healthy ~3000 calories per day, in a VHCOL area that tends to have higher food prices.
4 Likes
I’ve always been able to pinch a penny, but I do so now more than ever.
I live in an area where we have Wal-Mart, Meijer and Kroger all in a row on the same side of the street. Across the street is Aldi. I won’t go to Aldi because I find I do just as well elsewhere, and it’s an extra trip for me because they don’t open till 9 a.m. after I’ve run my grocery errands. For me personally, it’s not worth the extra trip.
I start at Wal-Mart, finish up at Meijer and rarely get things at Kroger. That’s in order from cheaper to more expensive. Of course, there are times I find myself hitting all three because I can’t find what I need at one stop. That started during the pandemic, and continues for whatever reason.
I still use my old family-sized recipes, but now as empty nesters we freeze a bunch into portions to eat later. God bless my husband, he loves being able to pull something homemade out of the freezer and eat it.
7 Likes
Oh, can we talk about movies?
I love the Planet of the Apes franchise, and thought about taking my college kid to a matinee before she leaves for her internship. The matinee was $8.59 each, with the option to add a combo - a large popcorn and two large drinks - for $24.97.
$24.97!!!
For that cost, I will wait until it comes out streaming. If I wait long enough, it will show up free on one of the many services I subscribe to (another thread entirely).
5 Likes
The key for movies is to never ever buy their food. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten food at the theater. H occasionally gets a popcorn, but usually only when he can cash in rewards or it’s a reward for his bday.
I’m not a popcorn person, but am a candy person. I buy the same box at Walmart for $1.25 and put it in my purse with a can of Diet Coke. And I do that less and less. I can watch a movie without feeling the need to eat.
Senior citizen discount is also 55. It makes all movies matinee prices for us. Though it was better in the old days when h still had friends at the theater and we went for free. He worked in theaters from ages 14-24.
3 Likes
Back in the day I had a huge purse. My husband and I smuggled in all sorts of stuff - once the lights went down you could hear people popping open the cans they brought in lol.
3 Likes
I am also just refusing to buy things, have basically gone no-spend aside from necessities. I was feeling a little dull & boring this morning - because not spending has meant not going out - so I made a list of no cost ways to leave the house and now I’m sitting at the beach with a cup of coffee that I brewed at home.
I also saw a very interesting TilTok with a person far younger than myself talking about rejecting the culture, rejecting celeb worship, rejecting being relentlessly marketed for every new thing…not a hippy kid, a young professional.
I don’t mind saying no to crap & paying more for quality but having less. That sort of went out the window the last decade or so. And now we are paying more for garbage…I’m tracking all of my spending to see what gets my $ now.
8 Likes
Same with me, HEB is the dominant store down here, but it’s either a Walmart sized megastore (bring walking shoes) or too far to really be convenient. We have a Target and Sam’s Club 5 minutes from us. Target is a surprisingly inexpensive place to buy groceries, and has a good intuitive uncluttered layout.
1 Like
We’ve long been walmart shoppers, out of necessity. We’ve never had any nice grocery stores (to me, that means it has a salad bar), but we did used to have a small Harris Teeter (not like the ones today!) that would double/triple coupons. Back in the day, my MIL had a source that would give her tons of Sunday inserts, so she would give me many multiples of things that we actually used. We got so many frozen dinners for free, lol. Same with deodorant, toothpaste, etc. But they closed long ago.
Walmart used to do the price matching thing, so there really wasn’t any reason to shop at multiple stores. It would do it all automatically. I loved that, but they must have lost $$$ since they stopped.
But honestly, I am not grumbling much about inflation. We struggled so hard for so long. I raised a family of 4 on a double income, after only tax and insurance premiums, of $3000-4000 a month. That had to cover the mortgage, utilities, daycare, private school (albeit a cheap one by CC standards), doctor’s bills, and everything/anything else. Then when life got a little easier, the boys started eating us out of the house.
Now that it’s just H & me? Our salaries easily cover what we need. I don’t want to go back to scrutinizing every single purchase anymore for as long as I can help it. But, we will still always be walmart shoppers. It’s just easier.
4 Likes
I have a huge purse from Portugal that I only use to smuggle wine and beer into the theatre, because our local theatre is really nice, but it doesn’t serve booze. Seems we can’t fully enjoy a movie unless we have a glass. Nobody has ever noticed or said a word, as we are very sneaky, but it is hilarious when you think you have the movie timed so it’s loud and nobody can hear the can….and then it goes dead silent at the wrong time, whoosh!
2 Likes
I don’t think the movies are too expensive. I pay for a Cinemark platinum membership. It’s $11.90 per month and for that $11.90, I get 2 annual free tickets, 1 free movie ticket per month, 25% off all concessions, member pricing for additional tickets, plus I earn rewards (free stuff). I don’t find it that expensive and I love the movie-going experience. We see about 25 movies per year in the theater.
1 Like
I haven’t watched a movie in a theater in more than a decade. Instead I built a theater in my home and watch movies there. While the price of food and ticket is lower, there are numerous benefits beyond that.
One of the most important benefits is being able to watch the movie on my schedule, including pausing at any time. For example, I watched Oppenheimer on Thursday. Being a 3 hour movie, I paused multiple times for things like food, bathroom, playing with dog, or just wanting to do something else. I didn’t finish up the final 15 minutes until last night.
It’s also great to be able to customize the sound, lighting, and other features exactly how I want them. I set the equalization and volume to compensate for my hearing loss, and seating to shake at the degree that I want for the particular movie. While watching Oppenheimer I had the lighting very low on a ceiling overhead above me, rather than completely off, because I wanted to do something on my laptop in the background (did not find the movie especially engaging). None of this would be possible in an external theater.
There are also no other people making unwanted noise/comments, my dog can and does choose to be in theater with her own reserved seat, I always have the best seat location for view of screen, the seating is far more comfortable with a personally selected recliner, I can easily switch to a different movie if I don’t like the one I am watching, being able to choose among thousands of movies instead of the small handful airing in theaters, etc.
I could list many more important benefits from watching at home. There are far fewer notable downsides. One is having a delay between when the movie is initially released and when I watch it. This doesn’t particularly concern me. I am fine watching Oppenheimer several months after release in theaters and feel I appreciate it to a similar degree this week, as I would have in 2023.
I don’t anticipate switching to watching movies in theaters any time soon, regardless of how prices change.
4 Likes
One other thing that is helpful about viewing movies at home is the ability to turn on closed caption, particularly if anyone viewing may have challenges with hearing for any reason. We have found that helpful.
6 Likes
+1. I had my hearing checked and it’s fine, but what I have trouble with is the booming audio and special effects which can drown out the speaking, at least on my home setup. Add closed caption, and I don’t miss a thing.
5 Likes
Closed caption is also helpful when music, noise or other things on or off screen make it challenging to catch all the dialog, especially when the person is speaking softly. I really like the option to use closed caption, even though sometimes some of the captioning is hilarious and doesn’t quite match the dialog. I use it while watching youtube videos often as well.
2 Likes
Closed caption is helpful when I watch a Scottish production on BritBox or Acorn. I can understand all sorts of accents but sometimes the Scots speak English, not so much.
4 Likes
Tip visiting Scotland:
Do you speak English? Get a translator.
2 Likes
When older S did a semester at St Andrews, he said he got into a cab and when the driver talked to him, he automatically said “sorry. I only speak English” he later realized that the driver HAD been speaking English!
2 Likes
It was actually a joke I saw on Reddit when I was researching Scotland.
We’ll be visiting London/Edinburgh in the summer.
2 Likes