Sticker shock at the grocery store

This might be a tad long, so grab some coffee & enjoy the post :)

My gosh! I haven't shopped in 2 weeks and upon hitting Walmart again, I find that the prices of almost everything have increased. It seems like prices of everything are increasing overnight. How is a girl supposed to save money when our income doesn't increase as fast as the rising food costs? 

I have a few standard items that I usually stockpile at Walmart. My 'price book' is in my head & I can immediately tell when something has increased in price (I have a photographic memory). We only needed fresh milk and eggs after returning from vacation, but I figured I'd just add some stockpile items since I'm already at the store. I just wasn't prepared to see how much everything costs lately. The only thing that was the same price, were artichokes. I was very happy to see they had decent stock, so I bought 4 cans. The downside is that they were out of store brand peas again. Ugh, I just can't win.

So here's a list of price increases I noticed on my receipt. All store brand items (I'm usually a brand name girl, but most of the Walmart store brand items taste good, so I'm opting for the lower store brand price) :

Canned pineapple

Was $0.92

Now $1.18

Increase of $0.26

Canned chickpeas

Was $0.50

Now $0.62

Increase of $0.12

Canned mushrooms (big can) 

Was $1.14

Now $1.24

Increase of $0.10

Canned mixed veg

Was $0.50

Now $0.58

Increase of $0.08

2 lb Bag Fresh baby carrots

Was $1.92

Now $2.10

Increase of $0.18

3 lb Yellow onions

Was $1.68

Now $2.47

Increase of $0.79

3lb Red onions

Was $1.74

Now $2.98

Increase of $1.24

Bran Flakes (this price increased a while ago)

Was $1.92

Now $2.20

Increase of $0.28

Do they think that we won't notice these 'little' price increases? This is just a few things that I bought. Think of every other item that has increased. These little bits all add up to big amounts every week. 

The carrots actually cost more at the produce market. This is why I buy carrots at Walmart. The onions cost less at the market, but its always covered in black stuff (not sure if it's mold) and goes bad fast. I was definitely NOT prepared for the huge onion price increase. I might have to start planting my own onions. This is nuts!!

I first stopped at the produce market first (I do this so that I can fill in the gaps of whatever items they don't have, at Walmart). We ate down the fridge & freezer for 2 weeks leading up to vacation and really needed fresh produce. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the open bag of Sam's salad was still perfectly fresh. I line my fridge drawers with paper towel (I read years ago of preserving produce by wrapping it in paper towel, but that's too much work for me. Besides, how am I gonna see what's inside the p/t. So I've been lining the drawers with p/t for years & this helps keep everything fresh for longer)

Me thinking : I really don't need to buy a box ($2 clearance box).

Also me upon entering store : Lots of boxes! Yay!!!!....lol

I really really wanted a box of peaches (these boxes are huge), but most of the top peaches in every box were squashed. I was not prepared to deal with that mess, so I bought a box of apples for juicing. I'm also gonna make apple pie & apple cookies or muffins. It all depends on my mood. 

I wasn't gonna go to Sams, but I have this sense of urgency to just finish my stockpiling before S*&^%t hits the fan again. 

Not again!! Bloody sticker shock!! The Jennie O ground turkey now costs $3 more per package....grrrr. The Members Mark tissues also cost $2 more. I did buy the tissues, because it's still slightly less than Dollar Tree. Besides, it comes in a 12 pack, so one stop shopping for me. They had lots of tissues stock, but I'm no shelf clearer. I might get another pack on my next trip. I didn't buy everything I wanted, because I'm waiting on the new monthly coupon book. Hopefully the items I need will be on sale. 

I don't know if this is the start of t/p shortage again, but Sams only had a few packs of Charmin in store. I want the MM t/p (our preferred brand), because that's 45 rolls per pack and is much better than Charmin. The funny thing is that you can order it online & the limit is 10!! Say what?! I'm not trying to supply the whole town with t/p, so I'll just buy one pack and pay the $2 shipping. I still have a gc that will cover the cost.

I don't think I did too badly at Sams. I spent around $150 and stocked up on meat and a few other things. I bought 4 cases of Chobani drinking yogurt for DS, because it has a $2 Instant Value Q that's good until the end of the month. This is the lowest price anywhere.

Once I got home, I marinated the chicken tenders in BWW sauce and cooked a big pot of fajita chicken. Both are for freezing. We used the last fajitas from the freezer this week. 

Then it was off to CVS to redeem my $19 EBs that are expiring this week. I really should stop waiting until the last minute, but this week was fun. I used all DQs and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM DOUBLE DIPPED. Whoo hoo! Also, if you can find the large Doritos bags, they are clearanced to $1.09 (it's unmarked, so be sure to do a price check at the scanner)

2 x Irish Spring b/w $8.00

2 x Crest t/p 6.98

2 x Clairol hair color 16.98

2 x Almay makeup remover 13.18

1 x Revlon kiss balm 6.59

Less Irish Spring DQ (1.00)

Less $3/2 Irish Spring DQ (3.00)

Less $3/2 Irish Spring DQ (3.00)  No, you're not seeing double

Less $2/8 body wash DQ (2.00)

Less Crest DQ (1.00)

Less $3/2 Crest DQ (3.00)

Less $6/2 Clairol DQ (6.00)

Less $5/2 Clairol DQ (5.00)

Less $3/2 Almay makeup remover DQ (3.00)

Less Almay cosmetics DQ (3.00)

Less Revlon DQ (3.00)

Less EBs (18.10)

Tax 2.20

OOP $2.83

Earned $18 EBs ($3 Crest, $5 Clairol, $8 WYB $20 Almay/Revlon, $2 Irish Spring) and should get another $3 Beauty EB. So a small MM trip for me. Yay for 99% Savings!! (doesn't include beauty eb)

Retail value $59.31

Total Qs used : $24.00

Total rewards used : $18.10

I saw that Kroger had a digital Q for 18ct eggs for 97c. I discovered this on the last day of the sale price (phew), so I ran to Kroger and bought the limit of 5. You can't even find a dozen eggs for under $1. I think a dozen was $1.20 at Walmart. Milk prices have also doubled. 

I also stopped at Dollar Tree for some Barilla Pesto. I'm not a huge fan of the Genovese pesto, but at this price I'm not complaining. The grocery store jar is 6.2 oz, compared to this 5.6 oz jar, but it costs $2.99-3.19. It's hit & miss at the DT for this item, but there's a DT on every corner around here. I'll just check different stores whenever I'm out. 

As a rule, I only buy name brand food at DT. I'm picky about what goes into my body and don't want any food that's Made in China. DH bought frozen fruit at DT before & I discovered it's MIC (I always read labels). Same with food storage containers. I don't want anything that's toxic. They did have Rubbermaid containers, so I picked up 4. I love my Pyrex, but I can't always cart glassware with me when I'm out. 

Does anyone ever go to the DT for just one item & come home with way more things than you intended? This happens to me most of the time. I always check the entire store to see what's new. You just never know what gems you might find. I do love their books, but haven't been able to find anything good in a year. I'm an avid reader, so paying $1 per book works for me. 

Well I'm off to go try and earn a few $$$