"sandi" > wrote in message
...
> "cshenk" > wrote in
> :
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Been a bit since we have had a thread on this and the scene
>> has changed a bit in both produce and items we may be finding.
>> I'd be interested in what items the rest of you are using now
>> that you enjoy.
>>
>> One item almost out of our purchases is beef. Thats not a
>> good sign for our economy in the USA but the cost is now
>> radically higher than pork, often $2 a lb or more. Fresh
>> seafood is generally cheaper now than beef.
>>
>> Major brands are reducing sizes in small increments while
>> store brands and 'off brands' are not. Salt and sugar
>> addition to major brands seems to be increasing while store
>> brands overall seem stable.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>> Carol
>
> 75% of the time I buy items that are on sale and that I have a
> coupon for. (Lots of double coupon stores in my area.) Day old
> bread, marked down meat that is at the expiration date or a bit
> later. And by the store brands for staples like flour, sugar, salt
> etc. Right now, one of the local grocery stores has White Rain
> shampoo only sale for 69 cents! Chicken tenders and boneless
> chicken breasts for $1.88 # are on sale this week at Albertsons.
>
> If I am lazy... I'll take all the ads to WalMart and have them
> price match. And WalMart ususally has GREAT sales on chips and BBQ
> items around the 4th of July.

We've been really surprised since we retired at how much our cost of living
dropped since we don't do so much eating out. Grabbing a sausage biscuit
and OJ on the way to work and for lunch, even a soup/salad sort of quick
meal really added up to a lot of money. Just a few at a time, I've checked
out store brands. Some have been real duds but some are happy winners.
Blackberry preserves, cereal (really) and lots of items are just so much
cheaper as well as superior to a name brand. The worst test was just plain
old wieners for hot dogs. Store brand? Waaah, yuck and phooey. The gators
wouldn't even eat them. There are 8,500 alligators here in our county (more
or less and probably more) and we do not offend them. Polly