Trip to Aldi's and Wal-Mart

[Dee]

I'm just home from a trip to Aldi's and Wal-Mart.  Yikes, for the people on a Monday morning.  Crazy!

 

Anyway, Aldi's had spiral hams for $1.19 lb.  I didn't want spiral, so I checked at Wal-Mart and they had Smithfield 1/2 hams, $1.98 lb.   I bought one.  I probably should have bought 2 but for Dh and myself 9 lbs. is quite a bit.  I'll have enough for Easter and to slice and/or chunk up for the freezer.  BUT yes, writing that out I should have bought a 2nd.

 

At Aldi's I spent $102.  That's a lot of money for things I didn't "need".  I was there just add to my preps.  Baking powder, soda, oils, spray oil, pickles, salad dressings, Spam(their brand), etc.  

 

Wal-Mart was another $83.  No food (other than the ham) but tooth brushes, shampoo, that kind of stuff, pack of washcloths, tote, mouse traps (darn mice), etc.  

 

I'm glad it's done but almost $200 at those 2 places and then the price of the 4 new tires we went after adds up!

 

Now to mark it all and put it away.  First a nap and then to granddaughters track meet.   Maybe I'll put it  away tomorrow! 

 

 

 

[Darlene]

Good girl. Get what you need/want while you can. My concern is that prices will not be decreasing. It may hurt now but will save much $ in the days ahead. 

[Cricket]

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem like a good sign that Aldi's CEO felt the need to send this message right now. The bolding is their emphasis, not mine. 

 

Edited April 13, 2022 by Cricket
Edited to fix the image.

[Annarchy]

Wow! That’s nice.  We do not have any Aldi stores in our area.  

[snapshotmiki]

We have one opening  soon in our area. Looking forward to it  since  Kroger  closed recently. 

[Dee]

You're right Cricket.  I wonder what, if anything, that post means.  It makes you wonder, why now?

 

This Aldi's is 50 miles away Annarchy but since we were going there to pick up tires, I made a big shopping trip out of it to hit Aldi's and Wal-Mart.  Even our closest grocery store is 20 miles away, so I usually do big when I get somewhere.

 

Glad you'll have one soon Snapshotmikki.  

[Cricket]

Dee, I think it was prompted by rising food prices. There have been several prepper- focused YouTubers warning about rising prices using Aldi as an example, and many folks commenting about significant price jumps on shelf-stable Aldi products like pasta sauce and canned vegetables. Apparently many Aldi stores are limiting how many of certain items a customer can buy. 

 

It strikes me as Aldi's way of saying, "Hey, we still charge less than the other stores, even when we raise prices!" 

[Ambergris]

In the US, food is still very cheap as a total percentage of the average household expenditures.  You can bet this won't last.  Remember: a day's pay for a measure of wheat (a loaf of bread) or three measures of barley.

[Dee]

A heads up on my trip to Aldi's yesterday.  I was in Ft. Dodge to buy a computer, which I'm hoping to return today.  Long story short, DH got my computer fixed while I was buying my new one.  Big sigh....LOL

 

Anyway, back to my Aldi's trip.  I buy DH potato chips by the box.  Maybe 12 bags in a box, I'm not really sure.  A shelf 4 to 5 feet long was empty.  NOT a potato chip to be found.  There were nachos, etc. but NOT one bag of plain old potato chips.

 

Next, I was off to buy a case of tomato soup.  NOPE, nada, not a can of tomato soup in the store.

 

Thirdly, saltine crackers.  Other crackers yes, but NOT 1 box of saltines.

 

Were they simply not unpacked and put on shelves yet?  I don't know, but since I'm taking my computer back today I'm going in to check and see if anything is different.  I wonder how many other things they were out of that I wasn't looking for so didn't notice.

 

It might be time to take a closer look at your preps ladies.  

[Jeepers]

Saltine crackers have been scarce most of the year. Usually hit or miss with the name brands being hard to find. I bought some of the little oyster crackers and vacuum sealed them in 1/2 gallon jars. So far (3-4 months) they have kept very well without going rancid. 

 

Bummer on the chips. I eat the plain original Lays chips when I have a migraine. I don't know what it is but it has to be the plain Lays. Sheesh, if I can't get them maybe I can get a prescription for them from my doctor.  

[Dee]

OK, they let me return my computer so that was a good thing!

 

I paid more attention at Aldi's today and they were still out of the things I wrote about above BUT they were out of a lot of things.  It did seem it mostly the snack/lunch items.  I guess when I think about it school is out here so I would suppose people are getting snack for the at home kids.  

 

Jeepers, I had no idea crackers have been a hit and miss item for most of the year.  I was still working on crackers I bought last fall.  Hmmm, interesting!

[Darlene]

On 4/14/2022 at 11:49 AM, Ambergris said:

In the US, food is still very cheap as a total percentage of the average household expenditures.  You can bet this won't last.  Remember: a day's pay for a measure of wheat (a loaf of bread) or three measures of barley.

I know this post was written 6 weeks ago but I’ve not seen where food here is still cheap for a while. If this is just the beginning of across the board inflation, I can’t imagine how painful it will be over the next year and beyond. 

[Cricket]

Starting tomorrow, Food Lion ( at least  in WV) has chicken leg quarters for $.49 per pound. And get this - BACON  16 oz packages for $3.79!! 

 

I'm going early tomorrow to do a bit of topping off. I can always manage to slip a few pounds of bacon into the freezer. Assuming they actually have it in stock. 

 

Every time I go to the grocery store these day I wonder if it's the last "normal" time. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Cricket

[Wychwood]

19 hours ago, Darlene said:

I know this post was written 6 weeks ago but I’ve not seen where food here is still cheap for a while. If this is just the beginning of across the board inflation, I can’t imagine how painful it will be over the next year and beyond. 

 

My sentiments exactly Darlene. I spent a bit of time wrangling the basket of food inflation rates from the ONS website yesterday and the inflation rate on just food is around 6%. Percentages don't really mean much to me, so from now, I am going to keep a copy of my online food shopping receipt to try and track price rises.

 

[Darlene]

3 hours ago, Wychwood said:

 I am going to keep a copy of my online food shopping receipt to try and track price rises.

 

Yeah it would be very interesting and a real

eye opener to see the details of individual price increases.  All I know is that when I pick up some things it’s never under $50 and is close or over $100 and that is for very little. There are some things I’ve habitually purchased and can gauge the $2-$3 increase for each piece which blows my mind. 
 

The fact that these individual items are frequently sold out say to me that people are still buying them even at those inflated prices. 
 

The pain of the cash register is certainly hitting everyone and makes me sometimes wonder what their thoughts are and game plan is for the days ahead. And I sometimes wonder if the little bubble we live in here at MrsS will expand (probably more so face to face vs the online written word). I fear though that the panic and available resources will diminish greatly by that point and am unsure what counsel will be available to be offered outside of gardening and who knows what. 

[Mother]

We were at Aldi’s today and though there was only a few empty shelves there was very little on each shelf.  The prices were up significantly from a month ago.  Complete strangers were talking to each other about the high costs and I watched as people picked up an item and then put it back.  Knowing that things are only going to get higher I bought flats and boxes of most things.  The total was scary but I looked at it in the same way I do putting money in a savings.  

[euphrasyne]

I made a pick up order for Kroger this week.  DH picked it up.   It was significantly higher than usual.  Kroger sodas regularly go on sale 4/$11.  They were 3/$10 which is ungodly high even for a regular price.   All the other prices were similarly higher than usual.  Milk up from 2.75/3.25 (its been creeping) to 3.59.  Cheapest eggs were 30/$4 (which was a VERY good deal compared to the rest of the eggs.)  On the plus side, no substitutions and I got everything I ordered.   1 tomato, turnip greens, collards, coleslaw, bib lettuce, strawberries, bananas all were in good condition and of decent size --which is better than earlier in the year/last year when they were undersized and half done. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by euphrasyne

[Pioneer Woman]

All of this information is very helpful.

 

For myself, earlier this year, I started recording the price of everything I buy, so I can compare something if I don't remember.

 

It's definitely a shocker going to the grocery store, and has been for awhile. I always look at the price per ounce of the different products, and I am astounded at how many are in the $.40 per ounce price range, or more. My expectation used to be that most foods were in the $.10 per ounce price range, or even less. There are still some foods that I can get for that, but not many other than canned and frozen veggies, beans, some soups, pasta, rice, etc.

 

I may be dreaming and giving them too much credit, but I've gotten the feeling lately that Walmart is trying to hold the line on the cost of a basic list of simple foods [mostly all Great Value brand], so that people can buy enough food to live, while, at the same time, raising the price of their processed foods [which is the vast majority of what they sell] into the stratosphere.

 

I've narrowed my purchases down to just a few different items and quit getting any splurge-y items. That includes not buying any processed foods. My strategy now is to buy mostly one-ingredient fresh and frozen foods, like carrots and apples and chicken drumsticks and colby cheese and frozen broccoli and brown rice, for example. And to look at the price per ounce, and if it is holding the line, to buy more of that item. I am only buying nutritious foods, because I can't afford anything else, financially and health-wise. And whatever foods I do buy, I am careful not to waste any of them.

[euphrasyne]

Basics are going up.   I used to be able to get oranges for .5 a can 15 years ago.   4 years ago I could still find them for .89 a can.   Now the cheapest I can get them is 1.19 on sale and the going rate is usually 1.39-2.50.   5 years ago kroger frozen veg would go on sale 2/$1.  Now they are .99 each.  

 

For the last 20 years, I have found Walmart more expensive than other places.   I worked there for 3 years as a cashier then in cosmetics as a teen.  37.5 hours a week part time while in high school.  Yea that isn't legal now.  Even though I live in a different state, I still hate all walmarts and avoid them unless I just cannot get it elsewhere.   Even then, I do a pick up order and send DH.  

Edited June 2, 2022 by euphrasyne