I am not wanting to turn this into a whine fest. I just want to stop and think for a moment to count the ways we are really feeling the gas crunch right now. Or just price increases in general.
Here are a few I have felt:
1) Our minivan. Lordy! That baby takes $65 to fill up. Even when she is filled up, because she drinks from her gas tank heavily, she wants another drink pretty quickly. Ouch! That equals hundreds of dollars in our monthly budget. We really try not to drive her too much.
2) As a corollary to number one, I was driving by a used car lot yesterday. Oh my! The SUV's and minivans on that lot for a great price were a plenty.
3) Specific foods. I have seen a huge mark up on milk. A year ago, I could get a gallon of milk for $1.99. I am lucky if I can find a generic brand for $2.99.
4) Some prepared foods. I used to put a little Del Monte fruit cup in JM's lunches when he was in school. I used to be able to find them at supermarkets for about $2.00 for 8 cups. Those same stores have them for $2.74. If I buy them, I go out of my way to go to Walmart to catch them on sale for $1.74.
5) Nutrigrain bars. My kids eat these like crazy. When JM was a baby, I used to buy the super expensive organic ones. Then I discovered Nutrigrain at Costco. I can buy a huge box of 45 bars for $9.95. That is a bargain considering the individuals boxes a year ago were $1.74 in the stores, which was okay but not the great price of Costco. Now, a box of eight in the stores is $2.74. I will only buy them at Costco as long as they hold that price. I don't care if the kids hate the blueberry ones either.
6) Eggs. Honestly, I am so glad we have chickens. Last year a dozen eggs would run about $2.00 a dozen. Now, $3.00 a dozen. I pay about $15 a quarter for chicken feed. I am loving that.
7) Cheese. We are cheese snobs. We love our Tillamook or Bandon cheese. Forget Kraft! One a given day, you used to be able to find a baby loaf of Tillamook for $4.99 on sale. Maybe regular price about $5.99-$6.99. My hubbie came home the other day and was flabbergasted. "This store had their Tillamook on sale for $8.99!" Ouch! I may be doing one of two things with that. Using Bandon cheese, which is right up there with Tillamook. My husband hates it when I do this, but buy the huge loaves of cheese at Costco and freeze some. He says that detracts from the flavor. I told you we were cheese snobs.
So. No complaining. We are in this together. I want to hear your story of how you have choked on a recent cost increase that got you in the pocketbook.
But more importantly, I want to hear the solutions. We are a small knit community bound together by this strange world of blogs. Let's use the information we have, and share it.
My solution is to buy in bulk a lot. Costco, keeping my eyes on prices, consistently helps me with that. I also can't walk about of Costco without spending $100+ dollars on basic items. I always have to tell myself it's okay if I have nothing to show for what I just spent. I have three boxes of Nutrigrain bars in my basement, as a classic example.
Share some of your ideas!
3 comments:
I know about the gas prices. Our 15 passenger van takes $110 to fill up now. I am glad it is summer because I don't have to run back and forth to get the kids from school. That will save me a lot. I have figure where else to save as well.
Hmmm...we'll we just went out and bought a motorcycle for my husband to use to commute to work! 60 miles to the gallon...a 4 gallon tank...about 4 fill ups a month...comes to about $60 a month for gas! And our other car is a Toyota Corolla, it gets about 35 miles to gallon, around town! WE don't drive it as much, just local errands etc! Grocery shopping...for us here in the NW shopping at Winco is the way to go! Although some of their food has gone up too, they are still way lower than Safeway, Albertsons or Freddies. I actually don't shop at Costco that much I usually spend too much and still have to go to the grocery store and spend a bunch. I try to buy bulk items in the bulk section of the grocery store! One can get great values! Also, florescent bulbs get 75% better effenciency than regular light bulbs! And they last for like 5 years!!!! Those are my ideas! Also, cutting down and treats...it's better for us and then when we DO get a treat, it's more fun! Those are my ideas!
:-)
angela
I don't really have any new ideas. Just keep doing the same old ones. buy in bulk, etc.
Say, I did read an interesting website with info on how some driving habits can make a real difference in gas mileage. The three tips that made the most difference were 1. slow down - speeding wastes gas along with being dangerous. 2. don't drive aggressively - in other words don't race to accelerate, don't slam on the brakes. we waste a lot of gas accelerating after braking. and 3. don't idle the engine. if you will be in one spot for more than a minute - turn off the engine.
Oh, some that don't matter - they said that using A/C vs. driving with the windows rolled down (increased drag) is a wash. go ahead and use the A/C, you're not really saving by not using it.
That's what I can remember.
Post a Comment