ANSWERS: 2
  • Budgeting is something people do when they are very motivated and/or desperate. With the inflation - which seems to have hit food prices most heavily - it's super-easy to spend two or even three times what you expected when you go to the grocery store. Ordering ahead online, arranging for pickup, can help a lot in preventing grocery sticker shock and in keeping to a budget. (I remember when "sticker shock" was used only in reference to cars...) *** Me: I've stopped buying chips (per lb they're as expensive as lower-cost steaks). I've stopped eating out. I don't dare eat cereal. Even crackers (the store brand) are off the menu. No cheese for my spaghetti, not even the canned, powdery stuff. Meat one meal a day if I'm lucky. (I probably average less than 5 meals with meat a week.) If I'm in the mood to splurge I'll buy something frozen like mozarella sticks, but normally the only frozen stuff I buy is veggies (which for some odd reason didn't inflate as much as most other stuff, grain-based products especially have gone up in price).
    • Linda Joy
      I've always just budgeted out of necessity. Or maybe just a thrifty personality. As for cereal, oats are still fairly cheap, and you can make your own granola with them. Almost all my meat comes from M.O.W. I'm not a big fan of it anyway. But even M.O.W. serves meatless meals. They are good at giving me greens and beans, which I much too recently learned is considered 'soul food'. I'm o.k with beans, and rice and pasta, but I don't like greens. Spinach and cabbage I can easily do, but I have problems with mustard and turnip greens. I can eat a bite or two. I can tolerate the rest in a smoothie, but they usually end up becoming compost. Eating out has never been affordable for me. I cut back on chips and crackers when I started having issues with the sodium. I did find lower salt tortilla chips. When I eat them they usually substitute for bread with tuna salad. Or I've eaten them with cottage cheese. But like you said cheese is high! Still I'm not going to get to the register and not have enough money. I've seen people do this then look around like they actually EXPECT someone else to help them pay for it! Another side effect of government giving away money - epidemic entitlement issues.
    • www.bible-reviews.com
      Too bad about the greens. I love turnip greens! A package of frozen is fine, salt and pepper is all I need for flavoring.
  • Probably someone who hasn't yet realized that we are in a stage of rapid grocery price inflation. Not that long ago, $50 seemed like it could buy half a cart full of budget items. Now, you're lucky if you can fill one bag for that much.

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