Sunday, August 8, 2010

Inflation

I was having a conversation, as much as you can have one on facebook, with a college friend.  She was bemoaning the price of groceries and comparing what she spent to what her parents spent.

My basic argument in a nutshell, was that we pay more due to several reasons 1) inflation.  For a cool webpage with an inflation calculator click here.  Here is the example it kicked out for me:
What cost $25.00 in 1985 would cost $49.19 in 2009.
Also, if you were to buy exactly the same products in 2009 and 1985,
they would cost you $25.00 and $12.22 respectively.

This does not necessary accurately reflect groceries per se but it gives you a general idea.   2) healthier eating.  We all know how easy it would be to get a cheap meal at McDonald's or some other fast food restaurants.  Also, go to the store and check the prices between white and wheat bread on the same brand; even if its store brand 3) We typically pay more for convenience food.  By this, I mean, since most of couples with or without kids are both working.  They are not always using, for example, dried beans or making bread from scratch on a regular basis,  This something I know my mother did as we were on a very tight budget.

So, what are you spending a week on groceries?
This month I am tracking my groceries.  I'm not particularly on a budget, but want to see what I am spending in a month for our family of three (diapers included).  I'm hoping that we spend less than $400 (100 per week or 33.33 per person per week).  My running Tally is in the blog August and Everything.

2 comments:

  1. Btw, she is spending $70/week after slimming her budget as much as possible for 2 ppl. i say not bad at all!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I spend way more than I should. About $80-100 every 10-14 days, for one person. But, I shop at a boutique style market, with local produce and meats, and lots of healthy options. I could cut that down, and I have been trying too. I watch for in-store coupons and deals, and get the email from the club card every week. Still, I could cut it down some. Maybe look for coupons, and only get fresh things there, and start shopping at other stores for staples and stock supplies?

    ReplyDelete