Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Tea Stands for Tuesday - 10/18/16

Happy Tea Tuesday.  Recently my blogger friend April posted a couple of times about how she manages to keep a low food budget for two.  I thought we did pretty good but nothing like she is able to do.  I don't keep a food cost diary but I might in the month of November just because I'm curious.  



internet image

First there is coffee.  Coffee from Peets at about $16 a pound.  I think a pound lasts about a week and a half.  

Here's a list of the cost of a few basic foods in the local grocery.  I found the list online and it said it is for average cost in our area.

Food





500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast$7
1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk$1.25
12 eggs, large$6
1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes$5.77
500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese$12
1 kg (2 lb.) of apples$4.16
1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes$2.13
0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket$2.85
1 bottle of red table wine, good quality$18
2 liters of Coca-Cola$2.15
Bread for 2 people for 1 day$2.27

How do those costs compare to your area?  I can't recall everything from my last shop but I know bell peppers were 2/$3 and celery was $1.49 a bunch.  This was at a regular supermarket chain not one of the "boutique" grocery stores.  I know I can do better on produce if I make an extra trip to the produce market.

I'd love to hear how this compares to your grocery costs. Meanwhile I'm going to savor my cup of coffee and head over to Elizabeth's blog to see what people are discussing this Tuesday. Bring your drink and join me.


17 comments:

  1. Good idea to get price-wise. I always shop at discount markets, and read the prospects to see what they have on offer, and build my shopping list around it. Happy T Day, hug, Valerie

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  2. I think here in Austria it's about 1/3 cheaper - at least in the low budget markets that I prefer. Nowadays you just can save money in food I guess - so I try to just buy what we really need and that for the best price.
    For example coffee:
    500 gr / 1 pound of the decaffeinated beans I like ( they are a good price ) cost 3,99 Euro
    and every now and than when there is a 25% discount campaigns of all coffee products on the grocery ..I take 15 packages.. that lasts to the next discount promotion.
    I buy many things for me at a lovely local charity thrift store...
    I think I am a frugal person..otherwise life it is not to finance with a normal income.

    Happy T-Day Darla!
    oxo Susi

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    1. I would love to try that coffee, Darla! I bet it's smooth and balanced and rich. As I get older, I eat fewer sweets. So a delicious cup of coffee becomes my treat. And on the occasion I might have a dessert, coffee makes it taste all the better. All the prices match what we pay for food in New York City, except for the eggs, which run from $199 - $3.00 here. Fun to compare.

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  3. This gets to be a "hot" topic with our family, since we have all started trying to eat much better and healthier. (except DH he refuses to change...LOL)
    Prices down here vary from product to product and store to store, some of your prices seem very high and some are lower. I would prefer to shop for local produce, like a famer's market, but they are far and few for an agricultural area like ours. I also prefer to have organic, but that really drives up food prices around here. Do you find the same thing there?
    Yes, that rain was lovely, hopefully we will get more this year.
    Happy T-day

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  4. All I can say is, I'm glad I don't live in your area. I pay about $15.00 for 2 1/2 lbs whole bean French roast coffee that is guaranteed fair trade. Eggs were $1.25 the last time I was grocery shopping, 5 lbs potatoes (white) were $1.69, red were $1.89. I saw an ad for chicken breasts or thighs at $1.89 lb, and milk is usually $2.29 a gallon for 2% or $2.69 for a gallon of whole milk. Bread is $1.00 for 1 lb. whole grain or multi-grain at the dollar store and lasts me nearly two weeks. I don't buy beer, wine, or coke, so can't compare prices. I don't like apples, but oranges and pears are in season here, so they are about $2.50 a bag (oranges) or for 4 pears. Again, glad I live here.

    Thanks for sharing this cute coffee inspired art with us and your comparison shopping for T this Tuesday. I guess I won't be moving to your area anytime soon, although the views would be much prettier!

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  5. Forgot to mention that MY big expense is 1/2 and 1/2 at $1.89 a quart. I go through one quart in less than a week.

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  6. Very interesting post Darla... Love having conversations over Tea!! :) My prices are pretty much right on point with Elizabeth... i pay more for my bread but then i buy Sara Lee brand... We drink Mt. Dew in the cans and a good price for that is around $3.33 for twelve cans.. Coffee i buy Folgers and spend between $7 -$8 on a pound... I refuse to pay more than $2 a pound for apples ... our oranges are 70 + cents each for navel oranges... green seedless grapes are just under $2 a pound... Love reading all the answers... Happy happy Tday my dear! Hugs! deb

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  7. Love your coffee art! The prices in your parts are definitely higher than where i live. I can get a pound of Peets for $7.And everything else on your list cheaper too. Now, if I lived in the nearest BIG city which is Philadelphia that would be a different story. Thanks for sharing this interesting post, and happy T day!

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  8. That is so interesting. I'm glad I don't live where you do, as we would starve on our pension. We live frugally but don't have to economise on our food as that is good quality here and cheap. I always stick my till receipots in my diary, so I'll have a quick look at supermarket prices:
    chicken breast is 5.50 eur a kg at the butcher so in the supermarket probably a bit cheaper.
    a litre of full fat milk is eur0.61, 12 large eggs are Eur 1.35, a kg of tomatoes I have no idea as I get them for nothing. All my neighbours grow them and they are constantly giving us some. Cheese is expensive and for a local cheese I pay Eur 11 a kg, but in the supermarket an industrial cheese is cheaper. A kg of apples is about Eur o.90 and the potatoes I get (red potatoes, a bit more expensive than white) are Eur 2.29 for two and a half kilos. I buy a branded bottle of beer for 1 Eur a litre (Alhambra lager, the best) and a bottle of branded red wine is 1.79 Eur. (so I buy it by the crate) cheap table wine is less than a euro per bottle. Coca cola I have no idea as I don't buy the stuff and a stick of white bread which lasts the two of us two days costs 0.40 at the local baker. Speciality bread costs more of course.
    It's interesting to see the other answers. The euro is almost the same as the dollar I think. I suppose it is also relevant to your income. We live on 1000 Eur a month. Which in this country is OK, but we couldn't live on that in the UK!
    Happy T-Day,
    And have a good week,
    Lisca

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  9. Well, Peet's is cheaper here ;) Go figure lol

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  10. It was interesting to see the price list and the cost of food where you live. It seems more expensive than here in N.E. England. I tend to shop around to get the best bargains and rely on the Freezer for many things bought when they were on special offers in the larger shops. We support farm shops when we can, and my husband bakes bread.
    It was a lovely coffe painting.
    Happy T day
    Yvonne x

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  11. We had a look at the way we were eating not so long ago and now try to have a fairly flexible meal plan. We like to get special offers and freeze them too! Your post and the comments here have been really interesting! Hugs, Chrisx

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  13. Lovely art, the coffee cup cicrles are fabulous! I think keeping a track on what you spend on food is a great idea. Compared to our prices in North West England, the meat and dairy products listed seem more expensive whilst your fruit and veg is about the same. Wishing you a Happy T Day! J :-)

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  14. Here in Brazil some fruits are very cheap like tangerines and mangoes but apples are very expensive the whole year.Chicken is cheap but meat is expensive. I prefer chicken of course.Bread here is cheaper too as well as eggs, potatoes and tomatoes. Beer is too. Coca Cola is getting expensive.It's better to buy it is in bigsupermarkets. Milk was very expensive. Now it is okay Wine is cheaper than yours as well as cheese. Love your art.Hugs.

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  15. Glad I didn't miss your tea chat Darla.
    I've been enjoying our sons visit before he heads to CO.
    Lots of cooking and fun.
    We try and eat organic as much as possible so I'm guessing that is a price hike. Your eggs must be "healthy" because they are about what we pay for a dozen.
    I try and shop what's on sale. We decided long ago we'd rather have quality than quantity. That said I wonder what we do spend in a week/month. Food shopping is the one kind of shopping I do most having scaled down other retail pursuits as much as possible.
    Great heart art!
    Enjoy * Enjoy oxo

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  16. Holy smokes, Darla! If those are some of the "average" costs in your area, you have a huge hurdle!

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