FarmI, you may want to check the other posts back to him. His prices were
not accurate, not even for his own area (a link to his local grocery was
posted).

He added from 25-50% to many items. Not all was wrong though. For example
100$ to feed 6 cats if they need a special diet, is not off the mark. Say
if one were diabetic he'd have to get secail stuff and when you have cats,
you have to feed them all the same or the 'special one' will eat the other's
food.

Believe me, I've been in grocery stores in Townsville, Brisbane, and
Darwin. Your prices are high. (I'm Navy, traveled to OZ 7-8 times now over
last 6 years). Meats especially are much more where you are than USA
standards. This is why you couldn't tell he was not being on the straight
with his prices. Yours do run that high and can be even worse.



"FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in message
...
> "Sheldon" > wrote in message
>
>> You can eat "decent" at $14 for two but certainly not much more than
>> bare essentials... there'd be little fresh produce, not much in way of
>> beverages except plain tap water, no snacks to speak, certainly no
>> alcoholic beverages, and you'd need to go real easy on the cheese,
>> even Velveeta ain't cheap, not much desserts (store brand jello?),
>> real skimpy on herbs and spices... I can go on. Sure, you can eat
>> inexpensive meat cuts but even then there wouldn't be much money left
>> over for accompaniments... and stews and soups every day get old fast,
>> especilaly if made low cost POW style (very juicy). Even a pound of
>> balogna costs like $5.... and then you need bread, mustard and maybe
>> some cheese and lettuce... where's the pickle, slaw, and beer. Yes,
>> you can subsist on $7 but portions will be small and uninteresting,
>> pretty much hospital/prison food.
>>
>> The last I looked decent preground mystery meat from the stupidmarket
>> cost $4/lb, by the time the fat is cooked off all you'll have is two
>> servings.. and you still need to add about $4 more to make it a decent
>> meal... and that's only one meal, what about the rest of the day.
>>
>> $14 a day feeds my six cats.
>>
>> $14 a day is my average food bill for just me... Holiday meals are
>> probably the least expensive, turkey and ham is cheap. To be
>> perfectly honest I can easily fix a chef's salad for just me and it
>> will cost about $14... a measly can of decent sardines costs $3, and I
>> will usually use two (they're small).... but if I use one I add a can
>> of premium red salmon, costs $5... by the time I add all the produce,
>> a bunch of olives, a can of sliced beets, a couple sliced eggs, maybe
>> a fistful of walnuts, and some dressing I'm sure I got $14 on the
>> plate. I eat a lot of tinned fish, it's very healthful but definitely
>> not cheap... and I can't open just enough for me unless I want to try
>> to eat around six cat noses in my plate.
>>
>> I spend a bit more than $100 a week on just food to feed just me,
>> purrrty close to another $100 a week to feed my six cats.
>> And I don't consider my usual diet very oppulent, it's mustly just
>> ordinary foods, but I don't skimp on the accompaniments just so I can
>> eat lobster and prime rib, in fact I probably haven't eaten lobster in
>> more than 10 years, shrimp neither, it's not something I crave, in
>> fact I think it's highly over rated, I'd much rather my sardines. But
>> me and my guys like our steak, so two small porterhouse ($14 worth) is
>> a dinner for us, and then there are veggies (cat's eat veggies too),
>> and my guys drink water but I drink a few 2nis. And I don't always
>> drink Crystal Palace... my booze bill is about $100 a week, and I
>> really don't drink a lot, maybe two drinks a day... mostly a tall
>> glass filled with ice, grapefruit juice, and a double shot of vodka...
>> the grapefruit juice costs as much if not more than the vodka but
>> juice is pasrt of the drink so itsprice counts, ice ain't free
>> either. But I'll also splurge on good scotch, Champagne, and my
>> favorite Ruffino dago red.
>>
>> I've no idea how yoose eat for $7/day.... must be a lot of pasta with
>> two grape meata balles.
>>
>> Oranges cost a buck a piece, I just ate two as an appetizer for
>> breakfast, supposed to eat "5 A Day", I eat more fresh produce than
>> what's considered a serving (btw, 5 a day is the minimum), apples cost
>> a buck a piece too, you're not gonna be eating much fresh produce on
>> $7/day, even a small crummy head of iceberg costs $2. Not sure what
>> else yet but I'm thinking my 1 quart bowl of raisin bran... need lots
>> of room for milk, yoose know why... my cats polish off a can of evap
>> first thing every morning. Dried cereal is expensive, milk ain't
>> cheap anymore, even one banana costs 30 cents. A lot of people feed
>> their pets crap foods, the cheapest brands they can find and no
>> variety... a high quality diet costs a whole lot less than vet bills.
>> Same with people too, eat cheap now pay big medical bills later.
>>
>> Yesterday I picked up a plain cheese pie from the local pizzaria, just
>> happened to cost $13.95... $14 by my math. They make pizzas much
>> smaller than the 18" they used to years ago, and now they're very
>> stingy with the topping, this was 14", I finished it for lunch and
>> wasn't even full... years ago 3 slices and I was busting. A 14" pie
>> is actually about half the size of an 18" pie. When I was a kid the
>> corner pizzeria made 20" pies, so loaded with real mozz you could
>> barely handle a slice, and the entire pie cost 75 cents... then one
>> slice cost 10 cents and was enough for lunch. But today's food prices
>> are much different... back than an oversized hot corned beef on rye at
>> the kosher deli cost 35 cents... a full meal on real linen soup to
>> dessert with all the trimmings with impeccable service cost 35cents at
>> the Chinese.
>>
>> I'm sorry, but unless you're in prison you can't eat a proper diet in
>> the US on $7/day, no way, no how, anyone claims they can doesn't have
>> the foggiest concept of a decent proper healthful diet, or they choose
>> not to remember what all they consume. And food costs in the US are
>> probably the lowest on the planet, but still, $7 barely buys a couple
>> ham n' cheese sammiches... a friggin' can of Spam, 4 slices of rye, a
>> few Kraft singles, mustard, pickle, slaw and a quart of milk costs
>> about ten bucks, and that's a do it yerself at home lunch for two, and
>> it sure ain't decent, more lurid. Anyone tells me on average they eat
>> decent on $7 an entire day I say is a pinnochio nosed fibber, or
>> weighs in at less than my six cats... but then your idea of decent
>> ain't mine.
>
> Thnaks for the post giving prices Sheldon. It's a better indicator of
> what eating costs in the US than just the "cost of $7 for the average
> American"
>

"Christine Dabney" wrote

> It sure is very frugal to keep a well stocked pantry, I find. I find
> that I can often make a good meal from the pantry, and with the
> veggies I find on sale, I can eat very well.

True but you have to restock it <g>.

The difference is you can get more stuff on sale and use it as needed if you
have storage.

In our case, a major 'price saver' is an extra chest freezer. It more than
pays for itself even with electrical added in.

I was miserable while waiting for my stuff to arrive from Sasebo Japan, as i
had to buy various meat stocks and they arent as good and far too salty for
my husband's sodium restrictions. Now I have my freezer and it's slowly
filling with crockpot stocks from spare chicken carcasses left over.

"Cshenk" > wrote in message
...
> "Christine Dabney" wrote
>
>> It sure is very frugal to keep a well stocked pantry, I find. I find
>> that I can often make a good meal from the pantry, and with the
>> veggies I find on sale, I can eat very well.
>
> True but you have to restock it <g>.
>
> The difference is you can get more stuff on sale and use it as needed if
> you have storage.
>
> In our case, a major 'price saver' is an extra chest freezer. It more
> than pays for itself even with electrical added in.
>
> I was miserable while waiting for my stuff to arrive from Sasebo Japan, as
> i had to buy various meat stocks and they arent as good and far too salty
> for my husband's sodium restrictions. Now I have my freezer and it's
> slowly filling with crockpot stocks from spare chicken carcasses left
> over.
>

Like you, I have a separate chest freezer. It is unhandy for me to get
into, so I only keep meat and meat-based products in there, but that was my
intention when I bought it. I keep a list, too. I don't like leaving the
top up while searching around.

I also have an extra refrigerator w/top freezer beside the freezer. I open
it less, too, so I use it for storage mostly -- flour, nuts, etc.

All this keeps us from runinng to the grocery store except when we need very
fresh fruit and vegetables (and once a week for our raw milk.)
Dee Dee

"Bobo Bonobo(R)" > wrote in
:

> On Dec 7, 8:02 am, Sarah Gray > wrote:
>> "Michael \"Dog3\"" > wrote
>> . 186.121:
>>
>>
>>
>> > Sarah Gray > dropped this
>> .17.102:in
>> > rec.food.cooking
>>
>> >> All the meat you eat is $16.00 a pound? Maybe you should shop
>> >> somewhere cheaper...
>>
>> >> $7 a day per person is $210 a month. Pretty small budget, but
>> >> do-able, especially if you are someone who does not cook
>> >> complicated things. I can feed myself and my daughter (including
>> >> buying paper products and other non- food comestibles) on around
>> >> $300 easily...
>>
>> >> The grocery price situation is not as dire as many make out.. you
>> >> just have to know how to cook, be creative about it and be
>> >> flexible about specific ingredients; buying things when they are
>> >> on sale and such.
>>
>> > Whoosh... over the top of my head. I'm not sure what this whole
>> > thread was about. Money is not a problem in my household but I'll
>> > be damned if I'll spend $16.00 a pound for meat. Yes, for a special
>> > meal I'll spend it but not often. Well, and for my seafood attack
>> > Lately we have been buying larger packages and freezing. I know
>> > some folks have limited freezer space. I don't really know what we
>> > spend a month on grocery items but it's not at all what people
>> > might think. I can tell you to the penny what the cat,dog and horse
>> > food costs though. I do know if I had only $7 a day I could make
>> > due for the 2 of us. I'd be buying a lot of legumes and sale meats
>> > for soups and stews. I'd have to add funds for the GasX though.
>> > Gawd... $16.00 a pound... I'd be ****ed.
>>
>> > Michael
>>
>> They said that meat alone for a meal for two would cost them $10 in
>> their currency... I actually did the math wrong, that would make it
>> $17.56 per pound in US dollars, assuming a quarter pound per serving.
>> Even at a half pund per serving, that's more than I'd pay for meat,
>> unless I had an unlimited budget, or was splurging for some reason.
>
> Your math is correct, but 4 oz?
> (I'm rounding 7.97 up to 8):
> 7/$8 = x/$10
> Cross multiply.
> $8x=$70
> $8x/8=$70/8
> $x= $8.75
>
> That means that meat for two persons would cost $8.75 per pound (at
> 8oz per person). At your meager 4oz, your figure was correct, but I'd
> count almost a pound for myself, and at least a quarter pound for my
> spouse.
>

4 oz. is not meager. Not that I *won't* eat more than that, but it is a
reasonable serving. $8.75 a pound for the cheapest cuts is not a price
I'll pay with the meat being what it is. To wit:

> Meat is cheap in the USA. We have factory farming, and the butchering
> is done mostly by undocumented immigrants. If this country decided to
> go all Tancredo on the illegals, that $8.75 would be a lot closer to
> the price we'd pay.

True, dat.

"Michael \"Dog3\"" > wrote in
.121:

> Sarah Gray > dropped this
> . 17.102: in
> rec.food.cooking
>
>>
>> The grocery price situation is not as dire as many make out.. you
>> just have to know how to cook, be creative about it and be flexible
>> about specific ingredients; buying things when they are on sale and
>> such.
>
> Sorry, just had to come back to this Sarah. What does the original
> poster use for staples? I honestly think we have enough tomato sauce,
> flour, pasta and rice in the house to feed us for a month. Maybe it is
> just me. I'm huge on stocking staples. I think I could feed us all
> just on what is in my pantry. I might have to buy a ham hock or 2 for
> seasoning though. I'm not trying to rail on the original poster. I'm
> just trying to understand.

I am a "buy it and stick it in the pantry/freezer" grocery shopper, too.
You *do* need time to get organized and used to the sales patterns and
how you mnight actually use things.

"FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in
:

> "Sarah Gray" > wrote in message
>> "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in
>>> "Dee.Dee" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/1...e-for-healthy-
fo
>>>> od /#more-146
>>>>
>>>> No wonder I'm broke and always hungry just tryin' to stay alive!
>>>
>>> You would be hungry if you eat the junk food mentioned in the
>>> article as it's empty calories - people who eat a lot of junk food
>>> are effectively starving themselves. But as for broke??? Are US
>>> food prices really so high for nutritious food?
>>>
>>> The report says that the average American spends $7/day on food and
>>> that surely can't be right as it's a miniscule amount of money. I
>>> did a currency converson and that is about $7.97 in my currency and,
>>> if the two of us were eating meat for an evening meal, I'd spend at
>>> least $10 in my currency just on the meat component of the meal.
>>>
>>
>> All the meat you eat is $16.00 a pound?
>
> It's usually in the order of about $29/kilo.
>
>> Maybe you should shop somewhere cheaper...
>
> We have chosen this butcher because his meat is good. I have bought
> cheap meat I but then don't like eating crappy meat. I'd rather pay
> for something edible.
>
>
>

I guess I am ignorant about food costs around the world. I can't imagine
paying that much for cheap cuts. Good steaks, yeah, but not chuck roast
or whatever.

"Sarah Gray" > wrote
>
> I guess I am ignorant about food costs around the world. I can't imagine
> paying that much for cheap cuts. Good steaks, yeah, but not chuck roast
> or whatever.

Really. The chuck I got for $1.99 a pound last week was fresh and gorgeous.
It is normally $4.49 a pound.

Sheldon > wrote in
:

> "Nancy Young" wrote:
>> "FarmI" wrote
>>
>> > The report says that the average American spends $7/day on food and
>> > that surely can't be right as it's a miniscule amount of money. I
>> > did a currency converson and that is about $7.97 in my currency
>> > and, if the two of us were eating meat for an evening meal, I'd
>> > spend at least $10 in my currency just on the meat component of the
>> > meal.
>>
>> I wonder how they came up with that number. Do they add up
>> all grocery food sales/restaurant sales/roadside farm stand sales?
>> Factor in home grown food? Makes no sense. Having said that,
>> food in my house could be decent to very good for $14 a day, being
>> that there are 2 of us.
>
> You can eat "decent" at $14 for two but certainly not much more than
> bare essentials... there'd be little fresh produce, not much in way of
> beverages except plain tap water, no snacks to speak, certainly no
> alcoholic beverages, and you'd need to go real easy on the cheese,
> even Velveeta ain't cheap, not much desserts (store brand jello?),
> real skimpy on herbs and spices... I can go on. Sure, you can eat
> inexpensive meat cuts but even then there wouldn't be much money left
> over for accompaniments... and stews and soups every day get old fast,
> especilaly if made low cost POW style (very juicy). Even a pound of
> balogna costs like $5.... and then you need bread, mustard and maybe
> some cheese and lettuce... where's the pickle, slaw, and beer. Yes,
> you can subsist on $7 but portions will be small and uninteresting,
> pretty much hospital/prison food.
>
> The last I looked decent preground mystery meat from the stupidmarket
> cost $4/lb, by the time the fat is cooked off all you'll have is two
> servings.. and you still need to add about $4 more to make it a decent
> meal... and that's only one meal, what about the rest of the day.
>
> $14 a day feeds my six cats.
>
> $14 a day is my average food bill for just me... Holiday meals are
> probably the least expensive, turkey and ham is cheap. To be
> perfectly honest I can easily fix a chef's salad for just me and it
> will cost about $14... a measly can of decent sardines costs $3, and I
> will usually use two (they're small).... but if I use one I add a can
> of premium red salmon, costs $5... by the time I add all the produce,
> a bunch of olives, a can of sliced beets, a couple sliced eggs, maybe
> a fistful of walnuts, and some dressing I'm sure I got $14 on the
> plate. I eat a lot of tinned fish, it's very healthful but definitely
> not cheap... and I can't open just enough for me unless I want to try
> to eat around six cat noses in my plate.
>
> I spend a bit more than $100 a week on just food to feed just me,
> purrrty close to another $100 a week to feed my six cats.
> And I don't consider my usual diet very oppulent, it's mustly just
> ordinary foods, but I don't skimp on the accompaniments just so I can
> eat lobster and prime rib, in fact I probably haven't eaten lobster in
> more than 10 years, shrimp neither, it's not something I crave, in
> fact I think it's highly over rated, I'd much rather my sardines. But
> me and my guys like our steak, so two small porterhouse ($14 worth) is
> a dinner for us, and then there are veggies (cat's eat veggies too),
> and my guys drink water but I drink a few 2nis. And I don't always
> drink Crystal Palace... my booze bill is about $100 a week, and I
> really don't drink a lot, maybe two drinks a day... mostly a tall
> glass filled with ice, grapefruit juice, and a double shot of vodka...
> the grapefruit juice costs as much if not more than the vodka but
> juice is pasrt of the drink so itsprice counts, ice ain't free
> either. But I'll also splurge on good scotch, Champagne, and my
> favorite Ruffino dago red.
>
> I've no idea how yoose eat for $7/day.... must be a lot of pasta with
> two grape meata balles.
>
> Oranges cost a buck a piece, I just ate two as an appetizer for
> breakfast, supposed to eat "5 A Day", I eat more fresh produce than
> what's considered a serving (btw, 5 a day is the minimum), apples cost
> a buck a piece too, you're not gonna be eating much fresh produce on
> $7/day, even a small crummy head of iceberg costs $2.


You really need to shop around for groceries... I have a hard time
believing you about these prices... You're in long island, no?


> Not sure what
> else yet but I'm thinking my 1 quart bowl of raisin bran... need lots
> of room for milk, yoose know why... my cats polish off a can of evap
> first thing every morning. Dried cereal is expensive,

Not really. Corn flakes are less than $2 a box. Same for raisin bran.

>milk ain't
> cheap anymore, even one banana costs 30 cents.

I pay .49 a pound when they aren't on sale.... you must be getting some
huge-ass bananas!

> A lot of people feed
> their pets crap foods, the cheapest brands they can find and no
> variety... a high quality diet costs a whole lot less than vet bills.
> Same with people too, eat cheap now pay big medical bills later.
>
> Yesterday I picked up a plain cheese pie from the local pizzaria, just
> happened to cost $13.95... $14 by my math. They make pizzas much
> smaller than the 18" they used to years ago, and now they're very
> stingy with the topping, this was 14", I finished it for lunch and
> wasn't even full...

You could have made a pizza just as good at home for less than half of
that.

>years ago 3 slices and I was busting. A 14" pie
> is actually about half the size of an 18" pie. When I was a kid the
> corner pizzeria made 20" pies, so loaded with real mozz you could
> barely handle a slice, and the entire pie cost 75 cents... then one
> slice cost 10 cents and was enough for lunch. But today's food prices
> are much different... back than an oversized hot corned beef on rye at
> the kosher deli cost 35 cents... a full meal on real linen soup to
> dessert with all the trimmings with impeccable service cost 35cents at
> the Chinese.
>
> I'm sorry, but unless you're in prison you can't eat a proper diet in
> the US on $7/day, no way, no how, anyone claims they can doesn't have
> the foggiest concept of a decent proper healthful diet, or they choose
> not to remember what all they consume. And food costs in the US are
> probably the lowest on the planet, but still, $7 barely buys a couple
> ham n' cheese sammiches... a friggin' can of Spam, 4 slices of rye, a
> few Kraft singles, mustard, pickle, slaw and a quart of milk costs
> about ten bucks, and that's a do it yerself at home lunch for two, and
> it sure ain't decent, more lurid. Anyone tells me on average they eat
> decent on $7 an entire day I say is a pinnochio nosed fibber, or
> weighs in at less than my six cats... but then your idea of decent
> ain't mine.


I used to spend less than $300 on food for two adults and a small child.
We ate lots of fresh fruits and vegetebles, whole grains, balanced meals
in general. Just nothing really fancy.

A can of "spam": .65 (half a can)
rye bread (20 slices?) 2.50; .50 for 4 slices
american cheese (12 slices) .63 (for 4 slices)
mustard .09 (a tenth of a bottle?)
pickles .25 (1/4 of a jar)
cabbage .50 (half of a two pound cabbage)
mayo .46 (1/3 of a jar)
carrots .15 (.5# out of a 3# bag)
onions .15 (.5# out of a 3# bag)
apple cider vinegar .09 (a tenth of a bottle?)
quart of milk .99

is 4.46 ... plus, there would be coleslaw left from the meal. I could
make many meals for that price range, and less "lurid", as you put it.

"Sarah Gray" > wrote in message
> "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in
>> "Sarah Gray" > wrote in message
>>> "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in
>>>> "Dee.Dee" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/1...e-for-healthy-
> fo
>>>>> od /#more-146
>>>>>
>>>>> No wonder I'm broke and always hungry just tryin' to stay alive!
>>>>
>>>> You would be hungry if you eat the junk food mentioned in the
>>>> article as it's empty calories - people who eat a lot of junk food
>>>> are effectively starving themselves. But as for broke??? Are US
>>>> food prices really so high for nutritious food?
>>>>
>>>> The report says that the average American spends $7/day on food and
>>>> that surely can't be right as it's a miniscule amount of money. I
>>>> did a currency converson and that is about $7.97 in my currency and,
>>>> if the two of us were eating meat for an evening meal, I'd spend at
>>>> least $10 in my currency just on the meat component of the meal.
>>>>
>>>
>>> All the meat you eat is $16.00 a pound?
>>
>> It's usually in the order of about $29/kilo.
>>
>>> Maybe you should shop somewhere cheaper...
>>
>> We have chosen this butcher because his meat is good. I have bought
>> cheap meat I but then don't like eating crappy meat. I'd rather pay
>> for something edible.
>>
>>
>>
>
> I guess I am ignorant about food costs around the world. I can't imagine
> paying that much for cheap cuts. Good steaks, yeah, but not chuck roast
> or whatever.

It is good steaks.

"cybercat" > wrote in :

>
> "Sarah Gray" > wrote
>>
>> I guess I am ignorant about food costs around the world. I can't
>> imagine paying that much for cheap cuts. Good steaks, yeah, but not
>> chuck roast or whatever.
>
> Really. The chuck I got for $1.99 a pound last week was fresh and
> gorgeous. It is normally $4.49 a pound.

But why pay "regular" prices when things are n sale every week?

"FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in news:475b9abb$0$25514$5a62ac22
@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au:

> "Sarah Gray" > wrote in message
>> "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in
>>> "Sarah Gray" > wrote in message
>>>> "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in
>>>>> "Dee.Dee" > wrote in message
>>>>> ...
>>>>>> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/1...igh-price-for-
healthy-
>> fo
>>>>>> od /#more-146
>>>>>>
>>>>>> No wonder I'm broke and always hungry just tryin' to stay alive!
>>>>>
>>>>> You would be hungry if you eat the junk food mentioned in the
>>>>> article as it's empty calories - people who eat a lot of junk food
>>>>> are effectively starving themselves. But as for broke??? Are US
>>>>> food prices really so high for nutritious food?
>>>>>
>>>>> The report says that the average American spends $7/day on food
and
>>>>> that surely can't be right as it's a miniscule amount of money. I
>>>>> did a currency converson and that is about $7.97 in my currency
and,
>>>>> if the two of us were eating meat for an evening meal, I'd spend
at
>>>>> least $10 in my currency just on the meat component of the meal.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> All the meat you eat is $16.00 a pound?
>>>
>>> It's usually in the order of about $29/kilo.
>>>
>>>> Maybe you should shop somewhere cheaper...
>>>
>>> We have chosen this butcher because his meat is good. I have bought
>>> cheap meat I but then don't like eating crappy meat. I'd rather pay
>>> for something edible.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I guess I am ignorant about food costs around the world. I can't
imagine
>> paying that much for cheap cuts. Good steaks, yeah, but not chuck
roast
>> or whatever.
>
> It is good steaks.

Then you can hardly complain about not eating cheaply.

"Cshenk" > wrote in message
...
> FarmI, you may want to check the other posts back to him. His prices were
> not accurate, not even for his own area (a link to his local grocery was
> posted).

Well at least he gave some prices rather than an amorphous "I do it for
less/more".

A link was posted but it is a site for Price Chopper which seems to have a
zillion stores. I couldn't be bothered to get the atlas last night to
figure out where the stores were so I chose a couple at random in NY State
but I didn't know whether they were in downtown NY or in the wilds of the
State of NY.

Tonight I chose Amsterdam and some of those prices are very cheap. They had
a A roasted chook for $US4.99 whihc would cost me about $A8 (or as near as
dammit to that), half a gallon of ice cream for $US1.99 is very cheap -
can't recall what I pay but much more than that for a 1Litre pack (but I
could buy cheap ice cream for a lot less). I pay $A4.19 ($US3.69) for 2
Litres of milk (which is a bit more than 2 US quarts). My bread is $3.50
for a grain loaf ($US3.08).
>
> He added from 25-50% to many items. Not all was wrong though. For
> example 100$ to feed 6 cats if they need a special diet, is not off the
> mark. Say if one were diabetic he'd have to get secail stuff and when you
> have cats, you have to feed them all the same or the 'special one' will
> eat the other's food.
>
> Believe me, I've been in grocery stores in Townsville, Brisbane, and
> Darwin. Your prices are high.

Well they are places where the prices would be high anyway, especially
Darwin and Townsville.

(I'm Navy, traveled to OZ 7-8 times now over
> last 6 years). Meats especially are much more where you are than USA
> standards. This is why you couldn't tell he was not being on the straight
> with his prices. Yours do run that high and can be even worse.

Tell me about it :-)) The cereal I like (Kelloggs 'Just Right') hit $A8 for
a large pack last summer due to drought and I can't see it dropping anytime
soon. I changed brands.
>
>
>
> "FarmI" <ask@itshall be given> wrote in message
> ...
>> "Sheldon" > wrote in message
>>
>>> You can eat "decent" at $14 for two but certainly not much more than
>>> bare essentials... there'd be little fresh produce, not much in way of
>>> beverages except plain tap water, no snacks to speak, certainly no
>>> alcoholic beverages, and you'd need to go real easy on the cheese,
>>> even Velveeta ain't cheap, not much desserts (store brand jello?),
>>> real skimpy on herbs and spices... I can go on. Sure, you can eat
>>> inexpensive meat cuts but even then there wouldn't be much money left
>>> over for accompaniments... and stews and soups every day get old fast,
>>> especilaly if made low cost POW style (very juicy). Even a pound of
>>> balogna costs like $5.... and then you need bread, mustard and maybe
>>> some cheese and lettuce... where's the pickle, slaw, and beer. Yes,
>>> you can subsist on $7 but portions will be small and uninteresting,
>>> pretty much hospital/prison food.
>>>
>>> The last I looked decent preground mystery meat from the stupidmarket
>>> cost $4/lb, by the time the fat is cooked off all you'll have is two
>>> servings.. and you still need to add about $4 more to make it a decent
>>> meal... and that's only one meal, what about the rest of the day.
>>>
>>> $14 a day feeds my six cats.
>>>
>>> $14 a day is my average food bill for just me... Holiday meals are
>>> probably the least expensive, turkey and ham is cheap. To be
>>> perfectly honest I can easily fix a chef's salad for just me and it
>>> will cost about $14... a measly can of decent sardines costs $3, and I
>>> will usually use two (they're small).... but if I use one I add a can
>>> of premium red salmon, costs $5... by the time I add all the produce,
>>> a bunch of olives, a can of sliced beets, a couple sliced eggs, maybe
>>> a fistful of walnuts, and some dressing I'm sure I got $14 on the
>>> plate. I eat a lot of tinned fish, it's very healthful but definitely
>>> not cheap... and I can't open just enough for me unless I want to try
>>> to eat around six cat noses in my plate.
>>>
>>> I spend a bit more than $100 a week on just food to feed just me,
>>> purrrty close to another $100 a week to feed my six cats.
>>> And I don't consider my usual diet very oppulent, it's mustly just
>>> ordinary foods, but I don't skimp on the accompaniments just so I can
>>> eat lobster and prime rib, in fact I probably haven't eaten lobster in
>>> more than 10 years, shrimp neither, it's not something I crave, in
>>> fact I think it's highly over rated, I'd much rather my sardines. But
>>> me and my guys like our steak, so two small porterhouse ($14 worth) is
>>> a dinner for us, and then there are veggies (cat's eat veggies too),
>>> and my guys drink water but I drink a few 2nis. And I don't always
>>> drink Crystal Palace... my booze bill is about $100 a week, and I
>>> really don't drink a lot, maybe two drinks a day... mostly a tall
>>> glass filled with ice, grapefruit juice, and a double shot of vodka...
>>> the grapefruit juice costs as much if not more than the vodka but
>>> juice is pasrt of the drink so itsprice counts, ice ain't free
>>> either. But I'll also splurge on good scotch, Champagne, and my
>>> favorite Ruffino dago red.
>>>
>>> I've no idea how yoose eat for $7/day.... must be a lot of pasta with
>>> two grape meata balles.
>>>
>>> Oranges cost a buck a piece, I just ate two as an appetizer for
>>> breakfast, supposed to eat "5 A Day", I eat more fresh produce than
>>> what's considered a serving (btw, 5 a day is the minimum), apples cost
>>> a buck a piece too, you're not gonna be eating much fresh produce on
>>> $7/day, even a small crummy head of iceberg costs $2. Not sure what
>>> else yet but I'm thinking my 1 quart bowl of raisin bran... need lots
>>> of room for milk, yoose know why... my cats polish off a can of evap
>>> first thing every morning. Dried cereal is expensive, milk ain't
>>> cheap anymore, even one banana costs 30 cents. A lot of people feed
>>> their pets crap foods, the cheapest brands they can find and no
>>> variety... a high quality diet costs a whole lot less than vet bills.
>>> Same with people too, eat cheap now pay big medical bills later.
>>>
>>> Yesterday I picked up a plain cheese pie from the local pizzaria, just
>>> happened to cost $13.95... $14 by my math. They make pizzas much
>>> smaller than the 18" they used to years ago, and now they're very
>>> stingy with the topping, this was 14", I finished it for lunch and
>>> wasn't even full... years ago 3 slices and I was busting. A 14" pie
>>> is actually about half the size of an 18" pie. When I was a kid the
>>> corner pizzeria made 20" pies, so loaded with real mozz you could
>>> barely handle a slice, and the entire pie cost 75 cents... then one
>>> slice cost 10 cents and was enough for lunch. But today's food prices
>>> are much different... back than an oversized hot corned beef on rye at
>>> the kosher deli cost 35 cents... a full meal on real linen soup to
>>> dessert with all the trimmings with impeccable service cost 35cents at
>>> the Chinese.
>>>
>>> I'm sorry, but unless you're in prison you can't eat a proper diet in
>>> the US on $7/day, no way, no how, anyone claims they can doesn't have
>>> the foggiest concept of a decent proper healthful diet, or they choose
>>> not to remember what all they consume. And food costs in the US are
>>> probably the lowest on the planet, but still, $7 barely buys a couple
>>> ham n' cheese sammiches... a friggin' can of Spam, 4 slices of rye, a
>>> few Kraft singles, mustard, pickle, slaw and a quart of milk costs
>>> about ten bucks, and that's a do it yerself at home lunch for two, and
>>> it sure ain't decent, more lurid. Anyone tells me on average they eat
>>> decent on $7 an entire day I say is a pinnochio nosed fibber, or
>>> weighs in at less than my six cats... but then your idea of decent
>>> ain't mine.
>>
>> Thnaks for the post giving prices Sheldon. It's a better indicator of
>> what eating costs in the US than just the "cost of $7 for the average
>> American"
>>
>
>

Dee.Dee wrote:

> http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/1...food/#more-146
>
> No wonder I'm broke and always hungry just tryin' to stay alive!
>
> Excerpts:
>
> "The survey found that higher-calorie, energy-dense foods are the better
> bargain for cash-strapped shoppers. Energy-dense munchies cost on average
> $1.76 per 1,000 kcal, compared with $18.16 per 1,000 kcal for low-energy but
> nutritious foods.
> The survey also showed that low-calorie foods were more likely to increase
> in price, surging 19.5 percent over the two-year study period. High-calorie
> foods remained a relative bargain, dropping in price by 1.8 percent.
>
> Based on his findings, a 2,000-calorie diet would cost just $3.52 a day if
> it consisted of junk food, compared with $36.32 a day for a diet of
> low-energy dense foods. However, most people eat a mix of foods. The average
> American spends about $7 a day on food, although low-income people spend
> about $4, says Dr. Drewnowski."

Well, one thing you can do to free up extra cash for a higher quality
diet is to get married. Or co-habitate. Or whatever. Get a roommate.
Two people can live in the same home for very little extra money. The
per capita cost of housing is slashed which frees up a substantial chunk
of change that can go to partially to savings/investments and partially
to lifestyle improvements, including nicer chow. Then there are the
economies of scale that come with being able to purchase and make
efficient use of bulk items.

I can feed my household of four a healthy diet of high quality foods
with extra luxuries (seasonings, sweets, sometimes soda or beer) and the
occasional restaurant meal, for around $30.00 dollars per day.

Obviously this isn't a viable option if you are either intolerant or
intolerable. It winds up being a sort of self-inflicted "asshole tax".

"Kathleen" > wrote
> I can feed my household of four a healthy diet of high quality foods with
> extra luxuries (seasonings, sweets, sometimes soda or beer) and the
> occasional restaurant meal, for around $30.00 dollars per day.
>
> Obviously this isn't a viable option if you are either intolerant or
> intolerable. It winds up being a sort of self-inflicted "asshole tax".
>

This last line is funny as hell, but I have to disagree that those
who choose to live alone are intolerant or intolerable. There
is a heavenly, peaceful bliss in solitude and privacy for some
of us. Many times, as in my case, it may be the result of many
years of having people shoved in my face alllll the time and not
being able to do a damned thing about it. (Think bartending ...
and an invasive birth family.) I am married now, and I agree
that it is cheaper to live when you share expenses, but not
every price you pay has dollar signs. Thre's nothing wrong
with preferring to live alone, and I would never suggest that
those who make this choice live with others just to save money.
Then again, if I lived alone by choice, I would not be complaining
about how much it costs to feed myself.

"Kathleen" > wrote in message
>
> I can feed my household of four a healthy diet of high quality foods with
> extra luxuries (seasonings, sweets, sometimes soda or beer) and the
> occasional restaurant meal, for around $30.00 dollars per day.

I would certainly hope so. You can do a good job for half that. Of course
a restaurant can be a $6 a meal Burger Doodle or a $100 per person elegant
spot. Even a Ruby Tuesday or similar for four can be $100 a visit. I've
never considered seasonings a luxury. What are you using to put them in
that category?

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

> "Kathleen" > wrote in message
>
>>I can feed my household of four a healthy diet of high quality foods with
>>extra luxuries (seasonings, sweets, sometimes soda or beer) and the
>>occasional restaurant meal, for around $30.00 dollars per day.
>
>
> I would certainly hope so. You can do a good job for half that. Of course
> a restaurant can be a $6 a meal Burger Doodle or a $100 per person elegant
> spot. Even a Ruby Tuesday or similar for four can be $100 a visit. I've
> never considered seasonings a luxury. What are you using to put them in
> that category?

Oils - sesame, chile and very good olive oil
tahini
tamari
hoisin sauce
fish sauce
chili sauces (various)
sweet and sour sauce
cider vinegar
balsamic vinegar
rice vinegar
horseradish
wasabi
vietnamese cinnamon
double strength vanilla
fresh cilantro
fresh lemongrass
fresh sage
fresh basil
cocoa powder
ground chipotles

Cshenk wrote:

> Actually most folks gave local prices back that disagreed. I do believe
> however I was remiss in doing so.
>
> As you quoted him below, I added them for my area.
>
> The most obvious one was 4$lb for ground beef.

You mean to say $4/pound, right?
I'm unclear if you're trying to say 4x $1/pound or what here because of
the improper placement of the dollar sign?

Lean store bought ground beef can be had here for $3.89/pound this week
at Publix, but the cheaper grinds (more fat) can be had for less.
Depending on the use, I might want ground chuck for some purposes and
ground sirloin for others.

If anyone is interested in prices in the Southern US-
This is a Publix grocery store ad for this week. Nice, easy to flip
"pages" to the advertisement online.

http://specials.publix.com/index.asp...9-7716&sf=true

Sarah Gray wrote:
> in general. Just nothing really fancy.
>
> A can of "spam": .65 (half a can)

In your dreams. I eat a lot of Spam, probably as much as a Hawiian...
I buy Spam by the 4-Pack at Sams Club, like 16 cans at a shot (I do
this twice a year so I go through about 30 cans a year), costs just
under $3 a 12 oz can, I think it cost $2,69 this past summer, that's
the cheapest price I've found... the small market in town charges
$3.29, I'd do without first. I eat the entire 12 ounce can myself...
sounds like a lot but I slice and slow fry until it shrinks by about
half, I pour off nearly a third cup of fat. Sometimes I coat the
entire chub with some of the brown sugar glaze mix that comes with
spiral cut ham and nuke it on medium, again it shinks by about half...
makes two average sized sandwiches... yes, I eat 2 sandwiches... I
weigh about 180 and I do hard physical work so I burn it off.

> rye bread (20 slices?) 2.50; .50 for 4 slices

A 2lb loaf of seeded rye at the Price Chopper bakery dept. costs
$4.89... I buy unsliced. Unlike some of yoose figger there is no
Price Chopper where I live, I drive about 20 miles to the nearest
one... there is one in the other direction too, but still 20 miles
thataways, I use both, depending where I'm heading.

> american cheese (12 slices) .63 (for 4 slices)

I was at a Supper Walmart yesterday, I buy cold cuts there because
they have the lowest prices and the freshest product (huge
turnover)... I didn't buy american cheese but the woman being served
at the same time paid like $5.19/lb. for LOL. Without giving the
price per weight and brand your.63 means nothing (you have 12 slices
and 4 slices, which? Probably 4 at that price). Cold cuts are
expensive nowadays, a pound of Boar's Head bologna is $6/lb, head
cheese is like $7.50/lb, Di Lusso Genoa is $7/lb cheese is costly, I
bought a pound of ordinary Alpine Lace Swiss; $6.38/lb... most good
cheese costs over $10/lb. I went to Lowes to buy my Christmas tree;
got a nice 7 1/2' douglas fir for $23, across the parking lot is
Walmart, I dropped $120 there on nothing, if not for the two big bags
of cat litter I wouldn't have needed the cart to haul it all out to my
car.

> mustard .09 (a tenth of a bottle?)

Meaningless without knowing the brand and size. I make my own
mustard. But when I do buy mustard it's Gulden's spicy brown, I don't
remember the exact size right now and I'm not going down to the
basement fridge right now where I keep it but it's the big jar, like
24 ounces I think.

> pickles .25 (1/4 of a jar)

More gibberish... what's a 1/4 jar mean, which brand, how large a
jar? I like Claussen from the refrigerator case, the quart jar costs
like $2.50 on sale, I can eat the entire jar in one sitting, I don't
buy them but 2-3 times a year.

> cabbage .50 (half of a two pound cabbage)

50 cents a pound for cabbage is kind of high... maybe when you buy a
half a head you pay more... I've never seen cabbage sold any other way
but whole heads or shredded in a sealed salad bag. Whole heads in
town are like .19-.29 a pound.

> mayo .46 (1/3 of a jar)

A third of *what size* jar, and which brand?!?!? I buy Hellman's
quarts, on sale at $1.99... I couldn't eat a 1/3 jar in one sitting,
the entire quart lasts me almost a year.

> carrots .15 (.5# out of a 3# bag)

I ain't doing that math... I've been buying carrots in 5lb bags for
$3. But I've also bought 2lb bags for $1.99. I must have like 25
pounds of carrots in my fridge right now, most get fed to the deer.

> onions .15 (.5# out of a 3# bag)

Again, I ain't doing that math... onions are kinda high lately,
yesterday I noticed that Walmart had loose onions for $1.15/lb, no
way. I bought onions at my little market in town for 40 cents a
pound.

> apple cider vinegar .09 (a tenth of a bottle?)

More fercocktah math... a tenth of WHAT size bottle? I buy store
brand white vinegar; 5pct... $1.89/gallon.

> quart of milk .99

I can't remember the last time I bought milk by the quart, for a long
time I was buying 1/2 gallons but of late I've been buying gallons,
$3.69/gal with every tenth one free (Stewart's), I freeze milk.

> is 4.46 ... plus, there would be coleslaw left from the meal. I could
> make many meals for that price range, and less "lurid", as you put it.-
But that's only one meal... at three meals a day $4.46 X 3 comes to
about $13.50... your grocery bill isn't much different from mine...
and no way will I believe you are feeding more than yourself lunch on
6 ounces of Spam and some cabbage. During the summer I grow cabbage,
I can easy finish an entire 1 1/2lb head of boiled cabbage myself in
one sitting, it's all water. I grow a lot of my own vegetables,
those cost much more than store bought. I have no reason to lie
about the prices the stores charge, anyone can look it up on line. I
did pay less for most items on Long Island, but that was five years
ago so that argument is meaningless... many items have actually
doubled in price since then, petrol certainly has, diesel has nearly
tripled, $3.51/gal last month.

SHELDON

Goomba38 wrote:
> Cshenk wrote:
> > Actually most folks gave local prices back that disagreed. �I do believe
> > however I was remiss in doing so.
>
> > As you quoted him below, I added them for my area.
>
> > The most obvious one was 4$lb for ground beef. �
>
> You mean to say $4/pound, right?
> I'm unclear if you're trying to say 4x $1/pound or what here because of
> the improper placement of the dollar sign?
>
> Lean store bought ground beef can be had here for $3.89/pound this week
> at Publix, but the cheaper grinds (more fat) can be had for less.
> Depending on the use, I might want ground chuck for some purposes and
> ground sirloin for others.

When I shop I round off... by my shopping math .11 short of $4 is
$4.... no wonder so many fall for the .99 price sticker thinking it's
a big bargain because it's under a dollar, morons.

I see preground mystery meat for *over* $4, but for all the years I've
posted here I've been beating the grind my own drum, and I do, I never
ever buy any preground mystery meat... why should I buy mystery meat
at $4/pound when I can by beautiful top round roasts at $2/lb and
grind them myself, FRESH, and I know what/who is in it.

SHELDON

On Dec 9, 10:03�pm, Goomba38 > wrote:
> If anyone is interested in prices in the Southern US-
> This is a Publix grocery store ad for this week. Nice, easy to flip
> "pages" to the advertisement online.
>
> http://specials.publix.com/index.asp...&storeid=10335....

The paranoid douchebags here will think you doctored the prices on
that web site.

SHELDON

On Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:03:50 -0500, Goomba38 >
wrote:

>If anyone is interested in prices in the Southern US-
>This is a Publix grocery store ad for this week. Nice, easy to flip
>"pages" to the advertisement online.
>
>http://specials.publix.com/index.asp...9-7716&sf=true

I am always interested in seeing store ads. I am weird enough so that
I think they are fascinating. I have even thought of posting my
weekly ads every week.

Here are some for the stores I shop for this week:

Sunflower market:
http://www.sfmarkets.com/PDFDocs/4/4...C4N7GKEFCD.PDF

John Brooks, which is the lower end market where I sometimes get good
meat specials and the like:
http://www.johnbrooksfoods.com/html/specials.html

Smiths:
http://smiths.inserts2online.com/customer_Frame.jsp?

Albertsons:
http://albertsonsmarket.com/specials/ads.php

Christine

Goomba38 wrote:

> Lean store bought ground beef can be had here for $3.89/pound this week
> at Publix, but the cheaper grinds (more fat) can be had for less.
> Depending on the use, I might want ground chuck for some purposes and
> ground sirloin for others.

Tangentially: so not being from Publix territory, I went to
one for the first time when I was visiting Atlanta and I must
say it was an underwhelming grocery store. The only thing
interesting is they had every conceivable type of Boar's Head
product in the deli. Eveything else -- the rest of the deli,
produce, general selection -- seemed unimpressive.

This was the Publix on Piedmont in Midtown -- perhaps
there may be better Publix's in other parts of town?

Steve

Sheldon > wrote in news:8895525c-5634-4461-893c-
:

> Sarah Gray wrote:
>> in general. Just nothing really fancy.
>>
>> A can of "spam": .65 (half a can)
>
> In your dreams. I eat a lot of Spam, probably as much as a Hawiian...
> I buy Spam by the 4-Pack at Sams Club, like 16 cans at a shot (I do
> this twice a year so I go through about 30 cans a year), costs just
> under $3 a 12 oz can, I think it cost $2,69 this past summer, that's
> the cheapest price I've found... the small market in town charges
> $3.29, I'd do without first. I eat the entire 12 ounce can myself...
> sounds like a lot but I slice and slow fry until it shrinks by about
> half, I pour off nearly a third cup of fat. Sometimes I coat the
> entire chub with some of the brown sugar glaze mix that comes with
> spiral cut ham and nuke it on medium, again it shinks by about half...
> makes two average sized sandwiches... yes, I eat 2 sandwiches... I
> weigh about 180 and I do hard physical work so I burn it off.
>


Well, there is no law that says you have to buy the national brand. If
you're choosing to spend more money than you have to, that's your
problem.

>> rye bread (20 slices?) 2.50; .50 for 4 slices
>
> A 2lb loaf of seeded rye at the Price Chopper bakery dept. costs
> $4.89... I buy unsliced. Unlike some of yoose figger there is no
> Price Chopper where I live, I drive about 20 miles to the nearest
> one... there is one in the other direction too, but still 20 miles
> thataways, I use both, depending where I'm heading.
>

Again, you are *choosing* to buy the store bakery bread, instead of a
cheaper variety. You could make better bread at home for cheaper if you
want *really good* rye bread.

>> american cheese (12 slices) .63 (for 4 slices)
>
> I was at a Supper Walmart yesterday, I buy cold cuts there because
> they have the lowest prices and the freshest product (huge
> turnover)... I didn't buy american cheese but the woman being served
> at the same time paid like $5.19/lb. for LOL. Without giving the
> price per weight and brand your.63 means nothing (you have 12 slices
> and 4 slices, which? Probably 4 at that price).


4 slices for two sandwiches seems reasonable. American cheese is
available for half the price of the deli stuff in packages with the rest
of the cheese.

> Cold cuts are
> expensive nowadays, a pound of Boar's Head bologna is $6/lb,

DUDE. You can't use premium brands to make a point about groceries being
unaffordable for the average consumer.

> head
> cheese is like $7.50/lb, Di Lusso Genoa is $7/lb cheese is costly, I
> bought a pound of ordinary Alpine Lace Swiss; $6.38/lb... most good
> cheese costs over $10/lb. I went to Lowes to buy my Christmas tree;
> got a nice 7 1/2' douglas fir for $23, across the parking lot is
> Walmart, I dropped $120 there on nothing, if not for the two big bags
> of cat litter I wouldn't have needed the cart to haul it all out to my
> car.
>
>> mustard .09 (a tenth of a bottle?)
>
> Meaningless without knowing the brand and size. I make my own
> mustard. But when I do buy mustard it's Gulden's spicy brown, I don't
> remember the exact size right now and I'm not going down to the
> basement fridge right now where I keep it but it's the big jar, like
> 24 ounces I think.
>

What does brand have to do with it. For all intents and purposes,
mustard is mustard. I'm talking about a 12 oz bottle of spicy brown
mustard here; I don;t really pay attention to brands unless I find a
product I *really* prefer over something cheaper.

>> pickles .25 (1/4 of a jar)
>
> More gibberish... what's a 1/4 jar mean, which brand, how large a
> jar? I like Claussen from the refrigerator case, the quart jar costs
> like $2.50 on sale, I can eat the entire jar in one sitting, I don't
> buy them but 2-3 times a year.
>

Again, you're choosing to buy the expensive brand of pickles.

>> cabbage .50 (half of a two pound cabbage)
>
> 50 cents a pound for cabbage is kind of high... maybe when you buy a
> half a head you pay more... I've never seen cabbage sold any other way
> but whole heads or shredded in a sealed salad bag. Whole heads in
> town are like .19-.29 a pound.
>

I only buy cabbage when it's on sale, so I was guessing

>> mayo .46 (1/3 of a jar)
>
> A third of *what size* jar, and which brand?!?!? I buy Hellman's
> quarts, on sale at $1.99... I couldn't eat a 1/3 jar in one sitting,
> the entire quart lasts me almost a year.
>

This was for coleslaw.. a quart or mayo. It would be less mayo than
that, but I was guesstimating there.

>> carrots .15 (.5# out of a 3# bag)
>
> I ain't doing that math... I've been buying carrots in 5lb bags for
> $3. But I've also bought 2lb bags for $1.99. I must have like 25
> pounds of carrots in my fridge right now, most get fed to the deer.
>

I get them 3 pounds for .89.

>> onions .15 (.5# out of a 3# bag)
>
> Again, I ain't doing that math... onions are kinda high lately,
> yesterday I noticed that Walmart had loose onions for $1.15/lb, no
> way. I bought onions at my little market in town for 40 cents a
> pound.
>

..89 for three pounds.

>> apple cider vinegar .09 (a tenth of a bottle?)
>
> More fercocktah math... a tenth of WHAT size bottle? I buy store
> brand white vinegar; 5pct... $1.89/gallon.
>

a quart of apple cider vinegar.

>> quart of milk .99
>
> I can't remember the last time I bought milk by the quart, for a long
> time I was buying 1/2 gallons but of late I've been buying gallons,
> $3.69/gal with every tenth one free (Stewart's), I freeze milk.
>

I can usually find milk on sale for 2.50 a gallon... a quart of milk
costs much more per oz.

>> is 4.46 ... plus, there would be coleslaw left from the meal. I could
>> make many meals for that price range, and less "lurid", as you put
it.-
> But that's only one meal... at three meals a day $4.46 X 3 comes to
> about $13.50... your grocery bill isn't much different from mine...
> and no way will I believe you are feeding more than yourself lunch on
> 6 ounces of Spam and some cabbage.


*You* were the one who came up with the menu! I also assumed that was
for two people... 16 oz of milk, a sandwich of span and cheese on rye
with mayo and mustard and a pickle and coleslaw is more than I would eat
for lunch on an average day.

> During the summer I grow cabbage,
> I can easy finish an entire 1 1/2lb head of boiled cabbage myself in
> one sitting, it's all water. I grow a lot of my own vegetables,
> those cost much more than store bought. I have no reason to lie
> about the prices the stores charge, anyone can look it up on line.

All I can see is that you are choosing to spend more money, and then
complaining about how high your expenses are.

> I
> did pay less for most items on Long Island, but that was five years
> ago so that argument is meaningless... many items have actually
> doubled in price since then, petrol certainly has, diesel has nearly
> tripled, $3.51/gal last month.

Steve Pope wrote:

> Tangentially: so not being from Publix territory, I went to
> one for the first time when I was visiting Atlanta and I must
> say it was an underwhelming grocery store. The only thing
> interesting is they had every conceivable type of Boar's Head
> product in the deli. Eveything else -- the rest of the deli,
> produce, general selection -- seemed unimpressive.
>
> This was the Publix on Piedmont in Midtown -- perhaps
> there may be better Publix's in other parts of town?
>
> Steve

Publix carries a good selection of Italian foods and foods sold in the
Northeast such as Taylor Pork Roll. I suspect it does that because even
though based out of FL (I believe?), FL is full of transplanted Yankees
who want what they could get back home. Just my suspicion <shrug>.
They also have one of the largest organic food sections I've ever seen.
I can't vouch for the store in Atlanta you went to as that is not my
Publix.
I actually tend to shop Kroger more often, but like Publix a lot for
certain things.

Christine Dabney > wrote in
:

> On Sun, 09 Dec 2007 22:03:50 -0500, Goomba38 >
> wrote:
>
>>If anyone is interested in prices in the Southern US-
>>This is a Publix grocery store ad for this week. Nice, easy to flip
>>"pages" to the advertisement online.
>>
>>http://specials.publix.com/index.asp...toreid=1033547
>>&zipcode=32159-7716&sf=true
>
> I am always interested in seeing store ads. I am weird enough so that
> I think they are fascinating. I have even thought of posting my
> weekly ads every week.
>
> Here are some for the stores I shop for this week:
>
> Sunflower market:
> http://www.sfmarkets.com/PDFDocs/4/4...C4N7GKEFCD.PDF
>
> John Brooks, which is the lower end market where I sometimes get good
> meat specials and the like:
> http://www.johnbrooksfoods.com/html/specials.html
>
> Smiths:
> http://smiths.inserts2online.com/customer_Frame.jsp?
>
> Albertsons:
> http://albertsonsmarket.com/specials/ads.php
>

I shop mainly at Aldi and at Meijer, but I read the ads every week and will
shop elsewhere to pick up good deals.

http://www2.meijer.com/ads/default.aspx?sid=34

Scans of Aldi flyer:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2173/...d1dcf060_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2328/...c1fdc8bd_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2208/...d0ebee12_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/...2bd215fd_o.jpg

Goomba38 > wrote:

>Steve Pope wrote:

>> Tangentially: so not being from Publix territory, I went to
>> one for the first time when I was visiting Atlanta and I must
>> say it was an underwhelming grocery store. The only thing
>> interesting is they had every conceivable type of Boar's Head
>> product in the deli. Eveything else -- the rest of the deli,
>> produce, general selection -- seemed unimpressive.

>> This was the Publix on Piedmont in Midtown -- perhaps
>> there may be better Publix's in other parts of town?

>Publix carries a good selection of Italian foods and foods sold in the
>Northeast such as Taylor Pork Roll. I suspect it does that because even
>though based out of FL (I believe?), FL is full of transplanted Yankees
>who want what they could get back home. Just my suspicion <shrug>.
>They also have one of the largest organic food sections I've ever seen.
>I can't vouch for the store in Atlanta you went to as that is not my
>Publix.

>I actually tend to shop Kroger more often, but like Publix a lot for
>certain things.

Thanks. There was definitely not much for organic (or otherwise
nice-looking) produce at the Publix I went to. I strongly suspect
I should have gone up to Decateur and looked for a Publix there.

We did find a few decent restaurants in town though, so it
was not a total bust. And later in the same trip we went to
a Harris Teeter grocery store in Hendersonville -- definitely
saved the day, in terms of getting Thanksgiving dinner together
with no prior planning.

Steve

"Cshenk" > wrote in message
> "FarmI" wrote
> "Cshenk" wrote
>
>>> FarmI, you may want to check the other posts back to him. His prices
>>> were not accurate, not even for his own area (a link to his local
>>> grocery was posted).
>
>> Well at least he gave some prices rather than an amorphous "I do it for
>> less/more".
>
> Actually most folks gave local prices back that disagreed. I do believe
> however I was remiss in doing so.
>
> As you quoted him below, I added them for my area.
>
> The most obvious one was 4$lb for ground beef. That would be roughly
> 1/2kg?

Near enough, but these days I get confused myself going from metric to old
measures, I can never remember whether it is the US pint or the US lb that
is less than the old Imperial measures.

> for you? I dont think in
> metrics so have the measure possibly off. I don't think even your prices
> are that high for the same amount but you do perhaps come close in Darwin
> and Townsville.
>
> The new train to Darwin probably has reduced that now though.

I suspect that it probably crries more people than goods given that it isn't
starting its journey from a huge food growing area, but I admit to ignorance
there.

>> A link was posted but it is a site for Price Chopper which seems to have
>> a zillion stores. I couldn't be bothered to get the atlas last night to
>> figure out where the stores were so I chose a couple at random in NY
>> State but I didn't know whether they were in downtown NY or in the wilds
>> of the State of NY.
>
> It was for a local chain in his town, normal store not 'chopper' and the
> link below was for his actual city.
>
>> Tonight I chose Amsterdam and some of those prices are very cheap. They
>> had a A roasted chook for $US4.99 whihc would cost me about $A8 (or as
>> near as dammit to that), half a gallon of ice cream for $US1.99 is very
>> cheap -
>
> Yes, not a bad price and normal here but depends on brand of ice cream.
> The better ones will cost more.
> The roasted chook would be 4.99$ most places.
>
>> can't recall what I pay but much more than that for a 1Litre pack (but I
>
> Grin, 1 litre of what here?

Sorry - ice cream as continued in the brackets following.
>
>> could buy cheap ice cream for a lot less). I pay $A4.19 ($US3.69) for 2
>> Litres of milk (which is a bit more than 2 US quarts). My bread is $3.50
>> for a grain loaf ($US3.08).
>
> The milk here varies by state and is one of the ones that can be really
> different. Some states allow more markup and hit 2.50$ for that 2L
> measure but many are that same price for 1gallon.
>
> Bread, depends on brand. *fancy multigrain' can run that high, but not
> often. If you are geting just a standard white one there, 1$ to 1.50$
> USA.
>
>>> He added from 25-50% to many items. Not all was wrong though. For
>>> example 100$ to feed 6 cats if they need a special diet, is not off the
>>> mark. Say if one were diabetic he'd have to get secail stuff and when
>>> you have cats, you have to feed them all the same or the 'special one'
>>> will eat the other's food.
>>>
>>> Believe me, I've been in grocery stores in Townsville, Brisbane, and
>>> Darwin. Your prices are high.
>>
>> Well they are places where the prices would be high anyway, especially
>> Darwin and Townsville.
>
> Now that the train is there, Darwin has dropped prices but i havent been
> there since early 2006 if that recent.
>
>> (I'm Navy, traveled to OZ 7-8 times now over
>>> last 6 years). Meats especially are much more where you are than USA
>>> standards. This is why you couldn't tell he was not being on the
>>> straight with his prices. Yours do run that high and can be even worse.
>>
>> Tell me about it :-)) The cereal I like (Kelloggs 'Just Right') hit $A8
>> for a large pack last summer due to drought and I can't see it dropping
>> anytime soon. I changed brands.
>
> Ouch! That one is 3.25$ here and got a sale on them at 2$ just this past
> week.
>
>>>>> balogna costs like $5.... and then you need bread, mustard and maybe
>
> Nope, More like 2$
>
>>>>> $14 a day feeds my six cats.
>
> Here, he may be right. I factored in any special diet needs to come up
> with that. Say he
> has a diabetic cat? 15$ a month each for the 6 then is quite possible
> with 10$ a month left over for
> 'cat treats'.
>
>>>> will cost about $14... a measly can of decent sardines costs $3, and I
>
> Major markup. I cant find ANY brands that cost even close even at the
> special imported deli
> places. Normal price for normal ones, 50-70cents a can.
>
>>>>> of premium red salmon, costs $5... by the time I add all the produce,
>
> Canned salmon, 1.50$, premium 3.50$
>
>>>>> a bunch of olives, a can of sliced beets, a couple sliced eggs, maybe
>>>>> a fistful of walnuts, and some dressing I'm sure I got $14 on the
>>>>> plate. I eat a lot of tinned fish, it's very healthful but definitely
>
> Canned beets, 50-90cents depending on size and brand. Eggs, vary widely
> but usually 1 dozen
> are about 2$ or less and sales are easy to find them at 1$ most areas.
>
>>>>> purrrty close to another $100 a week to feed my six cats.
>
> This one as said, could be valid. It probably isnt, but I say that only
> because he inflated
> the rest badly. If he has a special needs cat in there and has to feed
> them all the same
> to keep the special one on it's diet, he could be straight up here.
>
>>>>>.. my booze bill is about $100 a week, and I
>>>>> really don't drink a lot, maybe two drinks a day... mostly a tall
>>>>> glass filled with ice, grapefruit juice, and a double shot of vodka...
>
> Vodka here is at the most top end imported you can find, 75$ a bottle.
> Normal
> reasonable quality imported is 35$.
>
> Starting to see what's going on?
>
>>>>> the grapefruit juice costs as much if not more than the vodka but
>
> Grapefruit juice is 3.69$ at our high end yuppie market for a 750ml. It's
> 2.69$ at the
> normal markets. If he drinks like he says, lets split the difference to
> 3$ in juice and 9$ in vodka
> if he's going high end vice 'made in the USA' or the normal 35$ imports.
>
>>>>> Oranges cost a buck a piece, I just ate two as an appetizer for
>
> Oranges sell in bags of 10, for 3.50$ at the yuppie market. Bags of 10
> for 1.50$ at this
> season in the regular stores.
>
>>>>> apples cost
>>>>> a buck a piece too
>
> Asian apples imported from Asia cost that much, regular ones cost *far
> less* but fancy brands and big ones
> can add up to that per. Hard to do that, but it can happen.
>
>>>>> $7/day, even a small crummy head of iceberg costs $2. Not sure what
>
> Grin, that can be true for letuce, but 1.29$ or under a dollar is also
> common.
>
>>>>> cheap anymore, even one banana costs 30 cents. A lot of people feed
>
> A group of 6 large bannanas is less than 1$ normally. 19cents a lb is
> common for sales. 30cents a lb (several bannanas in there) is not
> abnormal.
>
> As you can see, there is a reason why so MANY of us USA folks told him to
> stop folling yourfolks overseas with his inflated prices.
>
> I would not be amazed if he did spoend over 7$ a day, but he's getting
> fancy premade junk food and pre-made meals REAL often and probably a major
> part of his diet. He probably eats more too
> as he says a 14 inch pizza 'leaves him still hungry'.

:-)) It does sound like he has a good appetite. We don't make a pizza that
big for 2 of us and even then the smaller one will do us for 2 meals.

Thanks for the prices. I've been thinking about it a bit over the past
couple of days and I guess it depends on how much a household budget would
be for food. Mine is $A550/fortnight for food and cleaning products. I go
very easy on the cleaning products though :-))

"Sheldon" > wrote in message
> Sarah Gray wrote:
>> in general. Just nothing really fancy.
>>
>> A can of "spam": .65 (half a can)
>
> In your dreams. I eat a lot of Spam,

Why? It's disgusting.

On Dec 7, 4:46Â*pm, Sheldon > wrote:
> On Dec 7, 4:20�pm, Cindy Hamilton
>
>
>
> >�I probably eat for $7 per day quite frequently. �But I
> > probably weigh more than you and all your cats put together.
>
> Perhaps you need to learn how to cook with more imagination and choose
> more healthful foods... but still it's very difficult to eat properly
> on $7 a day as a steady diet. Â*Sure you can fill your tank, $7 buys a
> lot of starchy fatty foods but very little fresh produce and lean meats

Did you read what I wrote? Where's the starchy, fatty foods in that?
Chicken breast, a couple ounces of cheese, lettuce and more lettuce.

You reported that you ate an entire pizza, Sheldon. A QUART of
Grape Nuts. WTF?

I don't manage $7 a day every day, but on days when I eat lentil soup
for dinner it's easy to have the day's expenditure be less than $7.

Cindy Hamilton

COOKING FOR TWO

( each ) 2 eggs, toast and coffee for breakfast.
That's about a buck....

Bagged salad for lunch ( a dollar, on sale plus dressing )

Supper;
A pound of pasta, $1
and a jar of pasta sauce $1.50
Makes more spaghetti than two can eat.

Thats about five bucks for the day,
without a great deal of effort.

Of course, we don't shop at Martha Stewarts butcher.......


<rj>

<RJ> wrote:
>
> COOKING FOR TWO
>
> ( each ) 2 eggs, toast and coffee for breakfast.
> That's about a buck....
>
> Bagged salad for lunch ( a dollar, on sale plus dressing )
>
> Supper;
> A pound of pasta, $1
> and a jar of pasta sauce $1.50
> Makes more spaghetti than two can eat.
>
> Thats about five bucks for the day,
> without a great deal of effort.
>
> Of course, we don't shop at Martha Stewarts butcher.......
>
>
> <rj>

Perhaps it is eating, but not particularly well.
Too few veggies, no fruit, no dairy, no snacks... just sort of
surviving, y'know?

"Sheldon" > wrote in message
...
Goomba38 wrote:
> Cshenk wrote:
> > Actually most folks gave local prices back that disagreed. ?I do believe
> > however I was remiss in doing so.
>
> > As you quoted him below, I added them for my area.
>
> > The most obvious one was 4$lb for ground beef. ?
>
> You mean to say $4/pound, right?
> I'm unclear if you're trying to say 4x $1/pound or what here because of
> the improper placement of the dollar sign?
>
> Lean store bought ground beef can be had here for $3.89/pound this week
> at Publix, but the cheaper grinds (more fat) can be had for less.
> Depending on the use, I might want ground chuck for some purposes and
> ground sirloin for others.

When I shop I round off... by my shopping math .11 short of $4 is
$4.... no wonder so many fall for the .99 price sticker thinking it's
a big bargain because it's under a dollar, morons.

I see preground mystery meat for *over* $4, but for all the years I've
posted here I've been beating the grind my own drum, and I do, I never
ever buy any preground mystery meat... why should I buy mystery meat
at $4/pound when I can by beautiful top round roasts at $2/lb and
grind them myself, FRESH, and I know what/who is in it.

SHELDON

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


What brand/type of meat grinder do you use?

"FarmI" wrote:
> "Sheldon" wrote:
>
> I eat a lot of Spam,

Why? �It's disgusting.

How is it any more disgusting than a hot dog... or any sausage for
that matter... maybe you just don't enjoy a good horse cock sammiche.

SHELDON

On Dec 9, 11:29Â*pm, Sheldon > wrote:
> Goomba38 wrote:
> > Cshenk wrote:
> > > Actually most folks gave local prices back that disagreed. �I do believe
> > > however I was remiss in doing so.
>
> > > As you quoted him below, I added them for my area.
>
> > > The most obvious one was 4$lb for ground beef. �
>
> > You mean to say $4/pound, right?
> > I'm unclear if you're trying to say 4x $1/pound or what here because of
> > the improper placement of the dollar sign?
>
> > Lean store bought ground beef can be had here for $3.89/pound this week
> > at Publix, but the cheaper grinds (more fat) can be had for less.
> > Depending on the use, I might want ground chuck for some purposes and
> > ground sirloin for others.
>
> When I shop I round off... by my shopping math .11 short of $4 is
> $4.... no wonder so many fall for the .99 price sticker thinking it's
> a big bargain because it's under a dollar, morons.
>
> I see preground mystery meat for *over* $4, but for all the years I've
> posted here I've been beating the grind my own drum, and I do, I never
> ever buy any preground mystery meat... why should I buy mystery meat
> at $4/pound when I can by beautiful top round roasts at $2/lb and
> grind them myself, FRESH, and I know what/who is in it.
>
> SHELDON- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Wow !! how can you remember all the prices you pay?? They are out of
my mind before I get home, unless I get an especially good buy on
something.
Rosie

Goomba38 wrote:
> <RJ> wrote:
>>
>> COOKING FOR TWO
>>
>> ( each ) 2 eggs, toast and coffee for breakfast.
>> That's about a buck....
>>
>> Bagged salad for lunch ( a dollar, on sale plus dressing )
>>
>> Supper;
>> A pound of pasta, $1
>> and a jar of pasta sauce $1.50
>> Makes more spaghetti than two can eat.
>>
>> Thats about five bucks for the day,
>> without a great deal of effort.
>>
>> Of course, we don't shop at Martha Stewarts butcher.......
>>
>>
>> <rj>
>
> Perhaps it is eating, but not particularly well.
> Too few veggies, no fruit, no dairy, no snacks... just sort of
> surviving, y'know?

I suppose if you are broke then you are on subsistance eating, so given
that, s/he didn't do too badly

"rosie" > wrote in message
...
On Dec 9, 11:29 pm, Sheldon > wrote:
> Goomba38 wrote:
> > Cshenk wrote:
> > > Actually most folks gave local prices back that disagreed. ?I do
> > > believe
> > > however I was remiss in doing so.
>
> > > As you quoted him below, I added them for my area.
>
> > > The most obvious one was 4$lb for ground beef. ?
>
> > You mean to say $4/pound, right?
> > I'm unclear if you're trying to say 4x $1/pound or what here because of
> > the improper placement of the dollar sign?
>
> > Lean store bought ground beef can be had here for $3.89/pound this week
> > at Publix, but the cheaper grinds (more fat) can be had for less.
> > Depending on the use, I might want ground chuck for some purposes and
> > ground sirloin for others.
>
> When I shop I round off... by my shopping math .11 short of $4 is
> $4.... no wonder so many fall for the .99 price sticker thinking it's
> a big bargain because it's under a dollar, morons.
>
> I see preground mystery meat for *over* $4, but for all the years I've
> posted here I've been beating the grind my own drum, and I do, I never
> ever buy any preground mystery meat... why should I buy mystery meat
> at $4/pound when I can by beautiful top round roasts at $2/lb and
> grind them myself, FRESH, and I know what/who is in it.
>
> SHELDON- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Wow !! how can you remember all the prices you pay?? They are out of
my mind before I get home, unless I get an especially good buy on
something.
Rosie

===================

After 30+ years of shopping, I know what I pay for almost everything. If you
don't, something's really wrong, unless you're really new to shopping for
your own food.

Sarah Gray wrote:
> >
> All I can see is that you are choosing to spend more money, and then
> complaining about how high your expenses are.

Then you are a functional illiterate because I have not complained...
you are the one complaining that I pay too much for your tastes... but
then you don't treat yourself well. I'm very happy to be able to pay
for my higher standard of living. My cats eat far better than you.
It probably annoys the shit out of you that I spend more money to feed
wild animals than you spend to feed yourself... hey, I ain't asking
you or anyone else to pay my bills. You probably drive a cheap no
frills automobile, I drive a top of the line Landcruiser... my tractor
cost more than a full size Hummer. You probably don't even own an
automobile, likely you lease/rent yours... better than 90pct of the
late model vehicles on the road are leased. I can say anyone who
leases is over paying, anyone who rents their abode is overpaying.
Odds are you're on welfare, I'm paying to feed you, so STFU.

SHELDON

On Dec 10, 9:20�am, "JoeSpareBedroom" > wrote:
> "rosie" > wrote in message
>
> ...
> On Dec 9, 11:29 pm, Sheldon > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Goomba38 wrote:
> > > Cshenk wrote:
> > > > Actually most folks gave local prices back that disagreed. ?I do
> > > > believe
> > > > however I was remiss in doing so.
>
> > > > As you quoted him below, I added them for my area.
>
> > > > The most obvious one was 4$lb for ground beef. ?
>
> > > You mean to say $4/pound, right?
> > > I'm unclear if you're trying to say 4x $1/pound or what here because of
> > > the improper placement of the dollar sign?
>
> > > Lean store bought ground beef can be had here for $3.89/pound this week
> > > at Publix, but the cheaper grinds (more fat) can be had for less.
> > > Depending on the use, I might want ground chuck for some purposes and
> > > ground sirloin for others.
>
> > When I shop I round off... by my shopping math .11 short of $4 is
> > $4.... no wonder so many fall for the .99 price sticker thinking it's
> > a big bargain because it's under a dollar, morons.
>
> > I see preground mystery meat for *over* $4, but for all the years I've
> > posted here I've been beating the grind my own drum, and I do, I never
> > ever buy any preground mystery meat... why should I buy mystery meat
> > at $4/pound when I can by beautiful top round roasts at $2/lb and
> > grind them myself, FRESH, and I know what/who is in it.
>
> > SHELDON- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> Wow !! how can you remember all the prices you pay?? �They are out of
> my mind before I get home, unless I get an especially good buy on
> something.
> Rosie
>
> ===================
>
> After 30+ years of shopping, I know what I pay for almost everything. If you
> don't, something's really wrong, unless you're really new to shopping for
> your own food.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Nope, been shopping for food longer than 30 years, out of sight , out
of mind.

Rosie

rosie wrote:

> Wow !! how can you remember all the prices you pay?? They are out of
> my mind before I get home, unless I get an especially good buy on
> something.
> Rosie

My grandmother died as illiterate as the day she was born and never
learned much English. But lemme tell ya- she knew to the penny how much
things cost and could keep track of the price paid weeks to years
before. Going to the market with her was an adventure and God help the
cashier who might ring something up incorrectly...?!