Is It Just Me?

Man oh man, is it just me or are grocery prices hitting the roof?

It used to be that I could stay on budget of $80.00-$100.00/week for our family and that even included diapers/wipes and a few other household items at times. I would use coupons and watch the sales and such of course, but it was still manageable.  Not anymore!

I noticed starting around June time frame, that our food budget started creeping up each time I went shopping.  At first I thought maybe I was just buying a bit more convenience food since it was summertime and I needed to stock the fridge more since school was out.  Or that I was buying more fresh produce but I went back to my menu plans and receipts just recently and it was neither!  I wasn't buying anything out of the ordinary.

Bottomline, the cost of food has just been increasingly going up, up, up the past 6 months. 

I *try* not to buy a whole lot of processed foods and *try* to cook semi home made but doing so adds up quick.  It is a sad day when it costs less to eat *unhealthy* processed foods then to eat *healthy* foods.  It's no wonder that those in the lower income bracket are more likely to be over weight and diabetic.  Heck, we are in the middle income bracket and have issues with staying on budget and at times are eating quite a bit of carb heavy meals since these tend to be *cheaper* . 

I know higher food costs is not an *excuse* to eat unhealthy and I know it can be done with some good planning and a decent amount of time, which I often lack but...definetly going to try and make some changes so we can get back on track with our budget and eating healthier.

What changes have you made to your grocery budget in regards to the price increases? 

How do you feed your families healthy meals without breaking the bank?



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