Posted by In the past few years, we have not gone into a restaurant to sit down and order a meal. This is something that we used to enjoy on special occasions. Now, we order a pizza or go through the drive thru maybe once a month, if we have a discount coupon. Otherwise, we have only our past memories of going out to dine. Most of our food budget is now spent at the grocery store. I normally go online to start a grocery list every other week. It depends on the expiration date on the milk carton. Lately we have been going into the store with a list in hand and trying to pick only the items that are on the list. Going with two people can increase spending. My partner will put something in the cart, and I will say “That’s not on the list!”, and they will say “But I need it to make my recipe.” In that case, I often have to cross an item off the list if it is a snack or it can wait until next time.
I think we have eaten more chicken and pork in the last few years than ever before. Red meat is a luxury these days. The only kind we can afford is hamburger or a small package of stew meat when it is on sale. Our grocery budget is about $300 per month for two people. That’s about 50% more than it was back in 2018. I find that we buy more lower priced snack foods so that we can get by with one big meal at the end of the day. I remember when I was growing up, we would have cake or pie for desert after supper. Now we can’t afford deserts like that. My slice of cake or pie has been replaced by an unfrosted strawberry Pop Tart. So, it isn’t just the meals that have gotten more expensive, it’s everything that used to make dinner more enjoyable.
If it wasn’t for weekly sales and electronic coupons, we would be in big trouble. Beyond visiting multiple grocery stores and buying only sale items, I don’t know what more we can do to stretch our food budget. Health, car, and home insurance keeps increasing and the money to pay those bills has to come from somewhere. It would be nice to go out for a meal more often, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Fast food restaurants are starting a transition phase. As businesses are forced to pay higher wages, we will start to see changes in the way fast food restaurants operate. First it will be semi-automated and then fully automated food service. The big guys will do whatever it takes to stay in business. Even if that means replacing humans with robots.