I Bought Groceries Last Night, and It Was Painful

Checking the cost per ounce

I have been putting off going to the store for a while now.  I've gotten a few drips and drabs here and there, but haven't really done a big shop for several weeks.  Mostly it's because my work schedule is too hectic, but also because I'm just dreading spending the money.  Finally, we ran out of bread, and I went shopping.

Despite the fact that I left the store with a full cart, it felt like one of those trips where I didn't really buy anything. I got a lot of ingredients and a lot of odds and ends, and it cost (brace yourself) $165.  About 2/3 of the items I bought were on sale or I had a coupon, and I still spent $165!  I feel ill.  I noticed a few things while at the store.

1. The cost of cheese has skyrocketed.  I usually buy the store brand of brick cheese, which, since I moved to RI five years ago, was frequently on sale for $4 for 2.  Now, it's always $3.49 and the package has gotten smaller.  It used to be ten ounces, now it's eight.  The manufacturer changed the design from a square to a rectangle, presumably to make it look bigger than it is, but it just looks tiny.

2. Eggs are way up too.  I've started buying the carton of 18, and it was $3.59

3. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why this shopping trip cost so much.  I did indulge in a slightly fancier variety of yogurt, but it was on sale so was hardly more expensive than my usual.  I feel like the price of everything I bought was just slightly higher.  The tomatoes I bought were $4 for four, even though they were on sale as well.  Asparagus was $4.67--so I am going to make damn sure I eat this produce before it goes bad. I also bought more meat than usual for bf--bratwurst, pepperoni.

Plans for the future?

• Well, I'm going to stick with the barley--just keep adding it to everything.
• Over the winter, I'm going to cut way back on fresh produce and stick with frozen--there's no price increase there so far.
• I'm going to cut way down on my consumption of snacky foods like chips and crackers.  That's been something I've been working on anyway--for my waist and my budget--but have you seen the price of crackers lately!?!?  Unreal.
• I'm going to keep on rekindling my love of the bean--up next, vegetarian chili!
• I'm going to eat a lot of potatoes, which I also love.

Anyone else have any tips for how to save at the store without starving?