{"id":5106,"date":"2023-03-02T17:18:56","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T23:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/?p=5106"},"modified":"2023-03-02T17:18:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T23:18:56","slug":"you-better-shop-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/you-better-shop-around\/","title":{"rendered":"You Better Shop Around"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the price of groceries these\ndays, you better shop around! I can\u2019t type that without hearing backup singers bahdododoing\nin my head. But I digress. Food prices are erratic right now. Gone are the days\nyou can count on any specific store having the lowest price. A combination of\nsupply chain issues, product shortages, and inflation have led to unpredictable\nshopping in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"shop\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I recently ran out of Pickapeppa\nSauce. When I pulled it up on the Walmart site, it was $10 (marked down from\n$13.95) for a 5 oz bottle. A search on Amazon found the same item for $7.89.\nBoth of those seemed high so I looked at Kroger through Instacart. Kroger was\nthe cheapest by far at $4.99.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I need cranberry juice. I\nwant the kind that\u2019s nothing but 100% cranberry without any added grape or\napple juice. A 32 oz bottle is $7.18 at Walmart, $6.39 at Kroger, and $9.99 at\nThe Fresh Market and Natural Grocers. The choice between $7.18 and $6.39 is\nless than a dollar. That difference may not change my mind about where to\npurchase it. On the other hand, $2.81 seems like a pretty big difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the math isn\u2019t that simple. I\noften have 30 items to purchase at one time. If the price of each one is as\nerratic as these two examples, I can end up spending $30 – $60 more per\nshopping trip than if I shop at 3 or 4 different stores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To comparison shop, I also have\nto factor in the amount of time I spend reviewing prices. Admittedly, online\nshopping reduces the amount of time this takes, but I can easily eat a dollar\nin time trying to save a dollar in cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, I had the luxury of\nignoring grocery prices for the most part. And I got used to the fact that\ngluten-free items would be expensive in comparison to their gluten-containing\ncounterparts. Now, I find myself questioning every purchase. Do I REALLY need\nthose crackers? Do I NEED French bread from the store or do I have time to bake\nthis week?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last weekend, I hosted a birthday party. After searching four stores for two slabs of ribs, I checked a local barbecue restaurant. It was cheaper to buy the ribs there already smoked than to buy them uncooked from Costco, Sam\u2019s Club, Walmart, or Kroger. I could save cash and cooking time by purchasing from the restaurant. That made my decision easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a limited amount of time to research prices online, you may want to consider a price comparison app<\/a>. I haven\u2019t used any of these so I can\u2019t recommend one, but online reviews and a look at their description can help you determine which app may fit your shopping style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other thing I do is limit shopping. I do this by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n