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Thread: food cost

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    Smart Canuck idonovan's Avatar
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    5
    so who's with me?
    buying food is getting more and more unreasonable all the time. The cost keeps going up and up and using coupons is difficult now. I can't afford to buy good meat on a regular basis anymore, bacon is a treat now instead of a regular buy. I don't usually buy fresh meat anymore because of the cost. Not to mention package sizes going down while the price goes up. cost of things like cheese is also gone up.. while yes I struggle financially I'm not on here as a poor me type thing.. when i do buy food its all the cheep stuff like frozen tubes of low quality ground "meet" frozen or canned veggies pasta and the like.. not all healthy... today i discovered here in Calgary (a money hungry expensive city) a lot of people are like me. I went to the food bank and while yes it is close to the holidays never have i seen it so busy even this time of year... the line ups were massive. I think i spent nearly 2h just in line ups. Im thankful for the food bank its great in a crunch. All I'm saying is how does this city expect lower income people to survive? do they want us all to just move? with not only high cost of rent here (we are second to Vancouver right now) utilities, other expenses bills and some wants like a phone and internet (that helps with communication and job searches and some fun and relief) childcare , school expenses (not me but others) and now way expensive food its really hard to make it in life. I don't understand why something is not being done?
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    Last edited by idonovan; Sat, Dec 6th, 2014 at 02:53 AM.
    luckbealady and terry2144 like this.


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    Canadian Guru Midnightly's Avatar
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    oh gosh i know the feeling... my friend just posted on her facebook.. $107 and change for 3 bags of groceries! yes it was all healthy and some organics but still! more then $30 per bag!
    When life hands you Edward Cullen...throw him back and demand Eric Northman....

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    Smart Canuck luckbealady's Avatar
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    The thing I've been really sad about is the price of lean ground beef. We used to have good stock in the freezer - for a long time we'd pick it up when it was $1.49/lb....then $1.99/lb. This year I think I was lucky to get it at $2.49/lb. And of course, things that are relatively inexpensive are now smaller. I just made dirt cake for my brother's birthday, which calls for a package of Oreos - one pack used to do about 4-6 fairly thick cookie crumb layers - now I've done 4, but they are super super thin, barely noticeable. Next year I'm thinking I'll have to buy 2 packs of Oreos.

    On the plus side, I have noticed veggies tend to be a bit cheaper than usual.

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    Smart Canuck idonovan's Avatar
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    I think hot dog packs are smaller now. I bought one last week on sale 4.45 i thought it had 12. Get home it had 10.
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    Mastermind Shwa Girl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by idonovan View Post
    when i do buy food its all the cheep stuff like frozen tubes of low quality ground "meet" frozen or canned veggies pasta and the like.. not all healthy...
    good news from Dietitians of Canada
    Mar 21 2013
    Get Frozen!

    For healthy meals in a flash, pack your freezer with nutrient-rich frozen foods.


    Five Frozen Foods for the Freezer

    When buying frozen packaged foods, choose nutrient-rich ones with more vitamins, minerals and fibre, and less sodium, fat and sugar. Look for plain frozen foods that you can season yourself.

    • Vegetables. Along with peas and corn, try frozen leafy greens such as spinach, kale or mixed Asian vegetables. Frozen is just as nutritious as fresh!

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    Mastermind Shwa Girl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by idonovan View Post
    , other expenses bills and some wants like a phone and internet (that helps with communication and job searches and some fun and relief)
    good news ==> free internet at public libraries (2 hours free per day in Calgary)
    good news ==> free internet and printing for job seekers at local employment centers in Calgary, some with free newspapers with job postings: 3 pages of Calgary centers
    http://humanservices.alberta.ca/docu...ss-excerpt.pdf
    Last edited by Shwa Girl; Tue, Dec 9th, 2014 at 09:42 PM.

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    Mastermind Shwa Girl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by idonovan View Post
    , other expenses bills and some wants like a phone and internet (that helps with communication and job searches and some fun and relief)
    for fun and relief, the Calgary library has DVDs of TV shows
    found Two Broke Girls can be borrowed for free
    https://ent.calgarypubliclibrary.com...e+girls&te=ILS

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    I've noticed the price of meat and cheese and other animal products going up too. Have you tried beans as an alternative? They are so nutritious and luckily they're cheap. I haven't seen ground beef on sale for a while so bought some last week because I was PMSing and wanted the iron.Well $8 later it was enough for one meal, no leftovers!

    I hear ya on the phone thing. My friend went to Africa a while back and cell phones there are CHEAPER than here! By a lot. But I've learned that nowadays,it's impossible to set up job interviews without one, so you can justify that expense.

    Instead of cable, why don't you try Netflix? It's just $8 per month. I'm thinking we're going to disconnect our cable. All that money just to watch Storage Wars marathons and nothing else is on
    Last edited by torontogal12; Sat, Dec 6th, 2014 at 09:58 AM.
    Apply every possible promo code to your cart, at every store that you visit (and get points for cash back on top of that?). It's sweet and easy with HONEY.

    Always use Ebates and get cash back at over 600 online stores! Use this link to get $5, FREE

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    Misanthrope GoJays's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by luckbealady View Post

    On the plus side, I have noticed veggies tend to be a bit cheaper than usual.
    HA! Not here.. I haven't purchased any lettuce or celery for a long time now because it's hovering at nearly the $3 range.

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    Shameless Reps FTW krysta lynne's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoJays View Post
    HA! Not here.. I haven't purchased any lettuce or celery for a long time now because it's hovering at nearly the $3 range.
    iceberg was $1. if you can even call that lettuce.

    im so broke i dont even know what to do. food is super expensive and i find everything is smaller and crappier, full of fillers and preservatives. and if it isnt you pay out the ass for it. it is so frustrating. and then im expected to buy pizza days and school milk every time i get a $50 order form. it gets to be too much.
    Andit, GoJays, wolfwoman and 2 others like this.
    Feel free to use my shop.ca referral link! Tons of products and great deals! http://www.shop.ca?plcktb=ZwVwXmoC0

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    Smart Canuck idonovan's Avatar
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    Shaw girl please see my other post. As per Netflix I got it but we also have basic cable. Y should I cut them off? I get along just fine. Having some luxuries in life is fine. Cable and net are not a big expense. This pos is about growing good costs and nothing more.
    Last edited by idonovan; Sat, Dec 6th, 2014 at 06:24 PM.

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    .
    Last edited by lecale; Sat, Jan 17th, 2015 at 12:00 PM.

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    Smart Canuck luckbealady's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoJays View Post
    HA! Not here.. I haven't purchased any lettuce or celery for a long time now because it's hovering at nearly the $3 range.
    You do have a point - I tend to stick to the cheaper veggies, which have had good prices here. Iceberg lettuce $0.88, carrots $1, cucumbers $1.27, bananas $0.57. Sometimes my favourite (asparagus) goes on for $1.xx or $2.xx - but regular is about $4.99/lb.
    Andit, Angela273 and GoJays like this.

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    Like Shaw previously posted, canned vegatables or frozen vegatables are just as healthy, if the fresh version isn't available. Also, if you're buying out of season veggies, often they have traveled a great distance, so the nutritional value is decreased.

    We tend to eat a lot of root vegetables over the winter, and buy more winter fruits (clemantines, oranges, etc, are cheap now). Winter squashes last a long time in cool storage.

    I know you've posted that things are tight. I've been there. I won't comment on what I think you should do or not do, as you appear to be getting offended by responses in both of your threads. Personally, I'd be selling everything I could, because those things are always replaceable in the future, when you are back on your feet. I had several online garage sales and in person ones. I sold my entire rare book collection, my wedding rings, etc, but it got us through. And, I still had to use a food bank once, it was one of the low points of my aduilt life. But, you do what you have to do. I had some help from our church and family, but I didn't expect others to carry us indefinitely. So, I got into couponing, and sometimes canned food can be a cheaper way to get by.

    After my separation, with 5 kids, including an infant, and no support until court ordered, we had to eat a lot of canned stuff.

    we ate buckets of this soup called 5 can soup, and I still love it. Crusty bun with it, and butter, yum! Back then, we had it with grilled cheese :.

    1 large can minestrone soup
    1 can kidney beans drained
    1 can large can stewed tomatoes
    1 can corn (not cream)
    1 can mixed veggies

    Heat, and serve. Now, I sometimes throw in fresh kale or spinach the last few, but it's a quick and filling soup, and cheap.

    We ate a lot of soup. Lots of soup.It's cheap and filling. Lots of beans, like the other mentioned. I sometimes had a soup bucket in the freezer that I would throw all our leftovers (one beef, one chicken, or one veg only) and make soup from that. I Know your freezer is broken, but I use your fridge freezer. I still only have a fridge freezer. I find I don't stock up too much then, and forgot what I have. But that is me.

    I know Christmas is approaching, have you signed up for basket(s) with local charities/churches?

    And, we can do all that, and still be the working poor, so I understand working, and still struggling. Been there. It's taken me 5 years to turn around from nothing to where I feel like I am on the road to being back on my feet financially.

    People I find, are trying to offer advice, and another perspective, no one is meaning offense. I hope things improve for you soon.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Shwa Girl View Post
    good news ==> free internet at public libraries (2 hours free per day in Calgary)
    good news ==> free internet and printing for job seekers at local employment centers in Calgary, some with free newspapers with job postings: 3 pages of Calgary centershttp://humanservices.alberta.ca/documents/Calgary-etcs-computer-access-excerpt.pdf

    Yes, libraries are such a good resource but rarely get used any more. Membership is free. You can use their computers and internet. They also have movies you can rent for free. I used to live near a really good library that always had fairly new movies all for free. It was awesome.

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