More and more Americans are being hit with higher grocery store bills, and it’s not all due to rising gas prices leading to an increase in transportation costs.
No, you aren’t seeing things when you browse through the “new low prices” sign at the grocery store — those “low prices” really aren’t lower than what they have been. In many cases, those “new low prices” are just a highlight of “hey, we don’t charge as much for this as the other guy is, but it’s still a higher price than you’re used to paying”.
The Economics of Food Price Volatility
We already know that we’re seeing higher pork (BACON!) and beef prices for the past several months. What else is in store?
According to the AMERICAN FARM BUREAU’S RECENT SURVEY OF RETAIL FOOD PRICES, you can expect to see these pricing changes on standard grocery items:
- Ground chuck: +17%
- bacon: +9%
- eggs: +7%
- milk: +2%
- Chicken breast: -12%
- Flour: -7%
- Potatoes: -15%
Overall, the average grocery bill is up about 2% over the past year. And if you think its hard for us at home, you should see what the prices at restaurants have been doing lately. There’s no secret that restaurants are charging higher prices, making eating out more of a special treat than what it had been.
More and more people are cooking more at home, because even with higher grocery bills, it’s still less expensive to cook high-end food at home than it is to eat at the fancy steakhouse. So even if your porterhouse will cost you $25 at the grocery store, you know that would set you back at least double at the restaurant.
So how are you changing your dining plans with these higher prices? What tips do you have for others that you can share in the comments below?