Today, we dare you to go into a food store or look at a restaurant menu without being shocked by how much things cost. Even though prices will rise less quickly in 2024 than they did the year before, your food bill will still go up. That’s right. We probably won’t be able to get the food we used to put in our carts without thinking twice.
But which things aren’t worth it anymore? We named more than a dozen things that we believe should be thrown out.
1. Breakfast food
It used to be so easy to go to the cereal aisle. You picked out your favorite kinds and threw them in the cart without giving them a second thought. Today, that’s a great way to be shocked by how much something costs. These days, when we go to the cereal aisle, we only buy names that say they are on sale and will save us money on breakfast. Kellogg’s sale of two for five dollars? Now you need to decide which Kellogg’s products are the best. For now, leave Post alone until next time. That’s what the cereal game is now called.
2. Produce outside of season
It’s so nice that you can buy asparagus and corn on the cob in the middle of winter in places where it really does feel like winter, thanks to states that stay warm enough to keep growing food. It’s not nice when you scan that bunch of asparagus at the register, put it on the scale, and almost pass out when you see that the price is twice as much as when it’s in season. Thank you very much. Our menus will be based on what produce is the cheapest.
3. Potato chips
Do you know how much Doritos and Lays cost these days? Of course, you can get a regular-sized bag of chips for around $6 these days. It’s stupid. If you look around the chip aisle for a long time, you might find a store-brand choice that is on the cheaper end of the price range. But unless there’s a great sale going on, you shouldn’t buy chips.
4. Pop (also called soda)
It used to cost one dollar for a two-liter bottle of soda. These days, the same size costs at least twice as much, so we’ll choose cheaper drinks instead.
5. Sugary treats
It used to be cheap to get a dozen donuts from the nearby donut shop. There are other quick and easy breakfast options now that we know a box of 12 donuts costs at least $15–$20, which is too much for us to justify. Gourmet cookies are a whole other story.
6. An Oreo
It’s possible that milk likes Oreos, but our bank accounts say otherwise. Of course, you don’t have to spend $5 on just one Oreos package. There are lots of other cookies that taste just as good when dipped in milk.
7. Chocolate bars
People used to get 2 for $1 candy bars at the gas station when they had a craving, but those days are long gone. You can’t get a Snickers bar for less than $2 these days.
8. Legs of crab
We love eating big chunks of crab meat right out of the shell while covered in clarified butter. No one else does. But the truth is that those legs cost way too much these days. For ten pounds of king crab legs, it costs a lot of money. We’ll either cut costs with snow crab or remember the good times we had at surf and turf dinners that didn’t put our finances at risk.
Also, other “fancy” fish, like scallops, can be pushed off. We would go broke on those little guys because we would eat so many scallops to fill up.
9. A pizza restaurant
It’s likely that you’ve ordered pizza over the phone and then changed your mind and said, “On second thought, never mind, please cancel that order.” This is usually after being told the total amount you owe. These days, it’s pretty tough to get two big pizzas and bread for less than $50. That’s why frozen pizza is becoming more and more popular. Making pies at home is also not hard and doesn’t cost a lot of money.
10. Anything served by itself
For things like soup and pudding, getting them in single-serve containers is no longer the best way to save money. There are a lot of better things we’d rather do than pay $1 or more for a morning Yoplait.
11. Lunch Meat from the Deli
We don’t want to pay $10 for a pound of Boar’s Head. We’ll stick to what’s on sale at the food counter or, if we have to, eat things like grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and egg salad.
12. Breads and sweets from bakeries
We all know how delicious the smells coming from a bakery can be. We all know that the pull is even stronger when you’re looking at sparkling cakes, breads, muffins, and cookies. Guys, the shop isn’t the cheapest place to get a cake. You can save money with Betty Crocker, get a deal with Duncan Hines, or just mess around with Pillsbury.
13. Ready made grocery store food
Hot, ready-made food is a convenience, and one that is getting more expensive. It’s hard to hold back when you see the hot bar in the grocery store because you’re getting more and more hungry as you walk from aisle to aisle. Just remember that the prices are way too high, so you should avoid the urge to buy something.
14. Nuts
The cost of nuts has gone through the roof! This is true for peanuts, cashews, almonds, and even pistachios. Even though they taste great and are good for you, our savings are more important, and we’re not going to give up our savings for some nuts.
15. Chicken Wings
This one really hurts. From grocery store costs to restaurant menus, chicken wings are now more expensive than they used to be. To stay true to our promise, you can find us looking for sales or going to any local wing night deals we find. But if we only have choices that cost full price, we’ll pass on the chicken wings.
16. Most of the meat at the grocery store
There are more things in the meat area than just chicken wings that will surprise you with how much they cost. Cheap or expensive, meat like ground beef and chicken breasts changes so often that we plan our meals around what’s on sale, or we buy in bulk from farms or meat markets in our area to save money in the long run.
17. Fast Food
Today’s kids don’t know how annoying dial-up was or how to restart a VHS tape before returning it to Blockbuster. Soon, they’ll also ask, “What’s a dollar menu?” because these menus are not seen very often these days. There are still deals on fast food, but most likely they will cost you more than a dollar.
18. Dinners at steakhouses
You know who you are: chains like Outback Steakhouse and Lonestar. It’s not smart to charge $40 for a bad steak, a baked potato, and a scoop of veggies. It’s not worth it if you feel bad about yourself after paying the bill at a restaurant and think, “I could have made more steaks and potatoes for that price.”
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