Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

fposte wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 5:53 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 2:37 pm
However, it is June the 24th and so far I have been able to contribute only a pitiful $400 toward the $7,000 limit on my Roth IRA. Something(s) have got to change. Yes I can afford an experiment that costs $2.98 if there is a fair chance it will improve the situation. No I cannot afford to continue as usual. I need to find $6,600 by December 31 to meet an investment goal and I'm feeling very stubborn about that.
Ah, then more is in order than a discussion focusing on pantries as hedges against inflation. If you want to put more into your IRA, it looks like you'll need to genuinely cut back. It's been asked a few times if you have a budget, and I'm guessing that you don't; it's almost impossible to find ways to cut back without identifying spending limits on categories, IOW a budget.

I think also that stubbornness about getting to that goal could be an ally here. You probably have enough stored up to skip grocery shopping for a month--what if you did that and put the grocery money into your Roth? What's more important to you--money in your Roth or swerving those lima beans? (Easy for me to say as I like lima beans.) It doesn't all have to come from food, but that would be an easy place to start. Do you have a sense of how much you've been spending monthly on food?
I have a spreadsheet for expiration dates of canned peaches, but you don't think I have a budget?

What does it mean to "genuinely cut back"?
7eight9
Posts: 2406
Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 7:11 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by 7eight9 »

Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:28 am
homebuyer6426 wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:19 am What I like to do sometimes is delay grocery trips for an extra week or so after it already feels like I'm running out of food. This forces me to clear the stock of some of the items that have been sitting around for years. It also prevents those things from expiring and being wasted. You might even learn a new recipe or two, since those won't be items you regularly eat.
I can see the effectiveness of this. My goal though is to have a deep pantry, so forced scarcity wouldn't work; how could I kid myself I am running out of food when it's everywhere on shelves and in drawers. I'm hoping sorting my inventory spreadsheet by expiration date will accomplish the same thing. I know there is a can of lima beans I have been trying to make myself eat for months. What was I thinking when I bought it haha.
Lima beans, a little butter and Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning is delicious.

Actually, it makes all vegetables taste better.
I guess it all could be much worse. | They could be warming up my hearse.
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Groceries as an inflation hedge? And OP I think you mentioned wanting to be able to help others with food. Tough times these are, it’s easy to forget that reality. Sorry you have to deal with this. I stocked up a little too but you are much more deliberate and thorough about it than I have been. Depending on where you live, Walmart delivery (which I use) might be less expensive for many items than your local grocer, and I haven’t noticed much inflation on their site.

True story, I once bought an extra French face cream as a currency hedge when the euro was rising against the dollar, but you can imagine how successful that was.

As far as “genuinely cutting back” I’m sure we all have our definitions but paradoxically it’s harder to do when one is not high income (and actually needs to do it more).

OP, you might like the book Cut Adrift: Families in Insecure Times, about how families at different income levels create the feeling of security for themselves in uncertain times. The book The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope, which opens with a woman fretting over her budget, while the rest of the community is mesmerized by a big investment promoter, may also put this in perspective (you mentioned in another post your concerns about the dollar as currency in general, which could be playing a role in your interest in stocking up).

OP, maybe do a personal investment post in the BH format so the others can really help? If you haven’t already. Stocking up on canned goods is fine, especially given supply chain problems, but that alone is not going to get you where you need to be (ie, maxing out your Roth).
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sat Jun 25, 2022 3:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

7eight9 wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:33 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:28 am
homebuyer6426 wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:19 am What I like to do sometimes is delay grocery trips for an extra week or so after it already feels like I'm running out of food. This forces me to clear the stock of some of the items that have been sitting around for years. It also prevents those things from expiring and being wasted. You might even learn a new recipe or two, since those won't be items you regularly eat.
I can see the effectiveness of this. My goal though is to have a deep pantry, so forced scarcity wouldn't work; how could I kid myself I am running out of food when it's everywhere on shelves and in drawers. I'm hoping sorting my inventory spreadsheet by expiration date will accomplish the same thing. I know there is a can of lima beans I have been trying to make myself eat for months. What was I thinking when I bought it haha.
Lima beans, a little butter and Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning is delicious.

Actually, it makes all vegetables taste better.
I did manage to eat that darn can of limas tonight, with the help of a little bacon. It was okay but I'm afraid I'll never be a fan of limas.

I lived in New Orleans for awhile, and the appetizer at every seafood restaurant was red potatoes boiled with Tony Chachere's, and butter put on with a knife! My red potatoes in the garden are just about ready to harvest.
User avatar
Beensabu
Posts: 5657
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Beensabu »

Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 9:49 pm It was okay but I'm afraid I'll never be a fan of limas.
That's okay. There are other beans. You don't have to eat stuff you don't like. Tag it as "never buy again". :)
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." ~Ursula LeGuin
fposte
Posts: 2327
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2013 1:32 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by fposte »

Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:37 pm
fposte wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 5:53 pm
Ah, then more is in order than a discussion focusing on pantries as hedges against inflation. If you want to put more into your IRA, it looks like you'll need to genuinely cut back. It's been asked a few times if you have a budget, and I'm guessing that you don't; it's almost impossible to find ways to cut back without identifying spending limits on categories, IOW a budget.

I think also that stubbornness about getting to that goal could be an ally here. You probably have enough stored up to skip grocery shopping for a month--what if you did that and put the grocery money into your Roth? What's more important to you--money in your Roth or swerving those lima beans? (Easy for me to say as I like lima beans.) It doesn't all have to come from food, but that would be an easy place to start. Do you have a sense of how much you've been spending monthly on food?
I have a spreadsheet for expiration dates of canned peaches, but you don't think I have a budget?
Sounds like you do, then. Great! What is it?
What does it mean to "genuinely cut back"?
It means to take the budget down so you can contribute more to your IRA, which you’ve said you want to do; alternatively, if you have the time and energy, you could pick up a side job to bring a few more dollars in. You’ve said you cannot afford to continue as usual. Do you want to explore ways to change that up?
mortfree
Posts: 2968
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2016 7:06 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by mortfree »

For 2022 you can contribute to the IRA up to tax day in April 2023.

If you need to move your goal posts.
Mid-40’s
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

mortfree wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 4:32 am For 2022 you can contribute to the IRA up to tax day in April 2023.

If you need to move your goal posts.
I know. I was not able to make the final 2021 Roth contribution until January of 2022. My stretch goal is not to do this again, but to contribute the full amount by December 31. It's an effect of getting poorer due to inflation, that what I used to be able to accomplish easily, has to be pushed off. I don't like this. :annoyed More challenges are coming; I expect both my property taxes and my homeowner's insurance to go up this year.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

fposte wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:16 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 7:37 pm
fposte wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 5:53 pm
Ah, then more is in order than a discussion focusing on pantries as hedges against inflation. If you want to put more into your IRA, it looks like you'll need to genuinely cut back. It's been asked a few times if you have a budget, and I'm guessing that you don't; it's almost impossible to find ways to cut back without identifying spending limits on categories, IOW a budget.

I think also that stubbornness about getting to that goal could be an ally here. You probably have enough stored up to skip grocery shopping for a month--what if you did that and put the grocery money into your Roth? What's more important to you--money in your Roth or swerving those lima beans? (Easy for me to say as I like lima beans.) It doesn't all have to come from food, but that would be an easy place to start. Do you have a sense of how much you've been spending monthly on food?
I have a spreadsheet for expiration dates of canned peaches, but you don't think I have a budget?
Sounds like you do, then. Great! What is it?
What does it mean to "genuinely cut back"?
It means to take the budget down so you can contribute more to your IRA, which you’ve said you want to do; alternatively, if you have the time and energy, you could pick up a side job to bring a few more dollars in. You’ve said you cannot afford to continue as usual. Do you want to explore ways to change that up?
"What is your food budget?" is a legitimate question on a thread about Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation, and I'm not at all reluctant to share mine.

There are going to be some ground rules though. First, you do not imply again that I am being insincere. I take this subject seriously, and expect to be taken seriously myself. If I tell you something, you can believe it.

Second, you also share your own grocery budget, as well as the kinds of things you buy and eat, also anything you may have had to give up to keep that budget constant in time of inflation.

My grocery budget is $400 a month - it includes pet supplies for a cat, detergent, paper products, some things like bug spray and lightbulbs - anything one would buy at a grocery store. Also sometimes a bag of wild bird seed for my cheap hobby watching them from a window.

In the last 30 days I have spent $420 on grocery (I would know to the penny, except I lost a cash purchase receipt), and $34.72 on lunches at work. Four workdays a week I drink a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, they cost about $1.98 each. Usually I buy two bottles of wine a week at $8-9 each. It's summer, so I bought a pint of Talenti gelato and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. A typical meal for me is GF spaghetti with meat sauce (the sauce is $6.50 a jar, makes 4 servings), or hamburger vegetable soup, or bean/beef nachos, or salmon patties (including the bones) with mashed potatoes and gravy, or a roast chicken. I make soup from the bones. Dessert is not every day but is usually GF cookies (cost somewhat more than regular cookies), or I make a fruit crumble with GF flour, sugar, and chopped walnuts.

I already work quite a lot of cyclical overtime, for which I am paid time-and-a-half, so there's the part-time job.

Now you.

** Editing to add: Forgot, I bought with cash an additional $10 bottle of Chilean wine I wanted to try. ** Editing again to add: I spent cash at the Hispanic grocery also, add on about $15 to total spent.
Last edited by Ivygirl on Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
toomanysidehustles
Posts: 594
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:09 am

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by toomanysidehustles »

AerialWombat wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:09 pm Yes, I buy my sauce in a jar.
Nothing wrong with sauces in a jar. I was recently watching a Thai youtube video and the chef said something along the lines of "you think you can make better Panang sauce than somone who has been making it for 100 years?"
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

Beensabu wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:01 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 9:49 pm It was okay but I'm afraid I'll never be a fan of limas.
That's okay. There are other beans. You don't have to eat stuff you don't like. Tag it as "never buy again". :)
Already done. :D I ate them and satisfied honor. I do like refried beans, black beans, and baked (navy) beans, so I don't avoid all beans.
cs412a
Posts: 440
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:37 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by cs412a »

Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:33 am "What is your food budget?" is a legitimate question on a thread about Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation, and I'm not at all reluctant to share mine.

There are going to be some ground rules though. First, you do not imply again that I am being insincere. I take this subject seriously, and expect to be taken seriously myself. If I tell you something, you can believe it.

Second, you also share your own grocery budget, as well as the kinds of things you buy and eat, also anything you may have had to give up to keep that budget constant in time of inflation.

My grocery budget is $400 a month - it includes pet supplies for a cat, detergent, paper products, some things like bug spray and lightbulbs - anything one would buy at a grocery store. Also sometimes a bag of wild bird seed for my cheap hobby watching them from a window.

In the last 30 days I have spent $420 on grocery (I would know to the penny, except I lost a cash purchase receipt), and $34.72 on lunches at work. Four workdays a week I drink a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, they cost about $1.98 each. Usually I buy two bottles of wine a week at $8-9 each. It's summer, so I bought a pint of Talenti gelato and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. A typical meal for me is GF spaghetti with meat sauce (the sauce is $6.50 a jar, makes 4 servings), or hamburger vegetable soup, or bean/beef nachos, or salmon patties (including the bones) with mashed potatoes and gravy, or a roast chicken. I make soup from the bones. Dessert is not every day but is usually GF cookies (cost somewhat more than regular cookies), or I make a fruit crumble with GF flour, sugar, and chopped walnuts.

I already work quite a lot of cyclical overtime, for which I am paid time-and-a-half, so there's the part-time job.

Now you.
OP, that's not how it works. A food budget is part of a larger budget that includes fixed expenses (e.g. rent, medical insurance, etc.) and discretionary expenses (e.g., clothing). Food is essential, of course, but gets included in discretionary because there are many substitutions possible - down to the proverbial rice and beans.

So if your fixed expenses, like the cost of commuting to your job, are going up, the discretionary budget needs to come down. You need to find a way to spend less than $400/month on groceries and sundries. Or perhaps there's another area of your budget that can be adjusted so that you don't have to make drastic changes to your food budget.
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:43 pmOP, maybe do a personal investment post in the BH format so the others can really help? If you haven’t already. Stocking up on canned goods is fine, especially given supply chain problems, but that alone is not going to get you where you need to be (ie, maxing out your Roth).
AnnetteLouisan's suggestion is spot on: get suggestions from posters on how you might change your budget as a whole so you can meet your investment goals. There might not be much fat to trim, but it's often useful to get an outside perspective. Keep in mind that what people might propose are suggestions. You're the one who decides whether you want to implement any of them.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

cs412a wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:17 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:33 am "What is your food budget?" is a legitimate question on a thread about Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation, and I'm not at all reluctant to share mine.

There are going to be some ground rules though. First, you do not imply again that I am being insincere. I take this subject seriously, and expect to be taken seriously myself. If I tell you something, you can believe it.

Second, you also share your own grocery budget, as well as the kinds of things you buy and eat, also anything you may have had to give up to keep that budget constant in time of inflation.

My grocery budget is $400 a month - it includes pet supplies for a cat, detergent, paper products, some things like bug spray and lightbulbs - anything one would buy at a grocery store. Also sometimes a bag of wild bird seed for my cheap hobby watching them from a window.

In the last 30 days I have spent $420 on grocery (I would know to the penny, except I lost a cash purchase receipt), and $34.72 on lunches at work. Four workdays a week I drink a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, they cost about $1.98 each. Usually I buy two bottles of wine a week at $8-9 each. It's summer, so I bought a pint of Talenti gelato and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. A typical meal for me is GF spaghetti with meat sauce (the sauce is $6.50 a jar, makes 4 servings), or hamburger vegetable soup, or bean/beef nachos, or salmon patties (including the bones) with mashed potatoes and gravy, or a roast chicken. I make soup from the bones. Dessert is not every day but is usually GF cookies (cost somewhat more than regular cookies), or I make a fruit crumble with GF flour, sugar, and chopped walnuts.

I already work quite a lot of cyclical overtime, for which I am paid time-and-a-half, so there's the part-time job.

Now you.
OP, that's not how it works. A food budget is part of a larger budget that includes fixed expenses (e.g. rent, medical insurance, etc.) and discretionary expenses (e.g., clothing). Food is essential, of course, but gets included in discretionary because there are many substitutions possible - down to the proverbial rice and beans.

So if your fixed expenses, like the cost of commuting to your job, are going up, the discretionary budget needs to come down. You need to find a way to spend less than $400/month on groceries and sundries. Or perhaps there's another area of your budget that can be adjusted so that you don't have to make drastic changes to your food budget.
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:43 pmOP, maybe do a personal investment post in the BH format so the others can really help? If you haven’t already. Stocking up on canned goods is fine, especially given supply chain problems, but that alone is not going to get you where you need to be (ie, maxing out your Roth).
AnnetteLouisan's suggestion is spot on: get suggestions from posters on how you might change your budget as a whole so you can meet your investment goals. There might not be much fat to trim, but it's often useful to get an outside perspective. Keep in mind that what people might propose are suggestions. You're the one who decides whether you want to implement any of them.
I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away. I know how to make a budget. Prices rising is making the budget inadequate every month even though it is raised.

For the amount of foods I have put back on the shelf in the last six months, my grocery budget would have been $350/month or less just last year. (That would have been $600 to put in the Roth.)

Do people just not read the news? I feel like Alice in Wonderland here.
7eight9
Posts: 2406
Joined: Fri May 17, 2019 7:11 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by 7eight9 »

Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:33 am Usually I buy two bottles of wine a week at $8-9 each.
For me the wine would be low hanging fruit for savings. My go-to wines are Bay Bridge (Kroger) or Oak Leaf (Walmart) at $3 a bottle. Charles Shaw (Trader Joes) is $3.5. And there is boxed wine which can also be quite economical. If any of these work for you that would be a quick $10/week savings.
I guess it all could be much worse. | They could be warming up my hearse.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

7eight9 wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:22 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:33 am Usually I buy two bottles of wine a week at $8-9 each.
For me the wine would be low hanging fruit for savings. My go-to wines are Bay Bridge (Kroger) or Oak Leaf (Walmart) at $3 a bottle. Charles Shaw (Trader Joes) is $3.5. And there is boxed wine which can also be quite economical. If any of these work for you that would be a quick $10/week savings.
You're right. The wine is a luxury. I used to drink Aldi wine but I made the "mistake" of upgrading and now don't want to go back.

Wine is a dessert substitute (I can't eat most baked goods other people enjoy, because wheat). Giving it up entirely is an option. I could make something at home with sugar instead, sugar is cheap.
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

My family was lower middle income origin to the extent that govt cheese was offered in my neighborhood in the early 80s and people took it gladly (although we didn’t). My Mom was on the earned income tax credit for years after her divorce. Both my parents had been acquainted with hunger (hunger adjacent?) and food rationing in their WW2 youths. We bought orange juice from concentrate, powdered and condensed milk. Now they are very comfortable as am I - yay! But I have lived being somewhat lower middle income as a child (as have many here) and I know how demoralizing it can be and that’s why I can relate to the OP to some extent.

OP might try some of the things I do if any of them apply to OP.

I save $10-12/mo on electricity using power strips that turn off appliances when not in use. Apparently most electronics “sip power” even when turned off. I use Nads wax strips which save on salon visits, and do my own mani pedis (bought a pumice brush) and my own hair. My $10 tub of Pilon coffee lasts me 3 months. I haven’t paid interest, fines or fees (late fees, ATM fees, overdraft fees) in 30 years (besides Amex). I recently bought a very nice duvet from W for $26. I don’t have cable TV and I don’t have any subscriptions besides WSJ and Netflix ($13/mo), or even a gym membership. Covid cut my dry cleaning, makeup, contact lens, takeout, entertainment, transportation, travel, office gift and clothing expenses.

OP, I think $425/mo on food is very reasonable, and in my opinion there’s a point at which cutting back on food and treats creates health costs and morale issues. Therefore, the problem may lie elsewhere, such as high interest debt service, needing a raise, unnecessary subscriptions, fees and fines, car payment or not fully utilizing your tax advantaged accounts like flex spending.

I shop Walmart and push the button that shows items from low unit cost to high, rather than “best match.” I buy some generic brands. I buy no soda, chips, milk, coffee creamer or alcohol (just because I don’t like them). I bulk buy certain items like paper towels, tuna and ramen ($10 for 12 Nong Shim ramen vs $3.99 each locally).

However, it’s easy for me to do this because it’s optional for me for the time being. For most of us on here, it’s academic. But even billionaire Leon Cooperman checks sales at the grocery store. Ivygirl, I get how frightening it must be to see prices increase this quickly, not to mention credit card interest. I admire your grit in maximizing your life on an insufficient salary over the long haul.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:19 pm, edited 15 times in total.
jebmke
Posts: 25475
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by jebmke »

Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:03 am I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away. I know how to make a budget. Prices rising is making the budget inadequate every month even though it is raised.
I think inflation affects people unevenly. Some may have jobs where raises are coming through that shelter them from inflation. Some may have overall spending patterns that result in food being fairly small portions of their spend. I have also noticed that there can be quite a difference geographically. Not long ago I recall seeing comments about rapid increases in milk and egg prices. When I checked around here I didn't see nearly the same increase - in fact, eggs have been very steady -- which is good for me personally because they are a good source of protein in lieu of meat.

Stockpiling can be a hedge on prices but it can also be a trap when prices of individual things shift quickly, tastes (or tolerances) change or opportunities arise [not just referring to food here].
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Deleted by author as OT.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sat Jun 25, 2022 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dottie57
Posts: 12379
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:43 pm
Location: Earth Northern Hemisphere

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Dottie57 »

7eight9 wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 8:33 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 11:28 am
homebuyer6426 wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 10:19 am What I like to do sometimes is delay grocery trips for an extra week or so after it already feels like I'm running out of food. This forces me to clear the stock of some of the items that have been sitting around for years. It also prevents those things from expiring and being wasted. You might even learn a new recipe or two, since those won't be items you regularly eat.
I can see the effectiveness of this. My goal though is to have a deep pantry, so forced scarcity wouldn't work; how could I kid myself I am running out of food when it's everywhere on shelves and in drawers. I'm hoping sorting my inventory spreadsheet by expiration date will accomplish the same thing. I know there is a can of lima beans I have been trying to make myself eat for months. What was I thinking when I bought it haha.
Lima beans, a little butter and Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning is delicious.

Actually, it makes all vegetables taste better.
The creole seasoning is indeed very tasty and if it is the one in the green can, Very spicy.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:52 am I save $10-12/mo on electricity using power strips that turn off appliances when not in use. Apparently most electronics “sip power” even when turned off. I use Nads wax strips which save on salon visits, and do my own mani pedis (bought a pumice brush) and my own hair. My $10 tub of Pilon coffee lasts me 3 months. I haven’t paid interest, fines or fees in 30 years (besides Amex). I recently bought a very nice duvet from W for $26. I don’t have cable TV and I don’t have any subscriptions besides WSJ and Netflix ($13/mo).

OP, I think $425/mo on food is very reasonable, and in my opinion there’s a point at which cutting back on food and treats creates health costs and morale issues. Therefore, the problem may lie elsewhere, such as high interest debt service, needing a raise, unnecessary subscriptions, car payment or not fully utilizing your tax advantaged accounts like flex spending.

I shop Walmart and push the button that shows items from low unit cost to high, rather than “best match.” I buy some generic brands. I buy no soda, chips or alcohol (just because I don’t like them). I bulk buy certain items like paper towels, tuna and ramen ($10 for 12 Nong Shim ramen vs $3.99 each locally).

However, it’s easy for me to do this because it’s optional for me for the time being. For most of us on here, it’s academic. But even billionaire Leon Cooperman checks sales at the grocery store. Ivygirl, I get how frightening it must be to see prices increase this quickly, not to mention credit card interest. I admire your grit in maximizing your life on an insufficient salary over the long haul.
The power strip is a solid idea. I haven't done this before, because the cable internet box has to stay on constantly. But I could move the cable box plug to its own outlet, and put everything that can be turned off on a power strip, and make it part of my routine at night to flip it off on going to bed and flip it back on when I get back from work.

I saw Pilon coffee at the Hispanic grocery and thought of you. :) I looked at it, but it's stronger than I like, and besides I've mostly switched to decaf because sleep disturbance.

High interest debt service - Normally I pay $0 in consumer debt service. There was an interest charge on $1,000 this month because of a large purchase that won't recur, that's unusual. Subscriptions - don't have any, unless you count cell phone which is Cricket, and the phone itself is an android for $176 (they made me upgrade phones because of change to 5G). Cable TV - don't have it, just internet. Salon - haircut twice a year and no color. (This is probably a false economy, because hair for women is a status thing.) Car payment - No car payment for five and a half years now. Tax advantaged accounts - I contribute the max (except catch-up contribution) to an HSA, contribute 6% plus 6% match to a 401(k), and try to max the Roth. I also save cash for sinking funds and sometimes pay extra on the mortgage to get it paid off by retirement. Gas - I drive about 700 miles a month, commuting to work and visiting family, it's a compact economy car. Clothing - so far this year I have bought two pairs of Levi''s jeans and a bra but that low level of spending cannot be sustained, I will soon need new work clothes and some shoes.

I do need a raise. Last year I got 1.9% :annoyed . This year's raises come out in July, we shall see, but I am not hopeful considering the messages in the news from CEOs and the Federal Reserve about holding down wages to tame inflation.

It's possible there isn't an answer. It's possible I won't be able to max the Roth this year no matter how much I optimize my laundry, utilities, insurance and groceries. I'm not starving and I lack nothing essential. It's just frustrating to be sliding backward financially in spite of the economical measures I have taken. I want to get richer, not poorer.
Dottie57
Posts: 12379
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:43 pm
Location: Earth Northern Hemisphere

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Dottie57 »

tooluser wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:43 pm
Jazztonight wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:58 am If you drink fresh milk and items like that, just buy what you can use before it goes bad.
My personal formula for milk:
- If I buy a gallon, I will drink a half gallon before it goes bad.
- If I buy a half gallon, I will drink a quart before it goes bad.
- If I buy a quart, I will drink a pint before it goes bad.
- I do not know why this happens.

My solution:
- Buy ultra-pasteurized milk, because it lasts quite a bit longer once opened. I can usually get through the whole container.
- I also keep an unopened quart of shelf-stable milk (e.g. Parmalat) on hand in the cupboard in case I run out unexpectedly.
We are opposites. I LOVE milk. I go tothe store sometimes just to buy milk.
Dottie57
Posts: 12379
Joined: Thu May 19, 2016 5:43 pm
Location: Earth Northern Hemisphere

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Dottie57 »

jebmke wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 1:18 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 1:15 pm The Sensitive Recipe Marinara is what I need (no onions or garlic)
so, cooked tomatoes with a few herbs tossed in?
Add oregano or my favorite - basil. Add a few vegies(red and yellow pepper). Simmer for at least 1/2 hr. ( I like diced tomatoes. Sometimes stewed tomatoes also work)
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Do you claim your property tax abatement and STAR credit (if you have those in your state)? Are you eligible for the Savers Credit or Earned Income TaxCredit? Getting your 9 percent on your I bonds? Do you cash in your recycling bottles? You may not want to use SNAP and food banks if eligible but those are very generous programs. One of my more affluent elderly relatives buys used cars, all clothes at thrift stores and tag sales, buys day old bread and bruised fruit for half price, shops for groceries in low income, majority immigrant neighborhoods and gets the “senior tea” at McDs.

OP, It sounds like you are doing everything possible except getting your resume out there and taking advantage of this hot job market. You may be pleasantly surprised how much more you can earn.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:01 pm, edited 5 times in total.
User avatar
Beensabu
Posts: 5657
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Beensabu »

Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:03 am I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away.
$400/mo or so on food, sundries, and pet food is a pretty lean budget.

There are people here who spend that much or more per week without a thought.

I'm not sure how much more you're expected to squeeze out of that without a drastic overhaul. Even if you attempted to exist on protein shakes and vitamins alone, didn't have a cat to feed, and eliminated household goods, that would still be $300/mo. Then you'll be told to find a cheaper alternative to protein shakes... Eggs, yogurt, lentils, and veggies (with occasional fruit). That's still the very cheapest way to feed yourself properly. $25/wk.
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." ~Ursula LeGuin
cs412a
Posts: 440
Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:37 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by cs412a »

Ivygirl wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 2:37 pmHowever, it is June the 24th and so far I have been able to contribute only a pitiful $400 toward the $7,000 limit on my Roth IRA. Something(s) have got to change. Yes I can afford an experiment that costs $2.98 if there is a fair chance it will improve the situation. No I cannot afford to continue as usual. I need to find $6,600 by December 31 to meet an investment goal and I'm feeling very stubborn about that.
OP, your Roth IRA limit is $7000, which means you are over 50. So it's important that you meet your retirement goals. To do be able to contribute $6000 by the end of December, you would have to cut $1000+ from your monthly budget. I have no idea whether that's feasible or not. Obviously, you can't eliminate what you spend on food. But you are going to need to make some drastic cuts to your discretionary expenses to meet your retirement goals. Even partially meeting your goals would be better than continuing as you have been.

Is what you are currently spending on food unreasonable? Of course not. But with inflation a reality, you either have to reduce your spending or accept that you will not be able to fully take advantage of your Roth IRA. There's no shame in not having enough money to save. It's a reality for many people. When I was a single female head of household, the bulk of my income went to rent, pre-ACA medical insurance, and supporting myself and my son. So there were years that I couldn't contribute anything to my retirement accounts.

I should note that I was not "poor" then and I am not poor now. I know what poor people's financials look like - I do intakes for the legal aid office I volunteer at, and I have to ask people about their income, expenses, and savings to see if they qualify for our services. Most of our clients work (often two jobs) but the jobs are minimum wage and they literally live paycheck to paycheck. They don't have savings or checking accounts - or if they do, they've been emptied. If they need cash to pay for a major expense like car repair, they don't qualify for a bank loan - it's a title loan or paycheck loan. So I tend to take any comments about "poor" Bogleheads with a handful of salt.
User avatar
tuningfork
Posts: 885
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:30 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by tuningfork »

tooluser wrote: Thu Jun 23, 2022 9:43 pm
Jazztonight wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:58 am If you drink fresh milk and items like that, just buy what you can use before it goes bad.
My personal formula for milk:
- If I buy a gallon, I will drink a half gallon before it goes bad.
- If I buy a half gallon, I will drink a quart before it goes bad.
- If I buy a quart, I will drink a pint before it goes bad.
- I do not know why this happens.

My solution:
- Buy ultra-pasteurized milk, because it lasts quite a bit longer once opened. I can usually get through the whole container.
- I also keep an unopened quart of shelf-stable milk (e.g. Parmalat) on hand in the cupboard in case I run out unexpectedly.
I started using soy milk to make the milk spoilage problem go away. It lasts much longer in the fridge than regular milk, so much less waste. Anyone considering switching to soy or other plant-based milks might want to compare nutrition labels to know what they are and aren't getting.

Not sure if I have any new info to add regarding what to do about inflation at the grocery store. I generally try to buy things on sale from among my relatively small set of staples and other ingredients from which I know how to prepare meals without necessarily using a recipe. I eat the same inexpensive breakfast every day (team oatmeal!!!). I don't mind eating leftovers so very little goes to waste. Recently I've been trending more vegetarian (for health reasons) so most of my proteins are beans and legumes which tend to be less expensive than meats. I have been making more of my own sauces, primarily to control what ingredients are in the sauces. I don't know if my homemade marinara sauce, for example, is cheaper than the jarred stuff, but I can guarantee it is free of questionable ingredients and tastes very good, and I make just the amount I need so there's no 3/4 empty jar in the fridge to throw out if it's not used in a few weeks.
jebmke
Posts: 25475
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by jebmke »

Dottie57 wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:00 pm
jebmke wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 1:18 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 1:15 pm The Sensitive Recipe Marinara is what I need (no onions or garlic)
so, cooked tomatoes with a few herbs tossed in?
Add oregano or my favorite - basil. Add a few vegies(red and yellow pepper). Simmer for at least 1/2 hr. ( I like diced tomatoes. Sometimes stewed tomatoes also work)
some shredded carrot also adds a bit of complexity as well
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:14 pm Do you claim your property tax abatement and STAR credit (if you have those in your state)? Are you eligible for the Savers Credit or Earned Income TaxCredit? Getting your 9 percent on your I bonds? Do you cash in your recycling bottles? You may not want to use SNAP and food banks if eligible but those are very generous programs. One of my more affluent elderly relatives buys used cars, all clothes at thrift stores and tag sales, buys day old bread and bruised fruit for half price, shops for groceries in low income, majority immigrant neighborhoods and gets the “senior tea” at McDs. But that’s kind of… I don’t know, control freakish or OCD. Plus when you’re rich you don’t necessarily feel ashamed buying ultracheap. When you aren’t rich it can be humiliating, and I don’t think it’s worth it to harm your morale for a few bucks. The richest people I know (decamillionaires) look like they earn $22k/yr and could use a hand.

OP, It sounds like you are doing everything possible except getting your resume out there and taking advantage of this hot job market. You may be pleasantly surprised how much more you can earn.
More solid ideas. My state has homestead exemption (claimed), I searched STAR credit and my state doesn't have it. Not eligible for Savers Credit (my relative who works retail gets it) or Earned Income Tax Credit. I haven't purchased I bonds, as that would be part of my emergency fund space and the money is locked up for a year. I do recycle but my state doesn't pay for bottles; not enough aluminum cans at home to matter and recycling the cans from work was such a mess I gave it up in disgust (people tossed in half-full cans). Not eligible for SNAP. I contribute to food banks but don't use them.

Haven't had luck with clothes at thrift stores. Fabrics are stretchy nowdays and nothing fits right when I get it home. I do have a basic wardrobe and take care of it by washing my clothes inside out in cold water, drying briefly, then hanging them up (whites get hot water).

There is a sketchy low income grocery that reportedly has massive bargains on oddball produce, it may be worth an exploratory venture. I don't get humiliated because I never see anyone I know :) , I'll shop there if it makes a practical difference.

At my age (upper 50s) I am reluctant to job-hop; first [edit: I mean last] hired, first fired. No harm in updating the resume and fishing a bit though, like you said, I may have become complacent and could do better.

Appreciate you AnnetteLouisan.
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Maybe the group can weigh in whether $10k in I bonds earning over $900 this year alone are preferable to doing the Roth IRA for someone in the OP’s situation who already maxed her (presumably Roth) 401k. Do you max the 401k catch up as well, OP?

One $10k I bond in this environment could shake off $900 a year for a while. Nowhere else is offering that that I know of.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

Beensabu wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:20 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:03 am I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away.
$400/mo or so on food, sundries, and pet food is a pretty lean budget.

There are people here who spend that much or more per week without a thought.

I'm not sure how much more you're expected to squeeze out of that without a drastic overhaul. Even if you attempted to exist on protein shakes and vitamins alone, didn't have a cat to feed, and eliminated household goods, that would still be $300/mo. Then you'll be told to find a cheaper alternative to protein shakes... Eggs, yogurt, lentils, and veggies (with occasional fruit). That's still the very cheapest way to feed yourself properly. $25/wk.
Gotta give up the wine. :( Yeah I was afraid of that.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:26 pm Maybe the group can weigh in whether $10k in I bonds earning over $900 this year alone are preferable to doing the Roth IRA for someone in the OP’s situation who already maxed her (presumably Roth) 401k. Do you max the 401k catch up as well, OP?

One $10k I bond in this environment could shake off $900 a year for a while. Nowhere else is offering that that I know of.
The 401(k) is regular, not Roth, and is nowhere close to maxed, just a clarification. There is 'way more space available in it than I have money to contribute.

I'd be interested in opinions about I bonds versus the Roth. I won't have $10k to put in either one.
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Ok, last call:

- do you have whole or universal life insurance? If so, consider switching to term.

- how much do you spend in donations and fees (ATM, overdraft, other) per year? I hate to say that donations likely need to take a back seat to 401k contributions since you are within ten years of retirement.

- do you help your kids if any or parents financially?

- did you co-sign any loans?

- do you take depreciation on your home?

- is it practical to rent out a room in your home a few weeks a year on airbnb?

- do you have any hobbies that can create a side income?

- can your lot be subdivided and a parcel sold off?

- are you getting all the discounts to which you are entitled and checking with your carriers for the most advantageous plans for your usage patterns?

- can you get a your notary public license through your job or a RE broker license?

- check out the poverty finance sub in Reddit. It’s interesting regardless of one’s situation.

That’s all I’ve got. Hope you will update us as things evolve and hopefully improve!
Flyer24
Posts: 5233
Joined: Sun Apr 08, 2018 4:21 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Flyer24 »

This is starting to drift into personal finance. Let’s stay focused on the original content to keep this a consumer issue. If you need to start an investment or finance topic in another thread then feel free.
doobiedoo
Posts: 880
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:10 pm
Location: Southern CA

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by doobiedoo »

getthatmarshmallow wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 8:05 am Re: #4. Some perspective.If you're a typical American, you spend about 9% of your household income on groceries.
..
When I looked at my expenses spreadsheet for 2021, my grocery expense was 9.2%! (Thx for bringing up that statistic, getthatmashmellow.) In fact, my grocery bill in absolute dollars has been remarkably consistent since 2016!

Personally I don't worry about my grocery expense -- because cooking is way cheaper than dining out. As long as I'm not throwing food away, anything I buy in a grocery store is gonna be cheaper for me.

From all the posts, it appears OP does not dine out. And OP's gluten free restriction renders most of my would-be food suggestions worthless. Sorry.

I agree with AnnetteLouisan. OP is unlikely to find much savings in her grocery bill. It's time for Ivygirl to start a new thread to find a way to fund her Roth and 401k retirement funds.
User avatar
Beensabu
Posts: 5657
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Beensabu »

Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:28 pm
Beensabu wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:20 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:03 am I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away.
$400/mo or so on food, sundries, and pet food is a pretty lean budget.

There are people here who spend that much or more per week without a thought.

I'm not sure how much more you're expected to squeeze out of that without a drastic overhaul. Even if you attempted to exist on protein shakes and vitamins alone, didn't have a cat to feed, and eliminated household goods, that would still be $300/mo. Then you'll be told to find a cheaper alternative to protein shakes... Eggs, yogurt, lentils, and veggies (with occasional fruit). That's still the very cheapest way to feed yourself properly. $25/wk.
Gotta give up the wine. :( Yeah I was afraid of that.
If you swap a protein shake a day for a couple eggs and/or cup of greek yogurt ($1 meal vs $3), you can keep the wine. I'm all for helping people find ways to keep the wine.
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." ~Ursula LeGuin
jebmke
Posts: 25475
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by jebmke »

Beensabu wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:26 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:28 pm
Beensabu wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:20 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:03 am I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away.
$400/mo or so on food, sundries, and pet food is a pretty lean budget.

There are people here who spend that much or more per week without a thought.

I'm not sure how much more you're expected to squeeze out of that without a drastic overhaul. Even if you attempted to exist on protein shakes and vitamins alone, didn't have a cat to feed, and eliminated household goods, that would still be $300/mo. Then you'll be told to find a cheaper alternative to protein shakes... Eggs, yogurt, lentils, and veggies (with occasional fruit). That's still the very cheapest way to feed yourself properly. $25/wk.
Gotta give up the wine. :( Yeah I was afraid of that.
If you swap a protein shake a day for a couple eggs and/or cup of greek yogurt ($1 meal vs $3), you can keep the wine. I'm all for helping people find ways to keep the wine.
I’m all for wine too (although I quit last year for non-financial reasons). However, retaining wine in the mix disqualifies someone from saying “I can’t afford XYZ” because wine is 100% discretionary.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
PeninsulaPerson
Posts: 1342
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2022 9:35 am
Location: Metro Boston

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by PeninsulaPerson »

Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 12:48 pm
... the goal is to fully fund my Roth IRA with $7,000 by the end of this year ...

With additional info added by the OP, this thread seems to have morphed from a straight consumer issue (buying food/pantry management) to a separate consumer issue (strategic spending in order to fully fund a Roth).

A lot of moving targets here but ...... on that basis .......

Wine is discretionary.

Ben & Jerry's is discretionary.

(Eating the ice cream before it gets to the refrigerator is discretionary!)

A pet is discretionary. (I say that as a life-long cat lover and currently a cat owner.)

Living without a roommate - or two! - is discretionary.

Discretionary forever? Heck no -- just until $7000-ish will be easily accumulated every year.

I have some disagreements with some of what Dave Ramsey says but on practical finance he is right on - "Live like no one else so you can live like no one else", for one. And "Rice and beans, beans and rice." Some of his listeners have paid off hundreds of thousands surprisingly quickly by applying his methods like "gazelles" being chased. $7000 divided by 52 is $134 a week. The local McDonald's in a leafy Metro Boston suburb is paying $17 an hour to start. Eight hours a week at McDonald's (2 4-hour shifts!) raises about $7000 a year -- without all these pantry & spreadsheet machinations and keeping all the other discretionary stuff!

And working retail in short shifts can be done by people 50+. We have a friend who works three 5-hour shifts a week at a local restaurant - and she's 83! (She does it more to "get out of the house" than for the $$$, but the money helps her deal with common inflationary cost increases.)
Last edited by PeninsulaPerson on Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:45 am, edited 3 times in total.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

jebmke wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 6:06 am
Beensabu wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:26 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:28 pm
Beensabu wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:20 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:03 am I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away.
$400/mo or so on food, sundries, and pet food is a pretty lean budget.

There are people here who spend that much or more per week without a thought.

I'm not sure how much more you're expected to squeeze out of that without a drastic overhaul. Even if you attempted to exist on protein shakes and vitamins alone, didn't have a cat to feed, and eliminated household goods, that would still be $300/mo. Then you'll be told to find a cheaper alternative to protein shakes... Eggs, yogurt, lentils, and veggies (with occasional fruit). That's still the very cheapest way to feed yourself properly. $25/wk.
Gotta give up the wine. :( Yeah I was afraid of that.
If you swap a protein shake a day for a couple eggs and/or cup of greek yogurt ($1 meal vs $3), you can keep the wine. I'm all for helping people find ways to keep the wine.
I’m all for wine too (although I quit last year for non-financial reasons). However, retaining wine in the mix disqualifies someone from saying “I can’t afford XYZ” because wine is 100% discretionary.
Wine is 100% discretionary; I'm not aware of anyone who would starve without it. "Disqualifies" though is pretty punitive. There are wiser choices, and less wise choices, and some downright stupid choices that intensely irritate others who didn't make them. I want to make the wise choice. But also I don't want to punish myself in a way that is short-sighted. Discipline is addictive too.

I've stated that wine is a dessert substitute because I can't eat the usual sweets due to wheat. All around me people are munching donuts, pizzas provided by our employer, Dagwood-sized sandwiches, burgers with real buns; they don't have to ask if the french fry oil was also used to fry the breaded chicken-fried steak and get "the look" from the waitstaff. I've made peace with a much smaller diet and that there are many social events that are just too hard. There was a giant cake with pink icing and sugar doodads on it in the work breakroom last week which everybody else enjoyed together.

I know those things are not for me, but some things do need to be for me. Should I be disqualified from feeling distressed about inflation making me poorer if I enjoy wine. I mean how poor is poor enough to give up joy. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" the Bible says.

I may give up wine because it is wisest to do so. Or it might be wisest to give up the dream of fully funding the Roth. I guess I will try it, consult whether I am happy or sad, and go forward from there?
jebmke
Posts: 25475
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by jebmke »

Ivygirl wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:31 am Wine is 100% discretionary; I'm not aware of anyone who would starve without it. "Disqualifies" though is pretty punitive. There are wiser choices, and less wise choices, and some downright stupid choices that intensely irritate others who didn't make them. I want to make the wise choice. But also I don't want to punish myself in a way that is short-sighted. Discipline is addictive too.
I would be the last one to expect someone to deny themselves something that is discretionary. However, in my book, that changes the rhetoric from "I can't afford it" to "I chose this over that."

I have a sibling who, when I them if they ever did "_____" which they said they "needed to do," the answer is always "I didn't have time." A couple of minutes later I am told about all the great TV shows they watched on TV recently.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

OP, I agree that little treats are essential.

I always believed I needed to spend whatever kept me healthily, happily and productively employed, since I (stupidly!) rely on my income. I wanted to be independent and I am, which is a double edged, serrated sword.

Anyhoo, when I had demoralizing depressing jobs and just had to slog through, if a latte helped me start my day, so be it. When I had health issues and some spas and vitamins helped me regain my health, or health food people criticized, so be it. When I had a very client facing job and needed to look a certain way, the costs of that were just life. It paid off in terms of a long and productive working life.

Eyes on the prize: staying happily, healthily and productively employed. If it’s a glass of wine or Ben & Jerry’s, be glad that’s all it takes.

Ps: if your 401k is matched, shouldn’t that be the priority over the Roth?
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sun Jun 26, 2022 10:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

PeninsulaPerson wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:21 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 12:48 pm
... the goal is to fully fund my Roth IRA with $7,000 by the end of this year ...

This thread seems to have morphed from pantry management to fully funding a Roth.

On that basis .......

Wine is discretionary.

Ben & Jerry's is discretionary.

(Eating the ice cream before it gets to the refrigerator is discretionary!)

A pet is discretionary. (I say that as a life-long cat lover and currently a cat owner.)

Living without a roommate - or two! - is discretionary.

Discretionary forever? Heck no -- just until $7000-ish will be easily accumulated every year.

I have some disagreements with some of what Dave Ramsey says but on practical finance he is right on - "Live like no one else so you can live like no one else", for one. And "Rice and beans, beans and rice." Some of his listeners have paid off hundreds of thousands surprisingly quickly by applying his methods like "gazelles" being chased. $7000 divided by 52 is $134 a week. The local McDonald's in a leafy Metro Boston suburb is paying $17 an hour to start. Eight hours a week at McDonald's (2 4-hour shifts!) raises about $7000 a year -- without all these pantry & spreadsheet machinations and keeping all the other discretionary stuff!
I'm an admirer of Mr. Dave Ramsey. You can find comments from me on many threads about him.

Mr. Ramsey advocates "rice and beans, beans and rice" for debtors in Baby Steps 1 and 2. ($1,000 starter emergency fund, and all debt except mortgage paid off) I'm in Baby Step 6, pay off your house early.

You may not have read the whole thread I know. I explained earlier why I want a deep pantry, and why a spreadsheet is necessary to keep track of the items, also that I work a substantial amount of overtime through the year.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

jebmke wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:37 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:31 am Wine is 100% discretionary; I'm not aware of anyone who would starve without it. "Disqualifies" though is pretty punitive. There are wiser choices, and less wise choices, and some downright stupid choices that intensely irritate others who didn't make them. I want to make the wise choice. But also I don't want to punish myself in a way that is short-sighted. Discipline is addictive too.
I would be the last one to expect someone to deny themselves something that is discretionary. However, in my book, that changes the rhetoric from "I can't afford it" to "I chose this over that."

I have a sibling who, when I them if they ever did "_____" which they said they "needed to do," the answer is always "I didn't have time." A couple of minutes later I am told about all the great TV shows they watched on TV recently.
That's your sibling though, isn't it. It's not me. Your sibling irritated you and now a stranger on the internet is disqualified?

I have five siblings, I know all about it :D . Done the same thing myself.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

Beensabu wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:26 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 1:28 pm
Beensabu wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 12:20 pm
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 10:03 am I'm taken aback by the number of comments I've gotten that don't seem to acknowledge inflation as a problem at all, and that if only I knew how to make a budget all my problems would go away.
$400/mo or so on food, sundries, and pet food is a pretty lean budget.

There are people here who spend that much or more per week without a thought.

I'm not sure how much more you're expected to squeeze out of that without a drastic overhaul. Even if you attempted to exist on protein shakes and vitamins alone, didn't have a cat to feed, and eliminated household goods, that would still be $300/mo. Then you'll be told to find a cheaper alternative to protein shakes... Eggs, yogurt, lentils, and veggies (with occasional fruit). That's still the very cheapest way to feed yourself properly. $25/wk.
Gotta give up the wine. :( Yeah I was afraid of that.
If you swap a protein shake a day for a couple eggs and/or cup of greek yogurt ($1 meal vs $3), you can keep the wine. I'm all for helping people find ways to keep the wine.
Specifically about the protein shakes: Eggs are great food but they are perishable and not really portable. Also the protein shakes are fortified with a wide range of vitamins and minerals, plus calcium which I need. Regretfully, it wouldn't be wise to lose the protein shakes to keep the wine, which after all, is nothing but delicious, complex, buzzy sugar.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

PeninsulaPerson wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:21 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 12:48 pm
... the goal is to fully fund my Roth IRA with $7,000 by the end of this year ...

With additional info added by the OP, this thread seems to have morphed from a straight consumer issue (buying food/pantry management) to a separate consumer issue (strategic spending in order to fully fund a Roth).
Nobody likes my spreadsheet :) and most don't even seem to like the idea of a deep pantry. Groceries and buying habits seem to be interesting to everybody though and finding more money to invest is very interesting to Bogleheads.

I assure you, if I could easily meet my investing goals, I wouldn't be tracking canned peaches quite so carefully. Inflation is doing this.
User avatar
AnnetteLouisan
Posts: 7261
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:16 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Ivygirl wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 10:19 am
PeninsulaPerson wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 9:21 am
Ivygirl wrote: Sat Jun 18, 2022 12:48 pm
... the goal is to fully fund my Roth IRA with $7,000 by the end of this year ...

With additional info added by the OP, this thread seems to have morphed from a straight consumer issue (buying food/pantry management) to a separate consumer issue (strategic spending in order to fully fund a Roth).
Nobody likes my spreadsheet :) and most don't even seem to like the idea of a deep pantry. Groceries and buying habits seem to be interesting to everybody though and finding more money to invest is very interesting to Bogleheads.

I assure you, if I could easily meet my investing goals, I wouldn't be tracking canned peaches quite so carefully. Inflation is doing this.
You know so I want only the best for you, so please do not take offense that is not intended… I think the lack of support may be because you may be buying more than you need and at the same time creating more unnecessary work for yourself, driven by a very understandable feeling of fear (you mentioned fears about the U.S. currency, inflation, supply chain and friends and neighbors in need whom you wish to help).

If you didn’t buy so much extra, you would not need to store it around the house and track it, lest it inadvertently expire, causing waste. Eating too much canned food is widely considered not healthy due to the BPA and preservatives, but that is another issue. Your overall expense would be lower as well. Stores will always sell us food - TV stories sensationalize the problems.

I’d love to see you with enough fresh food that fits in your pantry, more room, more free time for relaxation, and less fear. Plus also maybe as a side benefit more extra funds for investment. That could all give you the sense of control you are understandably seeking.

Alternatively, if you volunteer at a local food bank instead of de facto creating your own, you can help others, help the bank with your prodigious organizational skills, incur no expense, and get some free food to supplement your income, as I understand most food banks “pay” their volunteers in foodstuff.

I totally get that fear has its uses - I wrestle with it myself - and it’s best to be prepared but inner peace creates wealth while fears destroy it. Big hug.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
PeninsulaPerson
Posts: 1342
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2022 9:35 am
Location: Metro Boston

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by PeninsulaPerson »

Wise counsel very kindly offered by AnnetteLouisan and others here.

Good luck to you, OP. Some say one gets more of what one focuses on. In times of fear, worry and uncertainty, I have found that to be true. Can you look for places - even tiny ones - where you have abundance now, where inflation holds no sway?
jebmke
Posts: 25475
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:44 pm
Location: Delmarva Peninsula

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by jebmke »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:01 pm You know so I want only the best for you, so please do not take offense that is not intended… I think the lack of support may be because you may be buying more than you need and at the same time creating more unnecessary work for yourself, driven by a very understandable feeling of fear (you mentioned fears about the U.S. currency, inflation, supply chain and friends and neighbors in need whom you wish to help).

If you didn’t buy so much extra, you would not need to store it around the house and track it, lest it inadvertently expire, causing waste. Eating too much canned food is widely considered not healthy due to the BPA and preservatives, but that is another issue. Your overall expense would be lower as well. Stores will always sell us food - TV stories sensationalize the problems.
When I was head of international finance for my company, our Brasilian subsidiary kept buying large quantities of stuff from our US (parent). They kept running short of cash so for a while the parent company loaned them cash. When I looked at their balance sheet it was clear that they had not been collecting on time from customers and their inventory kept growing.

I sent an auditor down there but the report was that their books were clean. Something didn't smell right. I was sure their books were fine -- in Brasil, nothing moves without a piece of paper.

First I put them on credit hold; the US credit department had never done this with a wholly owned subsidiary so they looked at me like I was crazy. That got them focused on collecting from customers (generating cash) but their inventory was still a problem.

When I went down there, I found that they had way too much stuff. Much of it was rapidly becoming obsolete. They had actually had to lease a second warehouse to store the excess.

But they knew where everything was - their records were impeccable.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:01 pm I think the lack of support may be because you may be buying more than you need and at the same time creating more unnecessary work for yourself, driven by a very understandable feeling of fear (you mentioned fears about the U.S. currency, inflation, supply chain and friends and neighbors in need whom you wish to help).
Not offended. Support is always nice but I will do what I think is wisest whether I get support or not.

1. The fear is understandable, or 2. I am buying more than I need and creating unnecessary work for myself.

Either one or the other is true. Which one is it?
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

OP here. Just explored under the potato plants in the garden to see if any are ready and got 2.5 pounds! Both red and white, and including a 1.3 pound monster. Hello dinner!

Planting potatoes was a move I made back in March to thwart food price inflation, along the theme of this thread.
Topic Author
Ivygirl
Posts: 1212
Joined: Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:36 pm

Re: Pantry Inventory and Grocery Shopping in Time of Inflation

Post by Ivygirl »

jebmke wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:14 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sun Jun 26, 2022 12:01 pm You know so I want only the best for you, so please do not take offense that is not intended… I think the lack of support may be because you may be buying more than you need and at the same time creating more unnecessary work for yourself, driven by a very understandable feeling of fear (you mentioned fears about the U.S. currency, inflation, supply chain and friends and neighbors in need whom you wish to help).

If you didn’t buy so much extra, you would not need to store it around the house and track it, lest it inadvertently expire, causing waste. Eating too much canned food is widely considered not healthy due to the BPA and preservatives, but that is another issue. Your overall expense would be lower as well. Stores will always sell us food - TV stories sensationalize the problems.
When I was head of international finance for my company, our Brasilian subsidiary kept buying large quantities of stuff from our US (parent). They kept running short of cash so for a while the parent company loaned them cash. When I looked at their balance sheet it was clear that they had not been collecting on time from customers and their inventory kept growing.

I sent an auditor down there but the report was that their books were clean. Something didn't smell right. I was sure their books were fine -- in Brasil, nothing moves without a piece of paper.

First I put them on credit hold; the US credit department had never done this with a wholly owned subsidiary so they looked at me like I was crazy. That got them focused on collecting from customers (generating cash) but their inventory was still a problem.

When I went down there, I found that they had way too much stuff. Much of it was rapidly becoming obsolete. They had actually had to lease a second warehouse to store the excess.

But they knew where everything was - their records were impeccable.
If their records really were impeccable, those records stated what items in their inventory were rapidly becoming obsolete. Rather like food expiration dates. I agree with you that inventory should be well-managed.
Post Reply