Thrifty Mommy » prices

Will the Prices Come Down?

Karen Weideman — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:03:02 +0000

I mentioned earlier this week that the price of gasoline has finally dropped below $1.80/gallon and it continues to fall.

When gas prices increased, we saw prices on everything skyrocket. One of the things that affected us most was the price of food.

Now that the price of fuel is going down, do you think we’ll see a price deduction at the stores or do you think the food industry will continue to keep the prices high?

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How Much is Gas Your Way?

Karen Weideman — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:50:41 +0000

It was just two months ago that we were paying $4 per gallon for gas. And it hurt to fill up our tank. As food prices continued to soar, it seemed as though there was no end in sight.

Finally, we are seeing some relief. Gas is around $1.70-1.80/gallon, depending on which part of NC I’m in at the time.

I’m wondering . . . how much is gas your way? Isn’t it nice that it costs 50%+ less to fill up our tanks?

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Lesser Service for More Money

Karen Weideman — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:59:51 +0000

As many of you know, we recently moved to a new location. One big problem that I have is that my Suncom cell phone does not work here. Pretty much, the only service to have here is U.S. Cellular. I am really struggling with this!!!!

1) U.S. Cellular is an inferior service to Suncom.

2) U.S. Cellular costs A LOT more than Suncom.

3) U.S. Cellular nickel and dimes you for every little thing. (nights starting at 7 pm, texting, etc)

4) U.S. Cellular has done me wrong.

5) U.S. Cellular charges an activiation fee for EACH phone.

6) The roaming areas for U.S. Cellular are just ridiculous!!!!

This is really burning me up! But, what can I do? I guess I have to bite the bullet and pay the dough. This really stinks!!!! Anyone else having similar problems?

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Comparing Prices on School Supplies

Karen Weideman — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:01:28 +0000

I may be alone here, but I am not one of those moms that let’s their kids pick out their own lunchbox. The lunchbox that I buy needs to suit our needs. It needs to hold the items that we use most in the right way. It’s almost like finding the perfect purse.

Yesterday I went to Target and after looking at about 40 or so lunchboxes I finally decided on the Artic Zone lunchbox. It has a bottom chamber with container, which is perfect for keeping sandwiches safe. The top part is tall enough that it will hold a sports bottle upright so that it won’t leak.

Finding the right lunchbox is important to me because I don’t want to waste my money on something that doesn’t work for us. Still, paying $8.99 for a lunchbox made me cringe and complain. After all, I am a clearance shopper.

I bought the lunchbox at Target and then headed Wal-Mart. Imagine my surprise when I found the same lunchbox for $6.34. That’s a savings of $2.65 each!!!! You can see the pictures here. Compare the two Artic Zone lunchboxes and you’ll see there is very little difference between the two. The one on the left is from Wal-Mart and the one on the right is from Target.

I purchased the lunchboxes at Wal-Mart and then returned the other one to Target. I can handle a savings of 30%!

Have you found a big difference in the prices of things between Target and Wal-Mart?

image by Karen

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Milk Prices Continue to Rise

Karen Weideman — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:32:06 +0000

I managed to get away from the family for a little while last night and do some grocery shopping. I was shocked when I went to pick up a gallon of milk. The Food Lion brand milk was $4.09 for skim!!!!! This called for some research.

According to The Star-Ledger, the price paid to farmers will have increased 50 percent this year — driven by higher costs of transporting milk to market and increased demand for corn to produce ethanol. We are seeing the rising cost of gas affect just about everything we purchase.

University of Illinois dairy specialist Michael Hutjens forecasts further increases of up to 40 cents a gallon for milk over the next few months, and up to 60 cents for a pound of cheese.

So, what’s a Thrifty Mommy to do?

1. You could buy all your milk from a wholesale store such as Sam’s or Costco. I haven’t checked the price of milk at Sam’s lately, but last time I looked, I believe it was around $3 a gallon.

2. Water down your milk. Some people may think I’m crazy for suggesting such a thing. I actually did this for about a month because my son was drinking so much milk. I would buy whole milk and dilute it about 25%. He was still getting plenty of milk for his growth and development. (BTW, diluted milk is not good on cereal.)

3. Buy milk on sale. I rarely see milk on sale, but it does happen. When the sale comes, stock up!

4. Take advantage of milk promotions. Right now, my Food Lion has a promotion going on. Buy 6 gallons of milk and get 1 free. You have to have them scan your MVP card to get the coupons to save. With all the milk we go through, it won’t be hard to collect 6 coupons.

Please tell us if you have any ways to save on our milk spending.

Image from life-human.net.

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