Sheesh the groceries are getting pretty crazy

[PG2]

Originally Posted by Jack91

Cant just be us. Groceries for the week just cost $511.
Me and the mrs, 2 dogs and a cat. Granted this was one of the weeks that included toiletries and windex etc..
No takeaways, home cooked healthy meals, mainly meat based as we are on keto. We couldve trimmed about 50 bucks off for dog treats and a slab of coke zero. Everything is home brand or the cheapest of its kind on special. No smokes, booze etc in it either.
We have tried going to butchers and grocers seperately in the past but it wasnt any cheaper, and surprisingly the meat wasnt as good.
How high can this go?
Us with a small mortgage, no kids and both on pretty good coin with work cars are now starting to feel it a bit.
I really dont know how young families are doing it with new houses and 2 new cars on finance.
I guess my observation is that prices never come down, but wages cant go up either because most of our industries are already struggling.
Whats the end game here?

I do agree, groceries are getting dearer. I have been doing the grocery shopping for our family for over 20 years. I have a good idea when prices go up - and they have been certainly going up lately.

Are you hoping for some advice on how to save some money?

If so; Where do you shop? Do you shop for specials? What sort of meat are you buying, for example, hamburger mince or rib eye steak?

What all of the guys are suggesting can reduce your bill quite considerably.

An example would be dynamo, it is normally $29 but every few weeks it goes on special for $14.50. Today I went shopping and bought 4 bottles.

[HIPO]

Media the other day was showing some supermarkets were doing 800% mark up on spuds.

Dont buy Vegies at the supermarket.....big savings & better quality from independent Veg retailers & most often have local produce as well!

[roKWiz]

another good reason to not support Woolworth's.



Most of our shop for 2 is from farm gates and local producers, cheaper, fresher than supermarkets.

[fatgas]

Originally Posted by HIPO

Media the other day was showing some supermarkets were doing 800% mark up on spuds.

Dont buy Vegies at the supermarket.....big savings & better quality from independent Veg retailers & most often have local produce as well!

Their markups on every line item in the produce section are mental, doesn't matter the time of year or weather conditions. A recent example is pumpkin (kent or Jap), Woolies had it for $1 a kilo, they were buying it for $0.15 a kilio.

[Polyal]

Yeah thats up there...we eat well and have 4 kids and we are doing it on 300-350 per week at the moment and thats all meals including their lunches!

Used to get away with it for $250ish but that hasnt happened in a while.

[kevino]

Tbf
Re pumpkins
Two truck trips
One to supermarket distribution centre
One to local store
Handling in/ out at distribution store
Handling in/ out local store back dock then to produce customer area

If you say 5 c for each of the above the supermarket gross profit is 55c of the $1 sale price

As other s have said we buy fruit and veg at farmers market and meat chicken from an independent butcher

[aussiblue]

If it's available switching to online shopping for your groceries can also save you money on your weekly shopping as:

a) it stops the so called "impulse buying" or unplanned purchases of unneeded "specials" or promotional items often placed near the checkouts or at the end of rows:
b) it's easier to compare prices and price per gm or kgm of competing products online;
c) shelf placement has no impact on your purchase; supermarkets usually give the most prominent and easiest to see and access shelf space to products that give them the most profit (so often the most expensive ones); and
d) in WA at least at the moment half the things you order won't actually be in stock so won't be delivered and your bill will be halved (with the added benefit of a forced diet - back to the daily bowl of poorhouse gruel) per : https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/super...act-c-14233888

Supermarket shelves remain empty across WA weeks after Goldfields flooding despite promise of no impact Claire SadlerThe West Australian
Tue, 9 April 2024 2:00AM

Liberal leader Libby Mettam has called out the State Government for its ‘complete and utter failure’ to strengthen WA’s supply chains as supermarket shelves remain empty due to severe flooding. Credit: The West Australian

WA Liberal Leader Libby Mettam has called out the Cook Government for its “complete and utter failure” to strengthen supply chains as supermarket shelves remain empty more than a week after a vital freight route — forced shut due to severe flooding — reopened.

The Trans-Australian Railway line and the Eyre Highway were forced to close after parts of the Goldfields received more than six months’ worth of rain in 24 hours last month.

The rail line, which connects WA to the Eastern States, closed on March 10 after it was covered by floodwater near Rawlinna, causing supply issues for WA’s major supermarkets.

Almost three weeks later, the rail line opened at noon on Easter Saturday.
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There were hopes WA’s empty supermarket shelves would quickly be replenished, however when The West Australian visited Coles and Woolworths stores across Perth on Monday — nine days after the reopening — almost every aisle still had bare shelves.

Each store in major centres including Midland, Joondalup and Innaloo had shelves plastered with notices apologising for the stock issues.
Supermarkets across Perth are experiencing stock shortages due to flooding and other issues. Pictured is Coles Claremont The West Australian

Lauren Price

Some of the items missing from shelves included pantry essentials like varieties of pasta, breakfast spreads such as peanut butter, cooking oils and bottled water.

Shoppers who were looking for popular brands of margarine, yogurt and cheese were also left empty-handed.

Pantry essentials weren’t the only items missing, with just a small amount of laundry detergents, hair, and makeup products to choose from.
Bare shelves at Coles and Woolworths due to significant flooding on the Trans-Australian Railway line.
Bare shelves at Coles and Woolworths due to significant flooding on the Trans-Australian Railway line. Credit: The West Australian
Each store in major centres including Midland, Joondalup and Innaloo had shelves plastered with notices apologising for the stock issues.
Each store in major centres including Midland, Joondalup and Innaloo had shelves plastered with notices apologising for the stock issues.

Credit: The West Australian





Also nowhere to be found were a number of fruit and vegetables including green beans, cabbage and watermelon.

A Coles spokesman conceded that a backlog of deliveries meant stores were still in short supply but said shoppers could expect to see more stock over the coming days.

“With the railway now reopened into WA, we have stock on its way into the State for our teams to replenish our WA stores with,” he said.

“As the backlog of deliveries via rail clears, customers can expect to see increased stock arrivals in stores over the coming days.

“We are work closely with our suppliers to get deliveries into the State by road and rail and customers can expect to see supply levels continue to improve.”

WA Liberal Leader Libby Mettam has called out the Cook Government for its “complete and utter failure” to strengthen supply chains as supermarket shelves remain empty more than a week after a vital freight route — forced shut due to severe flooding — reopened.

The Trans-Australian Railway line and the Eyre Highway were forced to close after parts of the Goldfields received more than six months’ worth of rain in 24 hours last month.

The rail line, which connects WA to the Eastern States, closed on March 10 after it was covered by floodwater near Rawlinna, causing supply issues for WA’s major supermarkets.

Almost three weeks later, the rail line opened at noon on Easter Saturday.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
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There were hopes WA’s empty supermarket shelves would quickly be replenished, however when The West Australian visited Coles and Woolworths stores across Perth on Monday — nine days after the reopening — almost every aisle still had bare shelves.

Each store in major centres including Midland, Joondalup and Innaloo had shelves plastered with notices apologising for the stock issues.
Supermarkets across Perth are experiencing stock shortages due to flooding and other issues. Pictured is Coles Claremont The West Australian
exclusive
WA News
Major rail line reopens as supermarket shelves go bare

Lauren Price

Some of the items missing from shelves included pantry essentials like varieties of pasta, breakfast spreads such as peanut butter, cooking oils and bottled water.

Shoppers who were looking for popular brands of margarine, yogurt and cheese were also left empty-handed.

Pantry essentials weren’t the only items missing, with just a small amount of laundry detergents, hair, and makeup products to choose from.
Bare shelves at Coles and Woolworths due to significant flooding on the Trans-Australian Railway line.
Bare shelves at Coles and Woolworths due to significant flooding on the Trans-Australian Railway line. Credit: The West Australian
Each store in major centres including Midland, Joondalup and Innaloo had shelves plastered with notices apologising for the stock issues.
Each store in major centres including Midland, Joondalup and Innaloo had shelves plastered with notices apologising for the stock issues. Credit: The West Australian

Also nowhere to be found were a number of fruit and vegetables including green beans, cabbage and watermelon.

A Coles spokesman conceded that a backlog of deliveries meant stores were still in short supply but said shoppers could expect to see more stock over the coming days.

“With the railway now reopened into WA, we have stock on its way into the State for our teams to replenish our WA stores with,” he said.

“As the backlog of deliveries via rail clears, customers can expect to see increased stock arrivals in stores over the coming days.

“We are work closely with our suppliers to get deliveries into the State by road and rail and customers can expect to see supply levels continue to improve.”
Triple-length road trains will be allowed on roads linking the State to the east after WA, South Australian and Federal regulators gave green lights.


A Woolworths spokeswoman said getting items like cheese and margarine back into stores was a priority.

“Our team is working to replenish stock on shelves across Perth, with a constant flow of deliveries coming through on rail and road again following recent weather events,” she said.

“Off the back of prolonged rail closures, it will take a few weeks to return to normal supply levels. Chilled items like cheese and margarine are a priority and we’re continuing to offer as many alternative options to our customers’ preferred brands in the meantime.

“We’d like to thank customers for their understanding.”

Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said impacts lasted longer than initially expected.

“Advice regarding the time-frames for the outage were being provided by the Australian Rail Track Corporation and unfortunately the impacts lasted longer than initially expected,” she said.

“This was due to the speed at which flood waters receded from the impacted areas east of Kalgoorlie.
Rescue efforts for a family of seven stranded in the outback since Sunday are underway after they were found safe and well on Wednesday.
updated


“During the outage we granted licences for B-triple road trains to travel on the State’s road network to assist in keeping stock levels up.”

A taskforce was set up to review the State’s supply chains after flooding knocked out the Trans-Australian railway line in 2022.

Ms Saffioti said a number of changes were made since the taskforce including supermarkets stocking more inventory in WA to withstand shocks to the supply chains.

However, she said resilience remained a “critical issue the nation needs to address, particularly on the Trans-Australia Railway”.

“The reality is many of the extreme weather events that impact this rail line occur outside of WA but we’re always wearing the most significant impact,” she said.

“We will continue to advocate for better resilience of this rail line at a national level.”
Flooding at Rawlinna Station
STATE POLITICS
Flood-affected regions won’t suffer empty stores: Saffioti

Jake Dietsch

But the issue prompted Ms Mettam to accuse Ms Saffioti of creating a “half-baked taskforce”, which in turn has caused a food supply crisis.

“Western Australia is in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and the Cook Labor Government are further exacerbating these pains by failing to prepare our freight network, leading to empty supermarket shelves,” she said.

“The WA Shipping and Supply Chain Taskforce promised to strengthen the state’s supply chains in preparation for future natural disasters. It’s clear that after two-years, the response from this government has been a complete and utter failure.

“We need to be developing a resilient system that includes road, rail, air and sea to ensure we’re protected when these events occur.”

New West Foods managing director Damon Venoutsos also called for the State Government to increase storage for stock in WA.

“I’m calling on the government to look at ways to increase stock holding in WA by setting up independent storage solutions for frozen, chilled, and ambient storage in WA,” he said.

“Rita Saffioti said the weather was once in a lifetime in 2022 and now it’s happened again three years later. We need more storage in WA.”

The latest disruption to WA’s supermarket shelves comes after major floods in 2022 severed the rail link for nearly three weeks, leaving shelves bare.

[aussiblue]

another good reason to not support Woolworth's.

But that would just help allow Cav to waste money on another fugly AU.

[HIPO]

........lol

[fatgas]

How are you finding the defrosted chicken and mince? Steak freezes and defrosts well, chicken is a bit how you doin and mince... I'll defrost week old mince and it's brown. Oh and fish freezes and defrosts okay too.

[Adamz Ghia]

Originally Posted by fatgas

How are you finding the defrosted chicken and mince? Steak freezes and defrosts well, chicken is a bit how you doin and mince... I'll defrost week old mince and it's brown. Oh and fish freezes and defrosts okay too.

The meat is fine defrosted, because it’s vac sealed there’s no air in there to make it go funny. I found the best way to thaw meat is for a few days in the fridge, especially steaks. Wouldn’t know it was frozen doing it that way. Only downside is it requires a bit of planning ahead meal wise.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

The meat is fine defrosted, because it’s vac sealed there’s no air in there to make it go funny. I found the best way to thaw meat is for a few days in the fridge, especially steaks. Wouldn’t know it was frozen doing it that way. Only downside is it requires a bit of planning ahead meal wise.

Exactly, we always thaw our meat in the fridge, best way to keep the quality.

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by Jack91

Cant just be us. Groceries for the week just cost $511.
Me and the mrs, 2 dogs and a cat. Granted this was one of the weeks that included toiletries and windex etc..
No takeaways, home cooked healthy meals, mainly meat based as we are on keto. We couldve trimmed about 50 bucks off for dog treats and a slab of coke zero. Everything is home brand or the cheapest of its kind on special. No smokes, booze etc in it either.
We have tried going to butchers and grocers seperately in the past but it wasnt any cheaper, and surprisingly the meat wasnt as good.
How high can this go?
Us with a small mortgage, no kids and both on pretty good coin with work cars are now starting to feel it a bit.
I really dont know how young families are doing it with new houses and 2 new cars on finance.
I guess my observation is that prices never come down, but wages cant go up either because most of our industries are already struggling.
Whats the end game here?

if WW3 starts these prices will look cheap.

[Citroënbender]

Originally Posted by ford71V8

2 schnittys, pint of beer and a cider for her, $86!!

Look at the positives. You both know each other well; there’s no spending to pander or impress. Can you imagine the wallet burn for some young buck who’s invited a prospective companion out to dinner?

Originally Posted by Syndrome

if WW3 starts these prices will look cheap.

And people on AFF will be moaning about the price of ammo.

[FTE217]

hope no side effects in the future r b m, immune system as well keep functioning well.
I suspect your having qrtly blood tests.

Re gorcery shopping, damn buggered if I know how people bulk buy.
My wife being a foodi wipes up something different near on every single night, kids liked this didn't like that so some nights made 3 different meals.
Yer I know make eat whats ont he plate but thats how she ticks and got to say luv the variety.
We tried bulk buying, or go to the Syd markets, you end up having too much we found.
Maybe she just doesn't like to work that way.
Some cook in bulk and freeze many meals, again we just can't work this way.
She like fresh fresh all the way, no complaints from me thats for sure..