If there’s anything that’s been expensive especially since early 2021, it is grocery prices. A lot of factors contribute to increases including the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent inflation.
It’s really affected everybody and teachers have noticed it when they’ve been to grocery stores.
“Yes, a lot of things over the years have gotten more expensive, especially meat and eggs,” said Mrs. Piazza, a teaching assistant at the high school.
For me personally, my mom and I try to save money by going through what we already have at home and deciding whether or not they’ll last most of the week before adding to the grocery list. Getting only what we need saves more money. It’s also useful to get smaller things like hygiene supplies or small snacks at dollar stores. I feel like making a good plan before shopping could work for a lot of people and they could save money too.
I also interviewed my mom, Jeniffer Neal about what she thinks about the grocery prices and she said,“It makes the grocery bill very high and I’d wish they’d go down.”
Websites like Nerdwallet.com have shown some important information about this topic and have provided the reason for it, which is the 2020 pandemic settling down:“The high inflation rates that pushed up food prices since the pandemic have cooled off significantly in the past year or more. But now, tariffs are expected to push prices higher once again: An analysis by the Yale Budget Lab estimates current tariff rates will cause food prices to rise 2.6% in the short term. Once businesses and consumers shift their purchases in response to the tariffs, the analysis estimates prices will stick around 3% higher.”
Supermarket prices are in the same boat as fuel for vehicles as they’re both at very high prices right now.
“From farm to supermarket, everyone has people to pay, equipment or raw materials to buy and vehicles to fuel. And those operating costs have become more expensive over the past few years. That adds to the cost of the food you purchase at the store in more than one way. The simplest way is that the higher costs get passed along. For example, when gas prices rise, the cost of food tends to rise. The price of a gallon of diesel which fuels farm equipment as well as trucks delivering inventory to stores increased 22% since the start of 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration data as of Feb. 10,” Nerdwallet reports.
I have a few possible ways for people to shop for groceries that might make the experience better. I recommend to people that they should save their money in any way they can for expensive groceries they need or want, as it will help them in the long run whenever they need to buy food. You can also take advantage of grocery store loyalty programs, sales, and coupons, and compare prices both within and between certain stores. You could also avoid peak times which tend to be busier and can increase impulse purchases. By going in at earlier times to avoid busy hours, you can be more intentional about what you purchase which will save you money.
