I am employed by a fairly large grocery chain and here's what I have been told and have seen for myself --
The average 18 wheeler gets about 6 mpg. Fuel around here is close to $4.70 per gallon. Your local groceries come from all over the world. It takes fuel to get them from there to here.
The weather may be warm and sunny where you are right now, but the climate has been pretty terrible in much of the growing regions all over the world for quite awhile.
The profit margin in this business isn't what you think it is. If one can in a tray of twelve gets dented, there is a loss for the whole tray, not a profit. That's from the time the can is filled and out the door of the processing plant until it gets into your shopping bag.
Stores require lights, heating, cooling, employees, maintenance, insurance, etc. It all adds up.
Lately, everything that can go wrong, has been going wrong. Trust me, there aren't a whole lot of people I know getting rich in this business (I looked at my retirement plan recently -- ugh!) and we're a pretty darned good company.
Here's a shock for most of my customers -- we are not running a charity! We do donate a lot and help out the community a lot, but the bottom line should be black, not red.
So, what do we all do (I do not get a discount, by the way)?
Look for quality. Store brands are not necessarily generics. Ours are as good or better than national brands. Buy the best you can afford as with everything. I raised a family by not using national brands because no one could tell the difference from our brand or actually liked ours better.
Be sure you know the return policy. If something is not right, can you bring it back? If you do not like something, let someone in the store know and see what they can do to make it right.
Shop smarter. Check the unit price on the stuff you buy. That's the part of the shelf tag that tells you the cost per pound/quart/whatever. The big package is not always the best deal. If you can't find that information easily, shop someplace else! It is not uncommon for some companies to market a box of cereal with the same outside dimensions as others but with less product in the same size box. You've now been warned -- buyer beware!
Read the label. Do you really want the extra sugar, preservatives, etc.? If it isn't sweet enough or salty enough, you can adjust it to your tastes and it will cost you a lot less for your sugar, salt, etc. than for the manufacturers. Do you want chemicals added to meats to retain water -- and add weight (that you are paying for per pound) for nothing? Do you eat the shells that you are paying for (per pound) on that frozen seafood? Is that "juice" 10% with water and high fructose corn syrup or is it 100% juice? What other juices make up that "100% juice?"
Know what labels mean. Look for "Prime" and "Choice" meats. "Select" grade is the third string and most people don't like it. If nobody eats it, it is not a good deal, is it? "Natural" does not mean it is organic. "Multi-grain" is not whole grain.
Here's the biggest tip -- Do not buy what you do not need. It is OK to tell the kids, or yourself, "No."
Remember, not only does the government not like to use the word "recession," but that they will never, ever use the word "depression." Times are tough, maybe not for every single person here, but for an awful lot of us. It is worse than most people know and won't be getting better for quite awhile. You have to do what you can.
Fuel, food, health care, and housing. We've got problems with all of the new four horsemen.
