Monthly Food Bill

[Bob B.]

Earlier this week, I posted my monthly expenses, including $880 on food. That expense drew a few comments that it was high. I agree. Yes, we eat out way too much, and should eat at home a lot more.

Another factor in the high expense is our choice in grocery shops. We live in a very rural part of Michigan. We have exactly two choices in where to buy groceries: Wal-mart, and our locally owned grocery store. We tend to choose the locally owned grocery store. We're not extremist "boycott Wal-mart" types. We do limited shopping there, especially on Sundays after church when the locally owned store is closed. But, for the vast majority of groceries, we choose the locally owned store. The reason is more money circulates in the local economy. The store does a lot of local outreach, and we would rather support owners in our town than in Arkansas. Yes, prices are inflated there as compared to Wal-mart, and more of our monthly budget goes to food than if we did all of our shopping at Wal-mart.

Thoughts...??

[wincrasher]

There are all kinds of ways to save money, even if you only have 2 choices in grocery stores.

Do you buy the sale items and stock up? Do buy items out of season (with a much higher price)?

Do you combine coupons with sale items?

Surely there are local farmer's market and roadside produce stands - use them. Also, in rural Michigan, there are people willing to sell you half a cow or whatever and stock your freezer. I see adds in the local paper all the time people offering such things.

And don't rule out taking monthly trips to a city that has a Costco or a Sam's Club. You can stock up on bargain items.

But if your SOP is to just stop by the market each evening to buy something for dinner, you will NEVER save money.

[littleroc02us]

Here's one way to look at it. You need to be concerned with your own economy at home vs. the local grocery store economy until you become stable financially. Do you really think that store will help you out if you are about to declare bankruptcy?

[nick__45]

Beggars shouldn't be choosy. Everyone here don't make a ton of money so we shouldn't worry about other people's economy. I buy from whoever has the lowest price (gas all things such as gas and time added in) and the highest quality.

I never budget for grocery because I am not going to tell my wife we are not eating that. She works hard and does cooking every day. The least I can do is let her cook whatever she wants. There is never a "just another diner" meal at our house. We have never eaten lobster but do go to Chinese buffet to eat giant snow crabs. I don't know what we spend in food each month because we buy from both BJ's, Walmart, and travel far to get spice and grain/noodles/sauce that last 2-4 months.

[jpg7n16]

Where does Wal-Mart get it's groceries from?

It'd be cheaper for Wal-Mart to buy local milk for $1, rather than pay $0.85 and .30 of shipping - so they'd probably go local. And things like Cheerios, Duracell batteries, Brawny paper towels, Hamburger Helper - those aren't locally made anyways, and if they are, Wal-mart would probably use them as their local supplier as it saves on shpping costs.

Wal-mart probably supplies several locals with jobs, probably gets some food items from local producers (milk, eggs, produce, etc.), and probably carries a lot of other non-grocery Michigan produced goods.

And technically, I'm an owner of Wal-Mart and I live in Texas. I have a few shares of WalMart stock. They are corporately managed by people in Arkansas, but their owners are spread out. Locally, they're managed by people who live in your area.

My point is - it doesn't matter which store you go to, both stores benefit the economy in your area.


I do like that you support companies that do outreach in the area, but I prefer to donate money to the church - instead of a locally owned business. But that is a personal preference.

[wincrasher]

Walmart is a master of product distribution. They have humoungous regional distribution centers. They buy everything out of Arkasas. They buy in huge quantities from all over the world and send to these distribution centers. Your local Walmart is not buying milk from the local dairies. If there is anything fresh bought from the region the store is in, it's purchased by corporate from a regional supplier.

[disneysteve]

we eat out way too much, and should eat at home a lot more.

for the vast majority of groceries, we choose the locally owned store. The reason is more money circulates in the local economy.

I suspect that your biggest problem isn't where you buy your groceries but rather how much you eat out. A typical meal out easily can cost 5-10 times what it would cost to prepare the same meal yourself at home. How much of your $800/month is spent on groceries and how much is spent in restaurants?

As for the WalMart question, I personally would disagree. The money spent at WM circulates in the local economy, too. Why? All of the people who work there live in the area. By having jobs, that helps support the local economy. If WM suddenly closed up tomorrow, you can bet that would have a major impact on the local economy.

I also agree with nick. I worry about our household economy first and foremost. I'm not going to pay more for the same item just to help out someone else. If milk is $2.50 at WM and $3.25 at Local Grocer, I'm going to WM.

[marvholly]

I live in a metro area and have a much greater choice of stores than the OP, from smaller independent markets to regional chains to WalMart/Target type stores.

I find I do NOT shop WalMart simply because both the store and the parking lot are ALWAYS a zoo. It is much to much of a PITA to drive there (and I have 2 on my semi-regular travel patterns), drive up/down the aisles looking for a space, find my wants/needs and wait FOREVER in a check-out line for a cashier who takes a minute each to read every coupon and then refuses my coupons because the specific item is NOT in the picture even though the print says ANY brand ABC item. I think it is REQUIRED that WalMart hire cashiers who either could NOT pass a 6th grade level reading exam or have English comprehension issues.

[snafu]

WalMart is notorious for their relentless pressure on their suppliers and is regularly reported as demanding 'profit killing concessions.' By 2012 it pledges to insist 3rd world suppliers no longer use child labor or follow illegal practices in that country.

Should OP wish to decrease food spending, he could easily limit eating out by creating a menu plan along with an outline for easier preparation. For example, by making two meatloaves at a time, the increased work/mess is insignificant but 4 meals easily result. With a plan, it's incredibly easy to have healthy, well balanced meals with 'real' food as opposed to the product generally served in restaurants.

[jpg7n16]

Walmart is a master of product distribution. They have humoungous regional distribution centers. They buy everything out of Arkasas. They buy in huge quantities from all over the world and send to these distribution centers. Your local Walmart is not buying milk from the local dairies. If there is anything fresh bought from the region the store is in, it's purchased by corporate from a regional supplier.

That's just not true.

Walmart.com - Locally Grown - Food & Recipe Center
Walmart.com - Walmart Produce: Our Commitment to You - Food & Recipes Center
Walmartstores.com: Locally Grown Products

As far as milk goes, around here (Dallas), we have Borden:
Borden Milk

Which is shipped from Borden distribution to cities around Texas. Not shipped to Arkansas, just to get shipped back here. Wal-mart is too cost sensitive to say.... buy potatoes from Idaho, ship to Arkansas, just to ship back to WalMarts across Idaho.

In fact, the majority of WalMart's distribution centers are not even in Arkansas, they're in Texas:

Walmart Stores number of distribution centers (most recent) by state



Do you have any backup for your claims?

It bothers me when people say that local stores use 100% local suppliers, but giant evil WalMart does such and such. If you've ever bought Cheerios from your locally owned business, you've bought food from a giant distributor.

Also: Oreos, Tide, Ice Cream, Gilette razors, Head & Shoulders Shampoo, Coca-Cola, etc. - none of those are made locally, no matter which store you buy from.

[wincrasher]

I didn't say they ship the goods to Arkansas. They procure everything from corporate offices. Whatever suppliers ship to distribution centers.

As I also said, there may be some locally sourced items because they are perishable, but the deal is made in Arkansas.

All that aside, yes there are a few dollars left to circulate in the local community. The salaries of the low paid employees, and the property taxes (if they didn't get an abatement) and the sale taxes. Guess where the profits go?

Eventually though, as the local merchants decline, they have no profits to put back into their local community, and when they go out of business, their wages paid, sales and property taxes disappear. If a community is lucky, their big box store is a draw for a big area and net shopping goes up in their community - of course, again, at the expense of other small communities.

I'm not saying this is all bad - at least not for me anyways, but thems the facts, and something you should consider when filling your cart. Not to mention the jobs being created in China and destroyed in America. Is it an inevitable spiral? Where does it end?

[bjl584]

Walmart is a front and center target because they are number 1. But, all big box retailers are pretty much the same. From business practices to treatment of its employees, retail is pretty much hell across the board. I work part time at a Kmart and the treatment of the full timers there is awful. The policies are ridiculous. And everything they sell comes from China. But, who's paying attention to Kmart?

[jpg7n16]

Guess where the profits go?

They go out of your wallet, into the wallet of someone else.

And maybe you've let the local store owner convince you that he deserves your money more than someone in another state because he's a local. (also used as justification for why you should pay his higher prices)

Either way, you are making someone else rich. Why does it matter where they live?


My main point of this discussion is that you should do what's in your best interest. If you want Cheerios, and you can buy them at WalMart (or Target) for 25% less than the locally owned store, you should do so. The effect to your local economy is minimal no matter where you buy, so that should be a non-factor in your decision.

[wincrasher]

And what I'm saying is that is a very short-sighted view.

If you only shop on price, with no regard to the other consequences, the next job to be cut may be yours. This country's whole "what's in it for me" attitude is getting a bit tiresome.

Yes, you may save a few bucks in the short term buying cheap crap from the big box store. But what about down the road? What happens to the jobs when everyone is competing against the slave wages in China? What happens to your property taxes when the business district dries up? What do you think will happen to prices when all the competition goes away? What kind of country will be have when there are only $9 an hour jobs at the big box store? That's all I'm sayin'.

I shop at big box stores. I also shop in other places. I look at the labels before I throw it in the cart. When there are choices, I consider more than if it's cheapest. Cheapest up front is not always cheapest in the long term. I'm sayin' that too.

[cicy33]

And what I'm saying is that is a very short-sighted view.

If you only shop on price, with no regard to the other consequences, the next job to be cut may be yours. This country's whole "what's in it for me" attitude is getting a bit tiresome.

Yes, you may save a few bucks in the short term buying cheap crap from the big box store. But what about down the road? What happens to the jobs when everyone is competing against the slave wages in China? What happens to your property taxes when the business district dries up? What do you think will happen to prices when all the competition goes away? What kind of country will be have when there are only $9 an hour jobs at the big box store? That's all I'm sayin'.

I shop at big box stores. I also shop in other places. I look at the labels before I throw it in the cart. When there are choices, I consider more than if it's cheapest. Cheapest up front is not always cheapest in the long term. I'm sayin' that too.

I absolutely buy the lower cost groceries. I shop a lot at walmart. and at Krogers. Guess what neither one of their products are made in my local area. How do I know that? I live in BFE. My town is about 2000 people, the next biggest town is about 10,000 and the next one might be a smidge more than that. We do have a pepsi plant but other than that, we don't have any food making plants here. We did have a maytag (not food of course!) guess what, yep, they shut down. had nothing to do with walmart. and around here most of the jobs are minimum wage. there are a few that pay a little more but for a general job it is low pay. even at the local grocery store who wants to charge me $1 or more extra for an item I can get at Walmart cheaper. so, let's see, local grocer charges more, doesn't pay his people any more than at walmart, doesn't offer benefits (cause they are all part time), or walmart, where I can save money. same issues only difference is walmart get picked on cuz they are the biggest.

So what I am saying to the OP, shop where you are comfortable. Forget about trying to help your local grocery store. I am betting if you check, his wages and benefits match others. and people shopping at walmart does help the local economy cuz it means those cashiers still have jobs. (not that there is EVER enough of those!)