I have found with my local grocer that the occasional sales really help; so can a bit of comparison shopping from store to store, or even shopping a warehouse store like Sam's Club ( I mostly shop at BJ's).

I'm with you on sticker shock. I went to buy a roast at the grocery store last week and could not believe the prices, but since I also have a DH that likes his beef. I bought it.
I'm doubling down on reading store fliers, sales, and when I find a good deal, I stock up.
However, I have a very small freezer, so there is a limit to what I can buy.
I could always buy a second freezer, but that would cost money and the extra electricity would add to the cost of the meat.

But as you said " guess we will just keep on." and do the best we can.

Prices go up all over, but what gets me are the people who blame the farmers. Besides the fact that they also have higher costs, people seem to think that no matter what the weather does, it should not affect the farm products.

Another sticker shock has been the energy bill, I was never sure what the bill would be and felt so frustrated that I could not figure out why it was so high/low.
Then I saw a blurb in the last AARP news that there was a gadget called Kill A Watt, that could measure how many watts an electrical device used per hour.
We bought one from the net, and it cost us about $26.00 with s/h.
We have measured and measured and now I have a very good idea where the $$$ goes.
I now have the information to make choices.

BTW, we measured my lap top and it costs 24 cents if it's on for 24 hours. Worth every minute.

This post was edited by west_gardener on Wed, Mar 26, 14 at 18:51

Eat less meat and more veggies. It doesn't sound like a solution but we should all eat less meat for health reasons. I can make a great chili with 1/2 of hamburger. I double up on the beans and tomatoes and its better than my old chili.
The rest of the world eats less meat and is healthier for it.
Asians use less meat and more veggies and produce great meals. We love brown rice and noodles.
If we don't like veggies , why are we on gardenweb to begin with?
Take it slow and reduce gradually. You family won't notice it much. Make a roast a special treat that you have on Sundays or with company. Chicken is still a great bargain.

greasybeans, if there were a "Like" button for your post, I would click on it.

Lol, at your comment" If we don't like veggies , why are we on gardenweb to begin with? My question is: " Who are "we"?

I like veggies, I grow veggies and eat veggies, but with my DH it is a hard sell. He has no interest in gardnweb or veggies.So who are we?