Things I Am No Longer Buying

So many food items are getting ridiculously expensive. Every time I go in a grocery store, I bring my price book and go up and down the aisles updating the prices. I have also kept track of a lot of prices since 2021 by saving my receipts. Those items have gone up an average of 60% in 4 years. I will tell you that I am in the Buffalo market area. Buffalo, N.Y. is the second largest city in New York state so the prices are high here. Now is the time to no longer buy certain things until the prices come down. If we all did this, they would have to lower them.

This week I went into Top’s. I saw a 50.7 ounce bottle of Bertolli olive oil for $ 37.49. I have a large bottle at home that I paid $17.00+ for a while back. I opened it recently and it is not rancid. So this should last us a while. But if I run out I am not spending that price or more to get a new bottle. I will look for a decent price on avocado oil or cold press coconut oil. Italy has had bad olive crops for two years now which has caused the price to rise along with inflation.

I bought my last loaf of bread a week or so ago. From now on I am making all of our breads. I can make tasty specialty loaves for dollars less than it cost at the store. I have a bread maker and I have a Dutch oven so it’s crazy to buy bread. I also found a recipe for tortillas that I am going to try. I will let you know how they turn out.

We no longer buy refrigerated milk because we can’t use it up before it goes bad. I buy shelf stable milk at Dollar Tree for $ 1.25. I only use it in puddings, baked goods, casseroles, etc. We do not drink milk. I also no longer buy cream. When it went up to $ 6.00+, I quit getting it. We use half and half in our coffee which I can get a half gallon for $ 5.99.

I only buy butter once a year at Aldi’s at Thanksgiving. it cost $ 2.69 a lb. last year. We use about 32 lbs. a year. I rarely run out.

I am still buying eggs but not for much longer if the price keeps going up. When they were at a decent price, I purchased 5 dozen and froze them for scrambled eggs. We will use them sparingly. I also have egg powder if they run out.

For a while I was buying bottled water in case of an emergency. I have quit doing that since I started to save Hubby’s Sam’s Club Diet Cola 2 liter bottles. I just wash them out really well, let them dry, and then fill them from our faucet.

We purchased our last tomatoes this week. The price has gotten prohibitive. So we will have our last BLT’s this week coming up until next tomato season. I have canned tomatoes for soups and casseroles.

With the exception of lettuce, celery, potatoes or onions, we will only buy what is in season or frozen vegetables.

We are making our own salad dressings as we use up what we have. I do have a free salad dressing coupon so I will get that one.

As meat prices are rising again, I am being very selective because we are eating out of the freezer so that nothing goes bad. I did buy some chicken and 3 roast beefs recently on sale at great prices.

We have some craft beers that Chris and Hubby brought from their state and we have a few cans of Yuengling left. When they are gone, we will buy no more.

I have not had salmon in about 9 months. We have a small amount of haddock in the freezer. I will not buy any fish until the prices come down. We do like shrimp and I will buy it once in a while on sale.

I am hoping to make Eloise’s cat food when she gets older. Right now she is eating Friskie’s Kitten Food in the yellow bag. I found a recipe using rice, veggies, and chicken. There are a lot of cat recipes online.

We are making our own spaghetti sauce now from tomatoes we froze and tomatoes we canned when we had a garden.

We are making our own cakes and brownies from mixes I have or making them from scratch. We are making our own donuts, fruit crisps, and frostings.

That’s it for today. There will be more in the future. I need to work in my pantry now while Eloise is asleep.

What things are you no longer buying because the price is exorbitant?