Our Grocery Shopping Series For 2026

Hubby and I have spent a lot of time discussing what to do about the rising cost of groceries now and for 2026. It seems like every time I go to the store or get a grocery delivery, the prices have spiked week over week or another item has become a victim of shrinkflation. I have my price points for each food I buy because I keep a price book. I will not pay more than I think the item is worth to us. Because of this, we have stopped buying certain things. Many others in 2026 will be on the chopping block. Soda comes to mind after the holidays. The price for it is ridiculous. I will not pay $7.00 to $8.64 for a 12 pack. If it goes on sale for example at Dollar General under $5.00, I might if we are having company. But that will be rare. Chips and other snacks are outrageous unless you buy them at Aldi’s. We are eating a lot of popcorn these days which is healthier and cheaper anyhow. I make it in my microwave popper.

You know, I rarely buy anything that is not on sale. I look for those rock bottom sale prices when the flyers come out. That is when I stock up. I also do a lot of comparison research because it is easy today with all of the online shopping sites. It is work but with the prices rising so fast, it is worth it. For example, I always check the online prices of the specials at Niagara Produce. They put an ad out every week or 10 days.

The eggs and white and russet potatoes are a great price. I don’t need eggs for about 4 weeks so I will skip getting those. I will be picking up the russet potatoes because I have none. The squashes are priced right at $.99 a lb. I will get one or two of the largest ones. Hubby does not like squash so these will be for me. I may cut up and freeze one. The best prices on those two items are now because they are in season. The carrots I can get almost anywhere for this price. I also have many fresh carrots, frozen, and canned right now. I will pass on those. I will be getting none of the meat this time. I am trying to eat down my freezer, not fill it up. I usually do not buy cold cuts. They are way too expensive. In a pinch, when I have company, I will buy some on sale just to have a quick meal.

You also know that I shop at Top’s, B.J.’s, Walmart and occasionally Aldi. All except B.J’s are within 3-4 miles of my home. B.J.’s is about 15 minutes away. But I think we are missing out on other rock bottom prices by limiting ourselves to just those stores. When I go to B.J.’s or for a doctor’s appointment, I have other stores close by. They are Wegman’s, other Top’s markets that do price markdowns(mine rarely does), Dash’s, and Price Rite.

In another direction, about 25 minutes away we have Ollie’s, Sam’s Club( I may join this), and Traders Joe’s. I shopped at Trader Joe’s in AZ when we lived there. They are expensive but you can find some deals on sale once in a while. If I am close, I will stop in to check.

So I will be adding these stores to my shopping when it is convenient. I will not make a trip just to pick up one or two items. I need to be going for another errand or appointment so as to not waste gasoline. Our Niagara Falls outlets are very close to some of these grocery stores.

When we need to stock on meat again, I will be frequenting this butcher shop. They have weekly specials.

I have much more that I am going to be doing to cut our costs and they will all be in this series which I will continue until it is done.

I understood the inflation after Covid and why the prices went up. But the pandemic has been gone for at least 2 almost 3 years. Our gasoline prices are going down a bit so why is food going up due to transportation? When I realize that Walmart’s gross profit for 2024 was almost $ 158 billion dollars with a fiscal revenue of $ 658 billion, I have to believe that we are being gouged. It is not only Walmart, it is other grocery stores and restaurants also.

Have you eaten at a restaurant or fast food joint recently? The food quality has gone down and the prices just keep rising. No wonder I have people on here wondering if the prices are going to go down. My answer, in the 1970’s we went through this and it took 10 years for the prices to go down. And they never went down to where they originally were. So those days are gone. Until the Fed does what they should be doing with interest rates, inflation will not go down. I am seeing some prices go down like eggs but not much else.

Since we can’t control the Feds and evidently President Trump can’t either, we need to watch out for ourselves and our families. We all need to write our Congress members and let them know how bad prices are and we believe we are being gouged day in and day out. They seem to have no clue. They should be looking into the pricing of our food and keeping these supermarkets in check.

Then make your plan to cut your costs for groceries. We will talk more about this tomorrow.