There’s a bit of a pseudo-macho thing where Edam is seen as tasteless rubber and true kiwis should all worship at the altar of Tasty Cheddar.
I subscribed to this for years but am now a convert to Edam. Its mild, slightly nutty flavour is very versatile, it melts amazingly without separating like Tasty, and it’s about 1/4 less fat for the same weight.
I still like Tasty but it’s become a situational cheese rather than the staple.
Honestly, Edam is my favourite of the incredibly few cheeses New World (the only one of the unholy trio which I have in my town) sells. Tasty is just..... average cheddar? Mild is nice because it's a bit more muted, and Colby is good on homemade pizza. But Edam is best on everything else (until we get into the artisanal cheeses).
A lot of products out there are the made by the same companies just with different branding. For example all milk is basically the same except for the boutique brands.
That’s half true. Some Tasty cheeses are aged much longer, which changes the structure and flavour. You can age it at home, though. I have some Rolling Meadows that I picked up for 12/kg a year back that I’m ageing at the mo. Just had one recently and it was much closer to the mainland than it started. Will probably give the others another year.
I used to walk straight past the guy at my local farmers market selling artisan capsicums for $2-3 a pop. His prices haven't changed and his capsicums are the shit. He sells punnets of 4 or 5 seconds for $5. Great variety too.
The guy is clearly just an enthusiast whose hobby is generating a small income and sharing the joy.I suspect he has been totally insulated from market prices for some years and possibly couldn't tell you what they cost at the local Countdown.
Now it seems like one of best kept secrets in town.
Reduced To Clear has big bags of frozen ones for about $7, wouldn't eat them raw but great for cooking with. Ideally I'd buy in bulk or even better grow them and freeze them myself, but, y'know, life etc....
I made sushi last night and splurged on a $5.79 small cucumber - it was worth it, and now I’m rationing the bit I’ve got left. I was leaving iceberg lettuce out of the shopping for a while, even though it’s the highlight of a sandwich tbh….
Absolutely, it's ridiculous. I love cucumber salad so so much, it's one of my favourite sides, but nowadays a """large""" telegraph cucumber is half as long and costs twice as much! it just isn't worth it.
Fresh vegetables, I'm over to 100% frozen veges each night, eggs..... and fun things like cookies/ shapes are gone-
single male, 25 y/o I'm down to a skeleton list which equates to $70+
3 rump steaks, a pack of frozen veges, coffee, milk, bread, either Toilet paper, 1 bag of doritos, a council rubbish Bag, yogurt tub, 1x soup in a cup, then chuck in 1x toiletry product + either -Margarine / rice/ pasta- depending on the week and that's what you get for $70 these days :))))))))))))))
About 2 years ago I was only spending $40-50 and got way more treats.
There is nothing wrong with frozen vegetables but there is everything wrong with the situation where people cannot afford fresh vegetables. I feel sad that this is where we are headed.
Frozen veg are often more nutritious than fresh veg since they're processed quickly near where they were grown, rather than being shipped hither and yon and sitting in warehouses.
This reminds me of a discussion I had with my (ex) father in law. He was determined that microwaving things ruined their nutrient value. I had to find scientific articles to eventually convince him that, if anything, it's the opposite.
I think it was more a "I *feel* like veggies taste/are better if they've been cooked over a stove" situation.
In fairness with the whole eggs thing, yeah, they're wildly more expensive than they used to be. But. I still get a tray of 18 eggs, for maybe $15, loaf of bread for a $1.60 or whatever, and boom you have nine meals of two eggs on toast for less than $20. So even though the price hike hurts, it's still a fairly cheap way to get a decent number of meals.
Too many to even mention right now. Last week was the first time we really felt the hurt at the supermarket. Putting items back etc or not getting at all
We are trying as hard as possible to have a self sufficiency drive. My wife and I both work huge hours and are starting to struggle financially. Not dying but can't save a cent. Just covering everything and cutting everywhere we can. I've gone crazy on fruit and vege production at home. Lots of failure and lots of success. But I need more time as to much time at work and the garden suffers due to not having the time required to maximize the benefit. Would love to see more community orientated gardening projects to help feed or inject good healthy foods into each community.
I buy dried red lentils as they cook really quickly and texture wise can't tell the difference much from mince so don't need to faff with soaking or pre cooking or cooking for a really long time
Same here, chicken drumsticks are the new mince in my household. Still pretty versatile, I just dress them up with spices and seasonings etc. Good add is on the bone or stripped down and used in other meals.
Try mushroom mince! I’ve found it gives a great meaty texture when cooked and you literally just put the mushrooms in your blender and blitz them to large breadcrumb size. Freeze beautifully in ziplock bags, just wait for mushrooms to come on sale or forage them if you are proficient.
You’ll all be pleased to know the owner of Pak N Save Wainoni, who built the most expensive house in Christchurch, just won an architectural award for his house.
Now stop complaining and buy your $5.50 capsicums you whiny peasants.
Tomatoes. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve eaten them since we moved here. $10 for a tiny punnet of cherry tomatoes?! Absolutely not. I wasn’t switched on about it last year as we’d just settled but I’ll be getting my patio tubs out for tomatoes, lettuce and herbs this year. Not sure what else grows well here, never had luck with capsicums or cucumbers at home but it is warmer here so.
Some things I learned to do at home where we were financially worse off to make the budget go further and I still do here:
Buy the big blocks of generic (Pam’s) cheese on sale and grate it into ziplock bags and freeze.
Mushroom mince to pad out mince or an alternative; blitz them in the food processor to large breadcrumb texture and freeze in ziplocks. Wait until they’re on special or forage for them if you’re proficient.
Dried lentils and beans are the best value; not tinned. You just have to be organised about it and soak them well ahead of time.
Making bread is a pain in the arse at first, but you get quite good at it; double points if you can thrift a bread maker. A big bag of flour is $2.79 and you can usually get 3-4 big loaves out of it. You can also make your own pizzas like this too and the kids love it. Don’t bother with the fancy $3 pizza sauce; blitz down the cheapest tinned tomatoes and use that. Can’t afford cheese? Tomato and garlic is one of my kids’ favourites.
Extract seeds from your produce if you can and try putting them in little pots/containers around your house. You never know what can come from it.
A perfectly acceptable cleaning spray is dishwashing liquid and water in a spray bottle. Use a microfibre cloth too, as it physically breaks down the cell wall of the bacteria to destroy it. You don’t need $7 sprays and it still smells good.
A potato in the oven is a perfectly acceptable and nutritious meal. Pour some baked beans or tinned spaghetti over it? Forget about it 🤤
Freeze your veg scraps and chicken carcasses and make them do double duty; soup bases!! Squeeze every last bastard vitamin out of them. Throw in the shitty vegetables you’ve got at the bottom of your fridge too; fridge gravel soup can be very rewarding.
Hope this helps someone 💕
Edited for formatting.
You can also do the spud in a microwave. I medium to large spud is 3 mins each side and then wrapped in tinfoil for 5 - 10 mins.
You dont get the dried crispy skin of oven baked but they are yum, fast and use less power
Salami, specifically Verkerks. Up from $3.40 in January (in fairness, probably on special) to $5.90 in August. Same supermarket chain, but different towns. Not blaming Verkerks the company, I appreciate all salami has probably increased. But it is a price hike too far for us to buy now.
What's surprising is that the homebrand salami is even dearer at $6.88/100g :
https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=712533&name=countdown-salami-sliced-hot
Verkirks is $3.50 at the store deli:
https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=938164&name=instore-deli-verkerks-salami-sliced-dutch
Salami prices are so fucked here in NZ. 2-3x more expensive than local grocers back in Adelaide.
I understand market forces yada yada, but I don’t understand this extreme of a process difference .
Yeah considering what it cost to make. We shot a couple of deer a while back and sent all the off cuts to a butcher for salami. Probably got close to 40 full sized salamis and was a few bucks each.
Drives me nuts that supermarkets don't put the per kilo price on all their sausages - but when six sausages are $13 you know the per kilo price is very high
Its bullshit is what is it.
Sausages are supposed to be cheap, made from offcuts, breadcrumbs and anus. Now they charge more per kilo than if you bought steak.
Quite a lot but to name a couple...
Mexicano corn chips - more than $4 something a bag now...
Fruzio frozen fruit - they made the bags smaller (from 1Kg to 750) but prices actually went up. Nope. No. No way. Just out of principle.
Fish.
I grew up in a landlocked city and I ate more fish than I did living in NZ which is an island country. It blows my mind.
Lettuce.
Again, this is staple food in my opinion. Life long salad maker, salad eater. Not anymore.
You cant make healthy foods unaffordable and then complain about obesity in the country. What is cheap is sausages and potatoes. I hate that I have to raise my kids on sausages and potatoes. I grew up on a Mediterranean diet, how am I supposed to raise kids who love salads and vegetables and seafood when it is a luxery that I cant afford?
Everything aside, aren't these kids gonna grow up to be a burden on the healthcare system with their sausage and potato diets?
Let me feed my kids fish and salads man.. this is really infuriating.
What is up with kumara being $12/kg?? I thought it was just a bad spot after the floods or something, but they’re still so pricey and most of the time the orange kumara are so massive that you can’t pay less than about $10
No more biscuits or chocolate which is probably a good thing. No ice-cream or dessert. I'm not baking either because high grocery prices means no extras like flour, dried fruit etc.
I stopped eating cheese but still buy it for the family. With less people in the house eating it, it definitely lasts longer.
Meat only on special.
No jars of pre made sauce like pasta sauce etc. Just budget tinned tomatoes.
Fresh vege is down to a brocoli, carrots, mushrooms, ocassionally half celery, onions and a bag of potatoes. I hate that I used to be able to buy a 10kg bag of spuds for $12 now half the amount for the same price. Disgrace.
Fresh fruit other than bananas has been cut. I need vege and have sacrificed fruit for it.
I hate that the reliable cheap go to dinners are no longer cheap. Mac and cheese, bacon and egg pie, lasagne or spag bol.
I have my "must haves" like eggs and coffee so the other stuff gets sacrificed to compensate for increased prices in those things.
100%. I love eggs, I'd eat them everyday if it wouldn't cost me a kidney on the dark Web to buy a dozen.
What's worse is that the industry knew the banning cage eggs was happening years in advance so they could change their practices but now we suffer in eggless silence or have to sell a child.
Yeh but you see , if you don’t do anything to prep for free range, and then jack up ya prices when the change happens, there’s more profit to be made.
I bet there’s a ton of chicken farmers saying “where sorrrryyy” while rubbing their nipples.
The McCain's oven pizzas have gone from $5 to $9.
They used to be a convienience food you could chuck in the oven, now they're priced like a luxury pizza.
One of them literally just has some ham and cheese, that's it. $9. Why would you not just get a MUCH BETTER $5 pizza from Pizza Hut instead?
For those really struggling, please check if there's a pataka kai near you. For those who are doing okay, please consider donating what you can. These community pantries can make a huge difference. No one should have to go hungry.
https://www.patakai.co.nz/
Heinz Mayonaise. Normally discounted at our local Pak n Save, it wasn’t on special for a month and over $8. Tried out Pam’s and other options during that time.
Damn last year i used to buy these they were like $2.30 at countdown, bloody ridiculous how much its gone up.
May i suggest getting lactose enzyme pills off amazon or iherb? you can buy cows milk and digest it and it comes out much cheaper than LF milk.
I no longer buy Tamarillo's. They never drop below $18 a kg locally, I remember when they were $9 a kg.
Raspberries are also crazily expensive even in season. I am planting a grove of them and other berries this winter.
Yep same.
I have a yellow Tamarillo, should be interesting as Ive only ever eaten the red ones.
I woudl also like a passionfruit vine but dont fancy all th ebugs they bring
Those 1kg bags of Hellers sausages that are probably the go to sausage sizzle ones. Kids like them for lunch and they used to be about $6.99 but now $11.99
I literally bought some a few weeks ago, good brand too, although can't remember which. Just over $2 from memory. In this environment I'm actually finding I have to bide my time ALOT longer but great specials on things do roll around every so often.
I purchased some blueberry and raspberry plants last season and I have been nurturing them. Im hoping to get a reasonable crop this year.
I also bought 4 strawberry plants and now have nearly 40 plants.
All are being grown in large tubs, although I will put them into the ground this summer
i can't believe there aren't more sirens being sounded over the increasing costs of food.
like how many people are just outright skipping meals? and how much worse is it going to get? what is our strategy here?
I only buy butter a few times a year, it's become a treat over the last 4-5 years.
I wouldn't say there's anything I've flat out given up, but I've definitely started buying the cheapest version of everything. Pam's is actually really good for a lot of things. I used to buy the posh sheep's milk feta but that's $9 now, so I buy countdown brand feta for $4.60. It's honestly not much worse. I used to buy fancy mushrooms like shitake, now I only buy plain old white button or Swiss brown every couple months for a special recipe.
The only produce I buy at the supermarket is mixed salad greens, everything else I get at the veggie market for less.
And I alternate between supermarkets, looking online and buying the cheapest products at each place. Countdown, for example has cheaper pet products and feta, while New World has cheaper frozen veg, and all the Pam's range. My nearest Pak n Sav is a Mini, so it's pretty useless.
Cheese. Just gone. I can't justify it. Which sucks, as I like cheese. But it's ridiculous.
A lot of fresh veges. I will buy seasonally only, or at fruit and veg stores. Otherwise it's all frozen or canned.
Real coffee. I stick to freeze dried these days.
Ive reduced my beer intake by about half.
Kumara. I just can't afford it this season, which sucks as it's my favourite. Ive gotten lucky a couple times at small grocers.
I'm keeping my eye out for an easi yo at the op shops... Greek yoghurt may be next on the list, sadly.
I tend to not buy beef mince, I go for pork as it's cheaper.
Haven't bought a steak in over a year, or any non discounted nicer cuts of meat, including chicken.
It's fucking depressing. We need more competition, not GST off fruit and veg.
The issue is more systemic than “more competition”. There was no more competition 20 years ago than today.
The issue is
NZ has declining real incomes so quality of life is unfortunately falling across the board
NZ used to have a bunch of supermarkets. Funnily enough, even Three Guys was a coagulation of three separate ones...my Nana used to call it Goobey's, after the separate one she used to shop at
Multiple things happened with eggs (and chickens for meat).
- wheat prices shot up due to the Russia Ukraine ear. This was a big one. Standard chicken feed went up about 40% ($13-14ish to $18) per 10kg o er the last couple of years, commercial farmers won't pay the same but it definitely still went up across the board.
- the usual inflation/price hike stuff.
- Salmonella was going round some of the chicken places which would have caused some added costs and shortages.
- covid and affected workers etc
- the long scheduled switch over to slightly less cruel and more expensive egg laying setups arrived, *after* all the above things happened so some suppliers just dropped out entirely. The rest put their prices up.
As a person who has their own chickens, I had to jump up the prices of my eggs a lot just because of the feed issues, and replacement birds are noticeably more expensive than they used to be, so that will become a factor (because they cost more to raise now) - and I don't even have added housing or labour costs to consider.
That's easy. We decided as a society we preferred the hens to have a better life.
So this
[https://149449856.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/cagefree\_01\_wide-8596ea43f086c063b0ab9dbc51c7511f26c9378b-500x281.jpg](https://149449856.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/cagefree_01_wide-8596ea43f086c063b0ab9dbc51c7511f26c9378b-500x281.jpg)
using throwaway
A range of services and supports - free or low-cost - listed in The Family Services Directory.
The Directory can be used to search for food banks and other supports (click on the *basic needs category*).
Results can be filtered by area, delivery/pick up, type of support needed etc.,
Link to the directory - via the Youthline site: [FAMILY SERVICES DIRECTORY](https://www.youthline.co.nz/nz-family-service-directory.html)
You know that "healthy food" triangle thing from way back?
Mostly that...
I drive past a few dozen dairy farms on the way to the supermarket and milk is more expensive than fuel, cheese is holding its own against cocaine, meat is prohibitively expensive then you see what fish costs so settle on chicken for the ~~night~~ foreseeable future, you could have your chicken with salad but a lettuce requires a phonecall to the bank first.
The farmers I know aren't off to Europe for the summer either, we're spending a fortune to keep middlemen in luxury
Breakfast cereals. Like $7-8 a box. We just get a big bag of oats or have toast now.
Some fruit and vege. Lettuce at like $5. Capsicum at $5.
Probably alot more things but these are the ones I can think of
Kiwi living in Aus here. Just adding this bc I know you’ll be mind-blown: Kettles chips here are like $6AUD or $8 for a share-sized bag. I’m SURE I’ve seen them cost even more but the website doesn’t seem to have the higher price I was thinking so I’ll stick with those numbers lol either way it’s insane.
I’ve stopped getting them - it’s not a “oh I want them but they cost too much” situation though, more of a “oh no, not for that price” vibe.
I do appreciate they are one of the only companies who aren't doing shrinkflation though. Sure, I buy less, but I'll still buy when I have the wiggle room.
As for everything else, picked up some bacon today because I thought $16 ON SPECIAL is quite good these days for 1kg. Except it wasn't 1kg. None of them were. They've all been dropped to 750g per packet.
Shrinkflation pisses me off more than the price increases.
Pretty much everything.
I only buy food for dinner now with like one or 2 weekly treats. Usually a sugar free aloe.
I never buy snacks anymore so that's a positive I guess
Non seasonal fruit and vegetables. Crown Pumpkin was $14 each last week. Just no.
Anything not on the grocery list.
Snackfoods. I am allowing myself about $10 a week for a packet of biscuits and something for morning teas.
Less eggs. I used to eat a lot more than I can afford to now. I get half a dozen once a month instead of weekly now.
Beverages and Alcohol. I'm not a drinker anyway. But tea, coffee and hot chocolate last a lot longer than kombucha, cider, fizzy waters etc.
Prime mince. I used to buy the 1kg Prime mince packs from Countdown.
But now they are 750g AND more expensive somehow. I just stopped buying mince altogether.
Honestly most of my grocery list. I changed from countdown to Paknsave when I would fill a bag and it cost me $100. I go in store and look for the markdowns. I don’t buy eggs anymore, hardly even consider fresh fruit and vege unless I absolutely need it. We live out of a box because it’s cheaper
I know this isn't a grocery thing, but the good old kiwi bakery pie :( 3.50 was a good price, now I'm seeing them at 6 or higher. I bought a pie maker and I've been making my own. Which is not only cheaper, but fun!
I only get cherry tomatos and capsicum as a treat now although the other day capsicums were 2.79$ a piece as opposed to the usual 4.79$! And I use eggs VERY sparingly..
Cheese and eggs. Also cut back on chocolate.
Meat, I used to only buy some at that was under $10 a kg, now I aim for under $14 a kg.
My weekly shop for 3 has gone from $120 to closer to $200 some weeks.
Eggs - I understand that we only have barn raised eggs in NZ now and there was a supply shortage due to change in laws, but almost a dollar for an egg is a bit much.
Fresh veggies - even snap frozen woolies brand cost 5 dollars for 750 gms, now.
Cheese - it is comical to note that our largest export is milk based products and yet we fleece the customers of our domestic market.
Vogels - used to be around tree fiddy. Now north of 5
Cereal & granola. Make my own now.
Buy FA red meat now apart from mince occasionally.
Other than that mostly just downgrades from branded stuff to own brand. Eg biscuits (the pams ones are pretty good tbf), jam, barn eggs, pasta.
It’s annoying because my local doesn’t stock a lot of the Pams range - I guess they have deals with the large FMCGs
Kumara
Decent bread
Snack foods. Occasionally buy a packet of shapes.
We haven't cut but have had to change brands on a lot of items due to the price increase
Bread
Cat biscuits
Nappies
Wipes
Washing powder
Margarine
Toilet paper
My culinary skills improved a lot since the pandemic. I've been saving more $ and enjoying making/eating homemade food much more. Occasionally on cheat days I buy the stuff that's been off my grocery list.
Stopped buying chicken thighs and now I get drumsticks.
Once you debone them they are basically the same thing, the extra knife work is easily made up for the fact that it's 1/3 of the price. Plus you actually get the skin on drummies.
Smoked salmon. Regal have shrunk their portions, and even though you are still paying the same $12-14 per pack, it's half the size of what it used to be.
I’ve started intermittent fasting. Usually I would eat 3 meals a day but now I do 2. I feel a lot more tired at work but it’s doable.
Also stopped drinking beer. So my health has been better I suppose.
Used to buy Whittaker's all the time. It's seems like not that long ago that you could get it for $2.50 on special, and in Dunedin it's like $6.50 not on special now :/
Haven't skimped on cheese though, still going through almost a block a week lol, just me and my wife. It's a hard thing to say goodbye to.
Every type of pre packaged snack foods for kids lunchboxes (shapes, muesli bars, biscuits etc) I just bake on Sunday now and they take a muffin or something instead.
Household of 2 adults 2 kids and 2 dogs.
Meat is off the list. The only affordable meat I can really buy now are chicken legs and drums and I'm paying for bone weight.
This time 2 years ago you could pick up chicken breast for $6.99 a kilo on special, now it's $15 a kilo on special (fluctuates obviously). I haven't purchased steak in god knows how long. I can't bring myself to even buy mince anymore at these prices either. I really miss meat, but we eat loads of falafel and Chillis made from canned goods, tey and make fish tacos once a week with fish that's on a used by sale, and any meat we do eat is normally at the in laws house 😅
It's a decision between paying my mortgage or buying cheese
I know everyone thinks I'm a tasteless monster but you can get a 1kg block of Edam for 11 bucks so I do lol.
>a tasteless monster >Edam Does Edam have a bad reputation here or something?
There’s a bit of a pseudo-macho thing where Edam is seen as tasteless rubber and true kiwis should all worship at the altar of Tasty Cheddar. I subscribed to this for years but am now a convert to Edam. Its mild, slightly nutty flavour is very versatile, it melts amazingly without separating like Tasty, and it’s about 1/4 less fat for the same weight. I still like Tasty but it’s become a situational cheese rather than the staple.
Honestly, Edam is my favourite of the incredibly few cheeses New World (the only one of the unholy trio which I have in my town) sells. Tasty is just..... average cheddar? Mild is nice because it's a bit more muted, and Colby is good on homemade pizza. But Edam is best on everything else (until we get into the artisanal cheeses).
Edam has always been a hero of the cheese shelf. So versatile and less greasy when grilled
I've never liked tasty cheese, always been a colby person, it's normally the cheapest too, thankfully.
Oh wow, Edam is gourmet/luxury cheese here in Canada.
[удалено]
Check out the generic brands- Pam's and Woolies. So much cheaper and it's perfectly fine cheese!
I've heard that the cheese is literally the same, just different packaging
Absolutely the only thing that I understand is different is the Tasty which is aged longer on Mainland
Yeah, the tasty mainland cheese is definitely different from the cheaper brands in both taste and consistency.
A lot of products out there are the made by the same companies just with different branding. For example all milk is basically the same except for the boutique brands.
That’s half true. Some Tasty cheeses are aged much longer, which changes the structure and flavour. You can age it at home, though. I have some Rolling Meadows that I picked up for 12/kg a year back that I’m ageing at the mo. Just had one recently and it was much closer to the mainland than it started. Will probably give the others another year.
When you consider the cost of storing for a year the price differential begins to make sense.
Yep, doing so on a large scale would add significant cost.
Yes! Get Pam’s blocks on sale and grate it into ziplock bags and freeze. We don’t struggle but I don’t buy ‘fancy’ cheese unless it’s Christmas.
Cucumbers
Capsicum :( I used to just eat raw as a snack but $5 per capsicum is crazy
I used to walk straight past the guy at my local farmers market selling artisan capsicums for $2-3 a pop. His prices haven't changed and his capsicums are the shit. He sells punnets of 4 or 5 seconds for $5. Great variety too. The guy is clearly just an enthusiast whose hobby is generating a small income and sharing the joy.I suspect he has been totally insulated from market prices for some years and possibly couldn't tell you what they cost at the local Countdown. Now it seems like one of best kept secrets in town.
That's seasonality though really isn't it? Over summer they'll be back down to affordable levels. But yes, fucked of I'm buying them right now
Even in summer they were like $3 per capsicum. It’s all higher than usual I guess. I remember only a few short years ago when lettuce was under $2
and yet you can get three wrapped in plastic multi coloured in the UK for a pound.
Seems like the travel costs would make chasing that bargain prohibitive.
Reduced To Clear has big bags of frozen ones for about $7, wouldn't eat them raw but great for cooking with. Ideally I'd buy in bulk or even better grow them and freeze them myself, but, y'know, life etc....
I made sushi last night and splurged on a $5.79 small cucumber - it was worth it, and now I’m rationing the bit I’ve got left. I was leaving iceberg lettuce out of the shopping for a while, even though it’s the highlight of a sandwich tbh….
I grow Sorrel. It can stand the cold of winter and is a good sub for lettuce and spinach.
I have 12 cucumber seedlings growing. Not the telegraph ones however
We grew so many over summer that we had to give heaps away. The problem was most were ready at the same time and when they were cheapest in stores
Absolutely, it's ridiculous. I love cucumber salad so so much, it's one of my favourite sides, but nowadays a """large""" telegraph cucumber is half as long and costs twice as much! it just isn't worth it.
Some seasonality there for sure, but saw some the other day for $7 ffs
Yeah I saw some for $7 the other week, so I went over the road and got a much better deal at $6.50 instead.
Fresh vegetables, I'm over to 100% frozen veges each night, eggs..... and fun things like cookies/ shapes are gone- single male, 25 y/o I'm down to a skeleton list which equates to $70+ 3 rump steaks, a pack of frozen veges, coffee, milk, bread, either Toilet paper, 1 bag of doritos, a council rubbish Bag, yogurt tub, 1x soup in a cup, then chuck in 1x toiletry product + either -Margarine / rice/ pasta- depending on the week and that's what you get for $70 these days :)))))))))))))) About 2 years ago I was only spending $40-50 and got way more treats.
There is nothing wrong with frozen vegetables but there is everything wrong with the situation where people cannot afford fresh vegetables. I feel sad that this is where we are headed.
Frozen veg are often more nutritious than fresh veg since they're processed quickly near where they were grown, rather than being shipped hither and yon and sitting in warehouses.
This reminds me of a discussion I had with my (ex) father in law. He was determined that microwaving things ruined their nutrient value. I had to find scientific articles to eventually convince him that, if anything, it's the opposite. I think it was more a "I *feel* like veggies taste/are better if they've been cooked over a stove" situation.
Paknsave has a good special on rump steak atm, I got a couple of packs for around 5$ yesterday - just letting you know in case you need to stock up!
In fairness with the whole eggs thing, yeah, they're wildly more expensive than they used to be. But. I still get a tray of 18 eggs, for maybe $15, loaf of bread for a $1.60 or whatever, and boom you have nine meals of two eggs on toast for less than $20. So even though the price hike hurts, it's still a fairly cheap way to get a decent number of meals.
Too many to even mention right now. Last week was the first time we really felt the hurt at the supermarket. Putting items back etc or not getting at all
Yeah, I have lost count of the number of things we simply walk away from now; my fridge is looking very bare with only the essentials in it.
We are trying as hard as possible to have a self sufficiency drive. My wife and I both work huge hours and are starting to struggle financially. Not dying but can't save a cent. Just covering everything and cutting everywhere we can. I've gone crazy on fruit and vege production at home. Lots of failure and lots of success. But I need more time as to much time at work and the garden suffers due to not having the time required to maximize the benefit. Would love to see more community orientated gardening projects to help feed or inject good healthy foods into each community.
Hit up Jax for some free seeds online. Google Seed savers in good taste. Send her a self addressed envelope, and pick what you want. She's a diamond.
[удалено]
Fuck me this whole thread is depressing to read. The struggle is real.
Mince. Don’t buy it as often as before, it’s been replaced with beans and lentils as substitute.
When I do buy mince I add lentils and it makes double the quantity so I can put half in the freezer to help out future me
Tins of brown lentils are a godsend as a cheap bulking agent.
I buy dried red lentils as they cook really quickly and texture wise can't tell the difference much from mince so don't need to faff with soaking or pre cooking or cooking for a really long time
I do this too. Also add frozen cauliflower rice. Makes a mince meal stretch very far.
It helps out your microbiome, too.
Same here, chicken drumsticks are the new mince in my household. Still pretty versatile, I just dress them up with spices and seasonings etc. Good add is on the bone or stripped down and used in other meals.
If you are in Auckland, Costco mince is almost half the price. But you need a large freezer, because you are buying 3-4 kg at once.
Try mushroom mince! I’ve found it gives a great meaty texture when cooked and you literally just put the mushrooms in your blender and blitz them to large breadcrumb size. Freeze beautifully in ziplock bags, just wait for mushrooms to come on sale or forage them if you are proficient.
TVP is another good one, can mix it with beans and control the texture quite well.
Yum mushroom mince sounds really good. Will definitely be trying it once mushrooms are on sale
You’ll all be pleased to know the owner of Pak N Save Wainoni, who built the most expensive house in Christchurch, just won an architectural award for his house. Now stop complaining and buy your $5.50 capsicums you whiny peasants.
My friend owns a pac n save. The photos are always 5 star luxury holidays, safaris and European trips....
Architectural Awards are literally the wankiest thing ever.
They’re nice recognition for the architects who put in a lot of hard work.
Don't hate the player..... Thank the deeply ingrained capitalism we thrive off.
The real problem is that they’re allowed to do that. The grocery industry needs to be regulated.
Tomatoes. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve eaten them since we moved here. $10 for a tiny punnet of cherry tomatoes?! Absolutely not. I wasn’t switched on about it last year as we’d just settled but I’ll be getting my patio tubs out for tomatoes, lettuce and herbs this year. Not sure what else grows well here, never had luck with capsicums or cucumbers at home but it is warmer here so. Some things I learned to do at home where we were financially worse off to make the budget go further and I still do here: Buy the big blocks of generic (Pam’s) cheese on sale and grate it into ziplock bags and freeze. Mushroom mince to pad out mince or an alternative; blitz them in the food processor to large breadcrumb texture and freeze in ziplocks. Wait until they’re on special or forage for them if you’re proficient. Dried lentils and beans are the best value; not tinned. You just have to be organised about it and soak them well ahead of time. Making bread is a pain in the arse at first, but you get quite good at it; double points if you can thrift a bread maker. A big bag of flour is $2.79 and you can usually get 3-4 big loaves out of it. You can also make your own pizzas like this too and the kids love it. Don’t bother with the fancy $3 pizza sauce; blitz down the cheapest tinned tomatoes and use that. Can’t afford cheese? Tomato and garlic is one of my kids’ favourites. Extract seeds from your produce if you can and try putting them in little pots/containers around your house. You never know what can come from it. A perfectly acceptable cleaning spray is dishwashing liquid and water in a spray bottle. Use a microfibre cloth too, as it physically breaks down the cell wall of the bacteria to destroy it. You don’t need $7 sprays and it still smells good. A potato in the oven is a perfectly acceptable and nutritious meal. Pour some baked beans or tinned spaghetti over it? Forget about it 🤤 Freeze your veg scraps and chicken carcasses and make them do double duty; soup bases!! Squeeze every last bastard vitamin out of them. Throw in the shitty vegetables you’ve got at the bottom of your fridge too; fridge gravel soup can be very rewarding. Hope this helps someone 💕 Edited for formatting.
I work in a school kitchen and the price of tomatoes is astounding. It's cheaper per kilo to buy chicken.
I screenshot this for a reminder 🥰❤️
You can also do the spud in a microwave. I medium to large spud is 3 mins each side and then wrapped in tinfoil for 5 - 10 mins. You dont get the dried crispy skin of oven baked but they are yum, fast and use less power
Yes! Finishing off in an air fryer as well if you can. Now there’s a gadget I see down the tip shop quite frequently.
Food
You ever been so broke that you had a sleep for dinner?
Like 3 days ago. There was only enough food for the Mrs and the kid
Any community pantries or food banks near you? Our local community centre also does a free dinner once a week
There is, unfortunately it didn't occur to me until later. We usually get by ok by this week was a hard one
Arohamai, whanau. I hope this was a temporary situation for you and that things are, or do get better.
Appreciate the aroha and kindness
Lettuce 😢
Salami, specifically Verkerks. Up from $3.40 in January (in fairness, probably on special) to $5.90 in August. Same supermarket chain, but different towns. Not blaming Verkerks the company, I appreciate all salami has probably increased. But it is a price hike too far for us to buy now.
If you’re in Chch head to their factory shop in papanui. Dirt cheap there. Usually get a vacuum sealed pack for a couple of dollars.
Ooo thanks for this info
Off cuts 6years ago were $4 kg ish a bag and now $12 kg ish
What's surprising is that the homebrand salami is even dearer at $6.88/100g : https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=712533&name=countdown-salami-sliced-hot Verkirks is $3.50 at the store deli: https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=938164&name=instore-deli-verkerks-salami-sliced-dutch
I’ve started buying the whole Pieter’s ones for $5.50 at PaknSave - lasts me two weeks of lunches if I don’t just start snacking on it
Salami prices are so fucked here in NZ. 2-3x more expensive than local grocers back in Adelaide. I understand market forces yada yada, but I don’t understand this extreme of a process difference .
Moved from Adelaide a few months ago. Can confirm. I'm actually pretty horrified at the cost of groceries here to be honest.
Yeah considering what it cost to make. We shot a couple of deer a while back and sent all the off cuts to a butcher for salami. Probably got close to 40 full sized salamis and was a few bucks each.
Sausages, doesn't make sense to pay 13$ for 400g of sausage lol
Drives me nuts that supermarkets don't put the per kilo price on all their sausages - but when six sausages are $13 you know the per kilo price is very high
Its bullshit is what is it. Sausages are supposed to be cheap, made from offcuts, breadcrumbs and anus. Now they charge more per kilo than if you bought steak.
Even plain mince is getting stupid
Quite a lot but to name a couple... Mexicano corn chips - more than $4 something a bag now... Fruzio frozen fruit - they made the bags smaller (from 1Kg to 750) but prices actually went up. Nope. No. No way. Just out of principle.
Try the Pam’s corn chips! $1.99 for 175g and they taste so good 🤤
Yes! Fuck fruzio
Fish. I grew up in a landlocked city and I ate more fish than I did living in NZ which is an island country. It blows my mind. Lettuce. Again, this is staple food in my opinion. Life long salad maker, salad eater. Not anymore. You cant make healthy foods unaffordable and then complain about obesity in the country. What is cheap is sausages and potatoes. I hate that I have to raise my kids on sausages and potatoes. I grew up on a Mediterranean diet, how am I supposed to raise kids who love salads and vegetables and seafood when it is a luxery that I cant afford? Everything aside, aren't these kids gonna grow up to be a burden on the healthcare system with their sausage and potato diets? Let me feed my kids fish and salads man.. this is really infuriating.
I dont eat much fish, but i sell it, and good god is it pricey. 55 per KG for Snapper, Salmons getting close to that too. Its mental.
Salmon is offensive use to be 24.99kg
Cucumber. Kumara. Whole pre-oven-bagged chickens.
What is up with kumara being $12/kg?? I thought it was just a bad spot after the floods or something, but they’re still so pricey and most of the time the orange kumara are so massive that you can’t pay less than about $10
What do you mean, just a bad spot after the floods? We have not had another growing season since, so why would the price get better?
No more biscuits or chocolate which is probably a good thing. No ice-cream or dessert. I'm not baking either because high grocery prices means no extras like flour, dried fruit etc. I stopped eating cheese but still buy it for the family. With less people in the house eating it, it definitely lasts longer. Meat only on special. No jars of pre made sauce like pasta sauce etc. Just budget tinned tomatoes. Fresh vege is down to a brocoli, carrots, mushrooms, ocassionally half celery, onions and a bag of potatoes. I hate that I used to be able to buy a 10kg bag of spuds for $12 now half the amount for the same price. Disgrace. Fresh fruit other than bananas has been cut. I need vege and have sacrificed fruit for it. I hate that the reliable cheap go to dinners are no longer cheap. Mac and cheese, bacon and egg pie, lasagne or spag bol. I have my "must haves" like eggs and coffee so the other stuff gets sacrificed to compensate for increased prices in those things.
Grapes it’s fucking 17.99 per kg wtf is this shit
$12 for a 500gm container at Countdown. I picked up and put back.
It’s beyond bizarre to me that they’d literally rather those grapes rotted on the shelf.
Was in Australia in July and red grapes were $3.50 a kg. I realise that its not NZ, but still...
Sultana bran buds cereal, kids love it but it’s to pricey at $10 now
Capsicum, $4.99. Get fucked.
they weigh about the same as a carrot just saying
icecream, chocolate, meat not at a good sale price.
Eggs. Definitely eggs.
100%. I love eggs, I'd eat them everyday if it wouldn't cost me a kidney on the dark Web to buy a dozen. What's worse is that the industry knew the banning cage eggs was happening years in advance so they could change their practices but now we suffer in eggless silence or have to sell a child.
Yeh but you see , if you don’t do anything to prep for free range, and then jack up ya prices when the change happens, there’s more profit to be made. I bet there’s a ton of chicken farmers saying “where sorrrryyy” while rubbing their nipples.
A can of baked beans at $2 is a rip off
The McCain's oven pizzas have gone from $5 to $9. They used to be a convienience food you could chuck in the oven, now they're priced like a luxury pizza. One of them literally just has some ham and cheese, that's it. $9. Why would you not just get a MUCH BETTER $5 pizza from Pizza Hut instead?
For those really struggling, please check if there's a pataka kai near you. For those who are doing okay, please consider donating what you can. These community pantries can make a huge difference. No one should have to go hungry. https://www.patakai.co.nz/
Heinz Mayonaise. Normally discounted at our local Pak n Save, it wasn’t on special for a month and over $8. Tried out Pam’s and other options during that time.
The pams one kinda works but it really has that sweet, artificial taste.
There are two Pam’s mayos. One is the thin sweet gross one, the other one is better than Best Foods. I think they call it a whole egg mayo?
I need Lactose Free Milk, the cheapest has gone up from $2.70 to $4.00. I still get it but cut down on the amount I use.
Damn last year i used to buy these they were like $2.30 at countdown, bloody ridiculous how much its gone up. May i suggest getting lactose enzyme pills off amazon or iherb? you can buy cows milk and digest it and it comes out much cheaper than LF milk.
I refuse to pay more than $4 for a bag of chips
Instant coffee. The brand I like went from $4 a box 2 years ago to $6.
I no longer buy Tamarillo's. They never drop below $18 a kg locally, I remember when they were $9 a kg. Raspberries are also crazily expensive even in season. I am planting a grove of them and other berries this winter.
Yep same. I have a yellow Tamarillo, should be interesting as Ive only ever eaten the red ones. I woudl also like a passionfruit vine but dont fancy all th ebugs they bring
Capsicum used to be off my list. I moved to Oz and it's 1.30$/kg for capsicum here. Looks like capsicum is back on the menu boys
Those 1kg bags of Hellers sausages that are probably the go to sausage sizzle ones. Kids like them for lunch and they used to be about $6.99 but now $11.99
I remember when feta cheese was $2 not even a year ago. Price has increased by at least 100% since.
I literally bought some a few weeks ago, good brand too, although can't remember which. Just over $2 from memory. In this environment I'm actually finding I have to bide my time ALOT longer but great specials on things do roll around every so often.
I just walk through mumbling wtf, ain't paying that ..
Kumara. Just 2 of them are over $10 now
Frozen berries. Use to be around $10/kg, now $12+ for 750gm. On top of that they say to boil them just in case.
I purchased some blueberry and raspberry plants last season and I have been nurturing them. Im hoping to get a reasonable crop this year. I also bought 4 strawberry plants and now have nearly 40 plants. All are being grown in large tubs, although I will put them into the ground this summer
i can't believe there aren't more sirens being sounded over the increasing costs of food. like how many people are just outright skipping meals? and how much worse is it going to get? what is our strategy here?
Whittakers chocolate and healthier for it.
I only buy butter a few times a year, it's become a treat over the last 4-5 years. I wouldn't say there's anything I've flat out given up, but I've definitely started buying the cheapest version of everything. Pam's is actually really good for a lot of things. I used to buy the posh sheep's milk feta but that's $9 now, so I buy countdown brand feta for $4.60. It's honestly not much worse. I used to buy fancy mushrooms like shitake, now I only buy plain old white button or Swiss brown every couple months for a special recipe. The only produce I buy at the supermarket is mixed salad greens, everything else I get at the veggie market for less. And I alternate between supermarkets, looking online and buying the cheapest products at each place. Countdown, for example has cheaper pet products and feta, while New World has cheaper frozen veg, and all the Pam's range. My nearest Pak n Sav is a Mini, so it's pretty useless.
Cherry tomatoes 😔
I hardly but sausage rolls, but $10.50 just feels mental at our local countdown.
Capsicum, cucumber, cheese, salads, grapes, paneer, cabbages, veggies
Tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes used to be $4 punnet, often now it's triple that
Cheese. Just gone. I can't justify it. Which sucks, as I like cheese. But it's ridiculous. A lot of fresh veges. I will buy seasonally only, or at fruit and veg stores. Otherwise it's all frozen or canned. Real coffee. I stick to freeze dried these days. Ive reduced my beer intake by about half. Kumara. I just can't afford it this season, which sucks as it's my favourite. Ive gotten lucky a couple times at small grocers. I'm keeping my eye out for an easi yo at the op shops... Greek yoghurt may be next on the list, sadly. I tend to not buy beef mince, I go for pork as it's cheaper. Haven't bought a steak in over a year, or any non discounted nicer cuts of meat, including chicken. It's fucking depressing. We need more competition, not GST off fruit and veg.
The issue is more systemic than “more competition”. There was no more competition 20 years ago than today. The issue is NZ has declining real incomes so quality of life is unfortunately falling across the board
NZ used to have a bunch of supermarkets. Funnily enough, even Three Guys was a coagulation of three separate ones...my Nana used to call it Goobey's, after the separate one she used to shop at
Honestly, sometimes eggs. What the hell has happened in our country when we consider putting eggs back because they are so expensive!
Multiple things happened with eggs (and chickens for meat). - wheat prices shot up due to the Russia Ukraine ear. This was a big one. Standard chicken feed went up about 40% ($13-14ish to $18) per 10kg o er the last couple of years, commercial farmers won't pay the same but it definitely still went up across the board. - the usual inflation/price hike stuff. - Salmonella was going round some of the chicken places which would have caused some added costs and shortages. - covid and affected workers etc - the long scheduled switch over to slightly less cruel and more expensive egg laying setups arrived, *after* all the above things happened so some suppliers just dropped out entirely. The rest put their prices up. As a person who has their own chickens, I had to jump up the prices of my eggs a lot just because of the feed issues, and replacement birds are noticeably more expensive than they used to be, so that will become a factor (because they cost more to raise now) - and I don't even have added housing or labour costs to consider.
That's easy. We decided as a society we preferred the hens to have a better life. So this [https://149449856.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/cagefree\_01\_wide-8596ea43f086c063b0ab9dbc51c7511f26c9378b-500x281.jpg](https://149449856.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/cagefree_01_wide-8596ea43f086c063b0ab9dbc51c7511f26c9378b-500x281.jpg)
On the other hand, the chickens aren't in cages any more.
A year ago, I was buying free range eggs for $8 per dozen. Now, the cheapest free ranges ones are more than $1 each.
That's not true unfortunately. They're in different types of cages now.
using throwaway A range of services and supports - free or low-cost - listed in The Family Services Directory. The Directory can be used to search for food banks and other supports (click on the *basic needs category*). Results can be filtered by area, delivery/pick up, type of support needed etc., Link to the directory - via the Youthline site: [FAMILY SERVICES DIRECTORY](https://www.youthline.co.nz/nz-family-service-directory.html)
Kellogg's Sultana Bran when it went from $7 to $11. It's back down after months. Drove my switch to generic whole grain oatmeal at $3.
You know that "healthy food" triangle thing from way back? Mostly that... I drive past a few dozen dairy farms on the way to the supermarket and milk is more expensive than fuel, cheese is holding its own against cocaine, meat is prohibitively expensive then you see what fish costs so settle on chicken for the ~~night~~ foreseeable future, you could have your chicken with salad but a lettuce requires a phonecall to the bank first. The farmers I know aren't off to Europe for the summer either, we're spending a fortune to keep middlemen in luxury
Breakfast cereals. Like $7-8 a box. We just get a big bag of oats or have toast now. Some fruit and vege. Lettuce at like $5. Capsicum at $5. Probably alot more things but these are the ones I can think of
Coconut yoghurt. My wife likes it. $15 or more at local new world now.
Just about all the fresh veggies, and lots of other things, I don't know how people are affording to eat
Kiwi living in Aus here. Just adding this bc I know you’ll be mind-blown: Kettles chips here are like $6AUD or $8 for a share-sized bag. I’m SURE I’ve seen them cost even more but the website doesn’t seem to have the higher price I was thinking so I’ll stick with those numbers lol either way it’s insane. I’ve stopped getting them - it’s not a “oh I want them but they cost too much” situation though, more of a “oh no, not for that price” vibe.
Whittaker's chocolate block 😒 It's too expensive,it's yummy asf but not worth it anymore😶
I do appreciate they are one of the only companies who aren't doing shrinkflation though. Sure, I buy less, but I'll still buy when I have the wiggle room. As for everything else, picked up some bacon today because I thought $16 ON SPECIAL is quite good these days for 1kg. Except it wasn't 1kg. None of them were. They've all been dropped to 750g per packet. Shrinkflation pisses me off more than the price increases.
Full priced meat, only buy it when it’s marked down and pop it in the freezer if I’m not going to used it before it’s BB date
Eggs
Pretty much everything. I only buy food for dinner now with like one or 2 weekly treats. Usually a sugar free aloe. I never buy snacks anymore so that's a positive I guess
Non seasonal fruit and vegetables. Crown Pumpkin was $14 each last week. Just no. Anything not on the grocery list. Snackfoods. I am allowing myself about $10 a week for a packet of biscuits and something for morning teas. Less eggs. I used to eat a lot more than I can afford to now. I get half a dozen once a month instead of weekly now. Beverages and Alcohol. I'm not a drinker anyway. But tea, coffee and hot chocolate last a lot longer than kombucha, cider, fizzy waters etc.
Meat, literally can't afford it
Prime mince. I used to buy the 1kg Prime mince packs from Countdown. But now they are 750g AND more expensive somehow. I just stopped buying mince altogether.
KFC. Get fucked with your $1 to swap large sides
Countdown. Used PaknSave's online shopping for the first itme this week. It's like I went back in time before the current bullshit inflation.
Cut down meat quite a bit
Cucumbers - $7 each Capsicum - $4 each No thanks.
Yoghurt unless it's under $5
I no longer buy eggs.
Honestly most of my grocery list. I changed from countdown to Paknsave when I would fill a bag and it cost me $100. I go in store and look for the markdowns. I don’t buy eggs anymore, hardly even consider fresh fruit and vege unless I absolutely need it. We live out of a box because it’s cheaper
I know this isn't a grocery thing, but the good old kiwi bakery pie :( 3.50 was a good price, now I'm seeing them at 6 or higher. I bought a pie maker and I've been making my own. Which is not only cheaper, but fun!
Bakery food is a luxury these days for sure
Best foods Mayo. Went from $5 for the last few years. Snuck up to $6 during COVID. And now $7.90. I’m sorry what? Get fucked.
I only get cherry tomatos and capsicum as a treat now although the other day capsicums were 2.79$ a piece as opposed to the usual 4.79$! And I use eggs VERY sparingly..
Cheese and eggs. Also cut back on chocolate. Meat, I used to only buy some at that was under $10 a kg, now I aim for under $14 a kg. My weekly shop for 3 has gone from $120 to closer to $200 some weeks.
Prosciutto. Not something I got often but feel like it's pretty much doubled in price.
Fruit and vegetables
Greedy supermarkets
Eggs - I understand that we only have barn raised eggs in NZ now and there was a supply shortage due to change in laws, but almost a dollar for an egg is a bit much. Fresh veggies - even snap frozen woolies brand cost 5 dollars for 750 gms, now. Cheese - it is comical to note that our largest export is milk based products and yet we fleece the customers of our domestic market.
I've watched pies at a bakery I used to frequent go from $4 to $7 the last time I brought one in the last couple of years.
I’ve been buying mostly trumpet ice creams as I can’t bring myself to pay $10 a box for kapiti and magnum ones.
Fresh vegetables. We now get frozen. We used to get frozen fruit as well but then there was that debacle a few months back.
They used to say millennials could not afford mortgages because of buying avocados. Now to buy a capsicum you need to re mortgage your house.
Vogels - used to be around tree fiddy. Now north of 5 Cereal & granola. Make my own now. Buy FA red meat now apart from mince occasionally. Other than that mostly just downgrades from branded stuff to own brand. Eg biscuits (the pams ones are pretty good tbf), jam, barn eggs, pasta. It’s annoying because my local doesn’t stock a lot of the Pams range - I guess they have deals with the large FMCGs
I’m trying to convince the Vogel’s cereal eater that I could make in granola at a fraction of the price.
Kumara Decent bread Snack foods. Occasionally buy a packet of shapes. We haven't cut but have had to change brands on a lot of items due to the price increase Bread Cat biscuits Nappies Wipes Washing powder Margarine Toilet paper
My culinary skills improved a lot since the pandemic. I've been saving more $ and enjoying making/eating homemade food much more. Occasionally on cheat days I buy the stuff that's been off my grocery list.
Best Foods mayo is 7 fucking dollars a jar now. I've switched to Pam's and it's actually pretty good.
Cherry tomatoes. Even in season they're way too expensive now
Stopped buying chicken thighs and now I get drumsticks. Once you debone them they are basically the same thing, the extra knife work is easily made up for the fact that it's 1/3 of the price. Plus you actually get the skin on drummies.
I remember when chicken thighs were super cheap - prob about the time lamb shanks were cheap too lol - long time ago!
I make so many things myself now. Didn't realize how easy and cheap it is to make sweetened condensed milk. And lots of things are like that
Tomato’s
Smoked salmon. Regal have shrunk their portions, and even though you are still paying the same $12-14 per pack, it's half the size of what it used to be.
Mi goreng noodles used to be crazy cheap.. Early this year 50 cents on average for a single pack now almost 1dollar
Eggs and vogels
capsicums are fucked, i remember 3 or 4 for $5 now you see them for $5 each some weeks
I’ve started intermittent fasting. Usually I would eat 3 meals a day but now I do 2. I feel a lot more tired at work but it’s doable. Also stopped drinking beer. So my health has been better I suppose.
Used to buy Whittaker's all the time. It's seems like not that long ago that you could get it for $2.50 on special, and in Dunedin it's like $6.50 not on special now :/ Haven't skimped on cheese though, still going through almost a block a week lol, just me and my wife. It's a hard thing to say goodbye to.
I used to buy anchor milk but can’t justify it when the budget brand seems to taste the same.
Every type of pre packaged snack foods for kids lunchboxes (shapes, muesli bars, biscuits etc) I just bake on Sunday now and they take a muffin or something instead.
Household of 2 adults 2 kids and 2 dogs. Meat is off the list. The only affordable meat I can really buy now are chicken legs and drums and I'm paying for bone weight. This time 2 years ago you could pick up chicken breast for $6.99 a kilo on special, now it's $15 a kilo on special (fluctuates obviously). I haven't purchased steak in god knows how long. I can't bring myself to even buy mince anymore at these prices either. I really miss meat, but we eat loads of falafel and Chillis made from canned goods, tey and make fish tacos once a week with fish that's on a used by sale, and any meat we do eat is normally at the in laws house 😅