Rising supermarket prices have sparked a worrying wave among households, many of whom can no longer afford basic commodities.
A mum has revealed her fear before shopping as rising grocery prices prevent her from buying her usual basics.
Airing her grievances on Facebook on Sunday, the Western Australian mum revealed she was no longer looking forward to her weekly shop.
“I now dread the supermarket’s weekly store. Every item I bought yesterday at Coles or Woolies, including basics like meat, vegetables, fruit, milk, cheese, eggs and butter, went up in price again,” said she reported.
Price increases on a range of products have left her with no choice but to swap items she would normally buy fresh with their usually cheaper frozen alternative.
“I temporarily stopped buying fresh ginger ($50/kg at both supermarkets), red peppers ($14.90/kilo), cauliflower ($6.50 each), broccoli ( $5.90 each) and vine-ripened tomatoes ($8.90/kilo),” she said. .
The mom also had to make changes when it came to cleaning products.
“The price of Dynamo liquid detergent which only a few weeks ago was $8.75 half price is now $11.50 half price – only 50 cents more than Omo half price, which I stopped using a few years ago because it was getting too expensive,” she wrote.
Other budget tactics adopted by the mother were to only buy certain items when they were half price.
These included things like detergent, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, Sensodyne toothpaste, Listerine mouthwash, hair dye, Neutrogena acne wash and toilet paper rolls.
Hundreds more shared the mother’s frustration, with many revealing they too had decided to buy frozen food because the fresh versions became too expensive.
“I stopped buying fresh broccoli and cauliflower. I buy both combos in the frozen section, it’s much cheaper,” read one of the nearly 300 reviews.
“I buy almost all frozen vegetables (equally nutritious and if cooked carefully, just as good) and I go to Aldi for almost everything,” said another.
Others offered the woman money-saving tips, such as buying produce at farmers’ markets or from wholesale suppliers instead of major grocery chains.
“Try Asian supermarkets. Their vegetables are much cheaper and generally chicken and pork are too,” one wrote.
“Map fruit trees in parks, roadsides and overhead fences. Free fruit. Enjoy the winter… to survive we have to ditch the expensive options and go for the cheaper ones,” another said.
Someone said their costs had gone up so much that they now considered mayonnaise a luxury item.
“Mayonnaise has become a luxury item for me now. I still buy it, but I don’t use it as much now. It’s $5 for my favorite bottle. Previously it was around $3.50,” they wrote.
The woman behind the post later revealed that she was inspired by the hundreds of comments and decided to “go back to growing chili peppers, cilantro, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, etc. like before.”
The cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages alone rose 4.3% between the March quarter of 2021 and 2022, according to the Consumer price index.
The most significant increase was in the cost of fuel, which increased by 11%.
The CPI revealed that the cost of fruits and vegetables has increased by 6.7% over the past year, while that of meat and seafood has increased by 6.2%. Bread and cereal products increased by 3 percent, dairy and related products by 4.1 percent and food products by 4.2 percent.
The cost of non-durable household products like toilet paper, dish soap and light bulbs rose 8% year over year.
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