SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It's hard to deny, grocery prices are going up and according to comments on Brittany Begley's Facebook page, you're feeling the sting at the supermarket.
"I'm on a budget, so I get the same items each week," Facebook friend Ray said.
"I used to shop for $200 and now it's closer to $400," Facebook friend Megan said.
If you are looking at the grocery store data from the July Consumer Index, you can see why Facebook friend Megan's grocery bill is now double; beef is up 14%, pork is up 14% and even fruit is up 5% compared to last year.
"Is the cost up because of transportation or labor issues?" Facebook friend Carol asked.
Begley went straight to Nate Rose with the California Grocers Association to get an answer for Carol.
"Grocery store operators, pretty much do everything they can to not raise prices, because it's such a competitive industry," Rose explained. "The big challenge right now is on the labor side of things and being able to fill all the open positions. The tough part is when there is more demand than supply because there are not enough workers to increase the supply and that's why prices go up."
So how do you save money when it comes to the store since it cost more to fill up your refrigerator? Thankfully, not all groceries are up in cost; rice, hot dogs, and vegetables are down 1% compared to last year.
Since beef is up in cost pretty much across the board, going meatless one day a week may save you $40.00 a month, according to credit counseling company Debtwave. It's also going to cost you more to take your groceries home since gas prices are up too.
You can find the "best price" to fill up your tank here.
You might as well try it because nowadays every penny counts.
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