Hi, JoAnn. Our grocery prices had stabilized pretty much over the last several years. That is...until the price of gasoline went off the scale. That's when I first noticed a change in grocery prices. Not just basics. Pretty much everything.
As an example, at a box-it-yourself store here, a 20-oz. loaf of sliced bread was 25 cents. Next it went to 33 cents. Then 39, 43 and, now, 49 cents. As for eggs, they have fluctuated all over the place. Anywhere from 49 cents a dozen to $1.19 per dozen, with anything in between. I still haven't figured out what's with the price of eggs.
One item that really surprised me was bagged chicken leg quarters. For just about ever, I could get a 10-pound bag for $2.90. Not bad. Then they went to $3.90 per bag. Later, the best I could find "on sale" was $4.30 a bag. For a while last year, they went out of sight at $7.90 a bag. What was with that? Just bought a bag on Wednesday. They're back down to a more reasonable $4.90 a bag.
Today's grocery prices are high, yes, but we can eat well if we are smart shoppers. Although, I am still longing for the days when I could buy lamb ribs for 29 cents a pound.
Actually, we have to take into account where we live, too. Buck and I lived in Washington, DC for 30 years before we moved to this very rural part of western Kentucky. The difference in cost of living is astounding. What we paid for one bag of groceries in D.C. buys nearly three bags here. I miss the D.C. area, but not that much.
We have a huge Sam's Club here but I would caution you about warehouse stores in general. Just because they're a warehouse store, the prices won't necessarily be any less expensive than a standard grocery store.
One of the drawbacks of warehouse shopping is that, in most cases, you have to buy in quantity. Most of the time, I don't need 24 cans of green beans or 20 pounds of ground beef. Our Sam's sells fine meats and produce but, again, it's in quantities that are way more than Buck or I can use within a reasonable length of time. Even if some of the fresh goods are frozen. Actually, I have purchased ground beef and canned goods at my local Kroger and/or Wal-Mart at lower prices than Sam's. Plus I was able to buy only what we needed.
I'm a VERY frugal shopper and Buck says I can make a penny scream. I don't know about that, but I'm careful how and where I shop and try to make my dollars stretch as far as I possibly can.
I agree with Yakuta, too, about farmers markets and meat markets. Living where we do, fresh produce is always really, really fresh and readily available in season. I live for fresh fruit and veggie season and, luckily, we have a nice long season here.
A friend turned us on to a local meat market (in business over 50 years in the same place) and am pleased to discover that not only is their meat fresher it is also less expensive than any of the chains or Sam's. It's also trimmed beautifully so I'm really getting what I pay for. Hooray!