After going grocery shopping this morning...I'm beginning to wonder. $20.00 for a pkg of steaks? $ 11.00 - $15.00 for carne asada meat? $ 9.00 for a pkg of chicken breasts? Crazy. I also noticed cereal was up this week too. grrr.



Everybody knows the basic rules for saving money on food. Don't eat out. Ditch the steaks in favor of ground beef. Stick to the staples, like milk and potatoes. But a recent USDA report shows that, in 2011, some traditional money-saving guidelines proved useless as food prices went through the roof.

On average, increasing global demand and rising commodity and fuel costs drive grocery costs up by about 2.9% per year, but in 2011, they rose by an estimated 4.25% to 4.75%. And while prices went up across the board, the cost increase on staples was especially sharp. For example, prices for ground beef -- one of the classic economizing ingredients -- went up by a staggering 10.2%, as did the price of eggs. Meanwhile, turkey, another classic source of cheap protein, went up by 10.5%.

And those were hardly the only groceries whose costs went through the roof. Milk prices rose by almost 10%, and ice cream went up by 10.3%. Apples cost about 9.6% more, and potatoes rose by a shocking 12%. Prices on fats and oils also went crazy, with a huge 11.1% increase.



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