I was in my local Albertson’s and was doing my usual trawling of the meat department for bargains when I notices that a large amount of ground beef was plastered with the “30%” off stickers. But no “50%”. I inquired at the meat counter and was told that a) meats aren’t getting marked down 50% because the demand is high enough that it will sell at 30% off and b) the 50% is too much of a price cut because of the higher prices they are having to pay these days. That last part made no sense but the guy in the white coat and hairnet isn’t a finance major.
Regardless of the guy’s statement, I can see some of what he’s getting at. No two ways around it, beef prices are up. Ground beef is at prices that, to me, are just ridiculous. Fortunately, chicken is my main go-to for animal protein and I can usually get that on sale for around $1.99/#. But my meat trays, which have been a staple of my freezer stocking program for quite a few years now, are reflecting these new sensibilities. Gone is the 3# “Log” of ground beef that used to make up 1/4 of the tray. And the sirloins which sometimes were part of the tray are now completely gone. Whats left? Pork and chicken. Invariably it’s now some type of sausage, pork steak, chicken legs, and some other cut of pork. In my opinion, not really worth the bother anymore.
Meat tray as it used to be
Another version of the meat tray as it used to be. Note this one is 1/2 beef.
Fortunately, I’ve been stocking the freezer long before this, and chicken is my main choice of meat, so the relative high price/scarcity of beef doesn’t really faze me. But…it is kind of unsettling to think that in a country whose supermarkets were incomprehensible to people from communist countries, we are starting to get the very faintest of whiffs of the kind of supermarket shortages that we always associated with Communist/Socialist states.
Come to think of it, this year is the first time I have ever seen national-level grocery store shortages. We had The Great TP Rush of 2020, and similar runs on things like Rice, pasta, frozen pizzas, and that sort of thing. Sure, we see it when hurricanes and earthquakes occur…but that’s usually a local-level thing. Earlier this year it didn’t matter if you were in Alaska or Alabama, you weren’t gonna get to squeeze any Charmin.
And now, as there is talk of ‘re-lockdowns’, it might be time to make sure that you’ve learned your lesson from earlier this year. And, by the by, even if there’s not a shortage of [beef/pasta/rice/TP] I can almost guarantee you that there is going to be a shortage of money. I think right now people are holding onto their cash with both hands as they worry about the market, their jobs, etc. Housing prices in my town, which were ridiculously high, have come down slightly as people are deciding that perhaps this isn’t the year to be spending huge money and perhaps it might be better to just hold onto that down payment money until next year…you know…’just in case’.
Its the weekend, so for me it’s time for another $50 towards getting items on the Preponomicon into the green. Go. Buy. Stockpile.
===================================
Looks like the beef supply shortage is starting to ease up a little here in SW PA. This week when I hit the grocery store there was no limit on any beef purchases. For the last three months there was a limit of one or two items per week. Not that you would want to buy more than one chuck roast, London broil, Sirloin tip or rump roast at a minimum of $8.99/lb. No thanks. That’s what I was paying for whole filet mignons when they were on sale BCP(Before Chinkie Pox). Yesterday I picked up four huge, boneless sirloin steaks that were marked down for quick sale at $4.99/lb with no limit. Wish that they had more. I have a feeling though that things are going to get bad once more since the MSM and that little weasel Fauci are trying to spread panic again. Good thing that my freezers are full……….
If near Uniontown,Pa Have you tried Romeo+Sons? I delivered there 4+ times a year and found really good prices on dry goods especially. Old school resturant supply house.
been hitting the lds store, all they have left is pasta and wheat. all my usual haunts are still sold out of everything. tp is slowly coming back but flushable wipes are non existent, so is dawn. wth? did the plants shut down or was it all made in china? was planning on building a new barn this year but yeah, holding onto that cash instead and vacations are staycations for obvious reasons.
plenty of beef walking around Montana, you can buy one, dispatch and butcher in a day. cut at the joints and connective tissue. does not have to pretty cuts of meat. btw, 3 rabbits, 2 doe and buck, in 4 months you have roughly 10 rabbits (estimate kit size could be a high at 24) at 4-5lbs dress weight per. in other 4 months you have the same. but the unprepared keep being the unprepared. beer, boats, and bitches are more important.
I’d like to do rabbits too, but the butchering chore is on a par with crawling under the house doing plumbing–only if I really, really have to. Dad did the dirty work when I was a kid, and we loved having “four drumsticks” at dinner.
And unlike chicken manure which has to be composted, rabbit manure can be spaded directly into the garden.
I don’t know what it is about Dawn detergent, but quite suddenly it’s not existent. One major store last week had exactly ONE choice for detergent.
IDK the actual reasons, but P&G warned of a coming shortage in Oct of last year. If they really did have trouble manf. it, maybe it’s gone from shelves now because all existing stocks have finally been drawn down.
China’s having a new wave of wuflu issues and maybe the precursor ingredients come from there, contributing to the problem.
In any case, most people use too big a portion of dish soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. This might be the time to start trying to use less than you habitually would, and see if you get the same effectiveness.
I found I was using way more toothpaste than necessary. You are influenced to put the paste on the brush longways, but a dollop crosswise is more than enough. I see people spitting out toothpaste that is still in the shape it went onto the brush, never actually applied to any teeth. That’s pure waste right there.
Dawn is pretty effective, and less is probably good enough. You can always add more if you have to…
nick
The GF’s uncle was right about climbing beef prices, 13 -14 bucks per pound for tough beef cuts and $22 pd for ribeye are just some of the prices I’ve seen recently in store meat counters. Pork and chicken remain cheap. The only place with reasonable beef prices is that one little IGA at the county seat. They don’t buy from the big wholesalers – they buy whole carcasses from local producers and break them down themselves. Apparently none of the other stores (and certainly not Wallyworld) are equipped to do so anymore. There ya go! Old fashioned ways work for a reason…
On a different note, speaking of stockpiling, I was at the local WM a couple of days ago and noticed a drastic price reduction in marine deep cycle batteries – if no one’s boating then I can see why – almost 30 bucks off even for the biggest one. Now these aren’t the Ferraris of the DC battery world but they are made by Interstate which is a decent company and are a deal at that price.
I have a complete solar array in deep storage (no, not to power the whole house), enough capacity to run some basic things – fans, lights, computers, small appliances etc. The battery bank consisted of 4 new DC 12 volt batteries – now it consists of 8 of them (I keep them hooked up to a charger on float). almost $400, but well spent IMO. If you haven’t got a small solar system assembled already, now might be the time…
Regards
I think you are going to shortages of so many items we have taken for granted. I have seen a huge run on basic gardening material, sadly most will probably throw it away when the fail for the first time at trying to produce a garden. My neighbor told me he had spent almost double on lumber for his deck to fix it. As for many, we have only so much space even though we are as organized as one can be. I have been very selective, with the Mrs. T doing the same on our purchases. We have kept thousands of dollars in the bank. No vacations this year or crap that we cannot use. We finally got a break from our insurance company because we have reduced our mileage so much. One awesome thing is that I have been able to barter with local folks who can do work that I cannot. It is nice to trade services and/or something they need we have. Take care out there and stay frosty, we are only at the beginning of whatever ya want to call it.
I was in Costco Friday for work related reasons.
The woman in front of me was yammering away on the phone, and she said “with us heading back into this pandemic, I figured I better get down to Costco and fill up my cart…” She was not your typical prepper, more to the point she looked like the typical (urban) grasshopper… if even the more aware grasshoppers are stocking up, then the bad shit is surely coming.
nick
Currently in TX for a bit, and recently Subway stopped supplying their stores with roast beef. In Texas. WTF?