Grocery prices up 5.4%

Yesterday the news was reporting that from November of last year to November of this year grocery prices increased 5.4%. With a large family to feed, this was something I was aware of prior to the formal confirmation of this. Many of the key staples we purchase such as milk, fruit juices and most meats have increased. While I have always been a savvy shopper it has become more of a challenge to stretch our food budget. Also leading to this outcome is the reality that my husband actually earns less in spendable dollars than last year. His small raise was eaten up by the increased premium that we have to pay for our share of the health care provided by his company and our previous prescription coverage minimum was raised which means drugs previously covered at a lower amount now cost much more.

It's going to be a budget tightening time for many...