I brought in the last 2 dozen eggs from the garage fridge the other day. I knew we were running low and would need more eggs soon. So, I've been checking egg prices when out shopping. Last Friday I went to Walmart to pick up some produce. I cruised by the egg section and was shocked to see that the 5-dozen case of eggs had skyrocketed to almost $20. Then this morning I checked again, this time online, and they were up to $26 for 5 dozen! I have never seen eggs this expensive, ever. That works out to $5.20 a dozen! And these are the cheap eggs, not brown or organic or pasture-raised. Just plain white eggs.
So I checked online at every other store in my area that provides prices on their websites.
The wholesaler's price on the 15-dozen case (cheapest price per dozen there) is up to $79.99. I used to buy those cases for around $17 for 15-dozen. Fred Meyer (Kroger) is more sane, with 18-count cartons priced at $4.39 ($2.93/dozen).
I decided to check Target's price online. They had a dozen eggs for $2.59. I thought that might be my best bet. I needed to go to Target anyway this morning, so I swung by the egg section. First of all, the $2.59/dozen eggs were $2.89 in the store. However, the 18-count cartons were less in store than online, priced at $3.69 instead of the online price of $4.29. I picked up 4 of the 18-count cartons, for a total of 6 dozen eggs and brought them to the checkout with my other items. They rang up at the higher price. Luckily I noticed this and pointed it out to the clerk. She honored the price on the shelf for me for all the cartons.
So, I bought 6 dozen eggs for $2.46 per dozen. That beat all of the other prices I found in town. (I also checked Safeway, Albertsons, QFC, and Walgreens).
I'm also checking prices on other items on my shopping list for the week. I especially track the price on butter, eggs, milk, and gas for the car, as I notice and remember those specific items.
What's your best local price on:
one pound butter $3.75/pound in a 2-lb bundle at Fred Meyer (Kroger)
dozen eggs $2.46/dozen in 18-count cartons at Target
one gallon milk $2.99/gallon at WinCo, limit 1
gallon regular unleaded gas $3.89 at ARCO on the main highway
Are my prices in line with what you're paying? Have eggs skyrocketed in price in your area, too?
I rarely buy eggs 18 count or more and stick with dozen cartons. I can find them under $2 per dozen ($1.93) at Aldi. My husband drives by a farm that sells fresh eggs at $3 per dozen and often picks those up. I normally try to keep 6 one dozen cartons in the refrigerator at all times. Butter and milk is about the same price as yours. Gas is hovering around $3 per gallon.
ReplyDeleteAlice
Hi Alice,
DeleteIt sounds like your prices may be slightly better than mine. I'm not sure I could buy farm fresh eggs for $3/dozen. I'll be keeping a lookout this summer for eggs at farm stands when I'm out in the agricultural area nearby. Maybe Aldi will open a store out in my region some year. It does sound like Aldi has great prices on so many items.
I bought eggs last week at Aldi for $1.89/dozen. That was twice as much as they were a few weeks ago. I don't know what they are this week. We don't use much butter and haven't bought any in months, so I don't know about the prices of that. Gas prices in my area range from $3.50-$3.00/gallon right now. But, of course, the price of gas goes up and down every day, it seems.
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteIf you don't use much butter, do you substitute another fat type, or do you and your husband not eat foods to which you would need to add fat in the cooking or serving? My family of four seems to go through a fair amount of butter, although not nearly what it was when the kids were younger.
So, egg prices doubling in just a few weeks. That's what I've seen here, too. Do you supposed this is more of the avian-type flu affecting flocks, or the large hen farm that burned down recently, or something else at play? I hope egg prices come back down in spring. Eggs make a great quick meal for my family.
We don't use a lot of butter. We use olive or some kind of veggie oil for frying or sautéing, mostly. When we want extra flavor, we use bacon grease. And we don't do lots of baking, so we aren't using up butter that way. I'm not sure why the egg prices are spiking. However, we bought eggs yesterday and they were up another $0.40/dozen. But they are still an inexpensive source of protein.
DeleteLive and Learn and Lili, I actually heard a story on the radio a week or so ago that there was another bird flu thing somewhere (don't remember where), and more chickens were killed like during Covid. It was just one story (maybe the local ag news?), but we noted it, as our prices have also started spiking up, again. Sara
DeleteHi again Live and Learn,
DeleteI think the differences between my household and yours may be that we bake a lot and we add butter to toast, sandwiches, rice, vegetables, and potatoes. We also use vegetable or olive oil for sautéing, sometimes using fat reserved from cooking meat, such as ham fat.
Hi Sara,
DeleteThat's what I was wondering, if there was another avian flu. Egg prices really shot up in mid January and just keep rising here. I hope prices begin to come back down soon. I agree with Live and Learn, they are still a less expensive alternative to some meats, especially meats like sliced lunch meat.
Your gas prices are a lot higher than ours. My daughter works at a local animal shelter, and there are 3 gas stations out that way that are significantly cheaper than "in town"--I last paid $2.92/gallon. Cost on gas can vary by 40 cents/gallon so I use the opportunity of taking her to work to gas up the car. I think I paid around $1.30 for eggs a couple of weeks ago but the price fluctuates a lot. Milk was $2.68/gallon at Meijer. Butter prices are similar to yours, but I stocked up on the pre-Christmas butter sales when it was $2.49/pound at Aldi and froze several pounds of butter. We don't go through it terribly quickly so it should last until Easter, when I anticipate more sales. It's challenging to keep up with fluctuating prices.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI think my state has some of the highest taxes on gas, leading to high price per gallon. At least gas prices have come down a little in the last year. But the food prices just keep going up. Your egg prices are fantastic! I hope they stay that low for your area. I'll be watching Walmart's prices on eggs to see if they bounce around a lot, and maybe this was a one-off thing with their price over $5/dozen.
Eggs are about $2.50 a dozen I think. I buy pasture raised tho, and those are over $6. I buy organic milk because of the dates and that’s $7 a gallon. Luckily I don’t use much milk or eggs. Butter keeps going on sale for $2.99 a lb. I haven’t been out of the house in almost a week, but gas was 2.75 a gallon last time I went to town.
ReplyDeleteAnd just so you know, I do not normally buy expensive foods like pasture raised eggs or organic anything. I just don’t choose to support the way traditional commercial chickens are raised so I buy what I hope are eggs from happy chickens . Hopefully my aging hens will start laying a few eggs soon. As for the milk, it comes down to dates. I was tired of getting milk that was going bad in a week. I also was having trouble finding skim milk, but can always find organic skim. So organic it is lol.
Diane
Hi Diane,
DeleteNo need to explain your choices. Your price of $6/dozen for pasture raised eggs is a little better compared to my area. Those eggs sell for between $7 and $9/dozen in my local stores. My daughter-in-law buys pasture-raised eggs. She believes they are more nutritious and flavorful. If we get to a point where I use fewer eggs in a week, I may consider those, as well. I like the thought of chickens getting to go outside. The "new" deceptive label on eggs is "cage-free". Most of the hens living cage-free are still indoors in a barn-type enclosure, just not cooped up in a cage. I think a lot of folks see the cage-free label and think the hens are roaming outdoors.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteEggs in central PA is around $3 for 18 and out gas is probably one of the highest around - $3.40 a gallon. It's crazy.
Shelby
Hi Shelby,
DeleteIt is crazy, and frustrating trying to plan a budget. I hope prices settle into a reasonable range soon.
I just got back from WinCo and their 60-count (5 dozen) cases of Medium eggs were $19.50-ish.
ReplyDeleteWalmart's online egg prices are all over the place today. The 5-dozen case is now $18.82 (was $26 earlier this week). The 36-count (2 X 18-count cartons wrapped together) are $15.76. A single 18-count carton is $5.73. So a customer could pick up two 18-count cartons for $11.46, get the same number of eggs as the 36-count bundle, but save $4.30. Great Value white, cage-free large eggs are $3.12 in 1-dozen carton. But the Marketside brand, large cage-free brown eggs are $2.58 in 1-dozen carton. The brown eggs usually sell for much more than the white eggs.
I got eggs the other day at Aldi for $2.12 a dozen. That's the best price near me. I haven't looked at butter. I bought 12 at $1.99 in November so I am good for a while. I got gas for $2.95 last week. That is the lowest it has been in a while.
ReplyDelete