Sticker Shock

I've only been "back home" for two weeks and I know it will take time to adjust but every time I go to the grocery store I miss England in a big way.  How can people afford to eat (let alone overeat) over here?  True, I was a Sainsbury's Basics shopper so low prices were the norm for me but compare a jar of strawberry jam for 40p to Safeway's $2.  Or 80 teabags for 28p vs. 40 Walmart for $1.88.  And when DH gets here and wants his morning biscuits and evening crisps.....  Oh dear!!  Custard creams for 30p and variety 12-pack crisps for 85p vs. Albertson's vanilla cream cookies $1.99 and Lay's 22-pk a whopping $8.99.   

And the price of automobiles...  let's not even go there yet.    

I have been visiting my folks the past month and am shocked at the price. I paid $5 for a loaf of bread at the store!

It varies hugely between products though. Bread is usually cheaper in the UK. I almost always find meats and fresh veg much cheaper in the US. It usually balances out in the end for me.

I felt a bit of sticker shock when I first moved back, but there really is so much that is cheaper in the US, I feel it evens out.  I think the tea bags example is just a supply vs demand thing in the UK.  It is such an ingrained part of the culture that to make them any more expensive in the UK, would be suicide for retailers.  The demand just isn't the same in the US, so they can get away with raising the price and people won't complain. 

When you do get cars....just think how nice it will be to fill up with petrol!  Even with the recent increases in price it's still a heck of a lot cheaper. 

I think the tea bags example is just a supply vs demand thing in the UK.  It is such an ingrained part of the culture that to make them any more expensive in the UK, would be suicide for retailers.  The demand just isn't the same in the US, so they can get away with raising the price and people won't complain.  

Yes, I think part of the problem is that you are looking for foods that you were used to eating in the UK, as opposed to foods that are the cheapest - as you did when you chose the Basics brand.

If you were in the UK and tried to recreate an American diet, instead of eating whatever was inexpensive and easily available in the UK, you would probably end up spending more money, too.

Tea, jam and custard creams just aren't typical American fare.

I've only been "back home" for two weeks and I know it will take time to adjust but every time I go to the grocery store I miss England in a big way.  How can people afford to eat (let alone overeat) over here?  True, I was a Sainsbury's Basics shopper so low prices were the norm for me but compare a jar of strawberry jam for 40p to Safeway's $2.  Or 80 teabags for 28p vs. 40 Walmart for $1.88.  And when DH gets here and wants his morning biscuits and evening crisps.....  Oh dear!!  Custard creams for 30p and variety 12-pack crisps for 85p vs. Albertson's vanilla cream cookies $1.99 and Lay's 22-pk a whopping $8.99.   

And the price of automobiles...  let's not even go there yet.    

When we get back, we'll be shopping at my mom's favorite bargain places: WinCo and Costco.  Oh, and don't forget the Sunday coupons!  Every time we've been back, it's been super cheap.

Good luck!   

i'm not sure where you are in the US, but aldi has increased their presence and would save you money.  my parents , in NC, buy a lot of things there and I find the price comparable and quality to be much higher than the few items of sainsbury basic line things I have tried here....  also, walmart's basic line of cookies are sometimes surprisingly good...

Whenever I go home I am amazed at how much I spend, but then I realise I am buying cr@p to take back to the UK.  Pretzels, candy and in amounts I wouldn't buy if I were at home.  

My husband and I had this debate about two weeks ago and since he ALWAYS has to be right, we spent a good hour looking up food we buy in the UK (Tesco ) compared to prices in the US (Wegmans).  

The prices were pretty much the same for everything but parsnips and lamb.  Somethings cost a little more here, somethings a little more there.

What I did notiice was that in the US they were in larger quantities, so I a pound of carrots in the US would equal the same cost as a pound here in the UK.  But since my kitchen (and fridge and freezer) is small, I buy smaller amounts, but more regularly.

But then in the US I would have a bigger kitchen (and fridge and freezer).  


Coupons. Totally.

Plus I suppose, my husband would earn more than twice his salary in the US, which might soften the blow.  

Another thing I've noticed in the past year or so is the upward trend in price of clothing in the US. They say the cost of cotton is going to go way up (so we can all wear silk instead?  ) And also the quality of goods seems to be going down. I still have several pairs of socks from Bhs and Marks that I must have gotten 10-15 years ago and they are still going strong. But similar socks I've bought here a year ago have had to be thrown away. Some got holes in the toes after one wearing! (Yeah, I shoulda gone back and complained) Have people noticed similar problems in the UK? (Of course everything's made in China, Taiwan, Guatemala, Peru, etc. etc. but that's another story)

I still have several pairs of socks from Bhs and Marks that I must have gotten 10-15 years ago and they are still going strong. But similar socks I've bought here a year ago have had to be thrown away. Some got holes in the toes after one wearing! (Yeah, I shoulda gone back and complained) Have people noticed similar problems in the UK?

Yes.  Socks I bought in the US, at boot camp no less, are still going strong with some thin spots.  Socks I bought last summer in the UK have ripped and worn through.

I don't feel I spend more in the US versus the UK. You make adjustments and find the bargains. We split our spending between Walmart (much as I hate to shop there), Costco, and higher end grocery stores for special things which are few and far between.

It probably will all even out when I figure in the price of produce and petrol to our budget.  It's just a huge "WHOA!!" right at first.  In my "normal" US life I always shop the weekly ads and plan the weeks meals by what's on sale.  I'll be doing that again once we get settled. 

P.S.  Big Chris on Roary the Racing Car should not have an American accent.  He's Peter Kay for goodness sake.   

I was in Florida two weeks ago and I bough my grandma a jar of mayo at Publix, it was $5.42...that was shocking to me!!! But I think the meat is cheaper.

P.S.  Big Chris on Roary the Racing Car should not have an American accent.  He's Peter Kay for goodness sake.   

Which is why we had to buy the box set! 

I know I always get freaked out at the price of groceries now, when I go back to the US on visits - for stuff I used to buy regularly.  I haven't lived there for seven years now & haven't been back for nearly two.

Will petrol really work out cheaper if you have to drive (and therefore fill up) so much more?  We hardly spend anything on petrol here because we walk or use public transport instead - petrol is one of the smallest outgoings from our UK expenditures.  Conversely, if I were in the US, I'd be filling up the car all the time.

But of course, I wouldn't spend anything on public transport in the US, so maybe it evens out.

Oh yeah - another thing I thought was weird - shopping malls being almost empty, because I guess people aren't driving as much or shopping as much or something like that since the recession started.