What food items do you splurge on $$$ wise?

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Replies

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    @Vune What is SNAP?
  • Samantharavenclaw84
    Samantharavenclaw84 Posts: 161 Member
    I actually like a lot of my local stores store brand items but the things that are always worth paying more for are salmon, most cheeses, chocolate croissants, and spices and oils.
  • 777Gemma888
    777Gemma888 Posts: 9,578 Member
    Beef. Oxtail. Chicken has been expensive in our area lately. Cheeses.
  • ElizabethHanrahan
    ElizabethHanrahan Posts: 102 Member
    We only eat sanderson farm chicken breasts. Every other kind has made my son sick. Dairy free everything due to allergies.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    @Vune What is SNAP?

    Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Essentially, what used to be referred to as "food stamps".
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    SuzySunshine99 wrote: »
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    @Vune What is SNAP?

    Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Essentially, what used to be referred to as "food stamps".

    Thank you! I never would have guessed. Appreciate it.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,091 Member
    I feel like the combination of being long-term vegetarian** and calorie counting to a lower goal are things that, for me personaly, reduce my costs to the point where I'm pretty willing to buy what I want without much considering careful budgeting. (**"Good" or even adequate meat/fish/seafood is often more relatively expensive than "good" or adequate veg protein foods, though not universally, obviously.)

    I know this is a thing that depends on my personal tastes, as well as my personal finance (retired, modest middle-class-level income, but commensurately modest fixed expenses, too). When I'm going through phases of less alcohol consumption, that's even more true. (I'm not a super heavy drinker ever, but I go through phases of drinking very rarely, or a bit more often. When I do drink alcohol, I tend to prefer sampling craft beer at brewpubs, so the tips have to factor in, on top of the cost.)

    So, I guess the biggies are good cheese (but in limited quantities because I can only fit a certain amount into my calorie/nutrition goals before quality declines); good chocolate, especially a locally-made coconut-oil-based product that's soooooo good (ditto on the calorie/nutrition limits); craft beer, especially IPAs; and farm-to-table or other special restaurant meals.

    I do occasionally buy some other foods with startling per-pound costs (like fresh morels or exotic fruits), but the frequency and quantity make the actual cash outlay pretty small.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I “splurge” on good bread. I can’t get that cheap crap like Sara Lee etc. sandwiches are a million times better when they’re on good bread.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    edited November 2019
    Barrel aged imperial stouts.

    I go through an obscene of berries, especially cherries when they are in season. Thankfully either strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries are relatively inexpensive in this area throughout the year.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited November 2019
    Local restaurants, having a farm share for my veg in season, seafood and meats, occasional things like interesting cheese, olive oils and vinegars, certain kinds of pasta, random things like a squid ink risotto that a local vendor had that I wanted to try, occasionally avocados when they are expensive, getting eggs and dairy from the farmer's market.

    These are all worth it for me and not that expensive IMO given how costly food used to be.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    The only thing I can think of is a food that I’ve never tasted/don’t know what it is. Like at the international market.
    And I spend too much on fresh vegetable juice.
    And maybe a London Fog on a cold day.
  • GreenValli
    GreenValli Posts: 1,054 Member
    Good quality coffee is one of my splurges. I do not do the grocery shopping, my husband does. He has learned to "treat me" by not buying things that are "red light" foods for me, like chips and high calorie snacks. He knows that I can eat ice cream, which I do several times a week. I have "convinced" myself that I can have ice cream any day I want to IF I just eat 1/3 a cup. That satisfies me, knowing that I can have some tomorrow if I want. I do like sweets but can do pretty well if I have fruit around instead.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    Chocolate, which is rare because I'm absurdly picky (I mostly eat Zotter). Additionally, some produce (huckleberries for instance) and pastries. I don't really splurge on bread so much as my favorite bakery sells their bread for a good price.
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    Wine. Wine's a food, right?
  • slimgirljo15
    slimgirljo15 Posts: 269,456 Member
    Steak and chocolate
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    moonangel12 wrote: »
    Butter! Kerrygold all the way.

    We have family dietary restrictions we buy a lot of gluten free, so more expensive by default.

    Organic pears, because they taste that much better (at our particular store anyway).

    Ice cream - again, dietary restrictions, but in the process we found Turkey Hill is really tasty!

    I'm with moonangel12, Kerrygold Butter all the way!

    My BF is lactose intolerant but must have ice cream so I tend to spend a ton of money on "almond and cashew ice cream"!

    I tend to buy more expensive meat (organic, grass fed, etc). I just think it tastes better.

    Both me and my BF have expensive booze tastes. Luckily as we get older we aren't drinking as much. LOL

  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
    Fresh fruit, especially berries and grapes. I have 3 young kids that LOVE fruit so I make sure to have a good amount at all times so they reach for that and not chips for their snack or side with their meals.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Sadly, impulse buys. I would see something, get curious, and buy it regardless of price. It can be anything, from specialty grains to canned food to ice cream. I don't have a "top quality" vs "lower quality" mindset, I just like what I like. Some of the things I like are just more expensive than others, I like some very cheap candy and some very expensive ones, some very cheap cheeses and some very expensive ones...etc.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    busyPK wrote: »
    Fresh fruit, especially berries and grapes. I have 3 young kids that LOVE fruit so I make sure to have a good amount at all times so they reach for that and not chips for their snack or side with their meals.

    Me too. Buy my regular 10lbs of strawberries every week. It really gets to be a splurge in the winter months.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Organic vegetables and most fruits.

    I usually buy regular citrus and bananas.

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Coffee and ribeye steak!
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    edited November 2019
    just_Tomek wrote: »
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    busyPK wrote: »
    Fresh fruit, especially berries and grapes. I have 3 young kids that LOVE fruit so I make sure to have a good amount at all times so they reach for that and not chips for their snack or side with their meals.

    Me too. Buy my regular 10lbs of strawberries every week. It really gets to be a splurge in the winter months.

    You dont find they are white on the inside and tasteless? For this reason I switch to frozen, picked when ripe, for winter months. Also much much cheaper around here.

    Driscolls around here are usually good until mid december/january! Around then they start to get hard and bitter. I do sometimes switch to frozen but I don't like the texture of frozen berries because I use them in my wraps
    The soft/watery thawed berries don't really work as well.
  • kjdlancpa
    kjdlancpa Posts: 1 Member
    I buy my meat from a local farm, beef,pork and chicken. It is all grass fed and no hormones, etc. It costs a little more but tastes so much better. It is also better for my husband who is disabled by autoimmune diseases.
  • sarko15
    sarko15 Posts: 330 Member
    edited November 2019
    Vegetarian meat substitutes. I think sometimes they get a bad rap, but they save my life (and my protein goal) most days.

    Particularly Morningstar or Field Roast sausages. I've been veggie more than half of my life and I don't miss meat one bit -- but I love the smoky spiciness of sausage. I could care less about the meat itself.
  • kcmcbee
    kcmcbee Posts: 179 Member
    Breat question here OP! The best Olive oils definitely! Have cut way back on meat but when I do it’s filet mignon for steak and also for salads and wraps. Non GMO foods, like oats and grains and nuts (and anything else). Paying more for many other things, like almond flour, but getting more from it. Quality over quantity as others mentioned has been a big shift for me this year. Healthier and just better. Thanks!
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 849 Member
    Seafood, love the mild white fish. Like Chilean Sea Bass, and Fresh never frozen Halibut. And spices in very small amounts, same with exracts has to be pure in small bottles. Willing to pay more for quality foods in smaller amounts.

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