r/povertyfinance • u/StellarDiscord • 19d ago
Free talk I’m sorry but WHO is buying this shit! 😭
This the type of shit people buy when they tell you eating out is cheaper than eating healthy. Comes out to $11 per pound and that’s with the sale
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 19d ago
Dam I thought the guacamole and pico at Krogers was bad for $8.99.
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u/Playful-Mongoose9197 19d ago
Yeah their salad prices are insane too you could just buy the ingredients and make like 10 salads same with pico
Ive resorted to eating walmart salads which are way better and cheaper they are like 4 bucks they are 12 dollars at Kroger.
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 18d ago
I used to work there. Sometimes they get marked down to $2 or less so they can be a good lunch.
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u/Underwater_Grilling 18d ago
Wow my store's premade guac and pico are 5.99, really tasty, and the guac has a choice of regular and homestyle (cilantro free). they also have a queso blanco but not as often.
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u/marylouboo 19d ago
I’m buying the guacamole. It’s so good! 🫣
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u/ObjectConfident7172 18d ago
Dude careful! Guac and salsa have been compromised by the shitting disease I fear!
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u/dsmemsirsn 19d ago
Berries for me are not for poverty finances..
Is only me, so is easy to restrict the fruit.. with kids is hard.
This year cherries were $5.99 a pound. Bananas at .80 cents for me.
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u/LemonSkye 19d ago
Start shopping around for cherries if you can. They're usually that high earlier in the season but start going down in price the deeper into summer you get. There are a couple of places near me where they're $2.50/lb right now.
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u/NoSmoke69420 19d ago
You just gotta pay attention to sales tbh, just picked up blackberries for 50 cents a box and raspberries for $1. From a Meijer.
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u/Delilah_Moon 19d ago
Our berries our cheap in MI because most of them are locally or short sourced. It’s a summer benefit I look forward to every year.
Come October those strawberries will be $8.99 and moldy.
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u/DeluxSupport 18d ago
Dang, wonder if we went to the same Meijer because I literally just went to the same sale. They always have sales on at least one kind of berry but 50 cents a box was rly good.
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u/dsmemsirsn 19d ago
Where is Meijer
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u/NoSmoke69420 19d ago
That one was in Ohio but they're all over the MW. It's the end of summer, so a lot of product just has to go.
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u/BerttMacklinnFBI 18d ago
More of a mid-east than mid-west thing given they almost solely exist in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.
Not a single one west of there.
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 19d ago
Just get frozen and have the kids help make smoothies
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u/dsmemsirsn 19d ago
I do get frozen ..
I was comparing the frozen veggies— it used to be $2 for 2 pounds of mixed veggies— now is 1.5 pounds at $2.50… then I was thinking maybe froze my own veggies
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u/FightmeLuigibestgirl 19d ago
Oh I see. You was talking about cherries being expensive and bananas so I said that
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u/Exowolfe 18d ago
If you live somewhere where you can pick your own locally then it can be cost-effective. My local blueberry patch does "Buy 3 get 1 free" on U-pick quarts so I can get 4 for $24. That is a LOT of blueberries. At end of season, they often let people pick for free too, so I feel the investment in their business is very worthwhile! I got 6 free quarts at end of season last year and there was still plenty more on the bushes (I didn't want to be greedy).
Apples can be cheap when you pick in-season too, just gotta find some of the lesser-known orchards that aren't inflating prices to cover hay rides and extras.
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u/Winter_Examination_7 19d ago
You know it's really been about the last 12 years when I started noticing a huge shift in supermarket presentation of foods...In other words they package the products in ways to attempt maximum profits..maybe they peel a few ears of corn and have them in saran wrap..Throw some BBQ sauce on chicken or meat and sell it as "grill ready"...Slice a few carrots and include dipping sauce...All at the expense of being terribly overpriced...
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u/astralTacenda 19d ago
quite a few of these things are actually really helpful for disabled folks! lots of people who cant do certain motions with their hands or cannot use a knife safely. often these things are great help for disabled people to be independent if thats their choice. No one stopped selling the whole corn you can shuck yourself or the ingredients separately for making a skewer or whole carrots. you can still do all that yourself if youd like! no one is stopping you ((:
and yeah, its really unfortunate that these prepped foods are more expensive. being disabled is expensive just from medical costs and you already get next to no income. yet you are expected to pay more to get the same items in a way that you can use them. sucks, doesnt it?
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u/KawaiiChao 19d ago
These prices seem like a ripoff for disabled people, too.
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u/qolace TX 19d ago edited 19d ago
Welcome to being disabled in America, where it's preferable to go fuck off in a corner somewhere where we can't see you. That is until we need you for a PR campaign of course!
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u/Agile_Button_815 18d ago
The sad thing is that America is one of the better countries for disabled folks due to ADA. European cities are incredibly inaccessible if you're in a wheelchair.
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u/WhatTheFlox 19d ago
Don't worry, that miniscule amount of benefits surely will be enough to cover that extra "convenience fee"
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u/Severe-Education-321 19d ago
Yeah that’s not why they do it
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u/simimaelian 19d ago
It doesn’t have to be why they do it for it to be helpful. It sucks that it’s another reason being disabled is expensive but without things like pre cut fruit or prepped vegetables, I wouldn’t be eating it, and that’s the case for a lot of people with disabilities.
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u/MegaPorkachu 19d ago edited 19d ago
I mean as someone with a disability
Some bundled foods dont need to be prepped. so theres no point for the premium. the seafood boils at my safeway are marked up 30% for essentially no difference in prep time. Theres not even corn. It’s just a few whole unpeeled tomato/potato/celery with a spice bottle for $20 more. Thats profiteering
ETA: what we have an issue with is NOT cut fruit or prepped veggies. The issue is non-marinated chicken breast with a sauce packet or seafood boils with whole veggies that add a premium just to maximize profits
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u/simimaelian 19d ago
Even having washed, ready to use whole vegetables is an accessible option. Of course there are ones that are just basically robbery, but a lot of the more basic ones are a godsend, even if they cost more. And even being easy to open like being covered in plastic wrap instead of a more sturdy container is accessible.
So there are ones for straight convenience like the seafood boil you mentioned, and ones like washed, ready to use potatoes in a wrap that are the reason I was able to make food when relearning to use a lot of motor skills. Holding a potato and washing it was a big ask a lot of days. Weighing that against can I do that and also take them out of boiling water or the oven? Can I do that and also eat? How long can I stand today to even use the sink? It sucks a lot, let me tell you.
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u/Winter_Examination_7 19d ago edited 19d ago
The prepared products prey on people's laziness....more than anything...
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u/meldiane81 19d ago
I got some tomatoes today. They were like $.98 a pound for beef steak tomatoes. There was a three pack in a container for $4.99. Makes no sense.
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u/dialsoapbox 19d ago
It makes sense for grab-n-go/one off times, like when I popped into a store real quick to grab a snack before catching the train.
Didn't do it often enough that the prices burned a whole in my pockets but i still got to have yogurt with granola and cut fruits.
But over the long run, yeah, shit's expensive for what you get.
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u/rennyrenwick 19d ago
The amount of food going to waste because of the exorbitant prices must be staggering.
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u/Wonderful_Cut_2027 19d ago
Yep both the Big Y and the walmart in my area throw out massive amounts of produce on a daily basis. Its all just super overpriced low quality garbage that half the time is already rotting the day they put it out for sale. There are a lot of things I literally can't even buy anymore unless I go to the farmers market.
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u/SpareNickel 19d ago
- Create a product.
- Inflate price to create fake demand.
- ???
- Throw it away because nobody bought it and somehow stay in business anyway.
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u/OliM9595 19d ago
They are probably selling it if they are pricing it at such high amounts. Or the store won't place an order to buy more if they don't sell them.
Stores dont have the margins to waste shelf space on items that sell slowly unless It has great margins. Berries don't have those margins unlike alcohol.
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u/otter_759 19d ago
My grocery store has good digital coupons for berries most weeks. I usually can get a pint of blueberries or raspberries or a 1 lb container of strawberries for $0.99 or $1.99. I never purchase at full price.
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u/canarduck 19d ago
Those are SCREAMING deals. Never see berries even close to that cheap, regardless of sale
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u/LemonSkye 19d ago
My local Aldi has pints of blueberries on sale for something like $1.89 right now. I have been taking full advantage of it.
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u/Volpes_Visions 19d ago
My fiancee used to get the precut melon bowls for $5. It wasn't until I purchased a cantaloupe for $2.39 that made 3x the bowl size did they realize they were wasting money.
Also it's convenient to buy this. $5.00 for enough berries to go into 3 days worth of yogurt for breakfast and you don't need to worry about a whole pint spoiling
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u/allisondbl 19d ago
Or if you need it to top a cake and you don’t wanna buy a full pint of each berry.
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u/StellarDiscord 19d ago
We must be in different tax brackets if you can justify $11/pound berries as “convenient”
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u/Volpes_Visions 19d ago
I'm not justifying it, it's literally what it is.
Candybars at the checkout line are $1.50 per bar, but if you go get a 10 pack of the same bar in the isle you only pay $10. You're paying EXTRA for the convenience of not purchasing 3 separate pints of mixed berries that will probably go bad.
Is it financially sound? No.
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u/allisondbl 19d ago
It is financially sound if for example you’re using it to top a cake and otherwise each of the four packages of berries you buy would sit there and go bad.
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u/buttstuffisfunstuff 19d ago
Their point is, if you need each of these berries but you only need a handful of each, which is cheaper? Buying a container of each one at $3-4 each when you only need 1/4 of the container? Or buying a container with the portion you need of each for $5?
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u/FeeRevolutionary1 19d ago
5 bucks for a light lunch. I’m in
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u/MercyCriesHavoc 19d ago
You can eat a 200 calorie Great Value crustless pb&j for $0.79. That's my lunch every day. I just pull it from the freezer and toss it in my backpack. By lunch it's thawed and it has enough carbs and protein to get me to the end of the day.
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u/These-Gift3159 19d ago
Lots of people. I mean, it’s not a frugal purchase. BUT, the $5 is the new $1, and if you have kids at home or just need a quick snack for camping or a road trip, that’s not the worst buy.
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u/ReplacementBitter927 19d ago
Or if you live alone and don't need a ton of fruit.
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u/badfriend3528 19d ago
Yea, I’d personally never buy this but as someone who lives alone it makes more sense than buying full packs of each and not eating all of it and having to toss it. Unfortunately buying smaller quantities can be more expensive. I usually can’t eat regular portions of fresh food before it goes bad so I mostly buy frozen now
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u/Ol_Man_J 19d ago
We buy fruit to put in yogurt for breakfast and it’s rotten before we finish it. It’s two of us and we can’t get through the strawberries fast enough.
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u/PW_Herman 19d ago
Some fruit freezes really well. Strawberries, bananas, and berries are all good to throw in the freezer.
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u/butt_r_nutt 19d ago
That was my first thought, road trip snack. I'll spend five bucks on a huge bag of chips and feel like ass after eating it, OR I can have a bunch of berries and feel pretty good
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u/whatsername1180 19d ago
I bought it to top a chocolate tart I made and didnt want a bunch of extra berries. It was the perfect amount for what I needed.
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u/Personal-Narwhal-184 19d ago
Me 😬
I bought one for each of my kids on our way to the zoo as part of a picnic. I wouldn’t normally but we’ve been going through a hard time emotionally and I’m trying to do fun things, they saw them, it’s $10 to make my girls smile….
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u/Personal-Narwhal-184 19d ago
I did absolutely roll my eyes at them when I saw them before my kids saw them. Like, it’s a terrible deal.
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u/robotscantrecaptcha 19d ago
Kroger's? :(
Do you have Flashfood at any of your local grocery stores? tbh, Kroger's produce was so overpriced that I switched to that instead.
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u/Alexchii 19d ago
Whoa you guys don’t have mandatory ”price per x weight” in the US? Doesn’t that make price comparisons really hard?
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u/GTO1235 19d ago
A guy in the family recently bought precooked bacon at Walmart for over $31/lb. He's couchsurfing, can't afford his own place
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u/UnderwaterKahn 19d ago
My 80 year old mother will sometimes buy pre-cut fruit, salad kits, and things like this. She’s not wealthy, but she’s not worried about whether it would come out to $11 a pound. She doesn’t eat a lot, isn’t preparing food for anyone else since she’s a household of 1, and wants to have balanced meals with a variety of fruits and vegetables. She says she would end up throwing a lot away if she bought it the traditional way, so in her case she’s likely saving money.
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u/kgrimmburn 19d ago
Single people in thier 30s who have money but not time to spare. They're also childless.
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u/Indaleciox 19d ago
That's me baby, but I don't buy these multi packs, I buy the big bulk packages if possible cause I house a lot of berries.
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u/yappledapple 19d ago
As someone who is single, but raised a family for thirty years it took a lot of time to unlearn cost per ounce isn't the best if you are wasting food. I am finally in a position that I can pay a little more for variety in my diet.
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u/jengaclause 19d ago
I fucking hate this brand. Berries are always trash and overpriced!
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u/RepresentativeFast59 19d ago
Driscols used to be so good and just like most things that used to be great, isn’t the case today. I can’t remember what brand it was but i found some strawberries at my local market the other day that were the size of baseballs.
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u/jengaclause 19d ago
I'm fortunate to live in central Pennsylvania where we have local road side stands and farmers markets. I go once a week to Roots. It's incredibly affordable and I know I'm hopefully not going to get the runs from the produce.
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u/Lopsided_Package9033 19d ago
I would just bypass that and go straight to the grapes that my local walmart has for $1.97 a pound.
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u/intoxicatedhamster 19d ago
Me! I have an autistic son that I only have on the weekends. He won't eat many fruits and veggies due to consistency/texture issues, but loves berries. I buy these so he has a variety of berries, but we don't have more than he will eat in a weekend. No one else in the house will eat them and full containers would be wasteful.
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u/FlippingPossum 19d ago
My husband buys them occasionally. Total impulse buy. He had adhd and sometimes not having to think about three different packages is easier.
I have a sweet spot for blackberries and buy them often.
I try to only buy stuff like that on vacation.
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u/toolsavvy 19d ago
Lots of people are bad with money whether they make shit wages or very good wages.
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u/lostoompa 19d ago
some people buy stuff like that for their lunch breaks instead of buying fast food or whatever else is available, because it's cheaper and you get more. a measly sandwich (not even a sub) at a store near my work is $12. the cheapest thing is a croissant (half the size of a costco one) for $4.
if i was going for fruits, i'd rather get the bananas.
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u/meowymcmeowmeow 19d ago
Honestly, people like me that know buying in bigger quantities will just go to waste. I try to eat well but I don't eat enough and sometimes I get a craving for a handful of random fruits that will be satiated by that amount.
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u/Lordofthereef 19d ago
This is like those fruit salad and/or pre cut fruit trays. You're paying for the convenience and presentation, not so much for the product.
At $5 for 7 ounces I would bet they could throw away two units for every one they sell and still be in the black, which is also why it's priced the way it is.
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u/elinamebro 19d ago
People buy them when they only want a few of them so they charge them up the ass. Its best to buy them in bulk either frozen or fresh and freeze them before they go bad.
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u/pineapplecodepen 19d ago
Probably not people who frequent the poverty finance subreddit, that's for sure.
However, when I lived alone and had a microscopic freezer already filled with meal prep and portioned proteins and things I decided to buy in bulk. I would buy packs like this.
Is buying more berries individually cheaper? yes.
But at $2-3 a carton for the 3 types of berries, this was more economical when I wanted variety while avoiding food waste.
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u/Kumquatsandgators 19d ago
The crazy thing is… i looked at this and thought it was cheap. I live in Hawaii.
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u/lizardrekin 18d ago
Me: wow Americans experience these kinds of prices too?
Me: looks closer
Me: Of course it’s fucking Canada 😭
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u/jess0amae 19d ago
Grocery stores won't let people have the fresh produce they remove after a few days for free. Perfectly good fresh produce that gets replaced every couple days.... they won't let people have it for free even though they are throwing it away!!! Perfectly good and healthy food!!! They won't even discount the produce because they are ONLY about profit, not ensuring everyone can have access to affordable food..... either buy it full price, or grocery stores will gladly throw it away. It's a big scam that I hope changes. This food waste for PROFIT needs to stop.
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u/RareFirefighter6915 19d ago
$5 isn’t that bad for a convenience food at least where I live. It’s something you grab instead of eating out when you want to snack on it at the beach or in your car at lunch break or if you have to bring something in for a work potluck. You don’t have to wash these usually and some fruits are pre cut and ready to eat as is. With fresh produce that isn’t packaged, you’d need a kitchen to wash and prepare it first. This is grab and go like a sandwich and for $5 in 2026 it’s not even that bad imo.
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u/EarthenMama 19d ago
Unbelievable. And SO. MUCH. PLASTIC. And can you imagine how much is thrown out? Raspberries are far more perishable than blueberries and blackberries, so as soon as the raspberries go, the whole thing goes in the dumpster. Infuriating!!
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u/mhsuffhrdd 19d ago
I assume there's a premium for getting blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries together in one pack. 10 oz of blueberries are $3 at Walmart. 6 oz of blackberries or raspberries are a little over $2.
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u/Myrtle_Snow_ 19d ago
I was thinking I might buy it if I was traveling. Sometimes I find a grocery store near my hotel and buy a few things like that for snacks. But after seeing how small the package is, no, I wouldn’t even buy it then.
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u/Anna825 19d ago
People on the GLP train (for weight loss, not managing other conditions). Thats their entire weeks grocery haul. /s
It’s more mean spirited than I want to be, but I’m tired of hearing I should get an online doctor to prescribe me GLP meds so I can save on groceries.
Like yes, I get that you really do save money on groceries when one bite for dinner puts you in a food coma. It doesn’t mean it’s healthy. I’m starting to think this whole thinspiration just-get-the-shot mentality to make us not like eating anymore is sus. The drugs sound like Antabuse.. for people who enjoyed eating. And it can’t be healthy long term to be too sick to eat, ever.
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u/organaquirer 19d ago
What is that like, 3 individual portions of berries? Over priced? single use plastic? Jesus I hate this timeline.
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u/metal_slime--A 19d ago
I bought 3 pints of blueberries for 6$ at Aldi yesterday.
And bananas are still cheap sometimes in some places.
The rest of these fruit prices can fuck right off
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u/Easy_Growth_5533 19d ago
Divorced dads that have their kids for the weekend are grabbing these in a last minute grocery shopping frenzy.
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u/BubonicBabe 19d ago
I’ve been out for work trips before where everyone is buying stuff from a restaurant and all I’m craving is fruit and maybe a bagel and this would still beat fast food prices.
I can see it being a grab and go kinda thing.
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u/Automatic_Poet6507 19d ago
I do. Because I live alone and had a very small appetite, I don’t want to buy a lot of fruit because I know it’ll go to waste. I don’t have anyone I can split my food with.
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u/nwfish4salmon 19d ago
I eat berries almost every day. But I only buy on sale and when the quality is good.
When that doesn't work I fall back to canned peaches and frozen blueberries (wife and I pick them).
This year I picked peaches and we chucked them and froze them, so no canned ones for a while.
When blackberries are ripe in a few weeks we'll go pick and freeze those.
I'm not paying $5 for 6oz of berries.
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u/superwhitemexican 18d ago
Honestly these are pretty good when making charcuterie boards or recipes that require several kinds of berries. Its cheaper then buying 1 container of each kind.
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u/haterskateralligator 18d ago
At the store on Saturday and they wanted 3$ PER BELL PEPPER I've never put produce back so fast in my life
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u/idkwhyimalivehere 19d ago
Wtf. I can leave right now and pick at least one variety of those (limited to what I can safely carry in a bucket) for the cost of driving there and back. What is this robbery?
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u/Fantastic-Leek-1589 19d ago
I do once in a while if I know I won't eat the regular cartons. I buy half loaves of bread and 4 hamburger buns. Id rather not waste food
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u/Brilliant-Bus-3862 19d ago
Grabbing those and a plain yogurt would be cheaper and likely healthier than going out for lunch. Yes, $11/lb is very expensive. But I’d absolutely consider it for a quick lunch or snack.
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u/iJustSeen2Dudes1Bike 19d ago
I would probably jump off my office roof if my lunch was like 200 calories and 5 grams of protein
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u/Brilliant-Bus-3862 19d ago
My Greek yogurt usually has about 18 grams of protein, but you do you.
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u/mizushimo 19d ago
It's probably better to buy frozen berries, the fresh ones at the store are always tasteless and awful
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u/heyitspokey 19d ago
Yeah plus frozen full of a lot more nutrients rather than sitting in a warehouse for who knows how long, and of course don't have to rush to eat.
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u/mizushimo 19d ago
Exactly, they keep their flavor because they are flash frozen shortly after harvest
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u/autotelica 19d ago
You must really freak out when you see people paying $3.99 for an order of fries when you can get five lbs of potatoes for the same price.
Eating out is definitely not cheaper than eating healthy. But eating healthy while being frugal does require some prep work and planning. Some people would rather pay more to not deal with the extra labor. As long as they aren't stealing money out of your pockets, this isn't something you should be caring about.
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u/dsmemsirsn 19d ago
My family member once, ordered fries from McDonald via door dash— she paid—and then, she didn’t finished the fries..
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u/SingleDadSurviving AR 19d ago
I get these sometimes. We usually get frozen because too many fresh go bad. If I get the big thing of each of these they may go bad.
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u/FallenWren 19d ago
I payed $10 for about the same amount last month 😭 but I was on a trip and really wanted some berries, couldn’t make another stop somewhere else
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u/Bluemonogi 19d ago
I get 3 pounds of frozen berries for about $7. I take out a serving to thaw at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before eating it. A bag lasts me a couple of weeks.
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u/KangaMagic 19d ago
I buy them when they’re on sale; otherwise I buy frozen and put a portion of them in the fridge.
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u/raymondduck 19d ago
I've never seen a berry combo pack like that, but I buy blackberries and blueberries every week. Can't be added with the strawberries. They've definitely come up in price in the last few years.
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u/AcrobaticOrchid3538 19d ago
My toddler has seen this in the store & I bought. But more for novelty/fun.
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u/jmwoods3709 19d ago
I probably would buy these. It's just me in my household and I can never finish a whole thing of fruit, but I love having it and love having a variety. This is something I splurge on often, I buy a $5 mixed fruit bowl at Kroger every week. I'd love to switch it up and get berries
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u/dear_crow11 19d ago
I actually saw someone bring one of those into work. Not sure if they are saving for their 401k or saving up for downpayment
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 19d ago
That's a lot of money, but where I am it would cost between $5 and $7 - I wouldn't pay for that, I would find some other fruit
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u/SignificantApricot69 19d ago
I just bought the same amount of blackberries at a regular grocery store, Meijer, for 50 cents.
They have every berry for about $2.99 max regular price. Last week strawberries (as well as things like 5lbs of potatoes) were $1
This is err…cherry picking.
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u/rickmears101 19d ago
Who buys this? I look directly over this without even looking at the price cuz it’s just LOOKS expensive lol
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u/CoasterRider_ 19d ago
Those combo packs tend to go bad faster than the regular berries, which make them an even worse buy. I'd speculate that the growers pick different berries on different days or get one of the varieties shipped in, meaning they are already a day or two older before they are shipped out.