[quote=briansd1]I was talking to my auntie about this the other day. She has a vegetable garden and cooks her own food from scratch. Her grocery bill is probably around $150/month.
She was born in 1922 and she’s seen the evolving American diet.
Today, food is a smaller proportion of income than it ever was.
Cut out all the restaurant, packaged, and pre-cooked food and cook your own, and you can save money.
The choices are also much greater. Previously expensive imported “luxury” stuff is now common place and widely available. . . .[/quote]
Also, brian, in your “auntie’s day,” even in the absence of “convenience food,” there was no toothpaste, Motrin, Excedrin, allergy meds, wide variety of produce, pre-cut bacon/ham, cut-up chicken, hair “conditioner” and other hair stuff we take for granted, paper sanitary products, disposable diapers, pre-made baby formula, paper towels or wipes, a wide variety of laundry aids, etc. All of this stuff and more takes up a huge chunk of today’s “grocery bill.”
In addition, until the early 50’s there were no “fast food” drive-ins.
In the first half of the 20th Century, there wasn’t anywhere NEAR the amount of stuff available to buy as there is now. If a person caught a cold, they just used a “folk remedy” and/or held their head over a pot of steam. If they wanted pancake syrup, they often just mixed brown sugar and water. If they wanted chicken tonight, they just went outside and strangled one, lol!
