So Eggs Are Affordable Again? Plus 5 More Grocery Staples That Just Got Way Cheaper.
We’re constantly on the lookout for savvy tips to stretch our grocery dollars. We chat with financial experts, chefs, frequent shoppers, and anyone else who has a piece of budgeting advice to unload. Occasionally, though, the price overlords do us a solid and make it a bit easier for us to save money on our weekly shops. That, dear reader, is what’s happening here.
In a new Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, grocery prices for several of our favorite staples have dropped. And yes, that includes eggs. Other items — like ham, lettuce, frozen fruit and vegetables, margarine, and frozen drinks — went up in price, and inflation remains high by historical standards. (Grocery prices overall rose 0.1 percent in May, after falling 0.5 percent the past two months.)
But if your goal is to pinch as many pennies as possible, this list of the six items with the biggest price drops will certainly help you save this month.
1. Eggs
Earlier this month, Senior Food Editor, Kristina Razon, slacked our edit team channel the above photo from her local grocery store with this short, but curious, caption: So eggs are cheap now? (She even thought it was a mistake until they rang up for the listed price: $1.24.) Yes. They. Are. Well, they’re the cheapest they’ve been in 13 months and it’s the first time they dipped below $3 per dozen since last September.
The national average is still a bit higher than the store in Kristina’s neighborhood — $2.67 for a dozen grade-A, large eggs in U.S. cities, according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics. But they are still down a solid 13.8 percent since April (on top of a decent decline in March).
2. Fresh Fruit (Especially Strawberries)
If you haven’t bookmarked this no-bake strawberry delight (aka the unofficial dessert of summer), here’s one more incentive: A pint of strawberries are roughly $2.67, which is a 7.8 percent drop from last month. And, if the last 10 years are any indicator, it’ll be even cheaper from June through August. Let’s hear it for peak-season produce.
Note: The fresh fruit category dropped 0.5 percent since last month, with the help of other staples, like bananas and navel oranges. Other faves, like lemons and apples, though, increased in price.
3. Prepared Salads
Prepared foods, in general, are notorious for their markups. (Of course, you can still always find a way to seek out a good deal.) You can also relish in the fact that prepared salads — a summer staple, if we’ve ever heard one — have dropped 3.1 percent since last month. Don’t have time to make that pasta or potato salad? Swing by your go-to grocery to scope out what’s in stock and, if you’re lucky, on discount.
4. Frankfurters
We’re just weeks into hot dog season, which means we see lots of grilled franks on the horizon. (Let’s all pause and picture a seascape with floating dog-filled buns.) The price of frankfurters dropped 2.6 percent, which ain’t nothing. If you line it up with summer sales, it could really help stretch those grocery dollars.
5. Bacon
Is there a more alluring scent than sizzling bacon? I think not. Even more enticing? The price, which hit a record low at $6.34 per pound. (Bacon hasn’t been this cheap in years — since April 2021, when it was $6.22, on average.) Now is a good time to stash an extra pack in the freezer so you can wrap your discounted hot dogs, transform your canned beans, brunch your heart out, or all three.
6. Fresh Biscuits, Rolls, Muffins
A trip to the grocery store is not complete without at least a stroll through the bakery section — even if “we’re just browsing.” The flaky biscuits. The plush rolls. The tender muffins. Spot any of these at your local grocer and you might find the prices are 1.3 percent less than in April, which means it just got even easier for these freshly baked goods to find their way into our carts.
Have you noticed any recent grocery price drops? Tell us about it in the comments below.