Where's the Beef?

So, I did a couple of blog posts comparing various food prices at Walmart, Sam's, and United. (here: http://joshwoodtx.blogspot.com/2010/07/sams-vs-walmart.html and here: http://joshwoodtx.blogspot.com/2010/06/walmart-vs-united-supermarkets.html) I got a lot of feedback. A LOT OF FEEDBACK. I was surprised, mainly because I figured this blog thing would end up functioning more like a "notes to self" page. Anyhow, a ton of people asked me why I didn't include meat. The answer: I didn't need to buy any that particular day. Well people, here are some meat comparisons for you:



The prices are in cents per ounce or, in the case of hot dogs, cents per hot dog. Important things to note: Sam's Club stuff is better quality...name brands rather than generic. Everything else is generic. Also, United happened to be having a sale on ground beef. By the way, the nerd in me was very disgruntled that I was not more thorough in my meat selection. Don't be surprised if you see another, more thorough, comparison on here in the future.

Things to note: United has a section of "thrift" meat that is at or past expiration date. This stuff is a great bargain, that is if you don't end up in the ER with stomach eruptions (don't worry, I'm sure the meat is safe...and I don't think stomach eruptions are a real thing). Also, WTAMU has a feed lot from which they sell beef. Sometimes they have great prices. Keep up with their prices here: http://www.wtamu.edu/academics/meat-laboratory.aspx. I've also heard that the quality of their stuff is great.

Summary: Overall it seems that there is no clear winner in the meat department. It depends more upon a.) which store is having a sale and b.) what particular item you need.

In other news...I am beginning to become a bit of a grocerian conspiracy theorist. It seems that sometimes, rather than having consistent profit margins on all items in a category, stores have a low profit margin on most items in a group whilst gouging you on a partnering product. For example, low prices on bread, turkey, and mustard--high price on sliced cheese. Low price on ground beef--high price on chicken. It would make sense, I suppose. The stores know that you aren't going to drive all the way across town to buy your $1 cheaper chicken elsewhere. Hmmm....On second thought, let's not worry about this....this might just be the most boring conspiracy theory ever concocted.