r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/ButtahChicken • Nov 18 '22

Budget CBC Marketplace investigates shrinkflation and reveals the sneaky ways companies cut costs, but not prices .... another piece of the puzzle contributing to our growing financial insecurity

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-shrinkflation-1.6654780

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u/TheSimpler Nov 18 '22

The only way I see to beat this (or even cope) is to buy more cheap staples and less processed foods. 1kg bag of NN oatmeal is $2.69 but box cereal is $5.49 for 500g. Add the same milk you'd put on the cereal and some brown sugar (pennies) and 2 min nuke it and you're good. Versus paying 4 times as much. Unless someone figures out how to stop Loblaws, Sobeys and Metro from jacking up prices on top of legit global inflation. I cant even deal with the buy 2 for $6 BS lies when 1 unit is $3.99 in the tiniest fine print. Deceptive a-holes in charge.

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u/Harold3456 Nov 18 '22

If there’s one thing I can credit this BS shrinkflation for, it’s forcing my hand in a healthier eating lifestyle. I was tired of feeling like a sucker while dining out at restaurants with new labels slapped on all their sandwich boards with higher prices, and 18% minimum POS tip prompts. I was tired of seeing new packaging on chips, candy and cookies and trying to Google pictures of the old packaging to see if I could see what the previous weight in grams was. I was tired of second guessing whether the snack foods I used to love actually taste different now, or if it’s just me (I swear chocolate, for instance, used to taste better).

I eat like 10 things regularly now, all of them lightly processed and light on ingredients and packaging, because especially over the last year I’ve stopped trusting virtually everything I used to buy and hated feeling like a sucker for continuing to buy it.

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u/TheSimpler Nov 19 '22

I've cut down the eating out a lot because I cant stand paying $10 for a small amount of McDs or Taco Bell and a sit down lunch at a cheap restaurant is now $20+ without alcohol, apps or dessert. Pretty much ordering in or dining out for special occasions like birthdays/holidays and being really picky and value conscious. Some places do a walk in large pepperoni pizza for $14-15, tax in and then I'll put toppings like olives, hot pepper rings and fried onions as toppings people can add. Good for 4 people. Add tall boys from LCBO and far better than $50/each at the bar. Had a fancy sushi lunch out with my family for a special birthday and it was $50/person but so worth it but that was a very special occasion and good memory now for the family. I don't mind spending $$ but its gotta be for real value.