8 Grocery Store Prices That Keep on Climbing

If it feels like inflation hits your wallet the hardest when you’re shopping for groceries, it’s not your imagination.

Although inflation continues to float down for the most part, some products continue to see above-average price increases. And most of those seeing the biggest price hikes are grocery-store foods.

For example, grocery prices as a whole only increased by 0.1% from October to November 2023, but the following foods had inflation rates that were more than 10 times higher than that over the past month. They also all saw price increases over the past year, according to data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So if you want to save money at the supermarket, you might want to simply remove the following foods from your shopping list for now.

Carbonated drinks

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 1.5% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 3.6%

If you’ve been thinking about giving up soda, now’s as good a time as any. Unfortunately, tap water might be the most affordable alternative. The entire category of juices and other nonalcoholic beverages is up 0.5% in the past month and 3.6% over the past year. The category of beverage materials, which includes coffee and tea, also is up month-over-month (0.5%) and year-over-year (1.2%).

A sparkling water machine might be another option for replacing soda. If you’re intrigued, check out “Is SodaStream Cost-Effective? We Did the Math for You.”

Uncooked other beef and veal

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 1.6% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 7.4%

This category includes raw veal and all types of raw beef except for ground beef, beef steaks and beef roasts. But it’s not the only beef category on this list…

Uncooked beef roasts

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 1.7% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 12.5%

Beef prices recently hit an all-time high, primarily due to a contracting supply of cattle. And prices are not expected to return to normal anytime soon. As Wells Fargo’s chief agricultural economist, Michael Swanson, told CNBC:

“All consumers will be paying more for all beef products for several more years.”

Shelf-stable fish and seafood

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 1.8% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 5%

Typically, buying shelf-stable seafood such as canned tuna is a good way to save money, as it tends to be cheaper than fresh and frozen seafood. But that’s not been the case lately.

In November, fresh fish and seafood prices were down on both a one-month (-0.3%) and one-year basis (-2.5%). Frozen fish and seafood prices also fell over the past year (-2.6%), though they rose by 0.1% during the past month

Fresh biscuits, rolls and muffins

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 1.8% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 5.9%

If your meals often involve biscuits, rolls or muffins, you might want to look into making your own at home, whether from a box or from scratch. It’s the fresh ones from grocery-store bakery departments that are still getting hit hard by inflation.

Crackers, bread and cracker products

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 2.2% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 6.5%

Inflation rates for these baked goods have been elevated for a while now. We’ve rounded up the best tips for sparing your budget in “13 Ways to Beat the Rising Cost of Bread.”

Citrus fruits

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 3.2% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 3.9%

2023 was a tough year for the orange industry in particular. Orange juice prices recently hit an all-time high, as factors like an active Florida hurricane season and a deadly citrus tree disease known as greening contributed to reduced production.

Potatoes

Price change from October to November 2023: Up 4.6% (seasonally adjusted)

Price change from November 2022 to November 2023: Up 0.8%

In November, potatoes saw by far the largest one-month price increase of any type of groceries tracked by the Consumer Price Index, despite seeing a 12-month increase that’s much smaller.