The OP mentioned dog food. That $%^& is expensive. Anything for pets is expensive, at least where I live.
I shop at Kroger, known nationwide under a number of names. I get killer deals on meats in their "manager's Special" section, which is meat getting close to the "Sell By" date. I've purchased USDA Prime ribeye steaks marked down from 25 dollars a pound, to eight dollars a pound. I vacuum seal these deals, and freeze them.
The cost of living, overall, is pretty reasonable in the Dallas area. I live in one of the pricier areas, but still have a pretty decent cost of living. Groceries are part of the mix.
In Texas, Kroger sells Nolan Ryan (the baseball legend) brand beef as a premium product. It is all natural, and grass fed from start to finish. More expensive, but I find it in the "manager's Special" section on a somewhat regular basis. Kroger's Simple Choice brand is also very good. The organic milk is amazing.
To make things more comparable, how about coming up with a list of items that almost everyone buys, like milk, eggs, ground beef, chicken (whole/parts), potatoes, etc. If we come up with 10-20 items, then we compare apples to apples -- literally.
CD
