A TOURISTY COST OF LIVING—

I wandered the aisles of a Vero Beach grocery store and it quickly became apparent the cost of living could be higher here than in Ohio.

A tub of “I Can’t Believe it is not Butter” was priced at $3.81.  I remember that being about $2.50 back home.

Here are a few more items with which you can make your own comparisons:   Large Grade A eggs were $2.19 a dozen, Heinz Ketchup, 32 oz., was $3.19, a 15 oz., can of Del Monte peas was $1.43, and a 7 oz., box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was $1.69.

 

Ground beef in this Publix store was $3.69 a pound.  Publix dominates the local grocery market but shares it a bit with Win Dixie.  Wal Mart has a presence here as well.

Naturally, costs were considerably lower if you use the store’s brand.  The Publix box of macaroni and cheese sells for 79 cents.

On the other hand, Bryer’s ice cream sells for $6.17 in the shrinking, 1.5 quart size at Publix.  I remember that selling for about ½ that price at the Mansfield discount store.

In fast foods, a Big Mac sandwich costs $3.39 and Wendy’s charges $3.69 for their single burger with cheese.

Gasoline was about $3.20 a gallon for regular during this period.

Herb Tunis, who, along with wife Karen, serves as our RV park host, says he finds the costs here similar to their Delaware (state) home except for the local 7% sales tax.  They don’t have sales tax in Delaware he explained.

The local sales tax compares to 6.75% in Ohio.

Without doing serious math, Sue felt the local food costs were about 10% higher than at home.

Our Syracuse, NY friends, Dick and Dee Weeks, make good use of coupons, bulk purchasing, and “buy one, get one free” deals, for another example.  They find they do as well here as at home.

In casual conversations, some local folks believe prices appear to be higher here during the winter when the supply of snow-birding tourists is ample.

Other folks just shrug when I randomly inquire about local prices.  Judging by the more than ample quantity of very pricey automobiles on the road around here, I do not find that surprising.

However, when scenes like the above photo are commonplace as they are here, enduring a wee-bit higher cost of living somehow becomes a lot more tolerable.