Why can I not buy bananas?

**fixer** · 02-17-2009, 03:52 PM

I have been enjoying bananas bought on sale for thirty-nine cents a pound. They are the only fruit I really enjoy that I can't grow.(where's global warming when you need it) They are usually fifty-nine cents. I consider this to be way too much money. My brain tells me that four pounds a week at an addition twenty cents is a grand total of eighty cents a week. Yet, I can't bring myself to buy them. Do you have something you won't but even though it is really not a lot of money.

**madhen** · 02-17-2009, 03:58 PM

Can't think of anything off-hand, but if it helps you, bananas here are $1.04/lb, so think of what you are saving vs. if you lived in California!

(These are for organic, but even the non-organic are more than .59/lb!!)

I do occasionally find them for less, but only if I can find a bag of ripe ones that the store is trying to get rid of. They are generally so ripe, you've only got a day or two before they go over. I buy those and freeze them for smoothies.

I do have a really hard time buying most produce that I COULD grow, even if I haven't.

I can't bring myself to buy meat if it is over $1/lb, except for rare occasions when I need to make a special dish.

**Spirit Deer** · 02-17-2009, 04:16 PM

Regular price of bananas here for the past year or so has been .79/lb. They're sometimes on sale for .59 but unfortunately it's hard to stock up on them. Things have really gone up in the past year.

There are lots of things we won't buy even though the cost isn't really much more than it used to be. Since you asked, I can't think of a single one of them right now, but trust me, there are lots! And some things we will buy even though it's gone up a lot and is now outrageously priced. (Let's not discuss the $7+, 21-oz. jars of olives I just bought.)

**elphie** · 02-17-2009, 05:28 PM

Ask yourself these questions... What am I snacking on instead of bananas?... and... What is the actual cost of that substitution?

Your substitution may be cheaper but less filling than fruit so you eat more. You could eat more simply because you are not getting what you really want and therefore aren't satisfied with the substitution. You could be replacing it with something not as healthy as bananas and therefore incurring hidden health costs. Be sure to look at the whole picture when you are doing your cost analysis.

btw, you can freeze bananas-- the peel turns black but they are perfectly delicious. So maybe if you are still feeling bad about the price difference you could stock up and freeze some when they are on sale.

My personal thing I only buy on sale is sour cream, which can't be frozen and offers no health benefits so I can't justify it any way I look at it. I always buy a couple when its on sale and just do without in between.

**rainbowgc** · 02-17-2009, 05:40 PM

I know how you feel and for me, it is because I feel with everything going up I need to watch the bottom line KWIM?

**homesteadmamma** · 02-17-2009, 06:06 PM

There 89 cents lb. here unless I wait until they are all dark and bruised and not selling. Then I get them for free.

**dcompton** · 02-17-2009, 06:46 PM

Enjoy your bananas now - I've read several places that the banana crops are in trouble worldwide, a real problem for areas that depend on them for food and livelihood. Last I heard, scientists were working on it. That was several years ago, so with any luck they are making progress.

We pay about same here as you do, somewhere in the .50-.60 range unless they are on sale. The one that galls me the most, I think, is the price of apples. Even the sale prices are often in the neighborhood of 1.29, non-sale often closer to 1.79. And strawberries remained so high all last summer, I only bought them a couple of times.

**brennasmom** · 02-17-2009, 06:52 PM

Bananas are .59 per pound here and I consider that a bargain

. They are the cheapest fruit we can buy. I just paid .98 per pounds for "sale" apples and pears were $1.49 per pound.

I also slice & freeze any bananas we don't eat that week and put them in smoothies so there is no waste.

**ladytoysdream** · 02-17-2009, 07:00 PM

If you have a ALDI store near you, bananas are .45 a pound.
Best price I can find for them.

**gizzymo** · 02-17-2009, 07:41 PM

Talk about skyrocketing. Potatoes are ridiculously high. 6.98 for a mere 10 pounds at the supermarket.

**dogmatix** · 02-17-2009, 07:48 PM

They're 0.29/ banana at Trader Joe's. Not sure how much that is a pound, but they are organic and I buy them every week. I stick to my shopping list whether things are on sale or not, but I will adjust my preferences long term if a particular item is becoming pricey.

**ravenmaniac** · 02-17-2009, 07:55 PM

I love bananas. As said in a previous post they are the cheapest fruit you can buy. Here in Maryland they are about .59lb. I consider them a bargain. Plus if they get really ripe you can make banana bread and the peel can go in the compost pile.

**Trishagirl** · 02-17-2009, 07:58 PM

I get my banana's at a salvage amish store for .49lb and that's high for them but they were good ones so I bought them at the reg store they are .79lb and that's way too much for this lady! Our potatoes are $2.99 for 5lbs and $3.98 for 10lbs.

**fixer** · 02-18-2009, 12:54 PM

I have enjoyed your posts. I can't get over the idea that bananas are a luxury in my life. I can live without them so I don't need to pay what I see as a big price. I also agree with potatoes. Here, the quality is bad. I always have to smell thoroughly to make sure there is no rotten one. We are just finishing our potatoes we grew last year. I plan on planting more to see if they will last long enough not to have to buy any.

**Lady_V** · 02-18-2009, 01:10 PM

I have a physiological problem buying something that 'jumps to the next dollar'

If I am use to buying something that is normally $1.99 and the next time I go back... even if it's $2.09, I pull my hand away and let my brain crank the gears before I put my hand back on the item again...

I know... I'm weird... I'm weird, but I an frugal