Uh-oh, who invited Uncle Billy to the cookout this weekend? 🤠🍻 We better get ourselves prepared to rip through some Bud heavies and blast Creed in the garage at 1am. Oh, and keep him away from the fireworks. 🧨
If you’re hosting a BBQ for America’s milestone birthday, get ready for some sticker shock. Some of our favorite picnic staple foods cost more than they did last year. 😲🍔
Here’s Five Fast Facts on the cost of your 4th of July BBQ:
- ♨️ Up In My Grill - A backyard cookout will take a slightly bigger bite out of household budgets this year. The average 4th of July cookout for 10 people will cost $73.82, or $7.38 per guest. That's $2.90 more than a year ago, based on the cost of a typical spread of burgers, chicken, sides, beverages, and desserts.
- 🥩 What’s Your Beef? - The biggest increases this year are coming from what's on the grill. Data shows 2lbs of ground beef now cost a record $14.06, up 5.5% from last year. Chicken breasts and pork chops also got more expensive. We can thanks a 70-year low in the U.S. cattle herd and higher operating costs for ranchers
- 🍋 Sour Mood - Desserts and drinks aren't escaping grocery inflation either. Fresh strawberries rose 12.4% to $5.27 for two pints after spring frost damaged crops and production costs climbed. Homemade lemonade also became pricier, with 2.5 quarts now costing $4.54 as lemon prices continued to rise.
- 🥫 Don’t Spill the Beans - Even the humble can of beans isn't safe from inflation. Pork and beans posted the biggest price increase, climbing 13.8% to $3.06 for 32 ounces. Higher aluminum packaging costs are a key reason.
- 🥔 Chips and Dips - Want some good news? Potato salad dropped 17.8% to $2.91 after egg prices eased with the recovery of egg-laying flocks from avian flu. Potato chips also dipped 0.8% to $4.76 as potato prices declined.
🔥Bottom line: Listen, knowing all this info is going to make us savor every last sip of lemonade. And not one bean will go to waste! While the cost of basics continues to rise, Americans are still shopping. In fact, consumer spending is helping prop up our current economy. Wanna get nerdy? Crunch some numbers with us over in this article.
Hosting a B-day BBQ for America?
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