Barbecue on $50 budget

Ruth to the Rescue goes grocery shopping

DETROIT – Hotdogs, corn on the cob, and watermelon. Half the fun on the 4th of July is the food.

"My Dad used to make barbecued chicken wings, and I haven't been able to duplicate them," said Marty Depowski of Melvindale as he remembered family barbecues from his past.

"Oh yes! I enjoy it very much! My family also!" said Janice Alexander of Detroit when asked whether she loves a good holiday cookout.

However, as you shop for your 4th of July barbecue you may have noticed food prices are a little higher this year. The USDA says overall food prices are up 1.4 percent this year. With the increase in food prices will you be able to stay on budget and serve up a holiday treat for your entire family?

Grocery Challenge

Local 4 Consumer Expert Ruth Spencer went to the Meijer in Allen Park to see how much she could buy with $50. Ruth and her team decided to go with hotdogs in hopes of staying on budget. They bought 16 All-Beef Oscar Meyer dogs cost $6.98. Some other hotdogs were on sale for $.99, so they bought two more packages.

Here's the complete list of what they bought.

Hotdogs: $8.96 - 4 packages
Buns: $2.91- 3 packages

Chips: $4.29 - 2 bags

Soda: $12.87- 3 12 packs
Watermelon: $6.98- (2)
Cupcakes: $5.99 1 dozen
Sweet Corn $7.47 15 ears

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Total Bill $47.97

Looking for a way to save even more money at Meijer?

Meijer offers customers the option of signing up for Perks. With your mPerks account Meijer customers will get special offers sent right to them. Customers are able to sign up for a mPerks account online and when you are checking out at the register, just give the cashier your account number and the discounts are automatically applied to your bill.

Ruth's team was able to save $1.50 on the 3 packages of sweet corn. About 15 to 20,000 people are signing up for the program each month.

Here's a link to the Meijer's website where you can sign up for mPerks.