Your July 4th Cookout Is Gonna Cost You $10 More This Year
Alright, alright. We know, we know. Yup, YET ANOTHER aspect of our lives is costing more. So before we get into the nuts and bolts, how about we share a cocktail to make the medicine go down easier?
Better? Well, we tried. Okay, now for what you need to know about your Independence Day celebrations this weekend. According to the American Farm Bureau, the cost of a July 4th cookout is $69.98 – that’s ten bucks higher than last year, when the cost came in at just under $60. The estimate is based on items like hamburger buns, ground beef, baked beans, potato chips, ice cream, and strawberries, for a group of 10 people. Now, here is the crappiest part of this story. It is suggested that you can save money by skipping burgers. True, the cost of ground beef is up 36% from last year, but who wants to eschew burgers on the 4th?! Ugh. Man cannot celebrate freedom with hot dogs alone. With that in mind, here are some easy recipe ideas for your get together.
Here’s a full cost increase breakdown for ya
-2 pounds of ground beef, $11.12 (+36%)
-2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, $8.99 (+33%)
-32 ounces of pork & beans, $2.53 (+33%)
-3 pounds of center cut pork chops, $15.26 (+31%)
-2.5 quarts of fresh-squeezed lemonade, $4.43 (+22%)
-2.5 pounds of homemade potato salad, $3.27 (+19%)
-8 hamburger buns, $1.93 (+16%)
-Half-gallon of vanilla ice cream, $5.16 (+10%)
-13-ounce bag of chocolate chip cookies, $4.31 (+7%)
-2 pints of strawberries, $4.44 (-16%)
-1 pound of sliced cheese, $3.53 (-13%)
-16-ounce bag of potato chips, $4.71 (-4%)