Weekly Shopping Bill?

[guitarman001]

Bugger, bugger, bugger.... it's getting closer to the time when I need to stock up... I've been putting it off... but prices are defo rising...

[bumblebeeandboy]

Food is quite expensive and the drop of sterling from $2.1 to $1.35 probably means more expensive food to come later on in the year.

I would advise you to look at the big things. If you can get rid of the car that would save you £3-4k pa assuming work is close enough to cycle or walk. Energy costs at home would also be a big one, over £1k for the average family pa. Try to keep the heating down and just wear more suitable cloths for the time of the year.

Also use sites like moneysavngexpert.com and hotukdeals.com to get good deals.

If possible try to set up a bulk buy group with people at work or neighbours. Things like eggs or bacon or... are 1/3rd the price if bought wholesale.

I am the queen of money saving. I feed the family healthy nutrious meals on approx £30pw. That's a family of 4 and two cats ( one of the boys is only 1yr so he doesn't eat tons!). I just don't buy rubbish and base meals around vegetables, pulses, pasta,potatos.

I would love to get rid of my car (only drive 2k miles a year) but it would limit the work i could accept (mystery shopper) but i'd also lose a lot of freedom to do things with the boys. If we still lived in London it would be great but i'm afraid public transport around here just isn't a viable option. Thankfully i bought my car for cash about 4 years ago, it wasn't new and cost about £1500. Running costs are very low on it as it's got the engine a size of a hairdryer.

I pop on moneysaving expert for ideas which is where i've got great ideas on healthy cheap meals etc.

[bumblebeeandboy]

Do not shop at Tesco if these are your shopping habits.

Our shopping basket is probably much like yours, and i've found a Tesco trolley at least 20-30% more expensive than ASDA.

We get a few bits from Lidl too (much of their stuff is better quality) and i reckon it would cost an extra 35% if we were to get the whole lot at Tesco.

That's really good to know. My plan is next month to buy in Asda to compare the prices. A round trip to Tesco is approx 3 miles whereas Asda is miles and i have to pay to park at Asda (council carpark pah). What i might try is my main big monthly shopping at Asda and the smaller top up perishables closer to home. I generally find Sainsburys more expensive than Tesco but a few of their value items are far cheaper (pasta, tinned fruit) so i stocked up on those yesterday when i was passing.

I've also learnt the times of the reductions in the local Tesco and get some real bargains on fresh produce if i go in the evening.

[DinosaursAreAwesome]

Since hubby was made redundant last summer we've been on a tight budget. (He got another job within 2 months but for 40% less (same job, same grade). He now earns a few thousand over average so we're not a rich family by any means. We're a family of 4 with two preschool boys (and two cats).

We still try to eat a healty balanced diet, all homemade etc no ready meals etc. If the item isn't essential to a balanced diet i don't buy it. Basically what i'm trying to say is i don't load up on expensive junk chav meals!

Going to the supermarket is a bit of a killer as the price increases really seem to have taken off since Christmas. I'm now stocking up on essential items as i know in two weeks time they are going to be far higher.

I was in shock last week at cucumbers in Tescos's. 94p for a standard whole one, only three weeks before they were approx 48p. Anyway went back this week 6 days later and they are now £1.24ea. What the hell it's a cucumber £1.24! We're encouraged to eat healthily but you can see why some people just buy the bag of chips!

Thankfully i'm quite good in the garden so i hope our cucumber plants supply us with our own this year. In the mean time i'm not buying it and growing cress for the sandwiches instead!

I don't know if this has been said, but seasonality plays a part in foood prices too.

In the summer things like strawberries and tomatoes come from fields and cost less, in the winter the same products are still available but charged at a premium because they are either imported or grown hydroponically. Don't ask me about Cucmubers specifically, I don't know.

This has always been the case but the recent inflation just accentuated it.

One way to get around is seasonal cooking, rather than sticking to a menu of a dozen or so dishes and just shopping for those, buy the ingredients that are in season and therefore cheap and turn them into your food. If you like cooking its more fun, your diet is more varied and you'll see the difference in your shoppoing bill at the end of the week.

EDIT: Just the saw the post about markets and it reminded me, if you want to know whats in season it'll usually be on the market.

Edited January 24, 2009 by Laughing Man

[bumblebeeandboy]

I don't know if this has been said, but seasonality plays a part in foood prices too.

In the summer things like strawberries and tomatoes come from fields and cost less, in the winter the same products are still available but charged at a premium because they are either imported or grown hydroponically. Don't ask me about Cucmubers specifically, I don't know.

This has always been the case but the recent inflation just accentuated it.

One way to get around is seasonal cooking, rather than sticking to a menu of a dozen or so dishes and just shopping for those, buy the ingredients that are in season and therefore cheap and turn them into your food. If you like cooking its more fun, your diet is more varied and you'll see the difference in your shoppoing bill at the end of the week.

EDIT: Just the saw the post about markets and it reminded me, if you want to know whats in season it'll usually be on the market.

That's a good tip about the markets and seasonal items. I'm afraid i've grown up in the generation that doesn't really know about british food seasons as everything is always in stok. However i'm learning fast now i'm becoming more greenfingered. I love cooking and hubby and the boys like eating so everyone's happy.

[bumblebeeandboy]

You won't get standard cucumbers to crop outside of a greenhouse in our UK summers. But ridge cucumbers do very well. And have more flavour than standards. They grow 5" long and are prolific. See link. Cucumbers won't store other than pickled.

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_di...ridge_page1.asp

thanks for the tip. I've just bought a free standing plastic (green house would this work too?

[bumblebeeandboy]

I thought I'd got a bargain when their nappy offer is on but a week or so later the supermarkets were almost down to the same price for a few days.

Buy disposable nappies not a chance. Used cloth on both my boys (not a pin in sight may i add). Fantastic cost saving and better for the planet! I should really change my hpc nickname to The Nappy Lady but that would be an awful plug. lol Google it.

[pepsipsg]

Good grief I thought I was on MoneySavingExpert for a while.

Anyway I went to my local council about an allotment. They said if there are 10 people interested, apparently the council HAS to try and find suitable land.

Dunno if it applies to all councils though.

I eventually got one with another council.

[piece of paper]

.....................................

I was in shock last week at cucumbers in Tescos's. 94p for a standard whole one, only three weeks before they were approx 48p. Anyway went back this week 6 days later and they are now £1.24ea. What the hell it's a cucumber £1.24! ..................

I found this quite interesting. Short life perishables must be the first true show of how prices of imported goods will rise following the drop in Sterling.

Doesn't look good for other imported goods later in the year.

p-o-p

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

Buy disposable nappies not a chance. Used cloth on both my boys (not a pin in sight may i add). Fantastic cost saving and better for the planet! I should really change my hpc nickname to The Nappy Lady but that would be an awful plug. lol Google it.

wife says no

besides its not easy to do all the nappy work and get them dry when you live in a small flat and have the added disadvantage of a water meter. Convenience wins everytime at the moment.

[Mick Dundee]

If only i had one near us. The nearest local market does have one veg stall which is very good and i'm planning on getting in the habit of using it again. We've moved so now it's a drive away. I always used to go late in the day not so much choice but much bigger bargains. They got to know me and the kids too and were always very generous, i think they liked to see the boys get excited about what fruit they could have that week.

This is the type of post I like. Optimistic and supporting your local community at the same time getting high quality fruit and veg, and paying less for it.

Great to hear.

[tim123]

(and two cats).

That's lunch sorted then

[InternationalRockSuperstar]

good website for comparing supermarket prices:

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/

downside is it's only got Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda & Ocado. It would be good if they had Aldi and Lidl also, but they don't.

[Prime Realist 8]

Okay... these food price rises are scaring me.

A lot of people must be cottoning on that something is wrong. A couple of years ago, we were in danger of losing a big chunk of local allotment land because there weren't enough people using it. When I reapplied recently, I was told that there was a very long waiting list!

Get an allotment, or even better use your garden if you have one. If things get much worse, people will be trying to steal your homegrowns.

Get some decent heirloom seeds so you can save seeds from year to year. None of the GM crap that is being pushed onto us.

Check out the SEER centre and get yourself some rock dust for bumper yields. Manure is all important too.

[Jadoube]

Don't buy them. They're out of season and probably flown in thousands of miles.

Get an allotment or grow stuff in the garden.

Tomatoes are disgusting at the moment - even the expensive ones are just not nice. It's tricky.

Or stop buying at tesco. Go look on the local markets. It takes longer if it's not as convenient as tesco but should be cheaper.

The prices are shocking on everything it's going up.

Exactly.

You can get a box of in season veg delivered to your door for £10 - big enough that two people can find it difficult to finish the box before the next weekly delivery. Being a trendy pinko-green foodie can have its advantages.

[SarahBell]

Exactly.

You can get a box of in season veg delivered to your door for £10 - big enough that two people can find it difficult to finish the box before the next weekly delivery. Being a trendy pinko-green foodie can have its advantages.

Box deliveries are worth looking into.

I also read about a supermarket selling "locally grown" produce - just forgetting to mention they ship it to poland for processing.

[Mick Dundee]

Box deliveries are worth looking into.

I also read about a supermarket selling "locally grown" produce - just forgetting to mention they ship it to poland for processing.

So very true.

[Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

Do you have greengrocers in England these days?

Or how about British fish (sent by the supermarkets to China for filleting).

Bought a cucumber for 60p doon the road last week - £1.29 in the local supermarket. Spanish cherry toms not too bad at the mo.

Edited January 24, 2009 by gruffydd

[Mrs Bear]

Do not shop at Tesco if these are your shopping habits.

Our shopping basket is probably much like yours, and i've found a Tesco trolley at least 20-30% more expensive than ASDA.

We get a few bits from Lidl too (much of their stuff is better quality) and i reckon it would cost an extra 35% if we were to get the whole lot at Tesco.

Two great buys at my Asda - Smartprice potatoes and Smartprice porridge. Both just as good as any other, and the porridge is only 58p for a kilo bag. Just as well, since besides Mr B's breakfast I put out masses for the birdies, who are very partial .

The potatoes are sometimes on the small side but usually not - very often several whoppers for baking. Only reason I can imagine they're cheaper is that they usually come with a covering of lovely black East Anglian earth.

Asda's smartprice frozen (smallish) prawns are also miles cheaper than others, and make a lovely stir-fry.

[Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

If you're bright, you do a deal with a wholesaler - who agrees to deliver to your house for trade prices - sure, you may have to pay a min of say £250 for free delivery - BUT IT'S WORTH IT.

WISE UP GUYS! CUT OUT THE SUPERMARKETS - buy direct from farmers, small shops - buchers and greengrocers and WHOLESALERS. I do this with INFINITY FOODS in Brighton - they couldn't give a fig that I live in a normal house - and I get good quality food rather than bog-standard supermarket shite for way-below shelf-prices - and many of these wholesalers do special offers too - half price if less than 2 months before Best Before left on, say, orange juice and pasta.

And many of these companies are NICE - cooperatives, etc. Not money grubbing corporates putting shite in your sausages.

Edited January 24, 2009 by gruffydd

[the-sign-jacker]

Okay... these food price rises are scaring me.

A lot of people must be cottoning on that something is wrong. A couple of years ago, we were in danger of losing a big chunk of local allotment land because there weren't enough people using it. When I reapplied recently, I was told that there was a very long waiting list!

Get an allotment, or even better use your garden if you have one. If things get much worse, people will be trying to steal your homegrowns.

Get some decent heirloom seeds so you can save seeds from year to year. None of the GM crap that is being pushed onto us.

Check out the SEER centre and get yourself some rock dust for bumper yields. Manure is all important too.

theres no point. when hunger really hits the poor, your allotment will be robbed.

honestly. your wasting your time in any city town allotment. unless your prepared to guard it in shifts with other users.

even then, why do you just have the right to grow food. why cant everyone have an allotment on common land ?

if they lock us into a food bubble they will be blood on the streets.

hunger will make ordinary people KILL.

[Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

There's already a massive problem with theft from allotments.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2199855/Al...-crimewave.html

PS: http://www.infinityfoods.co.uk/wholesale/

http://www.suma.coop/

Edited January 24, 2009 by gruffydd

[SarahBell]

even then, why do you just have the right to grow food. why cant everyone have an allotment on common land ?

if they lock us into a food bubble they will be blood on the streets.

hunger will make ordinary people KILL.

Isn't this one of Hugh F-W's current things? Wanting people to grow on any land.

I seriously doubt anyone in govt has the sense to see we should be planting food in the UK right now, and getting people involved in the land around them and being more food self sustained.

[white van man]

You won't get any English grown cucumbers during the winter months. The English growing season runs from around March/April to September/ October. After that it is un-economical to grow cumbers in Britain.

They are grown hyroponically in huge greenhouses here in England.

The growers also have to use large amounts of heating oil during the colder months, which obviously adds to the cost.

There are a lot of imports from Holland during this period as well.

During the mid 90's I used to run cucumbers, peppers and other veg back from the South coast of Spain during the winter months. It normally takes 3 days to get back. Add another 2-3 days for packing, transport to supermarket distribution centres and then transported on to stores and most veg is probably getting on for a week old before it is sold.

[Woot]

That's a good tip about the markets and seasonal items. I'm afraid i've grown up in the generation that doesn't really know about british food seasons as everything is always in stok. However i'm learning fast now i'm becoming more greenfingered. I love cooking and hubby and the boys like eating so everyone's happy.

Try these links for help on seasonal eating...

http://www.rivercottage.net/SeasonalRecipes/

http://vegbox-recipes.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/in_season/

I love to cook seasonally - the food tastes better when it's fresh and hasn't travelled thousands of miles, it's cheaper and it resurrects the joy of childhood of looking forward to foods at particular times: strawberries in June and pomegranets at Christmas!