We live in an apartment above commercial so shopping here is easy. Down in the lift to our ‘larder’ (Sainsbury’s). Also in the square is a new Aldi, Boots, Quality Save and Iceland. Other shops are independents. A nice mix really and very handy.
I write a small list most days. We don’t have a freezer, no need. We shop by deciding each day what we fancy. Himself is in his element down there and has become a canny shopper! Today - Aldi strawberries from Fife were 70p cheaper (and looked nicer) than the Spanish ones in Sainsbury’s. Milk was 25p cheaper and a bag of frozen peas 80p cheaper! So a saving of almost £2 today alone.
He says prices have soared recently post-pandemic. He notices all the prices now as he shops so regularly. He says marketing ploys are very clever these days. One food item was a whole £1 dearer yesterday in Sainsbury’s yet was then promoted as an ‘offer’ with 50p off the price - doubtless to be returned to the new ‘normal’ expensive price on Monday!
He said our jar of freeze dried coffee had gone up by a whopping £1.50 so he nipped into Iceland to buy it. There are such huge differences in prices these days it pays (if time and location allow) to shop around.
What about your grocery shop? Are you on-line ordering? Local farm shops (lucky you) or buy in bulk for toiletries at Costco? What trends are you noticing?
I have switched going to Waitrose to going to Lidl. Both are only 5 minutes drive away. Its amazing how much cheaper Lidl is than Waitrose. Even so, I have noticed Lidl is more expensive than it used to be. So I am buying fewer biscuits now, and getting plain ones instead of chocolate ones.
I'd be really interested to know, from those of you who go food shopping on foot, how you bring your purchases home. I recently bought a shopping caddy (quite an upmarket one!) because I can't carry more than a couple of items from our local supermarket. But some of my relatives and friends have laughingly mocked my "granny trolley" and I feel a bit conspicuous using it now. I've just turned 70 so maybe I shouldn't care what others think!
I've spotted that trick too, Beautful. My Mother taught me to buy the largest size I could afford as it was always cheaper; not so now. Like you, I always look at the price per unit on the label as quite often it is cheaper, as you say, to buy smaller sizes. I did post on here some weeks ago my surprise at seeing a tube of quite ordinary toothpaste costing five pounds. My Grandmother was poor and cleaned her teeth with salt - they were lovely, white and even. I might start trying that myself!
All’s good Jaberwok no apology needed. ?
When you buy food thinking the larger item is cheaper, check smaller ones, in some cases cheaper to buy 2 smaller items than the large one ... also yes I have noticed how things have gone up in price like many of you
As I have to drive to any supermarket or small shops I make a list and try to only shop once a week. I can drive to one store, park, do some shopping then walk half a mile to a low price store but only do this if weather is fair and I wont be carrying a lot of shopping back to the car. The nearest Mall doesn't have a food store and I still have to drive there. No public transport either.
I buy toilet rolls and kitchen rolls in bulk from e bay and also pet food monthly from Pets At Home. Saves carrying and it's free delivery.
We have a weekly delivery of heavy stuff from Ocado - mid week and with the smartpass it costs about 80p - and I find their own brands are excellent and economical. All big supermarkets locally, so we are quite spoiled . My recently widowed friend, who lives over 100 miles away so we can't help with shopping, now swears by Iceland. She chooses her own items in the shop, and they deliver.
Kate1949
We have a Tesco delivery every 10 days. They've just sent me my Clubcard vouchers so that's £11.50 off the next shop.
I pay for the Delivery Pass with Tesco, if I don’t spend the monthly amount I pay, I get vouchers back every quarter. I started doing this after the first lockdown as customers with the Pass get an extra week of dates to book - very helpful at Christmas!
I tend to save my vouchers and use them for my RAC membership each year, I usually have enough not to pay anything!
We are really struggling. We’ve had to stop buying crisps, biscuits, yoghurts, ice cream and are rationing out tea and coffee consumption to one of each a day. The children’s squash has gone and breakfast is cheap own brand wetabix. I grow as much of my own veg as I can. Sometimes I just have toast or go without.
It’s getting really difficult to manage.
I mentioned it a while back but for anyone who hasn’t heard of it already I recommend checking out the Too Good To Go app. It shows participating shops, cafes, bakeries in your area who are selling food at knockdown prices each evening rather than waste it. M&S, Co-op, Spar, Toby Carvery restaurants etc all take part as well as many independent little cafes and delis. You can set the app to show what’s available within 5 miles or whatever from home.
Typically a £4 spend will purchase around £12 of food. You check and reserve during the day and collect in the evening. I used the M&S one recently and for £4 I received 3 different pasta meals, a large pizza, coleslaw, a bag of salad, bread and a pack of muffins! All perfectly fresh and freezable.
The downside is the contents of the bag are unknown till you collect it. So it wouldn’t suit anyone who is a picky eater. Think of it like an adult lucky bag ?
toogoodtogo.co.uk/en-gb/
Sainsburys, Waitrose and Co-op within a 10 min walk. Use them all depending on current offers and our preferences for certain foods and quality e.g. Sainsburys veg is usually fresher than Waitrose. Waitrose personalised offers are good value but I don't find the system of apps and downloading to phone easy to use (nor do others judging by the hold-ups they cause at check out). Used to shop regularly at Aldi in a big town 10 miles away. Very good value but we rarely drive there now and savings would be dented by petrol price. Nearest M&S Food is 7 miles away and we use it every 3-4 weeks to treat ourselves to a few favourites - yum, those gorgeous custard choux buns...
I hate shopping so have an online delivery from Ocado once a week popping into one of the shops kitty mentioned if I need to top up.
I used to shop every day when we lived abroad as I biked everywhere.
We live on the edge of Dartmoor, and are both disabled so walking anywhere is out. Our small town has a Tesco Metro, Spar, and 3 Co-Ops...all very expensive. My FinL insists on the main shop being Sainsburys, at least down from the Waitrose it used to be but a 25 mile round trip and yes prices are much higher suddenly. Dad's shop is usually 30-40 but today was 60.00. Fruit and veg growing in the garden but a few weeks till truly bumper grops, but fed up with strawberries...picking 3kg every 2 days...I'm sure our neighbours are hiding from us!!
www.trolley.co.uk/
A good site I use to compare.
What stores does Trolley.co.uk compare?
Using Trolley.co.uk, you'll be able to see supermarket offers at Asda, Tesco, Aldi, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Morrisons and stores like Boots and Superdrug.
Are supermarket offers online or instore?
Online supermarket offers often hold up in-store unless mentioned explicitly on their website. If you’re unsure, we’d recommend confirming in advance.
We shop where we know things are cheapest.
We have six superemarkets, two chemists, two post-office and one cheap shop selling clothes and household linen within a short bike ride, plus three other supermarkets that are a little dearer.
7 kms away we have even more shops including DIY stores and book-sellers.
We check the supermarkets' adverts and try to always remember to check our receipts, especially if we buy anything that is on offer.
It is suprising how often cash-registers do not record the reduced price, but only the normal price for the goods.
We shop once a month for all the things we know we will need, toilet paper, detergents, coffee etc. and after that only buy fresh goods like milk.
Here the rising prices are not due to the pandemic, it hardly affected food prices. The rising prices just now are entirely due to the cost of electricity, petrol and diesel, which obviously makes manufacturing or transporting goods more expensive.
The increase in heating and light bills makes it necessary to be even more careful about chosing the cheaper of two packets of the same product when shopping, as our income (pensions) are fixed.
I imagine we are all in the same boat there.
We live in a small rural village, where the nearest shop (Tesco) is 11 miles away. Another mile further on is an industrial estate with a Lidl, Farmfoods, B & M, Pets at Home, and Superdrug.
We shop at Lidl, calling at Farmfoods and B & M for things we cannot get there. We use Tesco for anything we need, and can't get at either of the other options.
When we tried a delivery service previously (about two years ago, during the worst of the pandemic, when my husband was shielding) - we lost £12 worth of tinned goods, which were undelivered and never did get refunded.
I really like the Hello Fresh/Gusto-type stuff. I live alone, and like the fact that it contains all the stuff you need for a meal, delivered to the door,... and pound for pound/convenience/petrol/time etc, I don't feel it's
expensive. When I go to the supermarket, I chuck stuff in
the trolley that looks nice, that I fancy, that's on offer (either or all!) and spend a flippin fortune.
I am disabled/housebound so can only shop online, this means I cannot change from shop to shop for one load of shopping. I do change shops from time to time, like today I used a supermarket I have not used in a long time, only because there was something I wanted that I couldn't find in other supermarkets.
Sorry Urm, I was being over sensitive. I had a feeling that of all people, sarcasm from you would be very unlikely. I think the News and Politics thread has made me overly wary!!! Again apologies for misjudging you.
Thank you Urmstongran for this thread! I have learned many things! 
I really do believe that prices have gone up significantly recently. Typi ally there will be some sort of "special offer" which isn't much different to the normal price, then there'll be a swinging price hike.
I used to have a big online shop delivered every week and drive to Tesco for fresh things which I prefer to choose for myself.
Now I'm shopping in our local Morrisons every couple of days, only a ten minute walk and excellent for most things.
I do a bigger shop every now and again when DH has to go to Tesco for petrol anyway. I can get the heavier things then so I don't have to lug them about.
I think I'm definitely saving money doing this, not just the delivery charge but shopping locally means that you don't need a full larder and I think wastage is less. Also prefer to choose meals on the day when I know what I fancy.
At the moment I'm waiting for a freezer for my new kitchen so I don't buy frozen food except for an occasional pack of peas for immediate use.
I go to a certain shop that often overcharges so I take a photo of the details/price on the shelf and show it to the cashier. They give me the difference after someone has gone to check.
Since shielding during the pandemic I’ve had an online shop from Iceland, contrary to common belief they do more than frozen food, who don’t charge for delivery over £40 shops. Now I’m shopping there in person on Tuesdays to take advantage of the over 60s 10% discount and still get free delivery. This weekend I was buying veg in the city centre market where cauliflower was £1.50 so I went across to Sainsbury’s and got a larger one for 95p. I shop around-being retired I’m cash poor but time rich
I didn't know about the delivery saver either, a really good idea. One of my daughters gets free deliveries from Iceland, and sometimes Wednesday are cheaper or even free from Ocado.
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