I did something last night that I have never done before.

I noticed it when I actually went into a normally cheap shop. I do most of my shopping online, but...
My trolley which would have cost 60 a few months ago, it was 100!
In less than a year there is nearly a 100% rise...

I now watch my shopping list very closely. I rarely throw out food/bread. I do one really big shop every 4 weeks and then top up. All bread and milk into the chest freezer in the shed.
Yesterday I made loads of vegetable broth using shin. Enough for dinner with crusty bread and 6 portions in the freezer. Same last week with lentil soup using a £3.50 piece of boiling ham. Enough to put some into the soup and also make sandwiches next day. The rest of the soup into the freezer in double portions. Tonight one portion of frozen get over spag bog made a pasta bake using the tail end of two pieces of cheese.

TerriBull

There are some shocking disparities in prices, I have sometimes brought packaged, 3 small tins of Heinz beans (200g) for something like £2.20 until I discovered they are sold individually in Sainsburys for .50p. In Waitrose, yes I know!, they are priced at .80p a tin which is why the packet of 3 seems a bargain. I realise I haven't been discerning enough before, but I'm re- evaluating pricing far more these days. Also using the zapper in Sainsburys to take advantage of the "my offers" frequently bought items at knocked down prices tailored I presume to the individual's shopping patterns.

I used to buy that pack of Heinz beans, the three small ones and they were £1.50 then I went down to Tesco’s and they had gone up to £2.20 in three days,70p increase!! I would never buy Heinz again on principle. now I buy Tesco’s own sugar and salt reduced and I can’t tell the difference..

There are some shocking disparities in prices, I have sometimes brought packaged, 3 small tins of Heinz beans (200g) for something like £2.20 until I discovered they are sold individually in Sainsburys for .50p. In Waitrose, yes I know!, they are priced at .80p a tin which is why the packet of 3 seems a bargain. I realise I haven't been discerning enough before, but I'm re- evaluating pricing far more these days. Also using the zapper in Sainsburys to take advantage of the "my offers" frequently bought items at knocked down prices tailored I presume to the individual's shopping patterns.

Loaf!

I buy soap of bread and divide it up into freezer bags, I started because I love bread and would eat too much but now I find it economical!

Barmeyoldbat

To be honest I have never found lambs liver to be bitter, I get it from two different places, Waitrose or a butcher in Wales. I just flour it and then cook adding onions and gravy, in fact we are going to have it tonight. Cooking it in milk does make sense if it was the bile duct causing the bitterness as I have a leaky bile duct and drink a glass of milk to cure the bitterness/burning feeling when it plays up. Give it a try and I hope it works

Well I am in North Devon and as I say I have had it so many times and always,always bitter. I don’t think you cook it in milk I think you soak it overnight in milk before you cook it anyway I shall give it a try as there is no better meal than lambs liver with onion gravy and carrot and Swede and potato mash ?

I have been looking at my order as well re costs but also re waste - I do seem to throw some veg and bread out every week so I'm working on not doing that. We are eating out less as well restaurant prices have shot up.

I am surprised that anybody should never have checked their shopping order to see if it could be trimmed down.
It has been second nature for so long - whether doing an online shop or going round Waitrose with my “zapper gun” which adds it up as I go along I am always aware of the running total and if necessary, amend my shopping accordingly.
It has also worked the opposite way - shopping coming in at a bit less this week? Bottle of wine/gin/malt whisky , stocking up perhaps on “stores” or a bag of dishwasher tabs if they are on offer or a scented candle.
After years of budgeting when the children were younger and especially in the years when DH was ill and unable to work it is second nature.

I agree with Annsixty though - it seems no time at all since a full trolley was barely over £50. I used to guesstimate that a carrier bag full was £5 - then £10 and now who knows?

To be honest I have never found lambs liver to be bitter, I get it from two different places, Waitrose or a butcher in Wales. I just flour it and then cook adding onions and gravy, in fact we are going to have it tonight. Cooking it in milk does make sense if it was the bile duct causing the bitterness as I have a leaky bile duct and drink a glass of milk to cure the bitterness/burning feeling when it plays up. Give it a try and I hope it works

Barmeyoldbat

We are eating different type of meals, more liver and mash, stirfrys with the left over veg, egg dishes etc.and I have cut down on my shopping. I don’t buy fabric conditioner, told to cat she has to earn her keep and either catch some mice to feed on or sleep on our bed and keep us warm to cut down on heating but has done neither to date. We have cut down on a lot of things and funny enough we don’t miss them.

I love lambs liver but even when I eat out I find it is bitter, I have bought it from supermarkets and from good butchers and I’ve never had a piece of lambs liver yet that is not bitter. I did read somewhere to soak it in milk can you advise if that is correct or if you get bitter liver or is it just in this part of the world? (I remember my father said years ago that the bitterness is caused during the slaughtering when the bile bag is broken and the contents seep through the liver) ?

Ive begun to look at my food shopping bill as well and cut out things I dont really "need". Fortunately I am not a foodie and tend to buy the same things every week so I dont have to bother thinking about it. Food shopping is just one more online chore that takes about 10 minutes. Ive cut down on things like house cleaning products, toiletries, and similar incidentals for which I dont see an immediate benefit.

I’ve noticed our bill has risen alarmingly at Tesco and we are cutting back. A new Lidl opens nearby soon and I can’t wait! We waste very little food and I use up leftovers in curries, risotto and stir fry. We do have a cat but he eats Tesco own brand luckily.

We are eating different type of meals, more liver and mash, stirfrys with the left over veg, egg dishes etc.and I have cut down on my shopping. I don’t buy fabric conditioner, told to cat she has to earn her keep and either catch some mice to feed on or sleep on our bed and keep us warm to cut down on heating but has done neither to date. We have cut down on a lot of things and funny enough we don’t miss them.

I’ve set my Tesco delivery in my head at a max of £60, todays was £59.90, just the two of us, no pets.

I have to agree the prices are rising at a very fast pace and not just a couple of pence. I have noticed most of the supermarkets own label products are missing from shelves. The most expensive brands of a lot of products only are on the shelves. This is going to make shopping more expensive if people usually don't go for big brands. I think the shops are literally putting the prices up to suit themselves.

Waitrose is my nearest but I try to use it only for odd items like bread or cheese.

The Food Bank was desperate for adult toothbrushes and I can well understand why- I saw some sold between £4 and the most expensive £7. I looked twice in case 3-4 were being sold together but no, it was individually.

I found a couple for £1.something reduced by 50%.

Unbelievable

Yes Floradora, me too though, when my shopping arrived, the bill was lower because of the items that were unavailable.

My Sainsbury's order yesterday was delivered in the bottom of two boxes, one was food which could be squashed, hence two boxes, it would easily have got into one.
No meat as I have plenty in the freezer, one bottle of wine and one of Whisky which was on offer.
I put that away for C……s.
Basics really.
Cat food , increasingly expensive, bread milk ,fabric conditioner, cheese, nothing extra special.
It cost £72.
A couple of years ago when I could visit Aldi my trolley would have been spilling over the top for that amount.
I haven’t been able to go recently but I dare say their prices have also increased, but I am sure not to that extent.