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for example...tesco toilet rolls were more expensive than some expensive quilted shit.
an example, I usually buy UHT milk and i was looking at the value stuff, it used to be 37p a litre and now its 49p. only 1p less than the moo milk i prefer (smaller cooperative of farmers), although tescos own (non value) is 67p
For convenience, I'm terrible for getting it all from Tesco, Asda or Morrisons. Every few months i have been trying to stick to a set budget for food but I also have a bad habit of not prepping lunch in advance and ending up nipping to Tesco or the petrol station nearest work which costs a fortune! We have been making an effort to eat from the freezer lately, both to cut down on buying more stuff and to make more room so we can freeze some of the bread buns we buy cos otherwise they get left on the side and go green due to laziness!
Ideally, I would go to the market (or separate greengrocers, bakers and butchers) and Netto/Aldi/Lidl for the branded stuff we know, Wilkos/Savers for toiletries and then only Tesco for the few bits I hadn't been able to get anywhere else. I'm intending to do this once I'm not at work [full-time].
My food shopping has gone up a lot recently although in part this is due to a change of eating habits e.g. more fruits and salad which is quite expensive compared to other foods.
At Sainsbury's you used to be able to buy own brand cans of pulses and beans (like chick peas, haricot beans etc) three-for-a-pound. Now they have stopped doing this, they are all in the region of 40p or more per can, which whilst only a few pence is actually quite a large percentage. And then I noticed that the cans have gotten less in now as well, the total drained weight is a bit less although most people wouldn't really notice as the can is te same size they've just added more water. I recently went back to buying dried versions of these things, a lot more effort but it does work out cheaper.
I'm lucky to not have to watch my food budget too closely, it has gone up from about £20 per week to about £30 per week (at the same time as me losing my appetite, oh the irony!!) on food but I can afford the extra money luckily. Having severe depression also helps with the money situation I find, almost never being able to go out the house works out pretty cheap so every cloud has a silver lining
Most mornings I struggle to remeber my name, let alone the price yesterdays milk.
Oh yes. Plus you can put brandy in your brownies.
I'm however well enough off and am lucky to be living with my parents still so the price of food gets split between the three of us.
I'm guilty of shopping in the priciest stores though. I've got a newfound love for vegetarian-ish cooking and am injecting a lot of fruit and veg into my regular diet so I like to go where they sell the stuff I want and have nice looking fruit&veg. I've however cut back a lot in the meat department and that's already saving quite a lot. I also buy less meat at a time but rather opt to buy nicer meat which sort of balances it out. Lamb fillet.
Then I quite enjoying stuff like pasta where I use random stuff in the kitchen to flavour it. That can save as I won't need to buy anything for it and use things I might otherwise neglect and end up throwing.
I think meal planning of some degree is helpful regardless of whether people are on a budget or not. Knowing what to eat takes a lot of thinking out of the equation and for me it saves time and I can get to preparing meals right away rather than come home after work tired and not know what I want.
Another thing that's helped me is that I've started writing down what I need before I go shop and it saves lots of time and I don't buy much on impulse anymore.
I do love Lidl, but the veg selection is very limited and the fresh meat is rubbish - it doesn't last as long as the best before date at all.
I've never even heard of them before you mentioned them
http://www.farmfoods.co.uk/index.php
Nearest store seems about 20 miles away from me
http://www.couponnet.co.uk
They list coupon for food - for instance there's one to get a free Litre of Milk
Not much but it all helps.
But then I just remember how poor some countries are and it makes me feel lucky that I can afford fresh water and basic food products.
It also helps if you bulk up meals with veggies as meat is expensive.
Agree with whoever this dude is.
My money doesn't go as far so I buy less expensive stuff. I'm far from starving. Being ill this week means I've spent a miserly #5 on food this week. Gotta look on the bright side! Maybe I'll have lost a pound or two as well :yippe: