To ask people that do their normal shop at waitrose how they afford it?

[jdoe8]

After spending a few days with a family member that does and doing an aldi shop, the quality is very stark. As much as the super 6 look good, the apples are very powdery and the oranges pithy and not that sweet. It makes me feel a bit poor. In other countries you would have market stuff that is good, but obviously not in the UK.

I feel like I would have to earn 150k to afford it. I like it for the rare treat, but unless you live on cheap stodge im not sure how so many people afford it.

[SleepFreeZone]

You don't have to do a whole shop in Waitrose. If you think their fruit is good quality then just buy your fruit there?

I am s total supermarket whore and will get bits from all over the place. They only fruit I get from Aldi and Lidl I freeze immediately and put in the kids porridge in the morning.

[SellFridges]

I get my shop from Ocado, so a mix of their own brand and Waitrose as well as regular brands. We spend about £80 a week including nappies, toiletries etc. Admittedly that doesn't include lunch and we spend another £15 a week on bread and coffee. Oh and booze, that includes either a couple of bottles of wine or a box of 12 lagers. I don't think that's terrible for a family of four and certainly I find if I shop elsewhere the quality is more variable.

[corythatwas]

We used to do all our shopping in the COOP- again, pricey but good quality (and a lot of Fairtrade, which we like). A new Liddl has just opened locally, we did two shops there and tbh I can't see myself going back. I'd rather eat a little less, but high quality. And that to us is the answer: be more careful about the quantities we buy, letting nothing go to waste and we can afford to buy better stuff in the first place.

[namechange20050]

I shop in Waitrose, aldi, Tesco & m&s. I am fortunate to be able to spend what I like on groceries. I find no difference between Aldi and Waitrose fruit. The Waitrose stuff is just twice the price! M&S is the only place where the quality is demonstrably better, IMO.

[Justanothernameonthepage]

I do. I cook a lot from scratch, freeze ahead and use the essential range and always check the offers (I buy online as they do free delivery for over £60). We have 2/3 veggie meals a week so that we can have high welfare meat/fish for the other meals. I don't find a huge price difference with lidl in all honesty apart for things like alcohol so if we're having guests/party we'll pop to lidl for spirits. We normally spend around £80 a week for three, that includes dinner with lots of veg, packed lunches, weekly baking and a bottle of wine.

[QueenieGoldstein]

I use Ocado and don't find it any more expensive than regular supermarkets. They do the voucher scheme where if your shop was cheaper elsewhere you get the difference back. We tend to stick to essential Waitrose and Ocado own brand stuff.

[bluebelltippytoes]

I do some of my shopping there. They have some really good offers. I also shop at ALDI, LIDL, Tesco, Sainsburys, etc.

I shopped there all the time when I worked opposite one and earned more money. When things were on offer I would buy several so not a true 'Waitrose shopper' in the truest sense of the word.

Having said that, I think ALDI are bloody great.

[emwithme]

I switched from Morrisons to Waitrose about three years ago (partly due to a house move meaning I had to drive past literally every other supermarket in town to get to Morrisons, partly because the quality there was going down, partly because Waitrose tempted me with a free bottle of champagne for doing an online shop). My shopping bill went down by about 25%!

I no longer had to buy the premium own brand meat or branded "storecupboard" goods to get good quality. I would say that a good 70% of my shopping is now "Essential Waitrose", particularly their meat and fish is good quality and excellent value.

We now shop at Asda too - for beer/wine, you can't beat it (6 bottles of wine for £25), for cat food, loo roll, those basics where you need a supermarket the size of a small nation (so they can pile it high and sell it cheap), and are increasingly switching to Lidl (as they've built a new one near us where you can actually get a parking space!) for things like milk (although I can't go just for milk without coming out with a two-man tent, some walking boots and a trombone)

[EBearhug]

If you go to Waitrose when they're pricing up food that's nearly out of date, you can get some really good stuff then. (Must eat some of the stuff in the freezer...)

[MangoSplit]

I hardly ever shop in Waitrose personally. But I find this a bit of a weird question. It's like asking why some people buy expensive make up or skin care products rather than cheaper brands (which are IMO not that different in quality). Anyone can choose how to prioritise their spending!

[Misssss]

Agree with Em. The Essential Waitrose products are the same price as any other supermarket's normal range, but the quality is much better.

[SeamstressfromTreacleMineRoad]

I have an Ocado order every 4 weeks - you can edit your order up to the day before (and delivery is free on Wednesdays) so I edit it once a week, looking out for special offers (as the price is fixed when you order, not when they deliver, so even if the special offer has ended, you still get the item at the reduced price ). There are some very good BOGOF and multibuy offers, and I freeze meat etc.
Then I top up with fruit and veg, milk etc with a shop at Lidl every week or so - so both ends of the spectrum

[wettunwindee]

We do and isn't the answer really clear. To afford something more expensive, you need to have a higher income. I do earn nearly £150k and DH has a good job too.

I wish I could afford the local farm shop. It's a large one and everything looks amazing. I'd imagine a weekly shop could be £300-400 for an average family. I buy our Christmas cheeses there and the occasional bottle of wine.

We spend £200 a week on groceries on average over the year.

[TravellingFleet]

I'm a Waitrose shopper - I suspect I spend proportionally much more of my budget of food shopping than many people, but my job means I have a lot of ethical and health boxes I like to tick. But that said, I have zero food waste, I food plan precisely every week, I rarely buy off-list, I look out for reduced food to go in the freezer for subsequent weeks, etc, so I don't find that it's more than I can afford.

[Florrick]

We nipped in once and treated ourselves to their Beef Wellington. The meat was the consistency of a beef burger, so very disappointing.

BTW, it's "To ask people who do their normal shop at waitrose how they afford it?"

[kaitlinktm]

(although I can't go just for milk without coming out with a two-man tent, some walking boots and a trombone)

On line shop with Asda. I pay £5 a month for a delivery pass which means I can have as many deliveries as I like at any time as long as I spend £40. I sometimes go to Lidl if there are interesting trombones offers on.

When DS moves out I might stop the delivery pass and go for £1 delivery slots ( min spend £25) and then top up at Lidl - and the new Aldi when it is built.

[OliviaStabler]

I'm a Waitrose shopper. One reason is they deliver to my area for free. I also prefer the quality of the food. I don't tend to buy many brands so mostly purchase their essentials range and own brand. Some items I like I find too expensive so I'll pop to Tesco for the odd thing here and there.

[bungaloid]

I'm sure I was reading an article about food shopping and on a standard basket of items the difference in cost between the cheapest and most expensive was only 10-15%. Now your mileage may vary depending on your own tastes / offers but it's not like it should bankrupt you where you shop.

[eddiemairswife]

I'm a single pensioner (teachers' + state). I'm a recent convert to Waitrose on-line. I order every 3 or so weeks and spend about £150. I find it good value especially the Essential range. I certainly don't stint myself, and find the fruit and veg excellent.

[PickAChew]

You don't need to earn £150k to afford it, unless your other outgoings eat up all of your income.

[Wauden]

I would only do a whole shop at Waitrose for a special occasion and I would feel a bit guilty afterwards, despite the quality. I find the quality of fresh fruit and veg to be better at Waitrose and M&S than at the local Co-Op so its well worth mixing it.

[Trainspotting1984]

I use Waitrose and don't find it expensive- you just have to be careful with your choices and know what you want. If you wander round listlessly picking things up that look nice you'll pay a fortune

[EnthusiasmIsDisturbed]

I go to Waitrose every few weeks and stock up on some of their essentials that are really good value

Rest of the time I shop at mainly lidl , Aldi and Sainsbury's

I really like Waitrose shower gels and skincare range

[ReedBunting]

Waitrose and Aldi shopper here. I found prices in waitrose lower than in the co-op store in town, and their essentials range is good.

[Notso]

I think you can shop anywhere if you budget carefully and are strict, online shopping is really helpful with that. We don't have a Waitrose in our town but when DC1 was a baby we were very skint but shopped in Sainsbury and M&S because they were the most convenient.
When we go to the nearest city I stock up on a few things I love from Waitrose but in honesty I don't think it's as good as M&S, it just has more choice. I've never been very impressed with Waitrose meat.