How do you cope with supermarket prices going up and up and up?

[WildEnergySupplier]

Just back from my big supermarket shop and I’m genuinely shocked at how much prices have gone up AGAIN.

It feels like every week there’s another increase - milk, bread, meat, vegetables, even the own-brand basics that used to be affordable. Things that were £2 to £2.50 about 4-5 years ago are now all about £4 to £4.50. It feels like since last summer, the prices have exploded.

I’m really struggling to keep the weekly food bill under control while everything else (energy, petrol, council tax etc etc) is still sky high.

This is despite the government telling us last week how brilliantly the economy is doing!! It certainly doesn’t feel like it to me. And I just heard on the radio that this navel gazing by-election is apparently costing us £5 million, as it will lead to another mayor election.

So many families are worrying about feeding their kids properly and keeping the heating on. How are the rest of you managing? Any clever tips for cutting costs without it feeling miserable? Are your shops coming in much more expensive too? I’d really appreciate hearing how others are coping because I’m starting to feel a bit despairing about it all. Thanks in advance.

I stock up when my faves are on special. I realise not everyone can afford to do this.

We eat an awful lot of pasta bakes of various descriptions. I love being able to take something out of the oven with the kitchen already relatively neat and tidy. I try to make each meal come in at under €10 for the family (not always obviously, sometimes we’ll have something like fresh salmon and then the budget is blown!)

I get a bit of inspiration from inter-war recipes and remind myself that at least we get much more than they did during rationing!

(As you can see I make it into a bit of a game, and I am very aware that it’s not a game to many, many families these days.)

It is really hard for families at the moment and there doesn't seem to be any let up.

Im not sure what tips I could give you that would help but I meal plan like mad!

I buy Greek style yogurt by the kilo and use it for loads eg, use it with flour and make my own pizza bases make my own soft cheese, use for breakfast as it is cheaper that petit filings with my own filings, use it in sauce s and desserts.

I buy in bulk dry goods.

I use community larders which encourage use by everyone as their purpose is to reduce food waste.

I look at websites on insta and tik tok for cheap meal ideas.

Not much gets wasted.I am now good at 'scrappy' cooking, even red onion peel gets used rather than thrown!!

Buy only ingredients, eat vegetarian often and batch cook.

I didn’t think to say that - we eat fish occasionally but other than that we are vegetarian. It probably saves an awful lot of money that I don’t even realise.

I shop to the specials; I’ve always joked that I’m totally suggestible when it comes to the supermarket. I always look up the weekly specials for our two local supermarket chains and make sure I stock up on our faves.

Treats are for when things are on special - not just because of price but because it means a somewhat healthier diet. The other week Ben & Jerry’s was on special and we enjoyed it for dessert quite a few times! Usually we have Greek yoghurt or a crumble, if anything.

So yes skipping dessert would be another tip, mainly for health reasons. I grew up not eating it very often, same as sugary cereals etc if you’re buying those. Porridge all the way!

Buy less but better quality. No crap
Eat less. I survive on one nutritious meal a day

I eat less, personally, but a lot of us have hungry teens so need to work around that. My teens eat two to three times as much as I do. No idea where it goes as they are as skinny as anything!

I agree.

£170 I spent on Friday … It’s horrendous.. I can’t believe the government are not stepping in .

Double posted.
Sorry.

I just stocked up on my favourite tea because the price keeps going up. Same with coffee, building up
a stash there.

I use beans, chickpeas and lentils in pretty much every lunch and dinner.

I also bake a cake or biscuits once a week and don’t buy anything in the shops.

It really getting worrying though.

It is very hard. All you can do is menu plan. Stick to the list. Try your best to have healthy options. Shop in more than one place if possible. Use loyalty cards.
But I agree prices have gone up and up.
As far as I can I stick to a budget. And if something has gone up, well, I try to adjust what I buy to stick to the budget as much as possible.

I went and met a friend for breakfast this morning we go about 3 times a year .. It’s normally a busy farm shop restaurant. today it was dead just us and one other table .. All we talked about is the cost of living .. It seems the topic of conversation for many at present.. We used to be fairly comfortable, in no way well off but we could do a couple of takeaways a month and I never worried about food shopping … Even topping up my kids lunch cards a stressful because the school canteen prices have gone up . It’s getting to much .

My supermarket's chickpeas and lentils were £1 each for a carton in about 2023. Then they went up to the £1.05. Then to £1.10 in 2024. Last year to £1.20. Now they've just gone up to £1.30.

That's a rise by almost a third in less than three years.

I feel my weekly shop has gone up by nearer to half in the last three years.

I'm sure we could all name products that have increased by 30% in a week!!

I know people are being helpful, but this is such a depressing read!

We went through a tough time when our kids were teenagers. I remember really worrying about how we were going to feed our family on such a tight budget. Things that help included;

Buying in bulk. Big bags of rice and pasta. The supermarket world food isle usually have large bags
Batch cooking, then freezing. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/batch-cooking-recipes
Never buying named brands or ready meals ( still don’t )
Cutting down on meat or using cheaper cuts like thighs or legs.
Making my own bread and cakes. Get yourself a cheap bread maker and slow cooker. They are often advertised on market place for a few quid. Home made bread or pizza bases and casseroles using cheap cuts of meat, will bring costs down. Yes, it’s a pain having to prepare things in the morning, but you soon get into the swing of things.
Only buying fruit and veg that was in season or frozen.

If you have teenagers, try and fill them up with cheap, but healthy meals ( snacks to them!). Toast, homemade porridge, homemade egg fried rice, baked potatoes and beans, custard ( from powder, not tins or tubs) and homemade microwave sponge cake.

I mostly buy things that are on offer and use loyalty cards.

I am vegetarian so it makes it easier as I don't have to buy expensive meat or fish.

I never buy any junk food and stick to a healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, pasta, rice, beans, noodles, tofu, eggs, nuts and so on.

I also buy the supermarket's own brand rather than more expensive alternatives.

Idiot Trump has a lot to answer for along with his mate Putin.

I've saw
myself walking round the supermarket and expressing a 'holy fuck' at the jumps in a week.
We're lucky we get 15%staff discount.

Ordinary people are being crucified with col.

Agree it’s getting very tough.

But every time I’m outraged at the price of something, I think about my friends in NZ and Canada who are paying far more than I am for their bread, milk, chicken etc.

It's not that surprising things have gone up a couple of quid from 4-5 years ago.Lots of factors, cost of production, fuel increases , conflict ramifications, labour, farming costs etc
Food is still cheap relatively.

Keeping food very simple.

Porridge and banana for breakfast
Bread and eggs for lunch
Homemade Veg lentil curry for dinner
No snacks. I buy dark choc but that's now £3 per bar if I'm lucky.
Reusing teabags

I started making my own bread too. Will be growing own herbs and salad, spinach etc but getting garden set up has been expensive too.

Food inflation is about 3.6% at the moment. Average wages are growing about the same. State pension went up 4.8% in April so ahead of the current inflation. So real incomes are not eroding (just). However averages do mean a lot of people are on the wrong side of that equation and unfortunately that is often young families with high costs and less discretion in their spending

You can’t have no snacks with kids Especially Teens

Its very depressing that two men, Trump and Putin are together causing most of the inflation and high costs of living

I’m with you there, but it’s still cheap.
i think I’ll be switching to dry ones.

Lentils don’t take long to cook, especially if soaked.

Beans and chickpeas go in the pressure cooker.
It’s a drop in the ocean though.
I realise that all this is just for my own reassurance that I’m doing something.