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.

Nigella has a good recipe for ice cream which is cream whipped together with condensed milk and whatever flavourings you want to add. No ice cream maker needed and it's really lovely.

Always check Heron foods......if anyone has one nearby pop in. It's always worth a look.......not just for crap, I'm talking Covent garden soups for 39p, Fage total yogurt for £1, huge bags of pears for £1.29. I go in every time.I pass and never leave empty handed.

Also Farmfoods for frozen veg and fruit

Ooooh, I'm off to Google this! Yes, the cream won't be cheap, but way cheaper than Haagen Das.

Thanks so much

I just dont know and emotional tonight as have no money to buy milk and eggs. I am in a professional job and single parent. I go to Tesco to buy French bread reduced at 7pm and freeze it. I batch book curry and other meals and freeze for cheap prices per portion. But 3X meals a day is expensive even when these meals are cheap. I am over my overdraft again until I am paid in 4 days time. The problem is that it is not just food. I need prescriptions for medicine which I pay for, shampoo, cat food and litter, deodorant, bathroom cleaner... I just dont have the money and energy company messaged this week to put up costs by £80 per month as I am in debt there despite having a Smart metre. I do not know what to do any more - I have never had this problem before and always have been good at budgeting. Depressed about it all and no idea what i can do.

Not sure why this comment is for me… I said public sector are still struggling with col and wages despite their supposed increases.

🤣🤣
honestly
its really yummy

Potato peel soup

200g potato peels (washed thoroughly)
1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
500ml milk
500ml vegetable stock
knob of butter (or cooking oil)
1 bay leaf
Salt pepper, to taste

Fry onions till soft
add the potato peel and all liquid
Bay leaf and season
cook for about 10/15

then blend

My grandad ( Irish ) used to make it
He had a lot of milk on the farm which could explain the milk. I’ve made it without too. Lighter but also lovely.
I had to Google the quantities as I tend to just throw it all in as I’m so used to it. I’ve been making it for 40 years.

Ps
I make this with other peelings too like carrot and parsnip.

You're lucky - my university has cut back completely on catering!

Batch cook. I buy meat on sale and batch cook loads of meals (in my Aldi slow cooker)
Frozen veg. Decent, relatively cheap, easy to keep in the freezer.
Traditional markets. Not easy to find now, most have become “artisan” and expensive but if you have a local traditional market, it’s a brilliant place to buy fruit and veg. I used to buy enough fruit and veg for a week from my local market for £10. I’ve moved now and have no local market. I miss it!

I love this book and still use it; I think there is a follow up as well

Really sorry to read this. Its so boring but can you look at in and out? Can you do the "pots" idea? Can you do a bit of something to earn extra eg baby sitting?

It was fairly easy to begin with - cut back on ready prepared food, cut down portions of meat and bulk up portions of carbs etc, we cut out alcohol altogether, as well as fancier coffee etc.

But now there's not much left to cut. Our diets are definitely poorer as a result (especially the kids, who happily demolish soft fruit, but who aren't really interested in eating more than half a carrot and/or two florets of broccoli)

Cleaner, I don't waste money on. One bleach, one washing up liquid, one cream cleaner. Lasts months.

Get the dried ones and bulk steep and cook yourself. No additives and you can cook to your preferred consistency. You can cook them in the slow cooker so it costs pennies, and they freeze brilliantly.

I usually do about 15-20 portions (about 1-2 American cup sizes or two mash potato scoop sizes) in one go, freeze them, and then they can be added to soups, stews, curries and chillis directly. They’re great to put in packed lunches as they keep a salad cool and can then they can be added at lunchtime when they’ve defrosted.

I'm surprised to read this thread tbh because I honestly feel like compared to a couple of years ago prices have really calmed down and it's been quite stable for the last 6-9 months. Our food shop has been OK, but then we buy very little in the way of pre-prepared stuff and I honestly feel like veg, pasta, lentils, basic stuff like whole chickens really aren't expensive in the UK when you consider you can get a couple of family meals from a decent sized chicken and stuff like potatoes and carrots are really cheap.
I still think simple unprocessed foods are really cheap in the UK.

There have definitely been cutbacks, but yes, I am lucky. Whether the event has internal or external funding seems to make a world of difference between the uni catering and the nice catering from outside! It also helps that I have a lot of flexibility over my schedule and can go to other buildings to maximise my scrounging.

A workmate of mine mentioned to me that he thinks I've lost weight. Well, that'll be right because we're buying lower and lower and cheaper and cheaper quality stuff. Often it's so poor I throw half of it away. Cheers, successive governments. As long as the rich and politicians are doing okay...

I'm afraid it's going to get worse. When the effects of Trump's stupid, stupid, stupid war in Iran really begin to be felt. When fuel is in short supply price will go up to stifle demand and the chemicals for fertilisers can't get through the Strait...

I buy frozen veg from Asda - onions, garlic, mushrooms, peppers etc and use that as base for most of my batch cook meals to avoid waste.

Minimal meat, once or twice a week. Rest is lentils (green, beluga, brown or red) eggs, chick beans and other pulses - lots of fibre and so many great recipes.

Bulk buy pasta, rice and potatoes. Simple meals on repeat - baked potato, lentil spaghetti bol, homemade curry.

Basic snacks - fruit, cheese, yoghurt, nuts and seeds.

I spend between £70-£90 a week usually for family of four. I've been debating creating content about how I do it as most people I know seem to spend double

We switched to Aldi a few months back. We plan our meals, have very little waste, buy fruit and veggies in season etc. Kids get snacks but we don’t.

Inflation is 32% a year.

That’s what all those ‘5 per cent rise’ add up to.

In London I suspect it’s nearly 50 per cent a year.

Very, very bad. Eat bread and veg.

Olive oil is so expensive because the harvests have been so poor in recent years, due to climate change. Not because of inflation. But you also say that net-zero is a waste of money. So what do you actually want?

I suggest looking for your local asian store, they sell dried lentils by the kilo. It is much cheaper. You soak overnight and pressure cook the next day. It is a bit of a pain in that sense but works out a lot cheaper and a small bag makes a lot of meals! Also buy rice in bigger bags of 10/15kg from the asian store, same for spices. Works out cheaper in the long run if you can afford the bigger outlay initially. With hungry teens, rice, lentils and then protein makes a filling meal. For protein I usually buy thighs and make a curry, so that lasts two meals atleast.

Everything is sooo expensive, it’s unbelievable! Like you say, grocery prices have pretty much doubled in the last 5–6 years. I do what I can to be sensible, try not to throw away any food and buy what we need. I look out for special offers for things I normally buy and if they have a longer shelf life, I buy more when they are on offer.
I was raised to be frugal, I cook everything from scratch, no expensive ready meals or microwave meals for us. I also have a cashback card that usually helps me save around £70/month and it came with £150 on it when I got it. Our mobiles used to be expensive but we managed to get them down really low too.
Happy to share what worked for us if anyone wants ideas for cutting bills down, feel free to DM me 👍🏻

Oats are great cheap fillers and healthy...from porridge to flapjacks or even blending them to make a crumb for nuggets.

I agree with pp...buy ingredients, make things from scratch...bulk out recipes and don't waste anything.

I freeze left over mash into silicone moulds and when theres enough, bake them as potato shapes. Even if there are tiny portions of food left, we don't bin anything...save it for lunch or freeze to add with other leftovers another day.

We don't usually eat breakfast in this house...just because nobody is hungry, but most of us have lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually leftovers or homemade soup, maybe eggs (which have also shot up!) and a healthy home cooked dinner.

Cheap basics bulk out the more expensive foods...vegetable pasta bake, stir frys, soups, jacket potatoes etc...then splurge on steak etc. a whole XL chicken does our family of 4 (with 2 hungry teens) for 2 meals...

My shop is around £50 a week, i do bulk cook for 2/3 days. This is for myself and 2 small children. Im sure chicken thighs were £5 a kilo, now almost £7. We tend to eat curries or pies, all home made. My money goes on the snacks.