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.

Please contact your energy company. My husband works for one of the big firms. They will not put you into hardship now and you can agree to pay off the debt at a lower rate...if you're explain your situation they should reduce the payment for you. Even on a prepayment meter they will not cut you off if you can't afford to pay.

Try Hake.

Fish? 👀

I meant to quote another poster.

F

I make icecream from evaporated milk, from a 1970s recipe. One tin of full fat evap (about 69p) makes a couple of tubs. (Not the lighter version of evap as that won't whip up properly).

Chill the tin of evap in the fridge overnight. Next day, use the evap straight from the fridge and whip it with hand whisk in a mixing bowl until it's airy and the mixer leaves a trail. At this point you can either put it straight into an icecream tub/tupperware or similar and freeze it, or add flavourings, mix and freeze. Evaporated milk is quite sweet and you may find you don't need additional sugar, but if you do want to add sugar, add it at this point and whip up the mixture a bit more. An alternative to sugar is a tablespoon or two of home made jam (sounds odd I know, but a little jam mixed in adds flavour and also seems to help the texture when you freeze it). I sometimes add a little cocoa powder or vanilla essence.

I have stopped buying supermarket icecream altogether and just make my own as above now. A fraction of the cost, and no additives. If you have a little double cream you can mix that in too, but not essential.

Meal plan (on an empty tummy)
Shop online (with full tummy) so you aren’t tempted in person to stray from your list
Cook from scratch
Batch cook if you can
Freeze leftovers or have them for lunch
No UPFs
2-3 veggie dinners per week
Bulk buy if you can afford it (like salmon half side then cut and freeze)
Look at price/kg rather than the price
I check my local store for reduced items then take them off my online list
Bargain stores for dishwasher tablets/branded deodorants
Bleach and washing up liquid are cheap and clean most things
Local eggs/honey/bread
Plant vegetables/fruit
No waste - even peelings are compostable!

Those pay rises must have missed me by as a public sector worker.....had on a pay freeze for quite a while latest offer which was "good" was way under inflation of 3% before that was between 1-3%.

As for the how do you keep food bills down mine has stayed the same. If a product I usually buy goes up to silly levels I switch to a different product. Rapeseed oil is cheaper then olive oil for instance and more likely to be closer to home.
Lentils from an Indian supermarket will be way cheaper than the supermarket and in bigger bags or look at thd world food aisle.

I’ve never had a dishwasher but do use one when we go on trips with friends
and we put washing up liquid in the dishwasher
Some of my friends have one and do this all the time

Bleach and deodorant and stuff like that is all great at Lidl and Aldi
As are their face creams

Veg peelings make great blended soups ( but I think some people may find that gross )

Pensions going up just increases tax if a tiny bit over with a tiny pension... they get it back. Living on £11,000 with absolutely everything going up means veg meat pasta rice yoghurt/flour for pizza cheese veg eggs. No prepackaged food. No snack products can make biscuits cake flapjacks.... pare back to basics, butter beans (tin) have no taste but are good for you and pad out meals. Grated carrot mimics mince so add to bolognaise etc. Canelli beans (tins) no taste ..good food. Chickpeas (tins) ditto tin lentils too. Make flatbread (is quick) or frying pan bread (youtube).

Can someone educate me, why food prices are so high!
I understand that European countries are finding prices also going up,but why! If Supermarkets are having record profits,why then are daily,weekly prices increasing at a unsustainable levels.
We manage,as we are only two,retired.I do not have a meal every day, sometimes just soup or a sandwich.Husband has a meal every evening.We buy all essentials from Lidl & Aldi,Meat & chicken, sausages from Tesco's, Chocolates & luxury's from M & S.My Husband is always looking for reductions,I think it's a false economy! If we have a full on Roast dinner one week,with all the trimmings.The following week,we will have Pie & Mash.I am vigilant when I shop,if it's not essential or overpriced,I will not buy it.We still spend around £500 to £600 a month. I remember not that long ago, £65.00 would buy a large trolley of shopping,now £90.00 for a small trolley.I plan to start buying my food shopping online weekly,with a budget of £120.00 to £13O.00.Once it's gone,that's it.Should help me be more frugal.Its very worrying!

Baby fruit pouch at Tesco overnight - from £0,95 per pouch to £1,25. Are they serious? It’s a huge increase, £0,30. Of course I didn’t buy it!

Supermarkets make huge profits because they charge tiny markups but sell in incredibly huge volumes.

If you make only a penny profit on each item but sell billions of those items then you still have a massive profit.

This is how supermarkets operate - they are trading in unimaginably huge volumes. They are not jacking up prices and putting huge mark-ups on goods.

There are huge advantages to us as consumers in supermarkets operating in this way. It makes our food significantly cheaper than if we were to source things ourselves, because supermarkets can negotiate large bulk discounts and apply economies of scale the individual on the street cannot access. They also bring - pretty much - everything we need together under one roof, a massive time and financial convenience to consumers.

Food prices are so high because energy costs have gone through the roof. Food takes energy to grow, harvest, package, and transport to your nearest Tesco. Wages are increasing. Certain crops which are susceptible to climate change are becoming more difficult to grow meaning their scarcity pushes up prices.

Wars in Ukraine and in the middle east have hit too. There are fertiliser shortages. Ukraine produced a significant amount of the world's barley, wheat, and corn and up to half of the world's sunflower oil. All of these are staples both for humans and for animal feed for cows, chickens and pigs, and if they decrease in availability then prices rise sharply across the board.

All of this translates to higher wholesale costs for supermarkets and higher costs at the till for end consumers.

Do you have a pre payment card for your prescriptions. I used to and saved a fortune x

I haven't read all the thread so maybe someone has already mentioned this: there's an app called Olio that allows people to give away stuff, including food. Some people will give away ingredients that are nearing their expiry date that they're not going to use. Others will pick up reduced stuff from supermarkets in bulk and give it away. I've used it a few times to give away leftovers from parties, for example. I'm based in London and have no idea if it's popular in other areas, but it's worth a download for free.

Could you share your bread recipe?
Or someone else please?

I have a bread maker used only a few times but never seemed to get a decent loaf out of it

Rolled oats for breakfast. I'm in Australia but a bag that lasts about 10 days can be bought here for less than 1 pound equivalent.

Add some cheap yoghurt and a splash of milk, cinnamon and honey and it's the cheapest breakfast you can make. And healthy/good for the gut as well. I've been eating it for years now.

I've started growing my own veg and am planning to expand my foraging adventures beyond the blackberry bush in the ginnel behind my garden.

It's early days and a bit of investment up front but am borrowing and reusing what I can.

Ultimately I am probably going to have to relocate and downsize next year to have any quality of life.

Supermarkets are making £billions in profits yet pass on all increases.

My mum’s friend was one of 8 children growing up and she spend a lot of time I. Their home. When the evening meal was served she would put a big loaf of bread on the table with butter and they could have as much as they wanted (until it was gone£
“packing food” she called it
it worked there was no money for snack or treats and all the children turned out well

I was confused by that post too. If I'm feeding four adults lamb chops, I need four chops. I can't get them to share three because they come from the butchers.

I've only ever found butchers to be more expensive than supermarkets anyway.

A lot of supermarket meat contains agents that retain water when it is injected into the meat. This increases the weight so more can be charged. Then when you get it home to cook it, the water floods out. This is especially a problem with bog standard supermarket bacon but can apply to other fresh meats as well.

The kids would survive, just as previous generations did. 'Snacks' are a fairly recent invention.

To do what? The price increases are due to global factors. War, supply chain issues, fuel prices, climate change. It's dreadful, but the government can't wave a magic wand and reduce the cost of food.

Yes. There's nothing wrong with saying 'we can't afford to buy snacks, if you're hungry have a piece of toast.'

It's what I was told 30 years ago.