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.

TheAngryPuxie · Today 19:21
but buy my orange and mango squash in Asda
The orange and mango squash has very little goodness in it, water and sugar

Better to eat fresh fruit and a glass of water with a few spoons of sugar.

Dont skimp on the protein, do as you are doing, use beans and lentils, fish, eggs and do what I do when DH complains - ask him for more money towards the food shop - shuts him right up

Your Dh is probably like mine, likes a nice steak dinner with all the trimmings? I cook one - but different

Huge jacket spuds to start . I medium steak between two . I serve with onions, mushrooms tomatoes and pepper sauce, but what I do it sear the steak, , then cook the mushrooms and onions down, make the pepper sauce and stir it all in, with the steak thinly sliced , all piled on top of the jacket spud and serve with whatever green veg - peas, broccoli and the tomatoes

Hes got a steak dinner, Ive not blown the budget

I do think prices have gone up but if you shop around it's manageable and if your not fussy on brands.
I was in Asda today and they had laundry detergent for 66p. So I bought two. Just when you see things stock up.
Poundland is good for hygiene bits.
Farmfoods for cupboard stuff and lunchbox stuff.
My shopping is 70 per week for myself three teens and a nine year old.
If you see things reduced buy it. Co op do 10p bread most days.
Bake a big loaf cake for snacks
I don't have dinner often just a sandwich.
For breakfast I have a protin powder shake made with milk and banana and protein powder it's more than enough.
Same for lunch. Don't buy lunches at work.
I eat fruit through the day but cheap fruit like apples and bananas.
Shop around and you will save especially things like coffee and toilet rolls very very cheap in places like farmfoods

I left home in 1984 and had to pay rent, rates, gas, electricity ,water and common tax ( I lived in Putney ) on a £258 monthly take home pay

I was 20, I also needed a life

So I worked in pubs at the weekends and evenings and ate as cheaply as I could

I was actually taught that soup recipe in Home Ecc in the 70's, after we had learned which potato peeler left more potato behind after peeling :)

I did! I regularly buy their just essential range and find the prices overall good.

@WildEnergySupplier I've just had a quick look at chickpeas on tesco, but tinned and packets. You can easily find ones in just water and salt for under £1.

We use loads of pulses to keep the food bill down. Also batch cooking -and if not I always make extra to freeze or for lunches.

Not sure what people are doing to their carrots, but ours seem to last at least a week, often 2 or more. If they're a bit sorry for themselves I just roast them off, grate into a dish or a soup. They're only 60p a pack in tesco, so not bad.

I generally try to pick up bread thats been reduced and freeze it. If I spot fruit or veg that's been reduced in our corner shop and I know it's cheaper than the big shop I'm grabbing that too. I've learnt that meal planning is great, but adapting when you get a bargain is a skill too.

I've got a whole thread of ideas if anyone is interested.

Not practical for many people I know, but I go shopping on a Tuesday evening usually. I find the supermarket being quiet helps me make better decisions on cost. I usually go to Waitrose first - about 7pm head straight to the butchers and fish monger and see if there’s any yellow label stuff - it can actually work out cheaper than Aldi. Then I get the goats milk and the gluten free bread then head straight to Aldi. If successful in Waitrose on the counters I quickly decided what I’m going to cook. I use my slow cooker for pretty much everything bar fish. I tend to cook a big cottage pie to last 2 nights, a whole chicken will do 2/3 nights, then what ever I got from Waitrose, sometimes fish sometimes steak if really lucky. We have carrots with everything, leaks or peas as well. With rice or lentils. Occasionally potatoes. All the kids snacks are from Aldi. Either eggs or porr for breakfast. I would be lost with out my slow cooker. I can do a shop for 4 of us for £115 a week. I could get it down I think if I tried.

it’s so tough.

The one staple when I was growing up in the late 60s early 70's when it wasnt only money that was short - there was shortages of everything - including power, was the kiddies and manual workers filler upper - Bread Pudding

It was a staple , with a pastry top and bottom it was called Nelsons Slice and cost a penny

The Basic recipe https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/bread-pudding-0

Then as I say the bakeries would make it with a pastry bottom, layer of jam, bread pudding and again jam and pastry - cut into finger slices - a penny , and omg it was a rib sticker. IF we had money for sweets and we were hungry, we bought that

We think they've been frozen, as they go really weird these days.

Thank you.

Our local butcher is the most expensive in South London but M&S is nearby

Not who you were replying to, but I have both Carrs and Marriages mills on my doorstep.

Did you vote for Brexit out of interest?

The point of squash is usually to liven up water, meaning people drink more, which they need.

Prices of everything is unsustainable.
Governments will have homeless people in the masses soon if something isn't done.
I won't allow heating or cooling on here this year. Next step is basic meals and I eat every second day.
Life is unenjoyable for many right now. I find zero joy in waking up each day right now.
Not sure how much longer to bother trying to continue.

I could have written your post word for word. Not sure how much more many of us can take. There just seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

Same here. I waken in the morning and I'm almost paralysed with worry and fear in bed and can hardly move for it. Every day I dread that text message from my bank that says we're in our overdraft.

Liz Truss’ shite mini budget spiked mortgage lending, when we remortgaged ours went up by £800 a month. When trying to sell our house it took 18 months because less people were able to get a mortgage. People are starting off on a back foot having to make do with much less. Supermarkets and water companies report huge profits which are not passed onto consumers. This has nothing to do with Ukraine.

In the past two years I have been to Italy and Spain, their supermarket food costs and so low in comparison to ours. They have not been affected by the war in the Ukraine. The only food item that was expensive was imported cheddar from the UK! Which has clearly been hit with some kind of import tax. I really wonder if, in part, supermarket prices have gone up due to import taxes (olive oil never used to be £10) from brexit that we have not been informed about.

so yes, this is the governments fault.

Well, according to Trump, it's a small price to pay. 🤷‍♀️

We eat mostly meat free.
Cook a huge batch of stew and freeze portions.
As adults we have one good meal per day (we call it intermittent fasting and bit tongue in cheek).
Keep a box of muesli at work for lunch if I get hungry, otherwise lunch is a boiled egg.
I use my teabags at least twice!
Only drink water at mealtimes.
Bar soap.
Budget supermarket own brand products.
Orange / yellow labels.
I talk up apples, carrots, cucumber and celery to the DC; we've phased out more exotic fruit and veg.
Really good at being inventive with beans and pulses in general.
Dialled down most treats -weirdly, the DC don't ask.

Whilst this might work for you, people should not have to be down to one meal a day

This is an interesting question
I shop in Aldi and Lidl and use a bread machine to make bread

Ill try a calc on this

Cheapest Aldi loaf is about 55p ( although tbh I’ve never seen one this cheap ) cheap ones are not great
Aldi prices
Bread flour £1.10
you need about 450g for a loaf so that’s 1/3rd of a pack for the loaf = 37p for the flour
Plus yeast and salt

So a much better loaf for less money re ingredients

The extra cost is in baking it
So I suppose cheaper if you’ve got something else going in the oven anyway

Once you start adding seeds etc and making it a bit special it’s definately cheaper to make your own despite the baking cost

I’ve built up a good store supply over time so most of my forays into supermarkets are top up shops and I will price out the most expensive item and shop at the cheaper offer store on that occasion.

I also buy cat food and (mostly) wine on line, and when the supermarkets have their pet food week special it’s then cheaper than on line.

it’s somewhat of a challenge but it can be done without buying lesser quality.

I find fish expensive anywhere unless you can fillet a whole one or catch it yourself.

I also find the Asian supermarkets cheaper and have larger packet sizes (I believe smaller packs have contributed to increased cost due to additional packaging).

I will do a top up shop once a quarter at a food wholesaler as we have a cash account and qualify for it by having a business. I take a couple of friends with me who also use my account, although I’m getting frustrated with one who is obviously topping up for others yet the favour is not returned…. 🤨

personally I think larger supermarkets will eventually close and go to a warehouse model. Staffing costs, commercial rent and stock theft are huge expenses for any business. So I can see that in the near future…

👏lovely detailed memories of your Nan's cooking @ourSusie , thanks for sharing them, I found the meals very down to earth as well as wonderfully thrifty ( back then) and I can understand why you still remember them, and your Nan, fondly.
I still buy large bags of Lima beans, to make soup and I'll give your Nan's casserole a try.
However dried and tinned Lima beans are not cheap these days!
Same with fresh fish of all the varieties, and most other meats etc ...

This. Some people are really struggling to put food on the table, those that don't have monetary problems like that, should really think before stating that it is depressing. It is depressing for people having to live hand to mouth, all of the time.

Less protein