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.

@bountifulpantry being poor is always expensive.

I wasn't deriding potato skin soup, more a sort of "What have we become" thought. There is something seriously wrong when 2 adults in work or 2 people on a pension are not eating well.
It's tolerable in the summer months but in winter my MH takes a massive tumble. The thought of not being able to heat and eat is horrible.

I think most people know to bulk up with pulses and so on, to have a cheap week, to use an App. That's not the point. It's all wrong.

If supermarkets are forced to put caps on certain goods, they'll just increase the price of the other stuff.

It's not just food though is it? If anything goes wrong , we are stuffed. We are fortunate enough to have a car but the air con has gone. We are fortunate enough to have a house but the gas fire is a huge chimney sucking out al the heat. We are fortunate to have a roof but it leaks. And so on.

It's what happens when a government takes on right wing policies to appeal to idiots.
Just wait till farage gets in. Your troubles now will seem like a happy memory.

Please God, no. Crabs in a bucket.

Given that a lot of people are talking about how expensive stuff other than food is, it’s worth signing up to Home Tester Club if you haven’t already. You test free products in return for a review and I have done well out of this with moisturisers, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, various cosmetics and anti-aging products. I’ve also received an air fryer, a steamer, and expensive cat food and cat litter that J would never normally buy. It’s hit and miss as to what you’ll get and it’s become less likely to receive test products now it has become so popular, but it’s worth a sign up and checking daily for products on the off chance. Last year, I received the equivalent of £140 of cosmetics to test and haven’t needed to buy moisturiser for 12 months. I know some of these things are nice to have rather than necessities, but we all deserve to enjoy life, and it beats shoplifting for whoever thinks that is a good idea. It really isn’t.

I wish he would brown nose quicker!

This government are hugely performative.

Also, that poster said the price of food has increased due to the war in the Ukraine. That is untrue.

How about we all agree it’s a combination of things, which is the rather tedious answer to most political and societal problems that aren’t easily solved.

Oh, I knew the white working class would eventually, somehow, get the blame for it... I'm just surprised it took 21 pages. Mumsnet, eh...

You’ve only got to look at the people supporting the Green Party to see their are idiots on all sides. That is certainly not dictated specifically by skin tone or geographical location.

@NovaF No it isn't.

Ukraine is a major supplier of fertilizers for the farming sector. When Russia invaded Ukraine, fertilizers trebled in price, they have reduced a little but are still far above their 2021 price, having a direct impact on price of produce in the UK.

2021, £297/ tonne
2026, £520/ tonne

Why are the rest of Europe’s food prices so low then? France, Italy, Spain have not seen anywhere near the increase in food costs. Our prices now are more like that in Scandinavia. Supermarkets are charging more but reporting higher profits than ever. It cannot just be this.

I'm not vegetarian but most of my cooking now is. I've just cooked a veggie lasangne (Onions, toms, lentils, black beans, carrot, mushroom, stock/seasoning, lasangne sheets, topping of white sauce (1 pt milk, marg, flour) and cheese. This has cost me £4-50 (inc electricity). It provides 6 large portions.(the veg..broc...came free from my garden) at about 75p a portion. I live alone and so eat one, freeze the rest. Very tasty, healthy and cheap! It's the meat that bumps up the cost of meals therefore avoid as much as possible. Also avoid Ultra processed foods...tempting, tasty etc ...but expensive and not good for your health. On the cheap meals front a veggies cottage pie comes in even cheaperthan the lasangne. I also make 6 veggie Cornish pasties at a time coming in at a little over 30p for a very tasty and healthy pasty. Bung some in-season veg with 'em and you've cracked it! I do hope this helps with your budgeting etc

Where does white working class get the blame please? Are you assuming they all support Farage?

Snakebite61 inferred it in the post I quoted.

Macron has told the supermarkets to cut profit margins to curb inflation, it is forbidden to cut the famers prices. Also they must give all unsold edible food to charities instead of destroying it.

Moreover all groceries have a label system of letters A to F. This tells the consumer whether it is healthy food, the majority of those breakfast cereals you think are good for the children aren’t as well those desserts and potatoes fries.

Mincemeat from the butchers has to be minced in front of you when you buy, then you know what you are eating, but of course it’s not done in the UK with all the extra stuff that goes into supermarket mince.

There is also a French Baguette law dealing with ingredients and price.

Can you imagine the English supermarket kings bowing to these laws?

Put the free app YUKA on your phone

We are doing OK at the moment, but I credit it to the freezer, storecupboard and pressure cooker.

Dried goods (rice, beans, pulses) are bought in bulk, preferably on offer. I tend to use Spaghetti for a lot of things as it's the cheapest pasta shape at the moment.

I check what we've got in the fridge to make a meal plan around. Then see what's on offer in our supermarket of choice (generally aldi).

Meals are planned weekly based on the offers (eat seasonally) and what weve got in. And bulked with veg - I add chickpeas and frozen spinach to curries as standard.

We eat more chicken mince now (made into meatballs and served with pasta.). Rarely do we have a chicken breast or a steak each. Most meals with meat (my family complain about "vegetarian dinners" when they perceive there not to be enough meat per portion. They say it to be "funny", but it gets right on my tits) involved the meat being chopped so it goes further. The one meal they don't complain about is pizza - since we were lucky enough to go to Italy, they now enjoy a margherita! That's our weekly summer meat free meal.

I've used half pork mince and half beef mince for bolognese and the like for years. Thankfully my family enjoy it.

Nothing is wasted. Meat bones are roasted and then frozen with washed veg peels until I have enough to make a pressure cookerful of stock. I then boil that down so its easier to store, again in the freezer. Older bread becomes pangratatto as a topping for pasta bakes or is dehydrated and is a coating for meat/fish. Older beg becomes soup, etc.

We do grow some fruit and veg, because we enjoy it and the flavour is so much better. I save seeds from bought tomatoes/peppers (and then save seeds from the resulting veg). They can be grown on a sunny windowsill. Ditto peashoots can be grown by planting dried marrowfat peas. They're delicious! Strawberries and framberries grow like weeds, as do raspberries. If you know any gardeners, I'm sure they'd be delighted to foist some off share the new plants with you.

I stock up when things are on offer - joints at Christmas and Easter. I have access to cash and carries and buy massive turkey crowns, which gets us through a LOT of weekly roasts for 4/kg.

I use an app called check out smart where they put deals that you can buy and get cashback for. There aren't always great deals but I've jjust ecently cashed out £50.

We use costco a lot and stock up on their deals. Their babybels, pepperamis and other lunchbox bits are significantly cheaper than other supermarkets, even when full price. It's worth trying if you know someone with access. Its ever so easy to get carried away in costco though! But if you keep an eye on deals and shop to the list, you'll be OK.

Unfortunately, you have to have a bit of money to start saving money and I so wish it wasn't like this.

Word of warning - if someone gives you mint, keep it in a pot. It's a thug and will take over if you put it on the ground.

Oh and some of the farmfoods offers can be brilliant. 10 blocks of butter for £10/20 blocks for £20.

Good offers on cheese. Again, can be frozen.

And they apparently have packs of moccasins frozen items on 10 for £10. Not always the more nutritious, but it will fill bellies.

My son works in a supermarket and we use his staff discount. Without that, we would struggle.

Some great tips there, BambinaCucina. Like you I have learnt how to make a decent pizza. Got some advice from a pizza van man....main ones being DO use 00 pizza flour and DON'T press on the crust edges when forming your base, and also DON'T overload. Cheers!

Shop at the cheaper supermarkets, only get what's needed, batch cook. It's amazing how many vegetables u can use to bulk out meals and because DC won't eat them we blend to add in to meals.

Much cheaper and healthier to use passata, these jars are full of sugar and cost so much more.