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.

The government won’t step in because the people do nothing to force them to step in other than complain on social media and forums. I am yet to see an organised mass protest over this, yet it has happened in many other countries.

Inflation is estimated based on few core products that don’t vary much in price hence we see this discrepancy between what they say inflation is and what it actually is.

OP we cut down other things although I realise not everyone can do this if you are stretched, but subscriptions, other bills, outings, hobbies, insurances, savings etc we cut down. We eat a lot of meat, so where possible I buy in bulk and switched to relatively cheaper cuts. Don’t eat much beef or steak anymore, I don’t eat lamb in general, so mostly eggs, white fish, salmon on offer, large chickens on offer, chicken thighs, breasts and occasionally pork. Lots of veg, trying to cut processed foods/chocolates/cakes completely as they are the most expensive from what I have seen. I also buy more frozen veg and berries/fruit and shop in lidl/aldi or markets. We use own brand cleaning products as well as opposite to the well known bra ds and same for basic foods.

It's tough, I agree. I've cut out M & S and Waitrose for anything and go to Tesco where I get a bit of a discount!

We waste absolutely nothing and have 2 or 3 very cheap evening meals a week (soup/bread/cheese, something on toast, baked potatoes and salad) and it doesn't bother us at all. We've never been used to luxury things like regular steak or fresh seafood etc etc.

It's still expensive but we just try to minimise our spend as much as we can. I don't see how things are going to get better unfortunately, with the world situation as it is.

Supermarkets aren't profiteering. You can look at any of the publicly available accounts published online - the average supermarket profit margin is 1.5 - 3%.

That means for every £1 you spend, up to 3p is profit for the supermarket. Everything else is the basic cost of goods, staff, transport etc. On a £150 shop, only up to ~£4.50 is profit for the supermarket.

Even if supermarkets operated at a break-even level, you'd see very little difference to costs.

And I assure you, your weekly shop would be an awful lot more expensive if you didn't have the benefit of the bulk discounts these supermarkets are able to command from manufacturers and growers. Try importing your own bananas or driving round to butchers, grocers, dairies, mills, bakers, ironmongers, fishmongers etc and you'll quickly realise how much cheaper supermarkets make shopping!

I am vegetarian, so I save a bit by not buying meat. However, other stuff (coffee, peanut butter, EGGS ) has rocketed too.
I buy veg frozen (food warehouse) and use handfuls as I need it. I also buy stuff on offer and freeze it (bread reduced, cheese grated )
I batch cook too (veggie chilli, bolognaise and curries )
I try and get stuff when I see it on offer too (washing powder )
I scout about the reduced section too (fruit and stuff that can be frozen)

I am in the public sector and no the wages have not gone up 8%. In fact they have been under inflation for the past two years and similarly this year. There has been real term pay cut for years on end. I am not sure where this figures are coming from but they are not true. We got 3% raise last year and looks like 2% this year if at all. Many places had no raises. 8% will be a bloody dream…

I saved money by not having a pet. I was thinking about getting one, but I changed my mind when I worked out the costs. I got a soft toy instead! 🤣

Where do I say "everyone" can survive on one meal a day.

Remember tamagotchi?

Excellent point.

We have pets because we’ve decided that they add something to our lives that we don’t want to do without, but they cost £££ to run. Also one is standing on me while I’m trying to type this. No gratitude.

I swapped to Aldi and find I don’t need to top up in the week as much. However I prefer to shop online so it’s a bit annoying. However the teens are always hungry and some weeks I’ve saved around £25 compared to Tesco. I find buying frozen/tinned veg and fruit helps. Meat and snacks are expensive.

Well, 'Eat less. I survive on one nutritious meal a day' heavily implies that you think other people could/should. I didn't say you said everyone, anyway, I said for many people.
But if you didn't mean that, you could have been clearer and said, for example, 'Eat less. I survive on one nutritious meal a day, but if that's too much you could try skipping breakfast.'
Anyway, personally, I can't skip one meal without feeling the effects. I'm sure there are plenty of people who need three meals or maybe more a day.

Unemployment - simply not true. Rates skyrocketed under Labour and have - finally - fallen slightly, but are still much higher then when they came to power. The ONS stats present the true depressing picture.

Economic growth has been much stronger in the US than the UK until Q1 2026 when the percentage change versus the previous quarter was 0.5 vs 0.6. However, when you look at the percentage change versus the previous year, the difference is stark: 2.7 for the US vs 1.1 for the UK.

There's only me. I don't have a set budget but I will decide not to buy anything if I feel it's too expensive. The other day I was outraged to see how expensive the Yorkshire Tea t bags were. Decided not to buy them. Relented a couple of days later. Don't drink or smoke so thought I'm having em- no happy though.

I don't eat cereal but it is do expensive. When I was younger we only ever had Weetabix- sure it was something to do the cost and them lasting longer than cornflakes. It's grim at the moment

I seriously hope it’s only coffee and a few other items going up 50% and not every single thing. At a push I could live without coffee or maybe buy the cheapest supermarket own brand

It’s so sad to think that our economy was improving before this Hormuz crap.

I have young kids so I try to cook nutritious meals. We used to have fresh fish once a week. Now I can’t afford £25 a week at the fishmonger for a kilo of cod. So we had to cut down and now we eat fish once a month. I miss it but I simply can’t afford it when I have a budget of £100-£120 per week for all the shopping (family of 4 and I cook 4-5 dinners a week plus breakfast every day). We also used to get takeout once a week but they are now absolutely ridiculous prices, so we get frozen supermarket pizza or McDs instead.

Its bloody tough and I've only got one dd 😪

We are spending £800-£900 a month for 2 adults, 2 children and 1 large dog. It’s a significant amount.

I did decide to keep my 3 year old car rather than buy a new one last year. That’s been a £400 a month saving.

I buy more frozen food than I used to. I have found fresh fruit is of poorer quality than it was pre-Brexit.

its not something you can rely on as some weeks there won’t be any etc, but whenever there’s yellow sticker on things that can go in a sandwich like ham or chicken or hummus etc I will freeze them up into sandwiches to do me for future packed lunches

I apologise I am repetitive about my personal circumstances, but I was shaped by a foreign gran (mum's mum). Hence, I was brought up to believe that a banana with a piece of bread and 2 cups of tea with milk and sugar is a meal. That we do not approach a soft fruit isle out of season, like ever. Strawberries is a treat, and only when Wimbledon starts. You don't ever go out to eat in a restaurant - you can do it cheaper at home. We ate steak several times a year. Also 'who says we are entitled to foreign holidays'? The list goes on and on and on. Basically, I am saying that to those who are used to treating themselves for a number of years on modest sums (and yes, fruit out of season IS a luxury) times are hard. For those of us who are used to modest living, things are fine - we can still buy that banana, potatoes, carrots and cheaper cuts of meat for soups.

Do you really hardly eat and if so is that due to the cost?
That's really bad. I hope you are ok. (I don't mean that in a patronising way, just concern) xx

Good job our salaries have gone up 50% or more too.

I worked out earlier that 5 years ago my salary was triple minimum wage. Now it's double. I didn't get less skilled in that time and I supposedly moved up a bunch of pay scales...

Must have been the same report I was hearing on the News

I have had to be frugal for years, at least since 2000, when I had to give up full time work and could only work casually due to health - Ive never worked full time since and now DH has reduced to 3 days ( 63 )

Its getting tougher but at least Im time rich so can spend the time

I shop Lidl, I walk in and look at the fruit and veg specials, then up to the meat and look at those, and then the yellow sticker shelf - whatever is the best value is what I meal plan on

I also shop Savers, Home Bargains, Tesco , Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencers and our local Spar/supervalu/vivo etc - their offers wipe the arse out of Tesco and their reductions are swift - butter - 10p, cheese, 10p, steak mince 500gr £3 , these are items I find often in the shop at the end of my road

I dont have a fixed budget , some weeks I only need bread or milk and pet food, other weeks ( like this week ) I hit Marks at the right time and have enough meat in the freezer to feed 2 of us for the next month for £40 only need cheaper meats and fish to ring the changes ( it was a lot of chicken )

Learning to cook other cuisines really helps stretching the meat ratio, even if its not totally authentic Tonight we are having a kind of Chinese dish - using just 200gr of pork mince, a bag of stir fry veg, and rice . Rice I buy 10kg at a time - on offer, I think it was £12 for extra long basmati which will last us about 8/9 months so adding the few dashes and splashes of sauces and spices. we will eat a hearty filling meal for around 70p a head and there will be enough for DH to take for lunch tomorrow

There's not a curry nor mince dish that's not bulked out with dried red lentils ( they need no soaking, just chuck them in ) frozen spinach , frozen veg , chick peas, butter beans - I use them all to add protein and fibre to meals so meat isnt so important

I make good use of my 15 in 1 Ninja - a considered purchase 3/4 years back. but I use the pressure cooker, the yoghurt function, the steam roast and air fryer functions - at least one or two to get meals cooked quick - I can make the bolognese under pressure in 20 mins then swap pots and cook the pasta in 3 - saving on the electric - which here in NI is bloody expensive . cant mind the last time I put the oven on

Cook once, eat at least twice, if not more

I know there's those that joke about the Mumsnet chicken, but I lifted a 2 kilo chicken last week for £6, we had roast dinner twice , chicken curry one night , chicken fried rice and curry sauce another with reduced samosas, the cat and dog got their share, I had a chicken salad sandwich for lunch and I have the bone stock in the freezer

We will have a plain egg and chip dinner now and then, or a veg stuffed omelette. We eat a lot of salad, using jars of pickled veg and grains to ring the changes instead of buying out of season tasteless food

Cooking bacon and ham shavings are often bought. Used in quiches and omelettes, to add more flavour to say a chicken casserole or a soup

We use wholewheat pasta now. It fills you more for less volume

It is hard work, having to plan ahead, and often quite demoralising having to stand there and weigh up the costs before it hits the trolley , but Im used to it

This is true. However, I think that for most people the only large expenditure they are able to reduce is their food shop, as most other big bills are fixed and can't easily be stripped back by much if at all (mortgages, council tax gas, electricity etc). This leaves food shopping as the only opportunity where reductions can be made, but that's increasingly difficult when prices just seem to keep rising. Every time I feel like I've made some changes and reduced our shopping bill it only seems to last for a short period until the endless price hikes have started to swallow the savings back up again. Its utterly depressing.