To be seriously worried that the cost of food is getting so scarily high

[thebird]

I am not extravagant I buy shop own brands where I can, I try to shop on a budget, I cook from scratch and have given up buying extras like wine (well just the odd bottle to keep me sane) but still each week the cost of my food bill goes up and up. I know inflation is running at around 4-5% but I cant understand this as many basic items have increased almost 30-50%. When the hell is it going to stop or I really will be living on beans on toast every night(and even they've gone up lots!

My food bills are so high its scary. I have tried cutting down, but DS has a very fussy diet which is limited to things that are really expensive, such as Organix rice cakes (which are £1.05 for a bag and he goes through a bag a day), babybels and blueberres. I have had to cut the blueberries out and just buy Apples and Bananas now. Luckily Babybels have been on offer in ASDA at £2 for a bag of 12.

We have cut out meat and now only have it on Sundays as its just too costly. Its fruit juice that cripples us, you used to be able to get 2x 4 cartons for £4 in ASDA, but now its 2 for £5. We have dropped down from high juice to fruit and barley (DS says the ASDA one is really nice).

I'm loving the ideas for pies.

My boyfriend does the food shopping and has started moaning about cost... but shops on a daily basis and will not plan.

In addition he "doesn't like":
Tomatoes
Cheese
Vegetables
Pulses
Spice

AIBU to ignore his list and serve what I want to eat? ;)

My good buys are frozen fish and of course cleaning products from lidl. When I can get 500ml of glass cleaner for 79 cents, I can't possibly get more than 3 lemons with that.

On the whole though I think food shopping in the UK is incredibly cheap. I left the UK in 99 and when shopping this summer things are often cheaper now than they were then. E.g., sauces in jars, 'interesting' fruit and Veg. Original source was a treat in the late-90s at 3.15 a bottle, now 99p! I think people just forgot. Bargains can be had but you've got to be able to remember your prices and never be ashamed to loitering around the reduced counter.

Deemented thanx for that

I have read every post on this thread to try and glean as much wisdom as I can...my head is buzzing now and I have so much to go and do...

Please can someone PM me the £30 meal plan as it would be a real help.

I meal plan now but find it difficult to budget it as none of the supermarkets will deliver to me so hard to get accurate prices to fit against the menu IYKWIM!

I usually look back at previous receipts as a guide but Morrisons seem to change their prices fairly dramatically as the mood takes them....also special offers feature a fair bit and obviously these cannot be used to budget for the non-offer prices.

Does this meal plan apply to a specific supermarket chain?

Thanks in advance...off to sell our excess stuff at car boot now!
Make some money for food....:(

Please could someone send me the £30 meal planner? Thank you!

Thanks for sending the meal plan ladies, I'll have a good look!

PM'd you both.

Meal planner forwarded (I hope!)

we spread the shop and I cook from scratch, I am good with the bogof and 3 for 2 deals, also where we are there are loads of Asian shops and they are simply the best for many things, for example 2x 2 ltr cannisters of milk for as little as £1.49 and strawberries 50 for a decent size punnet.

Certain things do push up the bill, mainly alcohol and wash products but even those I use cheap eco stuff from wilko's and believe me it is as good.

I also bake to cut on the treats bill, every sunday a cake and biscuits are produced and in winter a soup which lasts till wednesday. Much nicer and very cheap too.

I do remember my mum in the seventies having very much the make it all ethos, clothes, cakes, jam etc everything that could be done cheaply was. It was out of necessity but I look back and those times out blackberrying were the best times of my life.

Please could I have the £30 meal planner too?!

Just done the online shop - totally depressing....would love to trim down the cost a little.

Thx in advance!

Sent, Ishtar.

cheers!

Agree it's more expensive but as anther poster has already stated, we were used to food being ridiculously cheap, I mean weren't whole chickens sold for about £1.50 each once at a major supermarket? I remember thinking that it surely indicated a disrespect towards good food and probably unethical farming. Meat always used to be an expensive commodity and we eat too much of it. IMO.

I still think it's possible to eat reasonably well on a shoestring - pasta, potatoes, noodles and vegetables aren't extortionate I don't think.

Have just returned from France - food FAR more expensive there.

Thank you very much!

but you have to take it into context amongst the cost of living across the board.

we might be used to relatively cheap food (if you compare against other countries with similar good infrastructure and import contracts) but the cost of living for other things in the UK must be taken into account (house prices, unavoidable bills such as the council tax/etc)

actually, i could put it better:

Is there some sort of "international disposable income" indicator, you know, similar to the ones where they say "how many hours does it take a worker to earn a single big mac"....

I'm thinking something along the lines of:

"If you're a waiter in a bar, working 40hrs a week, fulltime, paying all legit taxes and declaring all tips, how much disposable income does a single able bodied adult have to spend at the end of the week?"

... you know - a measuring stick.

Am I completely deluded or would the UK come out in that quite poorly?

I've got friends around the world, and from what I can see, I'm the only one who's working in a 2-adults-working-fulltime situation who's still cutting her own hair to save cash!

Totally agree TheBolter we have one Freerange chicken a week or sometimes every other- I am very mean with it ! It is removed from the table and put in the kitchen after serving .There are always plenty of yorkies,veg and pots to go with it.
I think the old principles of Domestic Science -meal planning,budgeting,stretching things out and still making good nutritious food really will make a come back. I have never wavered from them ! Have always baked and made jam etc.
mumnotmachine Its gelled !

Woohoo MrsB- its sadly exciting isnt it!
How did you find it for a wash?

I'd like the £30 meal plan too! Could someone PM me please?

Oh wow - could someone please PM me the £30pw meal planner.

TY.

mumnotmachine very exciting - I think I might need to get out more
Do you live in a hard or soft water area ? We have very hard water and Im wondering if I might need to use a bit more ?

I live in a soft water area
Try increasing the amount you use a bit- its all trial and error I suppose!

Aha ! Yes I will - it washed Ok but I forgot we had very hard water .

You may well need to use around 100mls then?