to think the price of shopping is getting rediculous?

[Ilovesunflowers]

Especially tuna. Noticed a pack of 4 was nearly £9 in my local supermarket. I use a lot of tuna and it used to be a cheap meal (pasta, tuna and veg).
Bread is crazily expensive. It's hard to keep costs down for shopping now.

[LeeCoakley]

It's not fair! No Lidl, Aldi, Asda, farm shops or even a greengrocer within a reasonable driving distance! Our 'farmer's market' once a month is really expensive and only exists as a showcase for localish produce - no bargains whatsoever! We have a butcher but v.expensive. It's Tesco, Sainsbury's or Waitrose here

[JumpingJackSprat]

yanbu. ive been to the farm shop today and got two generous pork belly slices, 2.5lb mince and 6 fresh sausages for £11 ... thats going to make about 7 or 8 worth of meals ( amongst all of us as theres only 2 of us + dss) all british meat which is important to me for welfare reasons. if i bought the same british meat in the supermarket it would probably be a few £ more but this is all local and fresh non processed food. their veg is around the same price as the supermarket but seeing as they grew most of it themselves or is from local farmers id rather they had my money. eggs from the local farm cost 1.80 a dozen. i work full time so i go at weekends or at lunchtimes but it is more inconvenient than just getting everything at the supermarket but you really can taste the difference.

[happybubblebrain]

Food is expensive but it isn't rising as fast as gas and electric. Last February my quarterly gas bill was £228, this year it's £318, that is ridiculous, we only have 5 radiators that are hardly ever on. I've been turning the hearing down/off more this year than ever. I'm changing suppliers as fast as I can. Food is something you can cut back on and shop around for to get good deals but energy suppliers have us by the throat.

[Ilovesunflowers]

Sorry I dissapeared. I went out.
The tuna was at Sainsbury's. It was £8 something. The same when I went to Tescos (about 20p cheaper in Tescos but still £8 something).

I sometimes go to Morrisons and they have it on offer more often but not at the moment.

Places tend to have Princesses on offer and not John West. Princesses taste is too salty. I only like John West. I really hate cheap tuna. It sounds daft but it's too fishy!!

[0blio]

I can't praise Aldi enough for their quality and low prices. Some of their specials this week (39p) are a big bag of carrots, or 3 large onions, or a large head of broccoli. I plan my weekly menus around their 5 a day special offers.

I also love Sainsbury's basic range.

[determinedma]

We get our meat once a week at local market and save a small fortune. The rest is bought in Aldi with a few bits and pieces in Asda. Was shocked today though at a very small bag of baby potatoes at £1.20!
Can't remember last time I did a full roast, even at market prices. We have chicken or mince in various reincarnations with sometimes pork chops.

[expatinscotland]

There are plenty of places that don't have an Aldi.

[Ilovesunflowers]

Must go to Aldi!

[ScarletLady02]

There should be more Aldis....I genuinely don't know what we would do if we didn't have one. We can both cook, which is great, but I know for a fact we wouldn't eat as well if not for Aldi. Our weekly food budget is around £30-£35 for 3 of us (two adults, one toddler)

[Buzzardbird]

Aldi had Savoy cabbage, carrots, broccoli and a couple of others things at 39p today. Get yee to Aldi op

[wornoutbutstillwonderful]

I have to stick to a budget of £50 or under for 5 of us thats 2 adults, a teenage Ds, 2 younger children as well as 2 cats.
I cook everything from scratch, I have a freezer that has 2 gammon joints of over 1kilo each (on offer just after new year was 1 huge joint on half price offer for a fiver in sainsburys) also gammon steaks, high meat content cumberland sausage(these are from an out of town butcher) also chicken fillets, chicken legs,lamb steaks and steak mince all bought on reduced as well as 2 medium sized chickens bought as part of a 5 for a£15 offer on at booths.
I buy as much veg as possible from same out of town market as the butchers I go to, example of prices- 5 peppers £1, big head of broccoli, huge turnip, big bag of brussel sprouts £1.43 total price, as well as 10 satsumas £1, 2 punnets of grapes or strawberries £1.50.
I always check aldis super 6, this week was 1kilo carrots, broccoli head, beetroot, pack of onions, parsnips or lemons all at a price of 39p a pack.
I like the rathbones bread from morrisons for 70p a loaf but I do also check the local tesco for anything reduced or on offer most days when I finish work on a late shift.
Oh yes and I buy a bacon joint for about £2.50 for a 1lb joint that cook and slice and put into an airtight container this is instead of buying 200g of ham off the deli that would cost more than that.
Can you tell I read all the frugal and credit crunch threads.

[VisualiseAHorse]

I don't have a choice - I live way out in the sticks, and only Asda deliver here. Closest 'big' supermarket is 1.5 hours drive, nearest shop is 15 minutes drive, and a teeny co-op (very expensive IMO).

I normally do two Asda orders a month, at about £100 a time, for 2 adults and a baby.

We are now switching a lot of things to shop-brands, but have found some switches to be counter-productive. I wish we lived in a town!

[Myliferocks]

I tend to buy the same things every week when I do our food shop. I used to be able to feed the 7 of us for under £100 pounds but these days it is more likely to be between £100-£130 and that's with meal planning and buying the cheaper brands.
It's getting more difficult each week to keep the price down.
We have a Lidls where we live but it doesn't stock enough to do a full weekly shop there.

[Purple2012]

I buy packs of cheap frozen veg, a load of sausages, chicken etc and a big 25kg bag of potatoes every few months and make sausage casserole and chicken casserole etc. I buy some decent chicken and some value chicken to bulk it out. Then I freeze it.

I do the same with fish - some decent and some value and make a load of fish pies. I also bulk them out with peas a d sweetcorn. If I still have potatoes left I make a load of mash and freeze it. It warms up fine in the microwave.

I go to the 99p shop for cereal bars and get crisps there or at Iceland.

I get 4 pints of milk at lidl or Iceland and freeze it.

If I see non perishables on offer I bulk buy so it lasts months.

The only thing I spend a lot on is fruit really. I eat a lot of fruit but still try to get the stuff on offer.

It is time consuming but worth it.

[ChestyLeRoux]

I dont find it expensive really.I buy things like a bag of pasta for 30p, 3 mince for a tenner,cheap potatoes etc.

Did a full shop yesterday for 62 quid and that included a bottle of fake baileys.More than enough food for the 4 of us for week for that price.

[AnnaRack]

IIlovesunflowers - i stopped buying tuna a year or so ago when it got really expensive. Now i use mackerel, sardines or pilchards, just as nice and cheaper.
Farmfoods have 3 packs of 3 salmon steaks (frozen) fpr £10. Not normally a fanbut they are good for frozen fish.

[Antipag]

I am amazed that people are able to feed their family and buy all the things households need like laundry detergent, washing up liquid etc for such a little amount. We don't have a Lidl or Aldi here, just Tesco and Morrisons, I cook from scratch but buy value wherever possible (usually excepting meat) and we eat veggie three nights a week (lentils, pulses, quorn etc) and I can't ind a way to get the food shop under £300 a month for three of us. I shop around between the two supermarkets wherever possible but we don't have a local butcher or green grocer so can't save there. I don't drive and return bus fare to the next big town is £6! Not really feasible when you have a two year old in tow to manage a weeks shopping on a bus. We have recently moved to this house (for the decreased rent) so hopefully I can establish a vegetable garden to try and grow my own but I am not a green fingered soul so who knows!

[AnnaRack]

Iceland has 6 free range eggs £1, 4 pints milk £1, bread £1.

[Virgil]

It can be done Antipag but you do end up eating the same things all the time. You also need a good store cupboard.

I buy the three packs of meat for a tenner in tesco and our meals are always based around these. Each pack lasts two meals for four of us. I bulk out everything with lentils, oats, carrot etc and we eat a lot of pasta and jacket potatoes.

I bake cakes and biscuits rather than buying them. Much cheaper if you use basics flour and bulk buy butter when its on offer.

[ChestyLeRoux]

Washing up liquids only about 60p, a large pack of washing tablets is 3.69 in asda will last us about 6 weeks for the 4 of us. A large bottle of comfort says 85 washes on it I buy when on offer at asda for 3 quid.Those types of things dont really add more than a couple of pounds at most to your bill ime.

[Virgil]

Tescos wholemeal loaf is 79p. (Not the value range ) and its fine.

[AudrinaAdare]

Dirt helps keep potatoes for longer LadyFlip?

I wish you had been these today when we were held up at the checkout by an older lady sending her two packaged potatoes back to be changed because, "that one looks a bit dirty"

DH's face was a sight to see!

Is anyone else thinking of buying a few extra tins each week? I scoffed at my Dad's Y2K Zombie Plan but it's looking attractive...

[MrsKeithRichards]

I've been called a liar several times on these threads but we (2 adults, 2dc) spend £50 a week and that includes toiletries, dishwasher stuff, washing stuff etc. It's perfectly doable, I'm sure there are ways of spending less.

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

MrsKeith, we are similar at £60 inc baby milk and nappies.

It can be done. I meal plan like a crazy lady.

[Blondie1984]

I've found that experimenting with pulses has helped me cut some of my bills-I will do half the amount of meat and make up the rest with beans or lentils - or have no meat at all
Ive also started stocking up on things I use regularly when they are on an offer -like cereal, pasta etc. If its meat or fish then I portion it up and put it in the freezer.....