To ask people that do their normal shop at waitrose how they afford it?

[jdoe8]

After spending a few days with a family member that does and doing an aldi shop, the quality is very stark. As much as the super 6 look good, the apples are very powdery and the oranges pithy and not that sweet. It makes me feel a bit poor. In other countries you would have market stuff that is good, but obviously not in the UK.

I feel like I would have to earn 150k to afford it. I like it for the rare treat, but unless you live on cheap stodge im not sure how so many people afford it.

Ocado - mostly to get Waitrose stuff delivered home & other organic brands. Me & DH are both low-carb which means loads of fruit & veg. Weekly shop comes to &150. Quality is superb and nothing is wasted!

I should add that we spend around £10 for lunch on top of this and rarely eat out as a family. Totally worth it given the quality of fresh food & range of organic stuff.

I shop at Waitrose, but online. I spend £60-80pw for 3 adults. That's for everything including alcohol.

Ocado here. Spend about £70/week on two of us plus DD who's one which includes all toiletries, household bits, booze and nappies.

We have a co-op close by but the quality is dreadful. I also pick a few items up from Sainbury's or M&S each week and spend an extra £5-£10.

l used to do an Ocado online shop about every six weeks, and l found them excellent value for money. l bought bits of Waitrose stuff (l'm very partial to their black cherry conserve!), filled my freezer up and they do £1 offers, half price, and BOGOF. l also love the Fetch pets section - l could get my big sacks of rabbit food delivered free with my grocery order. The delivery drivers are lovely, so friendly and nothing's a bother.
l'm currently on benefits after surgery, so being very frugal just now, but once l'm sorted, another Ocado shop is very high on my to-do list!

No matter where I shop I can't seem to get below spending £100 a week on food! I cook from scratch virtually every day, don't buy any big brands but do buy quality, free range chicken, meat from butcher etc. However I do get 2/3 meals out of the chicken, and 2 dinners out of 500g of mince!
I think it must be fresh fruit and veg that bumps it up, £42 in Lidl this week on fruit and veg alone

I don't think you need to go to Waitrose to get good quality. My local Aldi now does some organic vegetables. If you want your fruit and veg tasting better than what you described see if you can buy them - I think the broccoli and carrots were 75p. There were also organic mushrooms, onions and I think spinach in terms of veg and apples and bananas on the fruit side. Even converting to some fruit and veg will be nicer and not that much more money. It also does organic eggs and milk. Some things I don't bother with organic as I don't expect the taste to be different - potatoes and onions.

Apart from that for a local butcher can give very good quality meat - often locally sourced. Depends where you live though - more chance in a city or large town. You certainly don't need to be on £150k. Buy less and plan more. Bulk up with lentils in stews etc. Stretch your food more.

I make my savings on things like washing powder, washing up liquid, bleach (diluted down in a spray bottle), toiletries, toilet paper. I don't care if these are the cheapest.

We shop there because we are on very good incomes between us and enjoy food and cooking. We also tend to eat at home a fair amount and don't go out that much.
It's about what you enjoy/prioritise I guess
I think it's mad people waste money on smoking, for example.

I love Waitrose and the delivery service has never let me down, we spend about £160-190 a week depending on if we need washing powder/toilet rolls etc for me, dh, toddler ds and baby dd so that includes nappies but no formula.

How do we afford it, I have a businesss and investments & Dh has a good job

Love Waitrose, we got shopping each Saturday and it's normally £130 including nappies for dd. The quality of the products Is very good

We afford it as we both have good jobs that pay well.

I don't think Waitrose is that expensive. I know people who go to cheaper supermarkets but buy branded goods. If you buy Waitrose own label it is hoid quality and good value imo.

Good not hoid!

People go to Waitrose because of the status associated with it.

I really don't think the food is any better.

We shop at the market, Co-op, Lidl and - with regret - Tesco. There is an Aldi, but dh has taken against it so we only went once. There is also a Budgens which is expensive so we don't go there either.

We are lucky having a market and lots of independent shops, so we get most meat from our butcher, and our fish from our fish shop. Both the butcher and fish shop carry, or can get, various types of game.

I agree that fruit is demonstrably better in M&S than in Tesco/Alid.
The strawberries, for example, this week, are huge and smell and taste amazing.

I vary but it's easier now there are generally just two of us. I use whichever is easier at the time - it's quicker to pop into Waitrose for a few things. I hate dragging around a huge Tesco for a loaf of bread. If I'm doing a big shop it's likely to be online Tesco. If I want flowers it's Tesco as they last longer. Nowadays I do most at M and S foodhall that has recently opened - no waste at all.

I do my weekly shop at Waitrose (£60ish for 2 adults & 3 children). We occasionally do a price comparison with Sainsbury's. Waitrose is normally about £3 per week more expensive for us, but as they pay farmers a fairer price for their milk, I'm happy to pay a little more for my groceries.

I cook everything from scratch inc bread. So usually spend 200/mth for a family of 4. For fresh fruit and veg (that lasts) and flour and basics you can't beat Waitrose really. I can get nearly 2kg of loose bananas for under a pound

200/mth a month

I shop at Ocado and Waitrose. I don't shop there because of any so called status as a previous poster suggested - who would care?! I don't earn £150k either.

We don't have a convenient Waitrose but we like to call in when we are near one. Always been pleased with anything we buy there. We do most of our shopping in Lidl, Aldi and Tesco - which are the nearest supermarkets to us. We pay using a M & S credit card which gives us points which then give us M & S vouchers which we use off food mainly from M & S - by the way M & S bananas are as cheap as anywhere else in the high street! Do Waitrose do a credit card scheme similar to M & S which will allow you to get discount off Waitrose purchases based on what you have bought eleswhere?

Even if it's twenty quid a week more expensive (which is probably an overestimate - especially if you can top up with things like laundry liquid and dishwasher tablets from Aldi) then that's only a grand a year. Real money if you're JAM but certainly not the province of the super rich. Lots of perfectly normal people spend that much on a weekly takeaway, Pret lunches or highlights.

John Lewis credit card gives you 1% cash back for spends in Waitrose which adds up if you do your weekly shop there

I do my main shop at Waitrose and it's not too expensive if you just get the Essential range stuff, some stuff like beans, frozen veg etc I wil get from Iceland or Aldi