Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think the cost of food is rising significantly?

206 replies

NotWithABang · 27/02/2018 13:58

Or is it just me? The last few weeks/months when I've been food shopping, I've noticed the cost appears to be going up and up.
I shop mostly in Lidl and Aldi too, so it's not as though I'm shopping in M&S or Waitrose (where I would expect my shop to be costly). It cost me nearly £1 for a pack of six small, unbranded fromage frais. I spent nearly £40 for three of us (one of whom is 3) and it won't last us more than probably the weekend, that was with only buying one pack of meat. No nappies or cleaning products included in that, nothing from the 'magical middle aisles'. All just basic food, some fruit and veg for meals and lunches this week. I used to be able to get away with spending £25 on the top up shop a week/every 10 days, after doing one big monthly shop for about £70. Now it's more like £100 for the monthly shop, and about £40 a week topping up.

OP posts:
Toffeelatteplease · 27/02/2018 15:43

Yes the basics have gone up, but actually I think some of better stuff hasn't gone up proportionally.

Eg salmon there is much less difference between the cheap stuff in the freezer and the nice stuff so I end up buying the nice stuff more.

Cantspell2 · 27/02/2018 15:52

I bought a tray of six pork chops in Lidl last week for Around £2.50 enough for 2 meals for a family of 4 add a bag of spuds and some frozen veg and I have 8 meals for under a fiver.
I still think food is pretty cheap.
I buy what is on offer and eat seasonally to keep the food bill at reasonable levels.
Things like good coffee I stock pile when a decent offer is on. Cleaning/toothpaste/loo roll/cat food type stuff I buy from wilko or Lidl. Their own brands are fine and I don’t need or want to spend £2 on fairy.

TheClitterati · 27/02/2018 15:57

It doesn't seem that long ago I was buying 250gms butter for 85p. Them it leapt to £1.40 now it's more like £1.60 or more

Yes I have noticed food rising quite steeply lately. They will probably start doing the shrinking portion thing we saw happening everywhere in 2008 again.

UAEMum · 27/02/2018 16:01

Living overseas i always moan about the cost of food here, which is about 2.5x the UK. However when i was home in the uk this summer i noticed things are more expensive now. There are still loads of offers on crap like biscuits and chocolate though.

NameChangeDestroyer · 27/02/2018 16:07

@cantspell2 - how on earth do you manage to get 8 meals out of 6 pork chops??!

I agree though that food prices are going up. But we're fortunate that we can stock up on deals when they are available.

Cantspell2 · 27/02/2018 16:13

They are quite thick chops so I will take the thickest and slice them to make thinner chops. I will then have at least 8 chops and I will take the thinner chop as I don’t want as much pork as my sons will eat.
All it takes is a sharp knife and any cut of meat can be cut to maximise meal potions. Doesn’t work with lamb though as the chops are too small😟

gussyfinknottle · 27/02/2018 16:14

I wonder why ?... Brexit, what did you expect?

TheSnowFairy · 27/02/2018 16:16

Yes, definitely. Have just cancelled our Tesco delivery saver as the prices jumped so much we went from doing a weekly shop to every 2/3 weeks and it isn't worth it.

Butter is the worst. Need a cheaper alternative to Country Life!

DressAndGo · 27/02/2018 16:18

Will get even worse. Brexit hasn't happened yet.

BewareOfDragons · 27/02/2018 16:19

YANBU. We have cut things out, but we're still spending the same, if not more. Very demoralizing and frustrating.

seedsofchocolate · 27/02/2018 16:22

You have been used to cheap food for far too long. Elsewhere in Europe it's far costlier. I suspect prices will continue to rise too, and stay higher once Britain finally leaves the EU.

lifechangesforeverinjuly · 27/02/2018 16:23

Aldi has raised their prices considerably, I've stopped going. I can get the same shopping for the same price or cheaper at Tesco, including better brands and the lifesaver that is scan and shop!

Rumpledfaceskin · 27/02/2018 16:24

It’s definitely gone up a lot. I’m finding Lidl as expensive now as Morrison’s (that’s our only choices in my town) and pretty shit quality so I’ve quit it for now. I can’t really keep up with our food bills these days. We’re eating a lot more veggie which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Worldsworstcook · 27/02/2018 16:24

We only have asda, Tesco, sainsburys, lidl and m&s in NI so where we shop is limited. No Waitrose or Aldi. We have moved from Tesco online shopping to asda because it's soooo much cheaper - like £20 pw cheaper. Butter has got ridiculous, even worse cause we use unsalted which was 69p in lidl and now £1.18 ish. We are bulk buying deals on loo roll, shampoo etc to offset groceries rises.
Everything's got so dear.

Mia1415 · 27/02/2018 16:25

Yes it is increasing. I work in food manufacturing and there are several reasons:

  • the cost of ingredients (butter especially)
  • the increase in living wage (that cost has to go somewhere and don't forget that this cost impacts on the producers, the manufacturers and the retailers)
  • Brexit!

I fear it is just going to get worse.

Rumpledfaceskin · 27/02/2018 16:27

Yep thanks brexit. We’d beter all get used to being considerably worse off. Since when has food on the continent been more expensive? I don’t recognise that at all. I though Britain had always had more expensive food than many European countries.

MsGameandWatching · 27/02/2018 16:27

The exact same weekly shop that used to cost me around £70 a week in 2014 now costs me around £110 plus. I food shop exclusively on line and have done since around 2008, it's definitely rising in big bounds.

stargirl1701 · 27/02/2018 16:27

It's only going to get worse, I think. My Grandmother (born 1920s) in rural Ireland recalls chicken being a luxury food. The 2020s may be similar.

Butterfly1975 · 27/02/2018 16:31

Totally agree Aldi and Lidl aren't as competitive for some things as they were. The branded stuff is often cheaper in Sainsburys or Tesco. I still have my staple products I buy from there like cereal and eggs which are definitely cheaper.

I'm finding trips to the supermarket really frustrating as whatever is on offer has generally sold out! I'm doing smaller shops more often these days just to buy what we need. There hardly ever seems to be any good deals on tea/coffee and other staples.

gussyfinknottle · 27/02/2018 16:36

Which is why I am growing my own this year.

AgnesBrownsCat · 27/02/2018 16:37

I think it’s not that food is getting more expensive , it’s just that it’s been kept artificially low for years with European subsidies . Increased minimum wage will drive up prices across the board for starters .
Can you look to reduce other bills eg expensive phone contracts , reduce alcohol consumption,sky tv etc ? Food is one of the most important bills in my opinion but some people ( not you necessarily) would rather eat shite just to go to Benidorm for a week .

It’s only in recent years that chicken has become so cheap ( largely due to mass production and decreasing welfare standards ) .

seedsofchocolate · 27/02/2018 16:39

Rumbled, IME it's imported brand names that are especially expensive, plus things like butter (which isn't used like olive oil) tend to be high. I pay about 350e for 250grams - fortunately it lasts around a month in my house. cleaning products and the like also tend to be a bit pricier... (less two for one and bulk buying offers)

But where we compensate - and it kind of evens out, is the local produce. Which is plentiful and on sale at farmers markets everywhere. I can fill a small trolley with very fresh fruit and veg, honey, nuts and olive oil for far less than I would back in the UK.

I was always shocked at how cheap everything was at UK supermarkets after years of living in Southern Europe. Most of what I saw as cheap though, never always equated to decent quality.

user187656748 · 27/02/2018 16:40

I pay a lot of attention to food prices and they've gone up significantly. I don't think it will stop here.

We are lucky in that we have a good joint income but even so I bulk buy the special offers on things we use regularly and will keep and shop the middle aisle for random offers before going up and down the aisles.

user187656748 · 27/02/2018 16:44

Grin good luck gussy

In reality you may well find that unless you have an awful lot of time you end up with 30 courgettes and bags and bags of potatoes rather than realistically being able to easily grow enough different types of fruit and veg to keep you going.

I started in earnest last year. We had very successful courgettes and potatoes. Herbs were good, spinach was easy, spring onions and leeks were good. We had broccoli coming out of our ears. Garlic and rhubarb are doing well for this year.

Everything else was a little more difficult to pull off and so it became a bit repetitive. You really do need to invest the time (mainly in pest control!)

Valentinesfart · 27/02/2018 16:50

he's been ill every time but I cant help worrying his illness are my fault as poverty is effecting every aspect of our lives an I can't see things improving anytime soon

It is not your fault.

Even if PP think people are spending food budget on trips to Benidorm Hmm

Swipe left for the next trending thread