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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to find food prices bewildering?

210 replies

GuyMontag · 22/09/2022 23:50

Like I think most people I've tended to always keep a weather eye on food prices, buying here and there, near work, near home, maybe a wee top up in b&m/home bargains from time to time, kind of aware of shelf prices, getting things cheap when I can.

But fuck me, not any more. Prices are all over the place now. Massive increases, but really uneven across the shops, so that I don't know what to do or how to buy . All I know is that everything is scary expensive compared to even a few months ago and I can't shop around it.

Anyone else?

OP posts:
ValBiro · 22/09/2022 23:52

An 8 pack of croissants was £5 in Waitrose yesterday. £5 I tell thee!

I agree, OP.

womaninatightspot · 22/09/2022 23:56

£1.99 for own brand supermarket butter.

Original poster
GuyMontag · 22/09/2022 23:59

Five pounds?!

Piss taking bastards.

I notice that a tiny pack of lurpak is now "reduced" to just £4 in my local co op. Reduced from what? The word means fuck all these days. Maybe it was £9 last week, maybe £7, there is no base price and it changes all the time. Fucking m&s sushi is cheaper. Sometimes. And then sometimes not.

It's doing my fucking head in .

OP posts:
womaninatightspot · 23/09/2022 00:00

I also agree it's painful even a 3 pack of extra chewing gum in Aldi went up from 99p to £1.25 overnight. Honstly I pretty sure I visibly flinch when going round the supermarket encountering next whopping great rise.

Luxurysleuth007 · 23/09/2022 00:05

Agreed OP. It baffles me how something can be priced so differently across the stores. Luckily I don’t mind shopping around but for those restricted with time and opportunity it’s an expensive pain.

Original poster
GuyMontag · 23/09/2022 00:06

Yes. It's like, what fresh hell awaits now. I mean I know it's going to be more, but I don't know by how much. And by the time I get to the next shop, they will probably be charging more. Or will have sold out. It's like foraging but shit, boring and with no win.

OP posts:
user1745 · 23/09/2022 00:19

I'm finding the "cheap" supermarkets like Lidl aren't cheap anymore. They're on a par with Sainsburys. We used to do the main shop at Sainsburys and just get a few things that were better value from Lidl, but there's no point anymore.

And some products have increased in price several times in a few months.

PeloFondo · 23/09/2022 00:28

user1745 · 23/09/2022 00:19

I'm finding the "cheap" supermarkets like Lidl aren't cheap anymore. They're on a par with Sainsburys. We used to do the main shop at Sainsburys and just get a few things that were better value from Lidl, but there's no point anymore.

And some products have increased in price several times in a few months.

I was in Aldi looking at the "posh" pizza, specially selected or whatever. Noticed it was nearly £5. That's the price that the Sainsburys posh pizza used to be!
I'm mostly using Tesco online and scrolling through for their Aldi price matches

Scribl · 23/09/2022 00:30

This week is the first week I've been shocked even though I knew what was coming.

Dishwasher power that has been £3 per kilo forever in Tesco went to £3.25 a few weeks ago but is £4 this week.

Jam that was £1.40 then increased to £1.50 is suddenly £2. Two pounds for a relatively tiddly jar of jam.

This is just a snapshot, but YIKES.

IncessantNameChanger · 23/09/2022 00:30

I compared Tesco to lidl last week and my weekly shop of around £70 was less than £4 cheaper in Lidl. So not much in it.

I did a top up of fruit and veg in sainsbury's today and it was on par with Lidi. Peppers and cucumber was more expensive but your talking of a total saving of maybe £1 on a £22 shop.

What saves me money is only buying exactly what I need and meal planning. I only get one or two treats per shop for say the kids snacks now.

At least in Sainsbury's you can scan as you go. I went home once it went over £20 today. Plus I filled the car up there. If I'd gone to Lidil I'd have possibly saved £1 or picked up other crap as couldn't see a running total then still had to drive to fill the car up.

Bottom line is its changing too fast to shop around unless your getting favourites your sure are cheaper by quite a margin in one shop, in which case stock up once a month.

It's depressing

QueenOfHiraeth · 23/09/2022 00:32

It annoys me that they make the prices incomparable so 3 lots of bananas and one is priced per pack, one is priced per kilo and one is priced per banana. You need a degree in maths to shop efficiently!

Arenanewbie · 23/09/2022 00:38

I was at Aldi today and 4 pints bottle of semi skimmed milk was £1.55. I came back home and googled Waitrose - £1.50 WTF????
New potatoes and beetroot are both currently on offer at M&S and they are the cheapest in town.

notnowdennis · 23/09/2022 00:40

£8 for a jar of instant coffee ffs!

fallfallfall · 23/09/2022 00:40

i presume old stock is at lower price and as new stock comes in the price goes up. some shops obviously have bigger warehouses and can hold off on raising their prices.

Manchestermummax3 · 23/09/2022 00:42

I had an £8 budget for a top up this week (please don't judge, it really is that bad)
I bought

wafer thin cheap chicken sandwich meat
butter (250g)
iceberg lettuce

value yogurts (6 pack, non branded)
Own brand loaf of bread
4pts semi milk
1 pack of baby Wipes
4 potatoes
2 bananas

£12!!!!!

Aretheyhavingalaugh · 23/09/2022 00:44

I've been keeping an eye on prices as a lot of us have and noticed the following in Tesco:

1Kg Frozen beef was £4.00 NOW £5.50

Raspberry and coconut cake was £1.35 and always on offer for £1.00 NOW £1.90

4 x Kitchen rolls was £3.50 now £4.00

Cat 10l was £1.55 NOW £2.00

24 DIET COKE was £8.00 NOW £10.00

There's loads more but those were the first ones that came to my head, that's £5.45 more expensive across 5 products!!! Insanity

IncessantNameChanger · 23/09/2022 00:50

Things like kitchen roll, you can replace with blue roll or the hand dryer type rolls if you join Costco. Unfortunately it's a pack of 6 but obviously lasts forever.

The cheap things I normally buy I'm noticing are always sold out now as well which is a pain.

Tha · 23/09/2022 00:53

I went through the self checkout the other day and a 12 pack of toilet roll was £13.50. £13.50!?? To wipe our arses? Asked the helper lady to cancel it and I wasn't even ashamed. I will use fucking LEAVES before I pay £13.50 for toilet roll.

DevaleraSpawnOfSatan · 23/09/2022 01:00

We have a Tesco delivery, we are ok financially thank God, but we I have always drilled into DS (21) the importance of looking at prices on the shelves. He always looks at the price by 100 grammes etc., so if I have done nothing else right I have done that. 👌

Anyhoo.......... I digress, we nipped into Tesco the other day and we had, had their lemon drizzle cake on clubcard offer and it was now off offer, I looked at the price of it and said, I don't bloody think so,(£2.90) he agreed and then he said Mum look at all the price labels, they are all new and fresh, , so we both came to the conclusion that the labels are being printed off and changed on a weekly basis. 😥

Aretheyhavingalaugh · 23/09/2022 01:03

Tha · 23/09/2022 00:53

I went through the self checkout the other day and a 12 pack of toilet roll was £13.50. £13.50!?? To wipe our arses? Asked the helper lady to cancel it and I wasn't even ashamed. I will use fucking LEAVES before I pay £13.50 for toilet roll.

Farm foods have a really good deal with toilet paper, they are a pack of 18 rolls but you get 4 packs so 72 rolls for £19 and they are decent quality. It works out 26p a roll compared to the ones you just mentioned costing £1.12 a roll. I'd never really shopped In farm foods until recently but it's good value for toilet roll. BUT they did used to be £16.00 for 72 rolls so those have still gone up

mackthepony · 23/09/2022 01:07

It's absolutely unbelievable

Those toilet rolls!

😭

PeloFondo · 23/09/2022 01:07

Tha · 23/09/2022 00:53

I went through the self checkout the other day and a 12 pack of toilet roll was £13.50. £13.50!?? To wipe our arses? Asked the helper lady to cancel it and I wasn't even ashamed. I will use fucking LEAVES before I pay £13.50 for toilet roll.

I bought some online for a decent price. It arrived and it's fucking scented Angry
Didn't mention that in the description
Had to swap it with my dad who is happy with his new scented loo roll, and I've got his not scented Andrex don't want thrush thanks

MarieKlepto · 23/09/2022 01:09

It's utterly mad. I did our totally boring basics for the week (lunches, stuff for meal planning, etc) shop tonight. ASDA, closest to us, can walk there and back - the glamour! £35 was the norm and we weren't going for own brand, deals, etc. Same shop tonight. £48. I noticed two little steaks in a pack were £11.50. Thank god we don't eat meat!

Danikm151 · 23/09/2022 01:10

Everything is creeping up and it’s hard to budget.
some increases are ridiculous, items that were £1 were up to £1.25 now £1.50 in the space of a month. Wages aren’t stretching as far.

horsemadgal · 23/09/2022 01:19

Those Farmfoods toilet rolls are now £22 for 72 rolls, they were £10 at the start of lockdown.