Anyone else want to scream 😱 about prices

[Cupcakeicecream]

Anyone else feel like screaming 😱. The smart meter is now the enemy. I'm constantly topping up the meter. Yes it's prepayment they won't change it I've tried and tried. The budget just keeps getting tighter. It's hard to find cheap food no offers things constantly out of stock. You need a bank loan for just to buy toliet roll 🙄 I don't have the heating on constantly I try to just heat one room with a heater. Radiators are barely on an hour here and there to keep away damp. Dryer needs to be used in in emergency since the house is colder so clothes aren't drying properly. I use an airer and it's constantly raining and windy to use the washing line. Food budget is through the roof food is smaller and more expensive and always out of stock honestly what a joke.

I don't go to the dentist every year but when I do they have never suggested I go to the hygenist.

Oh well, I'm 54 with one filling so must just be lucky. I get £150pa from work to cover it anyway and I've not been since 2019.

What?

Not only prices are rising but also everyone has to cope with the hidden ‘shrinkflation’.

IntrovertedPenguin What loos rolls do you get please .. they sound a good buy! Thanks !

@Lovesplasticstraws moy park but Bmena hi!

Do you live near a dental hospital? If so and you have time on your hands you can get free and excellent treatment from training students. But you have to put up with hours in the chair though they are learning after all but supervised carefully by wonderful best-in-class dental surgeons and sometimes professors. I go to Guy's Hospital and have for years they are first-rate.

Yep, it's 250g of washing soda (cheap in Wilkos or old style hardware stores), one bag of soap (make sure it says soap, not beauty bar, but nice smelling ones are fine or you can use Asda value), plus 4ish litres water.

Dissolve grated soap in hot water on the stove, then stir/whisk in the soda. It'll feel weirdly heavy after you add it. Then pour it into a tub to set as it cools.

Put a scoop into each wash, direct to the drum.

Hypo allergenic, doesn't leave a smell on your clothes (very important to my ASD kids), and cheap.

You can add a few drops of essential oil, or use perfumed soap, or drop in a free sample of perfume if you're feeling fancy 😁

The amount of water is flexible. I've used between 4 and 7 litres depending on the size of tubs I have available.

Maybe I’m missing something, else allergies or free from, most of my shopping comes from Aldi or Lidl, rarely do I miss something, that I need

Indeed. Since I posted the other day my DD's smoked salmon has gone up in price yet again. It's now 150% price for 50% volume compared to a couple of years ago.

The pound shop has packets specially made now. Four or five packs of crisps, smaller chocolate bars, smaller detergents etc.

I get my full shop in Lidl. The only things I buy now and then and can't get are agave nectar and raw cocoa powder. But I can't always get them in the other supermarkets either.

I think it's a case of building your menu around their stock, rather than coming up with an aspirational menu then trying to buy for it.

Morrisons £1.99 for a tin of kippers!!😮

Not totally sure if it's cheaper but it might be;

You can make pizza easily with dough made from equal parts Greek yogurt and flour. Add a bit of pizza sauce and some grated cheddar. Takes maybe 5-10 minutes plus cooking time.

I can't even afford Spam. £2.65 for a tiny tub of it.

You could buy a whole load of stuff that is healthy for 2.65 for a main meal.

The price of wood/paper pulp has spiralled apparently, which is why we are seeing these massive increases in the price of tissue/kitchen roll.

I popped into B&Q recently to buy three rolls of wallpaper thinking it would cost me about £20 - most of the single rolls cost more than that!

Wallpaper is cheaper to buy online but of course you can't see it or take samples...

I would recommend a budget toilet roll that Tesco do called 'Aria' (blue and white packet) which is double the length of the normal. It is the only one that lasts in our house (4 people) and is about £1.90 for six rolls. It sells out very quickly though.

As well as increased demand for wood and other general building materials, paper mills and timber factories are very high energy usage businesses, so they will have seen increases in their energy costs that will have massively increased the cost of production.

I have never bought kitchen towel. It seems like a colossal waste of money! We have a rag bag of cut up old worn out/holey clothes; T-shirts, sheets, etc. If they're not used for mopping up anything too grubby then they're just washed time and time again.

i dont really use kitchen towel either, dh cleans his vape with one, that is about it, seems to be also a waste of money to mop up spills with throwaway kitchen towel

Trust the canny Scots to put it all in one place! If you don't want to do DIY -the Aldi laundry products are best of breed and can take on Aerial in independent tests.

www.scottishmultimedia.co.uk/how-to-make-laundry-cleaner

Our shopping bill has gone up by £200 a month - 5 teenagers.

We just found out that our gas and electricity bills are increasing by £400 a month combined.

We have downsized both of our cars to cheaper options (on monthly payments, fuel and insurance) and got rid of sky, but it’s a lot of money to try and find.

We both work FT in reasonably well paid jobs but we are still going to struggle.

Which Passata brand did you settle on in the end for best value? Given the price of electric I rarely make my own tomato based products now unless stored toms are going over or we have a summer glut.

With two elderly cats to feed, one with kidney problems, I'm finding cat food really pricey now. It's just as tho manufacturers know we will rarely scrimp on our pets.
The 7+ Gourmet Pate for our toothless rescue cat is now £4.65 for 8x80gm cans 😱A year ago I could get it for £3.25/3.50.

For that price I can buy a little pork joint which will last OH and I three days.
Thank you for this thread it's been enlightening.

I've been using Aria for months now and agree it's excellent value and is far better than Tescos own brand.

Don't look at the holidays board on here. There is currently a thread asking how much MNr's have spent on their 2023 holidays and it is full of huge numbers, and posters trying to outdo each other with how much they have spent and where they are going. Trying not to compare myself but it is hard.

The gap between the haves and have nots is getting bigger.

Remember to take half of what you read on there with a huge pinch of salt.

In Asda this morning and bread products I bought earlier this week have all jumped by at least 20p!

I do believe there has been definite gouging going on by some of the supermarkets for months now, hidden behind the smokescreen of global increases. Plus of course the cost of schemes like Blue Light discount won't be coming out of an Asda special money pot, it will also be spread across store prices.

My only hope is they are inflating rapidly now but in a few weeks will launch some sort of price cut marketing to make it look like they're helping customers before Christmas. Or maybe I'm deluded and we'll be eating the most expensive sprouts ever this Christmas