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 have a baked beans tip.
We used to love Heinz but it got too expensive.
Started buying own brand and if you add a tiny bit of thyme and paprika you don’t even notice they’re not the nice beans anymore. (And over time you get used to the beans plain anyway and they become the ‘nice beans’)

Where is now best for toilet paper? I am still buying at ALDI but no idea if anywhere else is cheaper.

😁
Sprayer Set, Handheld Bidet Sprayer Stainless Steel Bidet Toilet Attachment Baby Cloth Diaper Washer Cleaning Shower Head with Wall Bracket Hose Set amzn.eu/d/elHq8Dk Maybe this might help

amzn.eu/d/3PiKmy0

I heard something on the radio today where they said that the "average family's annual food bill has increased by £682 since this time last year".

I'd love to know what they call an "average family shop" because I live alone and including food for my small cocker spaniel, last October my weekly shop cost me around £29 - £31, now WITHOUT the dogs food, the exact same basket of food is costing me £39, add the dog's food and I'm looking at £45 - £47, which is an increase of at least £16/week which equates to an increase of at least £832 per year, which is £150 above the "average annual increase".

Does this mean that I, as one person living alone am an "average family" and my dog makes us "above average"?

I dread to think how much someone's grocery bill has increased if there are 2 adults, a couple of teenagers and the family dog to feed.

I've only read the first 2 pages of this thread so far but I've thought of a couple of things I do that some may find helpful and I apologise immediately in case anyone has already mentioned them on pages 3-21.

Someone mentioned using the 'To good to go app. There's also Olio where people collect very short date food from stores and advertise it for free on the app. You can also get food that individual people have and don't want or even household items. I have away some breakfast Cereals if had a few or of and didn't like, dog food my dog didn't like, a fish tank, among plenty of other things and I've had a few bits from other people too.

I don't have a kettle, I have a machine that looks like a coffee machine but is only for water. It holds 4litres (almost 3 kettles worth) but only heats water as it dispenses it, so no boiling too much.

I never use a normal mug, I always use travel mugs, even at home. I'm disabled and prone to dropping things and I've been scalded by hot drinks far too many times, plus I was getting sick of having to clear up the coffee and the broken mugs. The travel mugs work great though because I'm also notorious for forgetting about a drink, then remembering it once it's cold, but now my coffee stays hot for several hours and is still warm (at a push) after 6hrs.

My son bought me a weighted blanket last crimbo and I find that's just as good as having an electric blanket, without the electricity cost.

In the summer I bought a couple of 50p packs of carrot seeds (from Wilko) which are now probably going to see me through most of the winter. I also threw some green looking potatoes into my compost bin and I've now got a lovely crop of potatoes too.

I buy a £3.70 bag of frozen stew beef in Asda, throw it with some veggies, a tin of baked beans (own brand, you don't need Heinz in a stew), oxos, etc into my electric pressure cooker and in less than 45mins I can get 4 or 5 decent servings out of it, I'll usually eat for 2 days and freeze the rest, but it should be enough for a family of 4.

I only cook with my electric pressure cooker, air fryer oven and microwave. This way everything cooks so much faster and more cheaply. I've not used my main oven or stove top in almost 3 years now.

All the lights in my house are 'smart' bulbs and I control them with my Alexa, so if I'm moving from room to room, i tell her to switch them on and off as i move around the house.

My heating thermostat is also WiFi controlled, so I can tell Alexa via my phone when I'm out to put the heating on when I'm on my way home, so it doesn't have to be on from a set time, especially if I'm out longer than planned, nor do i need to come into s cold house because I've decided not to put the heating on before i went out.

I'm planning to moving house next year and I'm currently looking at ceramic radiators rather than the ones connected to the boiler. These are electric, they heat up in a matter of minutes, you turn them off and they retain their heat for well over an hour. If I put smart plugs on them, I'll be able to control them by WiFi too.

I'm sure I can think of plenty of other money saving things but I think these will do for now.

@antelopevalley

Where is now best for toilet paper? I am still buying at ALDI but no idea if anywhere else is cheaper.

I don't app in aldi so don't know their prices but I've bought toilet paper in bulk (60+ rolls) through Wowcher and Groupon quite cheaply before now.

@Harmonypuss

I know you are posting in good faith. I have smart bulbs and plugs too, but if you are struggling to feed your family you cannot afford to buy the plugs / bulbs.

If you have them already then yes they save money but getting them is expensive.

Even the cheapest echo dot is £20, if that is your food bill for a week then you can't buy it and not eat for a week.

On my last month's delivery, butter was £1.75. Today £2.00. Yes, I agree it was more like £1.50 earlier in the year so a 25% increase.

Start looking at surpising alternatives.
Amazon fresh seems to be few pennies chealer than asda on wuite a few things like free range eggs 10p, butter 16p, 4pt semi s milk 10p

The plugs, if anyone wants smart alexa etc linked things, wait till black friday. I never buy any of these full price. 50% is minimum discount for these for me to buy

Would love to know the answer to this too.. I shop at Aldi mainly so have been getting my toilet paper there but wondering if there is a better alternative online/anywhere else...

I think it’ll be difficult to get a good feel for how much extra profit they’re raking in because people are a) switching to cheaper supermarkets like Aldi, and b) switching to cheaper products that may have a smaller margin

I do agree though that supermarkets are not acting responsibly. I have noticed the milk brand that I normally buy has been steadily going up every 2-4 weeks. I can’t imagine that this is necessary.

flourescent light strips
dh turns the kitchen lights off all the time
my ddad told me years ago that it was better to leave flourescent on
have they changed?

I’ve downloaded an app called “trolley”. It can give you a price comparison between different supermarkets if you search for a particular product, although you may need to split your shopping across different supermarkets for the best deals.

Maybe if we vote with our feet supermarkets will be less free and easy with price hikes!

Milk is suffering more of a dramatic increase in price because of the heatwave. The grass didn’t grow so cows had to be fed winter food, and trailers of silage were selling for £20k, 4 times the price in the spring.

I do agree though that supermarkets are not acting responsibly. I have noticed the milk brand that I normally buy has been steadily going up every 2-4 weeks. I can’t imagine that this is necessary.

Afaik milk prices were unfairly supressed for years if not decades. They needed to raise it.

I think people are sometimes very naive about production costs and how food in uk was kept artificially very cheap.

I looked into this recently. Costco for those who have membership and Amazon (with a 15% subscribe and save discount) are sometimes good options. However, I think some of the cheaper brands are sometimes a false economy as there is less paper on the roll. Ironically, I’ve found that the Waitrose branded toilet paper is better value as it feels like you get more in each roll.

@Applesandcarrots agree.

Indeed. For decades farmers were paid 12p a litre for milk, barely covering what it costs to make it. Many farms went bust because of this.

the fault lies firmly with the dairies and supermarkets who kept the prices down, and still now won’t be taking a hit to their profits.

Milk is a strange one as on Sunday our local co-op was selling milk for £1.80 for 4 pints, but £1.50 with their co-op loyalty card and Sainsburys are offering me 2 pints of semi skimmed for 88p via the nectar app with nectar prices

@sashh

@Harmonypuss.I know you are posting in good faith. I have smart bulbs and plugs too, but if you are struggling to feed your family you cannot afford to buy the plugs / bulbs.

If you have them already then yes they save money but getting them is expensive.

Even the cheapest echo dot is £20, if that is your food bill for a week then you can't buy it and not eat for a week.

I totally agree with you here and yes, it's great if you already have all the necessary plugs, bulbs, etc.

@Applesandcarrots makes a good point about being able to buy them at around half price on Black Friday but you can usually get them via eBay all year round at acceptable prices.

I also think that if you've got someone who buys you a gift at crimbo, then maybe drop a few hints that you'd like a smart device or something to help keep you warm, that's how I got my weighted blanket, we always ask each other for gift suggestions, I gave him a list of 3 items to choose from and he bought me 2 of them.

Just another quick one, I saw the cuddle blankets (with a hood, sleeves and big pocket at half price in Tesco the other day, Sainsbury's have teddy duvet covers at a reduced price and Asda are giving good rewards on them if you have an Asda Rewards card. Just a thought if anyone is considering these things. I've got a teddy duvet set, it's so snuggly and warm when the weather gets colder, I'm buying another this week to benefit from the Asda Rewards bonus and so that I'll have one to wash and one to use for when the nights get really cold.

Prime example of supermarkets pushing price down on milk in order to get you through the door. Sainsburys are probably using it as a loss leader.

Food Factory - run by the same people that own Iceland - offer 10% off, to all over 60's, on Tuesdays.

Sorry, it's Food Warehouse not Food Factory.