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.

Or the reusable baby wipes

asda the same but there was a 4 pack for think £3.75

Exactly. Profiteering

Uni accomodation costs are crippling us too. just when you think your kids might be less costly, it's Uni time. We had to find 5k for accomodation between september and jan. Ds's student loan will not cover this and he's struggling to find work.

Cupcakeicecream

Do you have a Community Fridge, Olio, or similar near you?

Unlike a food bank, anyone can visit, you don't have to have a referral from a GP or Social Services to go there for food.
It's usually fresh food which is just on its sell-by date, collected from supermarkets but it is perfectly ok. Sometimes there is so much bread donated that they can't give it away.
(Why do supermarkets bake/order more than they know they can sell?)

We eat well as only the 2 of us now, but since I've had a bit of a health scare (pre diabetes plus very high cholesterol) - I've been really careful on not having any crap/snacks in the house- no cake, no biscuits ,no crisps etc - I've eaten a lot more tinned fish, more vegetables, no burgers or red meat apart from good quality minced beef which I now part mix with soya mince, more chicken or prawn stir fry's- no butter- hence my shopping bill has actually come down a bit . I also do a lot of yellow sticker buying on freezable stuff in M&S

Totally recommend a website called MOTATOS which sells close to best before date packet and tinned food, household cleaning stuff etc at really amazing prices - in order to save from landfill

Lidl’s own tomato soup tastes exactly the same as Heinz and it’s 45p a can. Even my fussy brother who will only eat Heinz thought it was the same.

I did a comparison of a online shop from November 2019 this week. It was 25% more. I think we’re spending nearly £100 a month more on food and household shopping.

Sorry it was 1kg, but the 500g is still 4.99

As an aside, aldi prices are rising faster than any other supermarket.

@Emmamoo89 I've switched to reusable wipes. Saves a fortune

It’s scary.

I wonder if any of the unnecessary hikes will backfire? Surely people will need to buy more fresh foods to cook from scratch, batch cook etc. The supermarket is full
of processed crap that people just won’t be able to afford anymore. And if people
are avoiding big brands, is there a danger of companies going busy due to their greed?

Someone posted about kids having very different tastes now - my kids LOVE homemade soup which is so cheap to make and can easily be an evening meal with crusty bread. So much healthier than all the processed freezer foods.

I know there are bigger struggles out there but I went in pret today for my occasional treat pre-work coffee and pasty and MY GOD. SEVEN QUID

I’ve never been a purchaser of it but WTAF is happening with the price of Lurpak???!!! Even in Aldi I do a double take; in Sainsburys I can only think it must be some sort of money laundering operation where the large Lurpak containers have entirely different contents in them than spreadable butter.

@megletthesecond off topic but I did the maths the other day, its now cheaper for me to make our own pizza than buy the cheap ones.

Just need to work out a way of freezing them so they are ready to go as no way I’m making pizza from scratch after being at work all day.

If it helps, it’s not just the UK. I’m in the US and went grocery shopping earlier and nearly choked when it came to $200. I’ve never looked at individual prices before but I’m going to start.

@Flowersonthewall6

Maybe do a test with a flat piece of cardboard and loads of clingfilm?

Coop were selling chocolate oranges for £3.50 each today!!!

We had no butter at home so I stopped at local shop for some.
£5.49p for a pound of butter!

CEO of Iceland was on Radio 4 this morning lobbying for free school dinners for everyone on UC. He made a strong point about ethical management and that big business needed to consider smaller or even no profits under the circumstances.

He was refreshing to listen to. Restored some faith in humanity

I’ve never (probably stupidly) looked at prices on food/home shopping. But I’ve saw a few of these threads lately so have started looking, I’ve been shocked at some prices! Example at asda the other day, toilet paper - near £15! I’ve no idea what it was before but surely it hasn’t always been that much. And total price at checkout is definitely creeping up each week too without a doubt

Yanbu, our budget dog and cat food have gone up by £7 each overnight, (I mean that quite literally, there was no gradual increase).

We did this with our DC in the early 2000s, too. I remember boiling up cloths in a pan! I still use flannels now rather than make-up wipes. I still cut up holey old towels to make cleaning cloths/face cloths. My mum used to use old knickers as cleaning cloths (she would carefully cut the gusset out first).

Someone mentioned tinned soup earlier. M&S tinned tomato soup is 50p per can and is a good Heinz substitute.

How many rolls was that for? I usually go for their own make, which is 9 rolls, and that's around £3.50 - £4.

I recall them being that price in the 90s. The difference is back then they were bigger and tasted lovely so worth the money as it was a real treat. Over the years they have gotten smaller and they must use cheaper ingredients as they taste rank now.