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.

Lidl's own brand ketchup (?Batts) is better than Heinz imo. Thicker and less inclined to separate.

God yes.

I just think people are stuck in habits rather than actually thinking what they are buying.

We switched to Aldi ketchup some years back because of the price of heinz. Even if heinz is better, I simply couldn't justify three or four times the cost. It made no sense. It wasn't 4 times better. Dh made a comment, about half way through a bottle, having not realised it wasn't heinz but hadn't said anything until he noticed. I said the difference in price and his reaction was that for the saving he wasn't bothered enough to switch back. Now he is fine with the taste and isn't bothered because he's used to the aldi stuff.

I hate all the snobbery around the Asda Just essentials range

I swear half of it is psychological snobbery.

It became such a joke about food snobbery in our friendship circle we've actually got a group of friends of ours to do a blind testing on a few things in the past. Asda and aldi own brands came top in the experiment on some things which did surprise them. It did completely change the outlook of a few.

Its not worth the switch for everything and there are some things some supermarkets do better than others. Aldi bread is dreadful for example. However I do think you have to ask if something is twice as good as an alternative product if its twice the price.

If you are saying you are struggling to afford things and still have branded products in your trolley, you are off your head and you are trying to live beyond your means.

The branded stuff including the economy ranges are not as bad as many make out.

I find it baffling that people are still clinging to habits rather than reason.

Lidl ketchup is good but it's almost always out of stock.

My husband usually complains about gas prices :(

I've just had a quick look at my online order from 30 Oct last year. Here's a quick price comparison of a few items between then and today.

400 g red Leicester cheese.
£2.00 then, £3.00 today

Large tiger bloomer loaf
£1.00 then, £1.50 today

6 slices honey roast ham.
£1.50 then, £2.00 today

4 pints milk.
£1.15 then, £1.55 today.

14 pork sausages.
£2.00 then, £3.89 today.

750g lurpak.
£4.00 then, £7 today.

Ridiculous!

Agree Lidl is better than Heinz for me but not my kids and as most of my ketchup eaters are autistic I have about as much chance of them swapping as the sky turning Green!! Thankfully they've only ever had value versions of many products - the Heinz ketchup was initially because of DH who was brought up in a household where they only bought branded goods (despite being low income!).

Redtoothbrush We did a baked beans and houmous taste tests at work, everyone bought in a different brand and we rated them.
Surprisingly Heinz came last and Branston won with Asda's own brand second.
Booths won the houmous with M and S second, so I guess you get what you pay for with houmous.

I have to admit I’m one of those who tended to put stuff in the trolley without thinking too much about it. Well for some things, like Heinz ketchup, salad cream, Dorset cereals, collective yoghurts, alpro etc. i always bought own brand dishwasher tablets, loo rolls, washing tablets and cleaning products though. Also loose veg and not anything trimmed or pre prepared for example. However, my attitude has totally changed. I was so shocked at the price of ketchup and salad cream v own brand I have switched, also down graded on muesli and cereals to own brand.

sadly I don’t have an Aldi or lidl nearby but will probably go past one at some point (to go somewhere else) and will stock up on non perishable stuff at the time.

Yes my little M&S food store is cheaper on many things (especially tinned/own brand) than the large Tesco.
And much nicer!

Agree with the madness of M&S being cheaper for many items than Tesco.

I don't have a car, my walking-distance supermarkets are Tesco and M&S. Formerly I would only get rare treats from M&S but now I find I'm doing half my weekly shop there! So bizarre. And the fruit/veg in particular is often only slightly more expensive but about a thousand times better quality.

Prices have really gone up this week. I was about to buy some frozen chilli cheese bites as a little treat and put them back as they have gone from £1.25 to £3.25 in a few days.
At this point it does seem like retailers are price gauging.

I buy Wright's Premium bread mix from the supermarket, and make the pizza dough the night before I want to make a pizza. Then all I have to do the next day is roll out the dough, add topping and bake. It does not take long at all to make then. The flour can be put in a bread maker, or made by hand, which is what I do.

Agree re M & S on some things, their packets of microwave rice were 50p last time I bought them versus £1 in waitrose (my two nearest supermarkets).

Just a thought my friend told me there is free delivery with Ocado and also £20 off £60 I think it was, online so as they do the M&S things it could be a good way to stock up on some of these M&S bargains.

I find the Waitrose essentials ketchup good and it is around 70p

@SlowSlowgrowingelm sainsbury's ketchup is good, my children love ketchup and have no qualms with it.

Yes, if you start using Ocado and shop carefully, it can be surprisingly good value.

I've had 2 shops so far and got £20 off the first one, and £15 off the second one. There's also loads of offers, including virtual yellow sticker offers when you check out.

You can spend a fortune there because there's a huge range of Lovely Things, but if you can resist those, it could well be less expensive than Tesco.

Seems to be plenty of delivery slots too. I've never really used online shopping but I was under the impression you had to order a few days in advance to get a delivery slot, but when I've ordered, I've been able to get free next day delivery and even now I could book a free delivery slot from tomorrow onwards.

I'm appalled at the price of tinned stuff-macaroni cheese is now £1.70, used be half that, yet if you buy 5, you get it for a quid in Waitrose. Mad.

Is it just me, my location or a conspiracy (jk)? but the own brand items/budget items in supermarkets seem to be scarcer now than they ever have been. Anyone else ?

Yep! I don’t eat bread so used to buy these really thin cheese slices from Aldi to use in place of a wrap - they were £1.69 when I started buying them about 8 months ago. They are now a whopping £3.70!!!!!!!!! So I no longer buy them. How can they justify more than doubling the price?!

The price of tinned goods is impacted in multiple ways. Cost of base ingredients going up. Cost of fuel/energy to produce and transport but also the cost of raw materials has gone up due to the demand going up.

I’ve the same problem buying glass jars. The price has shut up due to a shortage of raw materials - both virgin and recycled - and the cost to produce it.

I have noticed in Waitrose they seem to have increased these, in particular the 6 free range eggs for £1 - and other thingsm they have a new section just for these on the website as well.

I think places like Ocado, Waitrose M&S are possibly needing to compete more with the discount retailers resulting in some bargains to be had, but not everyone has discovered this yet..

Community shops / pantries are worth looking into as well. Ours is £5 a week for a family for £15-£20 of food, I have recently had local organic sourdough bread, kefir and quinoa, things I would not usually be buying.

Does anyone know of a decent cheaper instant coffee?
We used to have a tassimo which we got rid of and now generally buy kenco instant but even that is extortionate these days.
I've tried a few from Aldi and don't really like them.

The speed at which prices go up and down and the amount is bonkers. Went to the local co op Monday for Diet Coke cans which had been £3.50 and flagged as a special offer. They were £4 so I went to sainsburys where they were £4.50 but I was in danger of spending more on petrol so I bought them. Went to the co op this morning for something else, Diet Coke cabs now a fiver.

One positive for me is I’ve lost over half a stone in weight recently as I don’t buy as many treats in my weekly food shop in an effort to keep costs down! Not the point of this thread I know but I’m more aware of the money I used to waste on junk food and takeaways and have realised I can live quite happily without them and appreciate a take away much more as it’s only an occasional treat.