To be scared to go food shopping?

[dottypotter]

It's not pleasurable at all with all the costs rising?
No wonder lots of people can't afford food?
I saw a box of cereal for £4!!!!!!!!!
Anyone else dread it?

Food is ridiculous at the moment

I do it online so I don't have to see it all!

I filter low to high and take my chances with the cheaper option. Not quite at the point of buying all the basic brand but have tried a few

Cereal has been creeping up in costs for years

Only if you are buying 1kg of kellogg’s Crunchy nut. A 500g of Tesco cornflakes is 65p. Prices have risen but not as much as your post suggests.

I do it out of morbid curiosity but if I think something has got ridiculous I don’t buy it.

Go for own brands.

This box of cereal was in a small Co-op.

YANBU.

I just did my online order. I’ve taken loads of things off and it was still over £100 for 3 of us. There was only 2 bits of meat on there and hardly any veg. We don’t eat ready meals so I can’t fathom why it is so much. It’s worrying.

Branded cereal has always been relatively expensive, and there is usually a mark up in convenience stores

Aldi or Lidl

Cheap but less variety

Dread it.

The cheapest cooking oil in my local yesterday was a fiver. A fiver for oil?!

I try to go to Aldi but it involves a drive a fair way away. Looks like ‘local shopping’ is out for me from now on.

I mainly buy own brand products, and I’ve still noticed a big rise in my shopping bill.

Co op is always overpriced though

That should’ve said local Sainsbury’s

If you're not bothered about branded foods, go to Aldi or Lidl. I also bulk out meals with lentils and pulses, but it's because I'm trying to cut down on meat for environmental reasons. It has the added benefit of reducing cost too though.

Aldi's prices have deffo gone up in the past year though too...I used to buy butter in Aldi at 1.79 and the same pack is now 2.25!

Yes things are getting more expensive but there’s plenty of cereal that isn’t £4 so that’s an extreme example.

I do online. It's really increased a lot.
The thing is as well though the budget brand (Asda) are often sold out on some of the things we like to get as well!

I swear since they did the whole rebrand thing at Asda for that range/before this whole cost of living, they weren't sold out.

Co-ops are for millionaires

YANBU, it’s awful, but I’ve gone the other way

You pay through the nose for food anywhere at the moment, doesn’t matter what shop. M&S for the same ten items was cheaper than Tesco. I’d rather have the tastier stuff that lasts longer for the same price rather than the Clubcard false economy. My pack of red peppers from Tesco were mouldy after a day last week and cost more than in M&S.

Pricing up a Chinese takeaway and thought £15 to feed two adults with leftovers was expensive. However, when I went round the supermarket collecting items for DIY homemade Chinese I realised the total in my basket was over £20, then you have to go through the hassle of cooking it

Long winded way of saying consider the options that you might’ve written off as more costly previously.

This!
Or for absolute emergencies only.

Everything has risen, but basics have risen most noticeably for me. Porridge oats which I used to get 2x1kg boxes for £3 are now 2x1kg boxes for £4. (I know they’re not the cheapest ones, but we can afford it and they make porridge that we like to eat every day). Milk has gone up in a few months from 89p for 2 pints to £1.30. Morrisons used to have a regular selection of meat and fish items at 3 for £10. Now the best offer is 2 for £8. Butter is astronomical - I am a Lurpak lover and £5 is now usual for a pack which cost about £2.50 less than a year ago. Special offers are meagre and far less frequent than they used to be, except on processed crap.

Proportionately, food has risen more quickly than I can ever remember it in my adult life, and I’ve been buying for over 30 years. This time last year I was getting a full week’s food/toiletries/cleaning products/everything shop for the two of us for about £60. Now I find it hard to do the same for less than £100. We are very lucky that we are comfortably off, but I would never have thought I’d have to budget for such a rise in such a short space of time. Both of us work in the public sector too, so our tiny pay rises have made no dent in the inflation.

I shopped at Aldi last time as managed to get a lift. The fruit and vegetables didn't last very long. At Asda the carrots last ages. Was really disappointed with those things. Oh yes and foil and bin bags were cheaper sure but absolutely rubbish quality. Not worth paying less for cos I'm putting less in the bin bags and the foil tears really easily.

I try to buy reduced where I can. It’s shocking

They should be. Unfortunately they are often in some of the poorest areas where people don’t have resources to travel to get value or enough at one go to afford online. Guardian article about food deserts

I've been shopping online for a few years now.

Last year, I increased my food/household budget by 20%.

I like to maintain a decent stock of basics (bought when on offer).

Last week in basics I needed only some washing-up liquid (own brand) that was 4x75p bottles.

Still, my basket was way over my budget.

As a one-person household this is scary but manageable as I have some 'treats' that can be reduced or removed.

I really can't imagine what it is like with a family.

I usually buy own brand cereals etc but lately I've noticed own brand stuff always seems to be out of stock online. This is with Morrison⁩s. Anyone noticed the same with other shops online? It's annoying paying extra for branded. I don't always have a chance to get to a large supermarket in the week.

It's depressing how much it costs for so little.