To think this increase in cost is going to break me?

[Yummmyy]

I earn a decent salary. Whenever I go to Tesco for a basic food shop, sone items are going up literally 50p plus within a matter of two weeks. Orange juice was 2.20 for Tesco’s basic, the most expensive 4.30!!

Yes I know orange juice isn’t an essential but when you’re well above minimum wage and have to cut something like that out of your food shop it does make you question what’s the point… anyone else relate to this? I just don’t know where it’s going to end

Wow, ours is £720 a year!

It depends what you buy surely? I could get everything I need for a weeks shop.from either Aldi or Lidl.

They do pay council tax.

Yes, why is that? A sack of tatties back in my childhood 70s would last the winter when my mum bought them. No hope these days.

I don't eat bread, tinned soup or cereal, none are in my weekly shop. I buy fresh wholefoods and cook. Easy to make soup gluten free, live without bread and cereal. Or just goto a major supermarket for those specialist items if they're essential. You still save money.

Never buy peppercorns etc in the supermarket!

Dairy- including milk- has risen enormously. A 4-Pinter of the filtered supermarket milk went up across all the chains from 1.50 to 1.90 last year (I forget when- maybe September?), butter went up last month from 1.79 to over £2, cheese has gone up. Eggs have gone up a lot. 6 free range eggs are now over £1.50 where a few months ago they were £1.20.

In veg, greens have gone up a lot, even leeks, which are over £2/kg, and celery went up from 49p to 69p in the last month.

I also cook a lot from scratch and no, I don’t think the increase is down to price rises in processed foods. If anything, the jars of sauce and oven chips I buy tend to be the same price- it’s fresh stuff that keeps going up.

I'm an electrician, the price of a Rointe electric radiator has gone up from £320 to £370 in a month, bonkers!

Or consider how much shareholders are getting back for their investment.

Tesco's capitalisation is £25.10 billion. £1.8billion post tax profit means that shareholders would get 7% return on their capital, if all the profit was returned to them in dividends rather than invested.

You can get 4.7% by putting your money in the bank.

So they're risking their money - with profits barely more than bank interest - in the hope that the company will become more valuable, by making good use of the money they invested. By genuinely creating extra value. But it could just as easily lose value.

Presumably you like there being supermarkets where you can buy food?

They vary so much

My dad wanted to go to my local Aldi to see if they had the gin he likes, his local one is always out of stock
He walked in with me and did a double take and said "blimey, this isn't like Aldi!"
I was confused and he said his always has empty shelves, messy etc
My local is immaculate, full of special buys and always well stocked

Took this photo the other day for him as he asked if it was still the same

Well I do eat those things. I do also cook from scratch but it's nice to be able to make a sandwich or have a bowl of soup.

I paid £3 for theee oranges last week. I don’t think juicing your own is the answer.

Well thats good for you but not everyone can get to an Aldi!

I remember potatoes lasting as well but they weren't washed. They still had the soil on them which keeps them fresh foe longer. We used to buy them from a local farm amd keep the sack in the garage where it was cold and the would last months.

I can’t. I always have to go to another shop as well as Aldi/Lidl. I’ll go for specific things like Christmas biscuits but don’t bother for a full shop.
And I am always dismayed at the amount of plastic packaging they use, and the lack of higher welfare meat, compared to the supermarkets. Yes, I know I should buy meat from a butcher and we often do, but we can’t do it every week because of work commitments.

Tesco profit is tiny in comparison to its turnover. About 2% or so. We are very lucky to have such a competitive grocery market- it's one of the reasons food is comparatively cheap compared to other countries.

I do understand tho op - everything has gone up recently and normal life is becoming more and more expensive

Food may be quite cheap relative to other countries but we are a low wage economy, soon to be the employers v the employees & unemployed. A lot of the problems with unemployment is that companies are reducing jobs to make that extra profit and therefore senior management salaries and dividends.

Nothing is going to happen until there is a tax on ultra high salaries and to ensure that any money being transferred off shore has already paid UK tax on it.

It's time to put the blame of the economy on the rich rather than the poor and struggling.

Water rates and council tax will be going up soon too - by a lot for many.

I just don't know how the people living hand-to-mouth with no safety cushion are managing.

I stopped buying orange juice around 20 years ago because it was bad for me and expensive.

I only drink water..

Mine is over £1200 this year 😱 we definitely need to switch to a meter

The problem is zero wage growth. The cost of food in the UK is cheap and has been for a long time. The problem is that those at the top also want very cheap labour and so most people’s wages are literally the same as they were in the 90s.

Good for you! Doesn’t mean everyone should do the same.

I am buying very much based on price. We are also eating more bread.

I disagree- I think you’ve got cheap prices and crap food quality in England. It’s bad for everyone’s health and the agricultural industry. The only ones who really benefit are the supermarket big wigs. Everyone else loses long term

My understanding is that many people on UC still have to pay some rent too as not all the amount is covered by UC in these days of awfully high rents. I also understand that many people on UC are also in paid employment. My own thoughts are that not needing to be on UC - for reasons of low pay, serious disability or serious illness, for example - is something to be grateful for.