A thread for buying some extra groceries every week for a buffer for winter and Christmas

[Swifey40]

I thought I would try to put by some extra stuff for the above. I have eaten through our brexit stash and our covid stash, but our mortgage has just jumped considerably and I have some chronic health conditions and thought it would be a good idea!

I already have a shelf in the utility room which has at least 2 of toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc, and a good stash of paracetamol and other meds.

What would you buy grocery wise that could be put away for winter?

Wine, Pickles/sauces for Christmas
Tins of tuna, beans, soups if you don't make your own
Pasta
Rice

Thanks for replying! Should have said that, I make most things from scratch, but of course there's only so much room in the freezer! The dc will eat all soups, but are partial to heinz tomato soup of course! Good call

Tbh it's the household things that mount up so I'd also get things like extra washing gel, softener, dishwasher tablets when on offer, loo roll etc if you have space.

What about putting the cash into a short term savings account instead?

Otherwise, Morrisons have 25% off 6 bottles of wine currently. Maybe crackers/sauces/condiments/crisps/olives etc- but obviously check the use by dates.

I currently have a batch of pink elder champagne on the go. No idea what it will taste like, but for the cost of some sugar and water- its worth a try.
https://www.joanransley.co.uk/journal//2015/07/pink-elderflower-champagne.html

I'd go for jams, Nutella, marmalade, marmite etc or you could make your own jams this summer.
Tea, coffee, hot choc.
Ketchup, other table sauces.
Long life milk, oats, granola.
Flours, sugars & other baking stuff.

Basically buy your normal groceries in triplicate when they're on offer anywhere and store at least two of them.

Things I cook with all the time, particularly in the winter. Tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, tinned beans/chickpeas, coconut milk, red lentils, rice, pasta. Oats, sultanas, nuts for porridge.

I'd agree that at the moment it might be better to put a bit away in an interest bearing account - 3% or more is available now. Maybe put together an online shop for everything for Christmas to get a savings goal, but don't buy it for now.

Food inflation was 19% for the year to March, don't know about now but I'd guess it will still be much higher at Christmas than what you'd get in interest on savings. I think it's higher than 19% for poor people.

I know you said you cook from scratch most of the time - as do I - but at Christmas I like to have a couple of jars of cranberry sauce, packet bread sauce, Paxo sage & onion, and Bisto turkey gravy granules. I start stocking up in August usually - frozen cocktail sausages, frozen ready-made puff pastry, every other week I'll add a bottle of sherry, or port, or a cocktail ingredient to the usual shop - we end up with a nice collection by December and no massive outlay in one go.

Canned tomatoes are great as they are so versatile. Otherwise I'd just put aside the long life things you regularly use but always put new stock at the back. We don't use many long life products so hard to advise. Cleaning products though are a good call but I would also try opening an account and putting what you can afford monthly into it

As everyone else has said, sauces, dried items such as pearl barley, oats, lentils, tinned soup, tinned veg, gravy granules, stock pots, sugar, tea, coffee, hot chocolate. I tend to start my Christmas stash around September and buy boxes of biscuits, tins of chocolates, sauces which we only tend to eat at Christmas and cheese biscuits, only if they have good dates obviously. I also save my clubcard vouchers to help with extra bits at Christmas and my bank account reward of £5 per month goes towards my turkey.

Work out what you regularly cook in winter and what of that is store cupboard ingredients and buy those. Buy when they are on offer. Add foods you commonly eat at Christmas or buy to take when visiting. Specific Christmas foods you'll have to wait until they show up in the shops and if any offers start. If there are typically big offers on then wait to buy.

Stock up on loo roll, washing detergent, fairy liquid, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, soap, sanpro etc.

Cat food keeps going up and up so I'd have a buffer if you have cats.

I would stock up on any booze that is on offer over the coming months. Also, things like washing up liquid, laundry detergent, bleach and whatnot.

I guess rice, pasta, condiments, cereals etc. Most dry stuff will keep.

As an aside, if you have a lot of dry ingredients and usually make a lot of soups from scratch, you could keep any jars you use between now and Christmas and then make up some soup kits either for yourself to grab-and-go or as gifts for people (eg https://wholefully.com/homemade-soup-mixes-in-a-jar/)

Call me ungrateful or spoilt but I wouldn't be delighted if someone gave me a jar of lentils for Christmas.

Thankyou soooo much for this!!! I’m not stockpiling or anything but I really like this idea!! I’ll be making some of these with my children for family without a doubt!!! 💐💐

Should have added who I was replying to (🙄).
Gettingfleeced!!!

For us, in case it helps, I'd be looking at:

Tea
Hot chocolate

Sugar
Flour
Dried fruit
Tinned fruit
Oats

Oat milk

Rice
Spices
Coconut milk (except we have a fuck ton already)
Tinned tomatoes (ditto)
Lentils

Cat food
Cat litter

Toothpaste
Shower gel
Laundry stuff
Tin foil
Conditioner

I might possibly freeze butter

Marzipan is often reduced in the summer if you use for Christmas cake

I would also look at hot water bottles and/or heated blankets now rather than once everyone starts thinking about them, same for any home repairs/chimney sweeping. Which reminds me, logs and firelighters.

Veering away even further from food, I'd keep a leisurely eye on anything like books, jigsaws etc that you might encounter second hand and are likely to use come the winter.

I started panicking in 2022 about food rises I found availability patchy especially around value or own brand.
My local lilds regularly had no tinned tomatoes/ passatta/ pasta/oils.
Their own brand cheap ketchup was replaced with just expensive heinz for over 6months
As soon as Ukraine War started I bulk brought oils when 1 litre veg oil was 1.09 now £2.40 and could get olive oil lilds or aldi for £2.59/ 2.79 now £3.99 or above.
I read the drought last year Italy was affecting durum wheat pasta and tomatoes so decided would buy a years worth of chopped tomatoes 28p at that time.
Passatta and tomato puree
I cook from scratch a lot so things like pasta sauces/ casseroles/pizza topping/ salsa all involves these.
So worked on calculations would use
2 tins of tomatoes per week so brought 104 over 6 weeks different shops.
52 passatta
52 puree again brought between lilds and aldi each week until reached magic number.
1

Also bulk brought cheap ketchup when I could find sainsbury value kids don't mind and was cheapest must have brought 12 bottles as use 2 bottles a month.
I brought 4 pack baked beans in lildls early Oct 2022 estimated use 1 tin a week so needed 52 can.

Cost me £1.09 was 99p last summer now £1.85!

I bulk brought other tinned beans
Herbs/ spices / stock cubes and packet mixes. I buy on offer or multi buy or supermarket own brand tesco do a red and white wine stock pot huge saving as mini bottles wine gone up..
Aldi currently have some swartz packet mixes on offer 59p and the jars of Italian seasonal herbs on offer .
Red lentils and grains
Paella rice / rissotto rice That's really gone up aldi on special seems be Cheapest place.
I'm crap at cooking normal rice either goes soggy/ burns or I make far too much I prefer boil in bag and would say family of 6 we eat rice as side once a week and 2 bags is enough
Theres 8 in a box and they used be 89p for 8 bags. Then went upto 99p so brought quite a few now in lidls is £1.49.
I have a years worth rice.

Same with value pasta which used to be 20p and value penne 28p in most places start of 2022.
Brought 52 of each again over time different shops so dident look like a psycho.
Current cost now 28 to 30p spaghetti and 41_45p value penne.

Dident buy that many value sauces wish I had but have the passatta so can make my own.
All pasta sauces gone up including value which only kids like.
I only buy branded sauces pasta or curry when on offer.
Brought a few curry kits and pastes instead as many of them require 1 Tim tomatoes and puree.
Pasta bake jar always a useful standby too current price value pasta sauce 47p to 50p was 39p.

We turned cupboard under stairs into backup pantry.
Its not huge so decided just basics buy years worth.

Recently bulk brought sugar and coffee as that's been going up loads
Get £2.39 aldi gold its £2.49 lilds they both used be £1.89.
Sugar 1kg was 65p now even in aldi £1.05 or higher its crazy.
We get through 2 bags sugar a month in drinks/ cereal and baking.

I dident bulk buy flour as quite short dated.
Always keep long life milk emergency that's gone up a lot too almost doubled.
We don't drink it but useful in coffee and cooking so cheese sauce/ quiches or leek and potato soups.

I wish I had brought more tinned soups they really gone up too.
The kids don't mind tinned fruits in a emergency.
Another regret is not buying more spreads like jam and aldi nutters gone up whole 50p per jar.

I buy dog food, cereal, squash monthly as bulky to store.

I think I'm going to bulk buy washing tabs/ dishwasher stuff/ toilet roll/ bathroom items before winter as our fixed mortgage ends December.

I can't really buy too many treaty nice items as much as I try find them if family find nice biscuits/ crisps / chocolate/ drinks would just go even if attempted to hide them.

No idea If prices will rise more
I bulk buy any branded items I see on deal if they grocery/ambient.
I freeze any fresh offers and reductions

For me I'm sure saved lots as it's items I don't have to buy and use weekly 0lus paid lot less for.

But even so it's offsetting summer months when maybe we have a bit more money as no holiday booked , school related costs/ lower energy bills.
I'm really worried about winter and 2024 as reckon mortage go up £400 and husbands income reduce In recession.

Don't forget cheap generic medicines
Aldi/lilds cold and flu/ paracetamol/ ibuprofen , cheaper version calpol/ neuofren. Working digital thermometer/plasters 1st aid bits.
Bulk buy suncream in autumn winter when on clearance.

There is also a preppers board here if anyone is interested. Some threads may be of help.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/preppers

Pasta and pesto
Rice, risotto and paella, dried herbs and spices
Baking stuff.

Using Farmfoods, Heron Foods, Home Bargains etc etc to get your regular & good quality items at fab prices & in bulk.

FF recently have had Napolina Pasta / Sauces / Passata at value prices 19 to 49p - some with super-long dates, but it's only a guide. Tinned Organic Pinto Pinto Beans 19p, Borlotti Beans 29p. Luxury Branded Oat / Pearl milk, choc spread, nut butters etc super cheap. Allsorts. They once had amazing super posh bags of dog treats for 33p. They also have money-off coupons on top.

I look for offers on stuff I always use then buy several. Waitrose have some of the best offers, perhaps surprisingly.
Recent bulk buys on offer: coffee, tea bags, tonic water, toothpaste, loo roll.