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Original poster

Excuse me but HOW is this a £28 shop???

189 replies

PeachesoutinGeorgia · 31/08/2023 18:32

I bought like 8 items … in ASDA? And I spent £18 on fruit and eggs in M&S shortly before which will probably last about 3 days.

Granted it’s a nice establishment but fruit elsewhere is shockingly bad and you pay like 80% of the price anyway so you may as well get the nice stuff.

Regardless £46 for a couple of days and I didn’t even get anything for me. I probably just won’t eat to be honest, maybe have some leftover egg bites and nuggets.

Literally, how are you all doing out there?

Excuse me but HOW is this a £28 shop???
OP posts:
Original poster
PeachesoutinGeorgia · 31/08/2023 19:21

I didn’t even think of B&M or Amazon! Just automatically assumed a large supermarket chain would be the cheapest place

OP posts:
Sirzy · 31/08/2023 19:21

if you are wanting to spend less then like others have said stop with the premium brands and rethink how you do things.

instead of fry light you could get a cheap spray bottle and fill it with olive oil and that alone will work out a lot cheaper.

Crikeyalmighty · 31/08/2023 19:25

I have just spent £36 in M&S . I bought raspberries, blueberries, large tub of 10% fat Greek yoghurt (amazing too) -a gluten free oat loaf, some deli items (3 for £8) pack of Cumberland sausages, broccoli, cauliflower, frozen bubble and squeak cakes, pack of 2 gluten free fish in crumbs, (reduced) 500g Aberdeen Angus mince and frozen petit pois - to be honest I don't think it's that bad - my food bills haven't rocketed, I'm just cooking differently and planning better and not ending up throwing things out

Clefable · 31/08/2023 19:26

Go down one brand on everything for a week, and then if you can't tell the difference/don't care then that's money saved instantly. We mostly buy Aldi own brand stuff and only a couple of things we've found we don't like. The price differences can be huge: box of Weetabix v box of unbranded wheat biscuits can be £2 more expensive for the same amount (£4.10 v £1.99). If you have that for every item on your list, you can see how much extra you can spend.

PetitPorpoise · 31/08/2023 19:26

You should watch those Eat Well For Less programmes on BBC iplayer. You sound exactly the sort of person that they feature.

Falling for red stickers, nothing there actually makes a meal - let alone cost effective one. All brands.

Floralnomad · 31/08/2023 19:26

Britneyfan · 31/08/2023 18:49

I feel like a lot of people here are missing the point! Yes I agree a lot of these things are more expensive branded products but they didn’t used to cost anything like this. People are allowed to buy brands if they want to! And the prices have gone up massively. We shouldn’t all be relegated to buying the cheapest things on the shelf because nobody can afford anything else. And the cheapest things on the shelf have gone up too anyway!

Not missing the point at all , but if you are starting a thread moaning about how expensive your very small shop was you should be putting more consideration into what you are buying .

PetitPorpoise · 31/08/2023 19:29

@Floralnomad exactly. And OP clearly said she worried that she wouldn't have enough food to feed herself, whilst buying a massive pack of Cushelle and a lint roller 🙄

ModeWeasel · 31/08/2023 19:31

Do a meal plan to a budget you will save a fortune.

Things have gone up hugely though!

MrsW9 · 31/08/2023 19:34

We have switched to solid bar soap. It lasts ages so I am able to get something reasonably nice. Along similar lines, I got a solid conditioner bar 18 months ago - that's about 18 bottles of conditioner saved, as I'm still on the first bar. I wish I got on with solid shampoo, but I still have to get bottled shampoo. Everything else has actually been an improvement for skin and hair, better for the environment, and cheaper.

Caspianberg · 31/08/2023 19:37

Childs farm hair and body wash is currently £3.45 on Amazon. It’s cheaper if you subscribe and save at £3.10.

But if child’s farm works for child skin, per kg your better off ordering online at child’s farm direct. You can bundle but cheaper, or buy 2.5 or 5l refills which work out much cheaper ( and better for environment)

TicTac80 · 31/08/2023 19:37

It's scary how much things have gone up in price.

Re: trading down brands, I think it does depend on personal taste/preference etc. I buy the wonky veg that they sell at the supermarket - fine for cooking with etc. Sometimes you have to pick out the odd manky bit, but nothing too bad. I've tried out what was the Basics range at Sainsbury's for fruit, veg, baked beans, cereal, bread and some household things (not for eggs, meat, dairy though). Some foods weren't as nice, but others were just fine. When I compared ingredients and nutritional info, some of the cheaper stuff had less salt/sugar/fat than the more expensive brands. I think it is all swings and roundabouts.

We're quite lucky in that we tend to eat a mostly veggie diet, and I'm able to batch cook and make stuff from scratch when I'm not working, so that makes things a lot cheaper. My DC are a bit older too, none of us have any allergies/intolerances (apart from me - I can't eat shellfish). I think it's just a case of tweaking things to find out what is right for you guys

AvengedQuince · 31/08/2023 19:39

Is the unbranded stuff worth the downgrade if anyone has done switches?

I rarely buy brands and it's absolutely fine. I never had the money when my child was young and when I had more money I spent it on better quality and a greater variety of basics rather than brands.

sparkleshin · 31/08/2023 19:47

well stuff to make sandwhiches came to £10 and that was cheap stuff

Pineapplewaves · 31/08/2023 19:48

Aldi have their own copy Child's Farm in their special buys at the moment - the bottles and the label look identical and it's all labelled for sensitive skin. £1.49 a bottle, you could get three for the price of one bottle of the one you have there.

Soontobe60 · 31/08/2023 19:51

WearyDeary · 31/08/2023 18:39

We're averaging £240 a week at the supermarket for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 toddlers) and 2 cats. A weekly shop used to cost us literally half of that!

That’s ridiculous. We spend around £100 a week - 2 adults and 2 cats. Do a meal plan, make a shopping list.

Goingdeaf · 31/08/2023 19:52

Wow, you get sucked in by marketing! Those Ella's kitchens waves are nutritionally no better than the Asda essentials cheese curls and those apple snacks are the equivalent of a digestive biscuits, which you'll get 30 of for less than half the price.

lemonyaid · 31/08/2023 19:53

PetitPorpoise · 31/08/2023 19:26

You should watch those Eat Well For Less programmes on BBC iplayer. You sound exactly the sort of person that they feature.

Falling for red stickers, nothing there actually makes a meal - let alone cost effective one. All brands.

Yes! They might help OP. It's worth "going down" a level eg supermarket own brand from branded. Or value range from supermarket own brand. And give it a go.

Hawkins0090 · 31/08/2023 19:54

I usually get reduced or cheaper brands overall that said if it's premium brands then it is £££

Therealjudgejudy · 31/08/2023 19:55

I was in lidl earlier and nearly dropped when i saw the price of a tin of corned beef...€3.49!!

It used to be a cheap way to make spaghetti

RudsyFarmer · 31/08/2023 19:55

I randomly (stupidly) decided to shop at Waitrose yesterday. Omg the price!!!!!!!! £150 for three bags of food.

Thoughtful2355 · 31/08/2023 19:56

To be fair you have gone for expensive brands...

That's like me complaining a bag cost me £4000 but it being chanel or something

TedWilson · 31/08/2023 19:57

I do my online shop at Tesco but just popped into Asda for a few bits. I was totally shocked at the prices. Way more than Tesco. They seem to have ditched a lot of their own brand stuff in dairy and snacks as well.

RudsyFarmer · 31/08/2023 19:57

Oh and Waitrose was SO quiet. It’s like nobody could afford to shop there anymore.

lightand · 31/08/2023 19:58

If I were you op, I would now start a thread about swapping to non brands.

Personally I buy a mixture, but long ago, made quite a lot of switches, and dont notice the difference at all, apart from the saving money.

RudsyFarmer · 31/08/2023 19:58

TedWilson · 31/08/2023 19:57

I do my online shop at Tesco but just popped into Asda for a few bits. I was totally shocked at the prices. Way more than Tesco. They seem to have ditched a lot of their own brand stuff in dairy and snacks as well.

I’ve thought the same for a while and yet I heard a radio advert saying they had won some award for the cheapest basket over all other supermarkets!!!