Supermarkets

We go to Tesco once a week. It varies what I spend. No Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys in the town. I loathe shopping, so no desire to travel to buy groceries.

Also use the local butchers and bakers and fish stall.

I feel we’ve got to the age when I don’t worry too much about the cost as long as we can afford it, which hopefully we can.

watermeadow

Apparently the average family uses four supermarkets each week. I have access to only one, Waitrose, which I like but it’s the most expensive.
I just read about someone’s big monthly shop costing £38 at Aldi. I live alone and spend about £65 each week, rising all the time. I buy own-brands and reduced food and no luxuries but my bills include feeding 2 cats and a small dog. I don’t drink or eat meat.
Fruit and veg come from the market.
Today’s bill in Waitrose was £53 and I shall need to shop again on Saturday. Gas and electricity are about to rise too. I feel I shall have to live off beans on toast for the rest of my life.
How are others coping with rocketing prices?

We go to Aldi, Lidl and Tesco, can’t imagine anyone can live on a monthly shop for £38. I try to save a bit on my shop but usually end up failing miserably.

It may not be true. If on social media people invent stuff. Did they itemise their £38 big shop?
I shop at my local supermarket which is also Waitrose. I only buy what I need. When I look in our local Tesco the prices arent a lot less.

I like Waitrose. I like the staff, the space, today the coolness, the cleanliness. I don't need to drive and park and fight my way in.
I am very lucky it is close. It's my early morning walk with a free coffee. Their offers are good and the loyalty card works in my favour mostly.

If it closed I would be really upset. We used to have 3 bakers, 5 butchers, 2 fish shops, a wonderful ironmongers and 2 green grocers. All gone now years back. So Waitrose it is.

Calendargirl

We go to Tesco once a week. It varies what I spend. No Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys in the town. I loathe shopping, so no desire to travel to buy groceries.

Also use the local butchers and bakers and fish stall.

I feel we’ve got to the age when I don’t worry too much about the cost as long as we can afford it, which hopefully we can.

This is almost exactly what we do, Calendargirl! Tesco weekly and no other big supermarket nearby. Local baker, butcher, fish van and deli.

I hate shopping too, and we don't have a car, so no temptation to go elsewhere for a big grocery shop!

We have Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi and Lidl here.
We eat a lot of fruit and veg and I cook from scratch everyday. We try to shop every ten days at the cost of around £130-50 pounds each time, and there is usually just the two of us. I cannot imagine what they might eat on £38 a month, unless it is mostly tinned food.

If you want to save money then meal planning is key

Could you find a cheaper source for pet food?

If you are on a bus route could you try Lidl/Aldi to get basics in?
Waitrose and Booths are my preferred supermarkets but they are pricey.

We have groceries delivered, usually Tesco, but have had Asda, Sainsburys and Ocado, we also buy some veg from the farm shop and some meat from the butcher in the village, we’ve no pets,
Spend is roughly £75pw for two, I use our slow cooker a lot, we cook from scratch six days a week, this week at least two bbq’s.

We use M&S, Aldi, Sainsburys and Asda, they are the closest supermarkets to us.

I have a little Tesco nearby which I use several times a week. The staff are friendly and they will open a till when there's a queue. Using the self serve I always mess up and the staff know this and we have a laugh when they come over! I tend to shop in the evening when it's quiet and the discounted goods are around, I but most of my bread this way- sometimes it is more than half price.
There is also a Heron foods on the High street where I am not averse to using as they also have some frozen foods I can't get in Tesco.
I always use my Club card in Tesco and if I forget they will refund it at the desk.
Once every two or thee weeks I go to 'big' Tesco and do my main shop- spending around £70-£80 for two of us.
We have no Asda, Aldi or Lidl nearby but if I ever shop there I still have to go to Tesco for things they don't have.
I find Waitrose (where I used to sometimes) expensive but also not too friendly.
For special treats, birthdays, Christmas etc- I go to M&S but probably only four times a year. I find the layout and the staff there very unhelpful and also they have very few tills.

Have you tried online shopping at Tesco or a cheaper shop? You have to get to€50 here but you can do 2 weeks at once? Here its free for over 65 though there are specific time slots but worth it.
Especially tinned food ,potatoes, heavy goods.

I’m another who can’t imagine a monthly shop at Aldi costing thirty eight pounds!! I spend more than that a week and there’s only me, then I have to supplement what they don’t stock from a nearby Morrisons. We also have a Co-op and a Sainsburys nearby.

I read recently that in the 50s the average family spent 35% of their weekly income on food. Now, that figure is just 11%.
Just a thought.

HelterSkelter1

It may not be true. If on social media people invent stuff. Did they itemise their £38 big shop?
I shop at my local supermarket which is also Waitrose. I only buy what I need. When I look in our local Tesco the prices arent a lot less.

I like Waitrose. I like the staff, the space, today the coolness, the cleanliness. I don't need to drive and park and fight my way in.
I am very lucky it is close. It's my early morning walk with a free coffee. Their offers are good and the loyalty card works in my favour mostly.

If it closed I would be really upset. We used to have 3 bakers, 5 butchers, 2 fish shops, a wonderful ironmongers and 2 green grocers. All gone now years back. So Waitrose it is.

My local Waitrose shut a couple of years ago, I was like most in the area "bereft" (I know Drama queen!) but I had my Saturday job in Waitrose in the early 70's, it's in my DNA 🤣
this area had one of the first outside of London.
However, I still shop there but have it delivered OK tad more expensive but, the offers, quality is excellent.
I do have a local Tesco at the top of my Road, so yes we use that for bits. I also pop into Lidl and do a fruit and veg shop in M&S, so I too use 4 supermarkets.
We have no local Butchers ( nearest 15 min drive away) My local town, has a Fruit and Veg shop, but unless I have to go into town which isn't often then I might check them out. There is no food shopping there unless you want Greg's. Such a shame

There is a local Tesco Express in the village, well run, pleasant staff, but recently we have noticed a change in the products. Little 'own brand' but more expensive Cadburys, Warburtons, butter, cheese, branded makes etc. last week it had a re-vamp and is now geared to promoting meal deals: instant meals, puddings, fizzy drinks, wall to wall chocolate, crisps and snacks. Basically , junk food with a high profit margin for the passing customer , like a motorway shop. Plus everything is more expensive than the large Tesco.
All geared to the passing customer, who park on the pavements in the High street, local roads and on grass verges, anywhere other than the large carpark directly opposite. Very little interest shown by Tesco to village complaints, only geared to profit margins and their so-called Healthy eating. Have they read the contents of their instant meals? No other food shop within the village, although we have an Aldi, Lidl and Co-op within driving distance, but not by bus.

Lucky here we have a big and small Tesco, big Co-Op, Waitrose, M&S food hall, Morrisons and 2 Aldi also a B&M which I do pick tinned stuff cheaply from I’ve shopped in Tesco mostly for years but recently discovered how good Aldi fresh stuff is. I don’t shop in Marks or Waitrose too expensive for me.

I have an Ocado delivery about every two weeks and it’s about £50-60 , I have a local milk delivery and buy fruit and veg from the green grocer as well as Ocado. I live alone but have family stay quite a bit. I cook from scratch most days, make my own yoghurt and bread and eat very little meat . I don’t believe that someone’s monthly food bill. is £38 unless they live on beans on toast! Although nothing wrong with beans on toast itself .

I share everyone's surprise at the £38 quoted. I'm a vegetarian who lives alone, but do feed GC twice in the week.
I consider myself a thrifty shopper, but would struggle to keep my weekly supermarket visit to £38 a week, never mind a month.
I do acknowledge that a significant percentage of supermarket bill will be non food items such as cleaning products. Maybe the family quoted don't wash or use toilet paper.

My local supermarket is Waitrose and difficult to get to as I no longer drive.

UI do most of my shopping online and have accounts with Sainsbury's, Morrison's and Tesco. I also have one with Ocado/M^S but that is because I only drink M&S coffee and the jars are not £7.50 each.

Occasionally I have to make up the money by adding extra loo rolls but I do buy long life milk which isn't cheap.

By shopping online I can keep a beady eye on my spending.

Maybe the £38 shoppers use Olio a lot!

I think they left the 0 off.

I used to shop mainly at Waitrose until an Aldi opened opposite my gym. I now shop almost exclusively at Aldi but I buy or get given most of my meat from local farmers in return for grazing, so I don't buy a lot of meat from there. However, what I do buy is really excellent, as is the fresh fruit and veg. I'll go into Waitrose for a few of the things I can't buy at Aldi and I also use a local independent supermarket which has a tie in with Morrisons but also stocks local up market products and also my local farm shop. I'm fortunate that I can afford to stockpile things that are on offer and I have the storage space too so if I see a good deal on something I use, like coffee or wine, I stock up.

£38 on a monthly shop? That's taking 'strategic shopping' to a whole new level! Mind you, I'd like to see what that 38 quid gets.

I'm constantly checking for the best prices online before heading to the shops, so can save quite a bit some weeks. I must say, I’m often surprised at finding some items have gone down in price - all helps.

We get a fair bit from Iceland, and on Tuesdays you can get 10% of everything if you're over 60. Sign up for the bonus card and have some proof of age (I look over 60 though anyway 😁).

That's basically it - check prices online for the best deals. We're lucky here, we have Lidl, Aldi, Asda, Tesco, M&S, Iceland, B&M, Home Bargains close by and can shop around.

I live in a small market town in the NW ....we have a marksies food hall, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons, Asda express ( in the petrol station), Co op, Iceland warehouse , home bargain and B and M ....

I’d like to see what they bought - surely £138? I spent £40 in Tesco last Saturday just stocking up on things DGS2 might or might not eat that afternoon! At least DD2 took most of it home with her, so it wasn’t wasted.