High street price traps

[WendyB]

Re: High street price traps

Another tip for shopping is not to do a weekly or "big" shop. Just buy stuff as you need it. It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but it does help stop you buying stuff that you don't need. Also it frees up your money - if you've spent all your dosh at the beginning of the week/month and then you have an emergency (like you can't afford to buy a bottle of wine to de-stress yourself lol) you have no spare cash to fund the emergency. If you buy as you go along, then if times become harder you can adjust your budget downwards. Does this make sense?

Although the other side of the coin is that if you have a freezer full of food, then whatever else goes wrong, at least you won't starve!

[Paule]

Re: High street price traps

Thats great in Theory Wendy, if you have the time to that.
I think this idea stems from the days when women stayed at home and looked after the house, so had all day to cleaning shopping etc. In the majority nowadays both adults work full time, so this isnt viable.

I use online shopping and I find that it saves me money as I don't then pick up other crap, as I would while wandering round the store, but the main bonus to me is that on my weekend I can be with the Kids rather than draggin them round the shops.

[WendyB]

Re: High street price traps

I know exactly what you mean PK!! Believe me, its a pain in the butt sometimes. I tended to do it because I have to drive past a Tesco Express every night on the way back from the stables, so it wasn't too much of an inconvenience. Now that Jess takes herself to the stables on her scooter, I don't do it so often, but still only shop for a few days in advance, don't do the "big" shop any more.

My kids are older than yours, tend to do their own thing, but you are right, if they were small I would want to spend time with them rather than drag them round the shops.

[scoobydoo]

Re: High street price traps

Thats great in Theory Wendy, if you have the time to that.
I think this idea stems from the days when women stayed at home and looked after the house, so had all day to cleaning shopping etc. In the majority nowadays both adults work full time, so this isnt viable.

I use online shopping and I find that it saves me money as I don't then pick up other crap, as I would while wandering round the store, but the main bonus to me is that on my weekend I can be with the Kids rather than draggin them round the shops.

I agree with this , I have just bought some Good housekeeping healthy recipe books from amazon ( you can get the recipes on line as well) and have started writing a menu each week and shopping list. I find I save money on internet shopping as I dont get distracted by other products and they still have special offers on line. Also when I get to the checkout stage if I have spent too much I go back and double check if I really need all that I have ordered.Besides that I have a bit of a "thing" about supermarkets. I go slightly crazy about seeing so much choice. I am not complaining as I apprecaite we are all lucky to get choice - but if I want a bottle of shampoo or washing powder for example I get slightly overwhelmed by seeing so many on one shelf and just grab the nearest one and just feel I want to get out of the shop.Thats just me though! so internet shoppiing has been a real bonus for me.

[Amethyst]

Re: High street price traps

Macho - got the book :kiss: Will do my first shop tmw and try stick to it next week, so we can compare notes next week Excellent book from what i have read thus far. Still wonder what she does at weekends and why she doesnt get scurvey lol.

Scoobs, I get in a pickle with too much choice too...but then I do on internet shops as well arrrghhhh. I tend to stick to my favourites list now which is a fab facility on tescos.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: High street price traps

Went to the doctor yesterday(this sounds like a joke but it isn't) and they gave me something that is produced by the British Hypertension Society

http://www.bhsoc.org/pdfs/Healthy_Eating_Diet_Sheet.pdf

I went through the sheet and the far right column is mostly in my fridge today so I have to eat it really

I do tend to look at the value food(ASDA Value Ravioli is going to be a christmas present for someone cos it is vile even at 20p). Value soup is rubbish imho.

[enaid]

Re: High street price traps

Now Martin reckons this is the way to go with your sMartin Lewis: Save a fortune on your grocery bills

By Marie Lunn 13/03/2009

You can slash your grocery bill by up to 44 per cent by making just a few changes. And half the time you won’t be able to tell the difference. On ITV1’s Tonight programme its money-saving expert Martin Lewis shows us how.
With shopping bills going through the roof, can you buy cheaper alternatives on everything from tomato sauce to teabags without losing taste and quality?
Money-saving expert Martin Lewis thinks you can.
In tonight’s show he helps a typical family of four, who spend an average £150 a week on food, to see if they can get their food bill right down in the Tonight Brand vs Budget challenge.
Visit MirrorCashback now to save on all your online shopping.
“We taste with our eyes not our tastebuds,” says Martin. “If we think something looks cheap we think it tastes cheap too.
“Britain suffers from retail snobbery. It’s all about packaging and branding. The challenge is to try – there will be some things you don’t want to downshift on. I don’t downshift on my cola, for instance.
“About two years ago I did my first downshift Tonight challenge where we got people to go shopping and buy everything one brand lower than their usual choices. Families could only tell the difference about half the time,” explains Martin.
“If you do that you’ll save around 33 per cent. Well, the double downshift challenge goes one step further – you drop two brands. You can save roughly 44 per cent this way.
“It came about by accident,” laughs Martin. “Last Christmas I was doing a downshift Christmas for GMTV – showing viewers how to buy cheaper ranges of mince pies and Christmas trees.
“But when I came in to do the show, what had actually been bought for me was two brands lower. So about five minutes before we went on air, I said: ‘OK, it’s a double downshift!’
“I wasn’t sure if it’d work. But what was interesting, although we’d dropped down two price ranges, in some things you couldn’t tell the difference.”
To make it a fair test, the changes were made without half the family’s knowledge. Martin and our experiment mum Elaine were sneaky and hid all the cheaper products in the family’s usual posh packaging. The results were amazing.
The programme includes two other double downshift experiments in product areas where people often refuse to make cutbacks – beauty and alcohol. Over a three-day trial brand-loyal testers try to guess which are the pricey face creams and which are the budget buys.
“You have women spending £100 on moisturiser that runs out once a month – 1,200 quid a year! But the experts tell you the only thing that can be called anti-ageing is an SPF, and lots of supermarket creams have SPFs. They might not look or smell the same, but you could be paying £20 a year instead,” says Martin.
How to do the double downshift
There are four brand levels. Whatever you normally buy, drop two levels.
/ Premium, eg, Tesco Finest
/ Manufacturer, eg, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes
/ Own brand, eg, Sainsbury’s Jaffa Cakes
/ Value/basics, eg, Basics teabags
“Downshifting is all about price,” says Martin. “Look at the unit cost on the sticker. And take note of special offers.
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“If Kellogg’s cornflakes are two for one, they’ll work out cheaper than buying Asda or wherever’s cornflakes, so don’t downshift. This is about saving money.”
Martin’s tips
/Put a product in different packaging, such as clear plastic containers for cereal or pasta. “This is an easy way to tell if kids can tell the difference.”
/Look up and down! “Supermarkets are the cathedrals of consumerism. Things that are the most appealing – and profitable – are at eye level.”
/Leave the kids at home: “Kids are very brand-conscious. I remember one downshift and there was a row over ketchup. But in the blind taste test they preferred the cheaper one.”
/Make a shopping list or order online to cut out impulse buying.
/Menu plan: draw up a revolving menu for a week and you can bulk buy and freeze ingredients – http://www.moneysavingexpert. com/supermarket shopping has a range of menu planners.
/Compare beforehand: at mysupermarket.co.uk you can fill up your basket and see which store comes in cheapest. It also has a downshift challenge button.
/ Brand vs Budget: Tonight airs today at 8pm on ITV1 . Visit martin’s website: www.moneysavingexpert.com.
We could save £4,400 a year!
Elaine Masters, 36, from Kensworth in Bedfordshire, and her son Charlie, 12, secretly swapped their premium-branded foods for own-brand or value range alternatives.
Would discerning husband Tom and wannabe-chef son Luke, 10, spot the difference?
The Masters can spend £150-£170 a week at the supermarket, plus local shop top-ups. This adds up to a yearly spend of around £10,000.
Martin took Elaine shopping at her local Sainsbury’s. Martin matched Elaine product for product, but from the own-brand ranges. Elaine says:
We pretended Charlie was filming a school video project. Luke and Tom are big foodies and I thought they’d suss what we’d done. Before Tom wouldn’t have entertained anything but Heinz baked beans.
It was a very pleasant surprise. I thought the food would be of a lesser quality but it wasn’t at all. The biggest hurdle was sausages. I expected the cheap ones would have lots of water and fat but everyone loved them!
And the teabags cost 28p and tasted exactly the same as the ones I’ve bought all my married life, but wouldn’t have looked at because they come in an unappetising box. In fact I think they’re stronger, so you get more cups, and they’re Fair Trade.
But not every swap was a success. Basics peas were horrible and the Basics Fruit & Fibre was a big no-no. My husband said ‘This tastes like sawdust’ and disappeared off to work next day without breakfast.
He’s usually quite a reserved person, until he realised we’d saved so much. I will definitely keep it up.
BEFORE: Elaine’s basket £106.50
AFTER: Martin’s basket £59.67 – a whopping 44% cheaper. If the family continues to shop like this it could save about £4,400 a year.
hopping. I watched this and it did seem to work on this particular family.

[natweststaffmember]

Re: High street price traps

If I downsize anymore, I will be on grass and rain water

[enaid]

Re: High street price traps

If I downsize anymore, I will be on grass and rain water

PMSL, I like laughing by the way, don't you try and make me :cry:

[WendyB]

Re: High street price traps

If I downsize anymore, I will be on grass and rain water

Eben lives on grass and rainwater - he says "where's the problem in that??"

[Amethyst]

Re: High street price traps

assuming Eben isnt the OH then

[enaid]

Re: High street price traps

[quote=Amethyst;106672]assuming Eben isnt the OH then[/quote

no Eben can jump and is a big lad lol

[WendyB]

Re: High street price traps

pmsl.

[Mochamoo]

Re: High street price traps

Okies for the first time ever..... the food bill was £54 inc 4.50 delivery!!! Normally closer to £100 (Last week was £131) So I have already saved money

The menu came in at £25 ish then I had to get cat food and other bits but I am really chuffed so far.... better taste good and not make me sick lol

This is going to be a really big test for me as I love food and always spend alot on it and buy the best products I can, even if I am buying meat (ikky) I make sure that I go to the local butchers ( I wont buy it from supermarkets) and buy free range organic britsh meat.
I always buy organic vegetables and generally only go for what is in season and grown in the UK

I would rather go without new clothes and shoes than go with out good food

Looking at Nats, Healthy eating sheet I think I am 90% in the far left column (unless I have PMT then my diet consists of chocolate and wine lol far right column)

[scoobydoo]

Re: High street price traps

Be interested to see how you get on - rice and pasta etc I buy basic brand and beans etc tesco own . The one thing I draw the line at is the cheapest bread which is really only ok for toast IMO. I am still toying with a breadmaker and my son and girlfriend have offered to make it.

Mochamoo as you are a keen gardener do you grow lots of veg etc?

looking at Nats menu I was suprprised about the nuts (if you know what I mean)