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[MSE Jenny]

This thread is specifically to discuss/feedback/report your Downshift Savings, as explained in the

Supermarket Shopping

guide

Click reply to discuss

[mikeD]

Re: MySupermarket.

This is a very good site but I have one reservation. When I am buying from Tesco the basket cost is always cheaper than the other three quoted supermarkets. When I (occasionally) from Ocado the same applies. What I am concerned is, what is MySupermarket comparing the items with??? If I buy a discounted commodity from Ocado, is it comparing the price with a non-discounted item from, say, Tesco, even if that item is discounted by Tesco, if you see what I mean.

[mellowmelly]

Hi there, this if my very first posting! I have been trying the downshift savings and found a fantastic saving on Jams. I previously bought Bonne Maman Strawberry Conserve 370g for £1.89 and tried various other Strawb jams at Tesco which were nowhere near as nice. Aldi do Grandessa Strawberry Conserve 454g for 79p (saving £1.11!) and it is just as delicious as the Bonne Maman. With 2 hungry kids this makes a whopping difference. Have also tried the Grandessa Lime Shred and Orange Marmalade, both 59p and they are equally delicious. I shall never get jam anywhere else now. Hope this helps.

[relpet]

Sometimes a manufacturer compels you to downshift. I'm 69 and have eaten Weetabix for breakfast most of my life. About a year ago the formula changed. The biscuits were smaller and crumblier and, to my mind, no longer attractive as a breakfast food. Having scorned alternative products for decades I was forced to look around and found Bixies in LIDL to be as good as, if not even better, than the original Weetabix. More to the point, they were not much more than half the price of Weetabix in the same store. I've been buying all my chocolate in LIDL for years and their jams, honey and bread flour are terrific value for top quality. Moving to LIDL or Aldi could be seen as downshifting - or simply a smart move for many food items.

[nightrider_1uk]

Haveing been a peanut addict for years, I find that I actually prefer tesco value peanuts and I also think tesco value carton orange juice is good

[sunnyflower]

I've downshifted with several tesco products lately;
FINE; use regularly
vinegar
bran flakes yoghurts
mousses
mayonnaise
butter (use it when baking)
instant hot chocolate
scones
dishwasher tablets
laundry liquid
fabric conditioner

NOT BAD; use sometimes
crisps / snacks
soup
bread
tea bags
weetabix
ice cream
baked beans
stock cubes


VILE!! bought once!!
rice pops
cornflakes
shower gel
cereal bars

hope this is useful!!

[jenniewb]

OK, here are mine which I have gradually introduced since summer just gone:

No daily newspaper (was 50p per day 5 days a week)
Insted, I get the Metro/London Lite/London Paper (or all 3 )
Saving: £2.50 per week or £10 a month

Skimmed milk in 2 liters rather then 1 pint
Saving: aprox £1.40 a week or aprox £5 a month (Depending on which type I buy)

Freshly prepared fruit salads which I used to have daily
Instead I now have an apple and a pear or orange
Saving: £10.50 a week or £42 a month (justified save but sorely missed )

Bottled water daily bottle
Saving: £7.20 a week or aprox £30 a month

NO Ketchup/brown sauce/majo! instead I use vinegar and salt
Saving: £5 a week or £20 a month

Frozen instead of fresh vegetables
Saving: £10 a week or £40 a month

Making sure I have a source of protein which does not cost more then £1 twice a day
Saving: up to £15 a week or up to £60 month

Downgrading my gym
Saving £52 a month

Not buying as many clothes and not using my mobile phone (it got stolen, I didn't replace it though am paying off the contract 'till August) is my next goal. Hard and working on it, but its too hard to calculate at the moment.

So in total over the past 7 months I have saved up to £260 a month or £3120 a year!! WOW! Thanks alot OP- I think I have again found my motivation! it all feels sooo hard and now I can see why- there is a point!

Its just hard to see how I managed to spend that before- I mean, I know how easy it is to spend it etc etc, but I didn't have it back then just like I don't have it right now! (lost job through no fault of my own) its scary to think that I could have so easily had let that type of spending continue- everyone, write down whatr you spend and add it up- write a budget, know what you can afford, only take out just enough cash with you....be careful, overspending is a slippery slope!

[AdrianHi]

Originally Posted by relpet

Sometimes a manufacturer compels you to downshift. I'm 69 and have eaten Weetabix for breakfast most of my life. About a year ago the formula changed. The biscuits were smaller and crumblier and, to my mind, no longer attractive as a breakfast food. Having scorned alternative products for decades I was forced to look around and found Bixies in LIDL to be as good as, if not even better, than the original Weetabix. More to the point, they were not much more than half the price of Weetabix in the same store. I've been buying all my chocolate in LIDL for years and their jams, honey and bread flour are terrific value for top quality. Moving to LIDL or Aldi could be seen as downshifting - or simply a smart move for many food items.

Resurecting an old post I know.
For a long time we bought "real" Weetabix and I just don't know why. Switch to Sainsbury's own brand and no one in the family can tell the difference. Just switched to Sainsbury's basics version for the box I keep at work. Apart from the packaging and the rougher rectanlge cut of the biscuits I still cannot tell them apart from "real" Weetabix.
Sainsbury's Basics "Weetabix" 36 pack 2p per biscuit
Sainsbury's Wholewheat Bisc 48 pack 4p per biscuit
"Real" Weetabix 24/48/72 pack 7p per biscuit

Some Sainsbury's Basics stuff I don't like, beer / lager is rubbish for instance (Sainsbury's own brand "Parker" Bitter is good and better than Tesco's equivalent).

And does anyone make Ketchup quite like Heinz? I don't think so.
15% off my shopping, I think we did quite well to start with.

[shopndrop]

Agree with post 3 about the jam. We also used to use Bon Mamam and now only buy from Aldi. Also Sainsbury's value mozzarella is fine on our HM pizza, Aldi bars of chocolate are much cheaper than well known brands and just as good. Value peppers - OK they are sometimes funny shapes but it doesn't matter if you are chopping them up anyway better than paying about 70p each when buying individually, most value veg is fine, maybe not perfect shapes but tastes to different to the more expensive ones.

[shakka]

I've swapped from Sainsbury's taste the Difference freshley squeezed orange juice at £2.15 for 1 litre, to Aldi's at £1.16 and it's very nice. I also buy their chocolate, honey, fruit, pastrami, champagne and Bailey's replica and would recommend them all.

[InDebted2U]

It's important to check the ingredients list when 'downgrading', if healthy eating and what's in your food are important to you.

For instance, a shop brand tub of soft cheese costs around 65p. The 'value' version is about 6p cheaper, but is not simply soft cheese (although you wouldn't know this from simply glancing at the front). Stop to check the ingredients and you will find that added ingredients in the economy version include 'wheat fibre, citrus fibre and xanthan gum'. Similarly, economy desserts often include gelatin (derived from the bones & tissues of animals) as a cheap setting agent, whereas the more expensive versions may not.

If you don't care what you eat, so long as it's cheap and seems to taste okay, then perhaps this isn't an issue. But if the quality/food value/processing is important then always remember to read the label. Cheaper is not always cheaper if the food is bulked out with 'fibres' or added water.

[alison1308]

I'm presently unemployed so have played the food buget game frequently to feed myself and my daughter cheaply but healthily. Some great ideas out there. Try this one how to eat and drink for a £1 a day. great fun!!