car free grocery shopping savings

aimless_2

My nearest shop is a 20ml round trip so I bought a C90 honda motorbike, 110ml per gallon, 15 quid road tax and peanuts for insurance. Got two panniers and a top box, also carrier to take my rucksack. Got a months shopping last week, cost in petrol 50p. Doesn`t keep me fit but certainly puts a smile on my face and in my wallet

fedupfreda

Bargain_Rzl wrote: »

Get a good trolley. Seriously. I live in an area with a lot of streetmarkets and a lot of families without cars, and loads of people have trolleys. It makes life so much easier than carrying bags everywhere! Also, if you live in an upper floor flat, get a stair-climbing one (like this one - you can probably find cheaper ones elsewhere) because I didn't and I wish I had!

I second that - once in a while I like to take the train to Hitchin, so I bought one of those cheapo shopping trolleys (local station does not have a lift and the bike is difficut to negotiate up stairs, especially when loaded....) NEVER AGAIN, one of the wheels broke,:eek: thankfully I only had some fruit in the bag at the time so could carry it home, luckily I got a refund for the trolley It's my own fault for choosing by price rather than build quality:o Now I have 2 strong cotton shopping bags I can carry on my shoulders, what I really need is someone to invent a modern version of a yoke, like the old time dairy maids used to use....

bellybabe_2

We've not had a car since 2003, when youngest DD was 2. OH cycles everywhere and I use buses; I love the idea of cycling but I'm just too much of a coward to get on the road! (Kittie, I've been following your growing cycling habit over the last few months - it's often cheered me up reading how much better you feel and how proud of yourself you sound.) We have Lidl/aldi ten minutes away on the bus, and Morrisons/Sainsburys 15 minutes in other direction. We do a monthly big shop we have delivered from Mr A (credit card for free delivery, paid off in full each month), which takes care of the big and heavy items (like washing powder and the million tins of tomatoes all OSers need!), but we get other things mostly from Lidl or Mr M, on the bike or the bus. OH takes two panniers and a rucksack; I take two big jute shoping bags, and we find it does limit the impulse buying as people have said. There are parts of the shop we never even look at as we have it down to a fine art. People do ask us how we manage the shopping without a car but they're the same people who complain about what they spend on their shopping and say two or three days later they have no food in the house...!
BB

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I went to the local supermarket today (2 miles round trip) on the bike, managed to get 5kg of spuds, a stewpack reduced to 38p (2 parsnips, swede, onions and carrots) a joint of bacon, bottle of coke (ok, not essential but everybody wanted one) and a reduced swede at 25p. I only spent over a fiver and had loads of room in the panniers for more.

It was sweet cycling by the petrol station noticing unleaded at 95p a litre........

juliapenguin

I second buying a good quality trolley! I bought a cheap one last year because I wasn't sure I'd actually use it but I love it dearly and one of the wheels keeps falling off. I haven't worked out how to do a permanent repair, so I have to be careful going up and down pavements when I'm fully loaded! When I was better organized than I am now, I could do a week's shopping for two adults, two part-time teenagers and two cats just using my trolley on one trip.

Hans_Kraay

We live in a village so I try to use our local shop when I can - it's a vital resource for the oldies in the village and a great place for a gossip. But I do use supermarkets too. But I get home deliveries - and if you choose your slot carefully you can sometimes get them for free. I've noticed that Ocado also offer you a "green" option - where you can choose a slot when they are already delivering to your area - neat touch.

But beware - the delivery charges do vary during the day and depending on the time of the week and even the season (last Christmas I noticed one of the stores was charging £12 for the delivery alone!!!! I use onlinegrocerystore.co.uk to check the online supermarket delivery prices.

Hope this helps - and support your local shops!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Just a quick update on my bicycle shopping

I managed all through December but hubby did all the big stuff in his car but I am mostly self sufficient on the bike now mainly because aldi is only 10 mins away and I keep a fully stocked store cupboard and freezer. Today I went to aldi and fitted all this into my panniers...

5kg spuds 49p
sr flour 43p
sweet spuds 85p
peanut butter 1.29
apples x 2 @ 1.09 per bag
jam 79p
satsumas 39p
cocoa powder 99p
yoghurt 49p
butter 84p
salami 99p
multigrain bread 85p
ham 1.49
bananas 89p
sprouts 39p
onions 79p
parsnips 39p
cream cheese 1.29
broccoli 49p
grapes 1.59
carrots 39p
toms 49p
oranges 49p

grand total of £19.27!

What with freezer and cupboard stuff should last a week for 4 of us.

I'm really pleased as I am saving loads this way

fizzel81

reading this with interest

where can i buy a good quality trolly and one thats not too old fashioned (im only 27)

for now i shop using the buggy, i have a nice big chunky one with a decent underneath basket and agood handlebar for holding shopping hooks plus a rucksack ond big boots sholder bag for me to carry, whilst i have a small stroller i wont use it for shopping (unless i do not want much) simply as im too tight to pay £3.50 to sit in a taxi home for a few mins

Pink.

Hi fizzel,

There are some links on this thread that may help:

OS Chic Shopper club (ex Wally trolley)

Pink