It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Bargain_Rzl

Hmm, what is going on with the price of carrots? They seem to cost anything from 39p a kilo last week when Asda had them on rollback, 54p at Tesco, 75p at Aldi and back up to 78p at Asda :rolleyes: I bet they're cheaper at Lidl, as there are a lot of half price deals on there at the moment.

Speaking of which, Aldi chopped tomatoes are now 41p :eek: but the Lidl ones are still 33p and still far superior to Tesco Value at a similar price.

gillst_2

Its the price of cauliflowers and cucumbers that I find astonishing at the moment. Both around the £1.50 mark wherever I have looked and both so tiny - especially the cauliflowers. Anyone seen either at a reasonable price?

bunny999

I think salad stuff always goes up in price in the winter.

[Deleted User]

I`ll have to read the thread later as I have just got on to say what I am doing this morning :cool:

My thoughts today are that we have shades of the 70s going on now ie industrial action, particularly on energy suppliers, plus recession plus now snow and icy winds. A very lethal combination

Thinking back to the nasty dark days, I have been a busy bee this morning. Batteries are charged, lanterns and torches are charging as I write. All wind up but wind up, if needed, electrical charging at the moment. All the lanterns will be fully charged and kept topped up and placed on each of our 3 floors. Candles are all accessible and matches with them. Bread is being made for tomorrow and the next day. I have been through my storecupboard and need nothing at all. Later today I will make the big pot of lentil or pea soup that I always make just in case

lol, nothing out of the ordinary for me but I am harking back to the days when power blackouts were a reality. On the surface no-one will know how prepared I am:D

Oh and alfalfa seed are soaking for sprouting as is a mix of slightly bigger seeds eg radish. If push comes to shove then pasta and alfalfa here we come together with pilchards etc

Don`t forget that ice and snow and it is all over europe, will affect our supply of veg

nannaC

Called in at B&M bargains yesterday [they do Warburtons bread for £1.09, try as I might I can't get Grumpy to eat the cheaper] and they had HP beans 4 for £1.00 also Heinz baked beans with hidden vegatables in the sauce 4 for £1. [tried these yesterday and they are surprisingly tasty]. Have also started to look round more when shopping. I now use each shop for their bargains sticking to my list. As far as meat/veg is concerned tend to buy whatever is best value at the time, try to take advantage of whoopsies. Also have really stopped myself from grabbing items that I don't really want just because they are a bargain price, [still got a jar of spiced plum conserve from 2 years ago], must say this has saved me both money and space in my cupboard. To get round the high price of salad stuff in winter, I grow salad cut and come again leaves in pots on kitchen window sill. You can plant a few seeds in a pot, then plant another pot 2-3 weeks later etc. This should keep you going. The same can be done with herbs, have even used the bathroom window sill. They also grow well in greenhouses.

champys

elizabunny wrote: »

l.

By the way just as a point of interest, I nipped into MrL today and the Caster Sugar was 89p for 1 kg. I then went into MrS and a 1kg bag was £1.38:eek: can this be right?

Funny enough these great discrepancies in sugar prices have existed as long as I remember - we always find out at the beginning of autumn in which supermarket the sugar is cheapest, because we have to buy in loads to feed the bees for the winter. It was always different. I remember one year in the UK where Waitrose actually had the cheapest sugar!
I am guessing, but it probably depends on when they have bought in their bulk sugar, as the sugar world market prices can fluctuate quite a lot during a year.

2cats1kid

kittie, I agree with you 100%. In fact I said to one of the girls I work with round about October time when it felt like the world was falling in, that it felt like the 70s over again. Now, bearing in mind I was only a wee thing then, but I remember the cupboards full of loo rolls and sugar that my mum had amassed because there were shortages. I remember her queueing for bread because you were only allowed one loaf at a time. And most of all I remember my cousins from Australia that we had never met before arriving to stay in the middle of a blackout, so we were meeting each other by candlelight. As a kid, it was quite exciting, in a way, but even though I was maybe 9 or 10 I remember being slightly ashamed of these people arriving from the other side of the world and our country being in such a shambles. She said she was going to stock up on candles - not sure if she did - but I'm ready with the candles and the wind-up torches/radio.

Bizarrely, our little Tesco Express is selling disposable barbecues at the moment. Not quite sure what the message is there - or have they just lost the plot totally?

As for sugar, I used to work for a manufacturer who used to use a lot of sugar. We had to allow in the accounting for the price of sugar changing between ordering and delivery. In fact the sugar was delivered three times a day, and like as not the three deliveries would be three different prices as they used the spot price of sugar, not what it was when the order was placed. So that sort of commodity must be a nightmare for supermarkets to price correctly (not that I can find it in me to feel sorry for them LOL).

lellyo

Hi I have been a long time lurker to this thread and must thank you all for your ideas and inspiration, i love it!

On the subject of sugar i try to buy mine from B&M where it is only 69p, i usually buy a couple of bags at a time at that price.

I too have thought Aldi have gone a bit expensive on some of their items.

Charis

kittie wrote: »

My thoughts today are that we have shades of the 70s going on now ie industrial action, particularly on energy suppliers, plus recession plus now snow and icy winds. A very lethal combination

I've been thinking the very same thing. My brother emigrated in 1978 and I remember writing to him about the piles of rubbish left in the streets due to industrial action. A few years before that, before I had the family, I remember the sugar, salt and loo roll shortages, and trying to cut out a dress on the floor by candlelight, for a function I had to go to, because I was still at work all day and those government mandated 4 hour power cuts were timed for when people had just got in to make dinner. Like Kittie I have been reflecting on how the feeling these days is so similar. By being prepared, like most of us on this thread now are, we can at least avoid the feeling of desperation when the panic buying happens. I remember the salt shortages started because of a stupid rumour that the 'salt mines in Siberia were closing down'.

I have always slightly envied my brother, still out in Australia and comfortably off. Then, on the BBC news page today I saw the forest fires out there. It's been 43° (106°F) during the last week and the suburbs between his home and the coast are ablaze. I've decided I'd rather be here with my lentils and candles. I spent a lot of yesterday reading Nella Last's War and realised that no matter what, people do manage to survive. The most important thing, still true now, is a positive, cheerful attitude (even if secretly you are worried sick, like Nella). I love her philosophy of 'take each day as it comes and do the best I can with it'.

nannaC

We often get power cuts in our village so Like most other OSr's we too have a stock of candles, and our trusty old primus ready. One of the beauty of having open fires is that come the power failures we can always make a meal/drink. The funniest thing though is during our last power cut Grumpy Grandad filled our lovely old oil lamp with paraffin instead of lamp oil, coooooooooooooo it didn't have make a big light till he put it out, must say if they ever make extinguishing an oil lamp, an olympic event then Grumpy's our:rotfl: sure fire:rotfl: GOLD MEDAL WINNER:T