is it realy cheaper NOT to buy from supermarkets?

cooking-mama

Morning everyone,im thinking of a complete overhaul of our families budget,and i do feel my biggest saving could possibly be on food shopping,i tend to use supermarkets for everything,we have 3 big supermarkets(Asda,Tesco,Morrisons) all within a 5/10 min drive,and i do use all 3:o(looking for bargains,tho ive "weaned"myself away from most BOGOFs)we also have a large Aldi,but i think they are more expensive than the others apart from their fruit n veg weekly specials.
Do most people on OS buy from individual butchers/greengrocers etc?,im wondering if this would work out cheaper in the long run(our local greengrocer isnt great tho,i thought about getting a weekly vegebox again)and then buying meat from butchers or local farmshop..tho again they are both more expensive than the supermarket.:rolleyes:So what/where is the best place for family shopping?

Olliebeak

Our local greengrocer is DEFINITELY cheaper than our main supermarket but his quality is nowhere near as good. I know that most people say it's usually the other way round - but in this case it really isn't. I bought what looked like a lovely punnet of nectarines and they were really sour - just think he buys inferior quality at the wholesale market. I think I'd risk getting loose veg from him though, IF I thought the price was lower than supermarket.

We have had a butcher who opened a couple of months ago (last butcher closed down about 20yrs ago) and he appears to be pricing per 100gms (even for his raw meat) which can be misleading. I'd rather see them price per 500gms (at least that's an approx equivalent per lb for folks who still 'think' non-metric - like me ). I have bought two gammon shanks from him (£1.99 each) which were excellent value as they were BIG ones. He also 'makes' his own various recipe sausages and offers cooked samples on the counter for tasting. Not so sure that I'd buy a joint of meat from him though - bit expensive for me AND he has those bright pink/red lights shining on the meat.

BUT if you can find a quality (and reasonable) greengrocer and butcher, then I'd definitely take the time to shop with them.

mummysaver

I shop at lots of places, but then I'm happy to spend the time doing so! We have a great local farm that does excellent meat, plus I buy whole and half animals direct from the people who raise them (usually assorted friends of the kids looking to make a bit of pocket money using a field on their families' farm!)

Veg sometimes comes from the market or greengrocer, but more often it comes from Lidl and Aldi - I just get whatever is on offer. Lidl and Aldi are also good for cured meats.

Most dried/tinned/household products come from the supermarket, I keep an eye on the special offers and if beans or toms or anything I use a lot is on offer then I bulk buy, for instance napolina toms were 4 for £1 a while ago in Asda, so I bought lots as they were cheaper than value ones and I know I'll use them.

My milk is delivered by the milkman, which whilst costing more per pint saves me a vast sum of money as I don't pop out for a carton of milk and spend a fortune!

Bread, cakes and biscuits are generally homemade.

Not sure that this is the cheapest way, but it works out pretty well for me and I don't feel that I'm spending too much on groceries at the supermarket.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i set myself a challenge a while back to not to use a supermarket for a month, ended up not using one for a heck of a lot longer..

i found once i found good independant shops/ markets etc. i found i kept within a budget.

ok i did get less for my money, but i had no impulse buys etc, which was the main casue of going over budget.

but my main thing was to support local independant businesses, as i personally think supermarkets have ruined village/town community life.

i think in the end the only thing i had to buy in the co-op was high juice for the kids..

the good thing about using a butcher etc you can ask for what YOU want, not choose what they think that you want iyswim.

I still use my butcher and local animal feed/pet store for my pet food ( pet food def works out cheaper) and am seriously thinking of going back to this way of shopping again.

as before we know it, we will have no local shops, just big 24 hr supermarkets

Baglady_2

I found using both is a good happy medium. I mostly use local shops, i.e. butchers, greengrocer, hardware, pound-type shop, newsagent, and trawl the supermarket for the staples or extras I can't get locally. Then of course, I get sucked in to impulse buys if I have the money. Like CTC I enjoy supporting local shops, and it's less petrol.

juliapenguin

I much prefer using independent local shops and also find it work out cheaper - as others have said, you tend to buy what you need rather than what takes your fancy. If I go into the little Sainsburys near here, a £2.69 pot of marinated queen green olives always jumps off the shelf and into my basket - I don't know how it happens... When I buy from the vegetarian cooperative, I just buy what I need for my meals and am not tempted by other things. We do eat meat, but really only when we are out and haven't got a choice. If I was still buying meat, or want to buy it if I'm cooking for friends, I'd have to go to one of the small supermarkets as there are no butchers nearby.

zippychick

I would use a fruit shop - more expensive but much better quality. However i will buy whoopsie fruit or veg in the supermarket (she says tucking into one of her whoopsied apples) . To me it feels better produce, is supporting local business, and there is generally better variety.

For meat - apart from bacon I buy from the butchers. I would personally prefer to eat meat less often and have better quality, than buy cheaper form the supermarket and eat more frequently. Am very fussy about sausages and wont really eat anything under 90% meat - if i have a choice If that makes me a snob,so be it.

Milk tends to be cheap in our fruit shop or £1 shops. I try to avoid going to any shops asmuch as possible, and make do. So i might have yoghurt with my cereal for a couple of days , rather than go buy milk when i maynot really need it

Nuts/pulses/seeds - i buy from a scoopa market. I am pretty lucky to have one of these nearby. I will be honest - I havent compare gram for gram prices - but if I go there to buy my list, or went to tesco with the same list, I could be pretty sure I would get a hell of a lot more produce from the scoopamarket. I normally spend £20 a time and come out with bags of Lentils, cashew nuts, sunflower seeds, cashews, brazil nuts, cranberries, dates, cous cous, brown rice, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, various types of sugar, cereals, herbs and spices , and other little luxuries - rice cakes, bouillon, off stuff you dont really see in the supermarket , oh and cat litter too.

I ony need to make this trip every 2-3 months, and do use lots of nuts and seeds in my diet

I use the supermarket for tinned goods , natural yoghurt, oils,flour (dont have SWB in scoopamarket yet) frozen veg & fruit, and other basics.

I bake my own bread, buying the odd whoopsied pack of pancakes or pittas

Sounds like an awful lot of hassle but it really isn't for me. the scoopa journey is every few months, the tesco is 10 min cycle up the road, and the butchers and fruit shop are even closer . I have seen myself go to scoopa, then tesco, then butchers and greengrocers and come home completely exhausted (I go shopping on my push bike !!!!!!!!!) . But that would do me for an awful long time.

i prefer to buy meat as I use it where possible, but have frozen stocks too.

ubamother

I find my greengrocer is cheaper than the supermarket, and nicer to chat to! His stuff does not last as long, but my daughter told me after working a summer vacation in one, most supermarkets spray their produce with a milton-type solution when it arrives and when it goes on display to lengthen its life. I buy from the greengrocers early on Saturday morning and cook and freeze the ingredients that I won't use immediately and may go off - e.g. soft vegetables like asparagus, courgettes - the hard stuff, carrots, parsnips etc. last fine.

Katy83

I find morrisons excellent value for fresh fruit and veg and good quality too.

I would love to shop in local shops but there aren't many near me and the ones that are there are incredibly expensive.

Winged_one

I try to do a large "stores" shop reasonably regularly (I go to Sains about 3 times a year and stock up on loads, and tend to spread out other "stores" shops evenly enough in between in local supermarkets).

I buy a lot of my spices in Asian stores - there's one near work and another near the Garden shop for my seeds, so I can usually time them for those. I will often buy rice in bulk there as well if low, as it's cheaper than local supermarkets (although Sains is usually slightly cheaper again).

I grow a fair few of our veg, and get a lot of the rest from 2 local veg shops (depending on which direction my other chores take me). One is decent, but the other is a LOT cheaper than elsewhere. I will go to Aldi for "super 6" f&v if near there - so either going to garden shop or visiting IL's (maybe every 6 weeks or so I get there).

I have a reasonable list of things I get regularly in Lidl too - cheese, bacon pieces, chorizo, butter, passatta etc. Sometimes veg if good value.

And I will go to a couple of different butchers locally - again depending on which direction my chores take me. One near the good F&V shop. And a few on teh main street of local town if I go down for fish from the fishmongers on the pier (also very good value and very good fish). Although I will also buy a certain amount of meat in the supermarket too, especially if short on time.

I find that, when I have time to go to different places, I usually save a fair bit but it is time consuming. And I tend to make sure I am buying good value foods those days (where i may be less careful somedays in supermarkets). (And Sains is VERY good value for us as UK prices are a lot lower than Irish prices - so even buying luxury goods then is not an overly expensive indulgence).

tr3mor

juliapenguin wrote: »

When I buy from the vegetarian cooperative, I just buy what I need for my meals and am not tempted by other things. We do eat meat, but really only when we are out and haven't got a choice. If I was still buying meat, or want to buy it if I'm cooking for friends, I'd have to go to one of the small supermarkets as there are no butchers nearby.

By veggie co-operative, I presume you mean Unicorn in Chorlton. If so then there's a good butcher in the arcade in the middle of Chorlton and a really posh butcher/deli just the other side of the canal from Unicorn.

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