Food Shopping Bills

kuohu

Well I'm a blokey and also very lazy, so I don't menu plan or make lists or anything else like that. The only thing that I stick to is:

If it hasn't got TESCO VALUE on it, I don't buy it.

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

We usually go to Morrisons (Tescos, Asda, Sainsburys too far). Does anybody know if they will offset money off coupons against any shopping without having to buy the products?

T.L.C

Wow T.L.C Did you really manage to feed four people for a whole week with just that .
jessiepig yes i had stuff to use in the cupboards as well and other bits in the freezer and my lot are big eaters as well:D

T.L.C

homersimpson hi ya
morning and lunch
the bread made the kids sandwidges for school lunch box chrisps and drink i already had and they take a bottle of made up orange juice for ther drink and toast each morning x7 and
partners pack lunch and toast x7
evening meal and weekends
would be for that week
quorn mince with pasta from the cupboard and dolmio x2 nights

pizza chips beans

quorn peices in curry with rice x2 nights

cheese on toast with beans and curry noodles<9p from tesco>ie 3 toast each 1 tin beans for all and 1curry noodles each person

sunday meal<potatoes veg quorn sausages gravey>

it all depends whats in the cupboard really and what goes with what i try to make sure i keep an eye on the food like sugar and stuff and try to add in veg here and there 4 times in the week,i change the shopping list to what i need for the week but it is no more than £27 meal planing is what dose it,
i hope this helps explane it xxt

T.L.C

hi moggins
the rice is only £1.00 for 4 bags
thank you for telling me about the american easy cook im going to try that next week:j
and the curry sause i can make it strech around two meals so its ok i use some and freeze some for next time thanks for the tip
xxt

Coupon-mad

Miss_Penny_Pincher wrote:

We usually go to Morrisons (Tescos, Asda, Sainsburys too far). Does anybody know if they will offset money off coupons against any shopping without having to buy the products?

No, in general I think Morrisons and Sainsbury's are a no-no for coupons being accepted (I have found you get the Spanish Inquisition even if you try to use a 10p one when you have bought the required item!).

My nearest supermarkets are Co-op and Sainsbury's but the savings made on coupons are SO high that it's worth me driving further, to Asda or Tesco, every time.

Browsing previous threads on coupons will show you that people can save 50% or more off their shopping bill, depending on the store (see my previous post on this thread). But you do get some stores where the Managers have instructed 'only 1 coupon per transaction if you haven't bought the item' (or sometimes, none! :eek: ).

Each individual Asda or Tesco has a different policy though - just ask politely at Customer Services what their money-off coupon policy is before you shop (Waitrose has a National Policy to accept as many coupons as you care to offer, I understand!).

Miss_Penny_Pincher_2

Thank you coupon-mad - I don't have a car but Asda is only 1.5 miles I think (tescoes is about 5 miles) so may take the extra walk up there if I find enough coupons

The tip about asking customer services is great too - I remember once as a child my mum used to give loads of coupons but was stopped one time and told off for not buying the actual product. The embarrassment of it has put me off but now I'm keen after hearing of how much money can be saved!

Quincifer

Hey hey. My tips for saving money on groceries are:

:: Meal plan as much as possible, make up a weekly/daily menu and put it up in the kitchen/dining room restaurant-stylee, make it fun!
:: Cook in bulk and freeze the rest in portions, sooo easy to reheat in the microwave
:: Buy in bulk too, cheaper and you can freeze almost everything
:: Don't overlook the basics range in supermarkets, there are a few things I cant stop buying branded but basics are a godsend
:: Keep an eye on the look out for special offers, BOGOFs, discontinued lines
:: Eat as much fresh fruit, veg and meat as possible - cheaper and healthier

Ta da!!
xxx

lynzpower

Also worth a look is fixtureferrets.com ( i think)

It lists all the offers eg bogofs, half price in various supermarkets. Depending what I need I vary which shop I go to for the weekly shop.

Also worth checking out farmfoods ( super cheap) or Heron frozen foods if you have one near you, they often have stuff like M&S garlic bread & other frozen goodies for pence, but with the name like tesco or M&S markered out on the box. Usually supplied from oversupply issues at various factories. They tend to be in the north, havent seen any in london

eg in farmfoods this week pot of cadburys flake ice cream ( 2.odd in tescos, 65p there) cant grumble at the prices, altohugh they wont have everything you need so you need to go other places too.

Contains_Mild_Peril

I'm a pescovegetarian on a low sugar diet, my hubby and son can be fussy eaters, so I often find myself cooking 3 different meals for the 3 of us. We still manage to feed the 3 of us on about £30 a week.
Most of the advice I would give is already here. I was surprised, during a recent financial crisis, to discover just how many meals I could make using what was already in our cupboards and freezer.
I tried shopping in Lidl, having heard much hype about how much cheaper it was supposed to be, but I found very few items were cheaper, and most were more expensive (I normally shop mostly in Morrisons and Farmfoods). I really don't like my local Lidl, and usually avoid it now. They have no baskets, and I don't want to use a huge trolley when I'm only buying a few things. There is no warning about the absence of baskets, so when I went in assuming I'd find them inside, I had nothing in which to put my shopping. When I tried to go back out to get a trolley, a loud voice recording told me off for trying to exit via the entrance! The prices, instead of being on the shelf edges under the product where they should be, are often way up high, out of sight of short customers like me. I had to crawl under a barrier once when it wouldn't open and the automatic door I'd just come in wouldn't open either. The layout of the shop seems completely random, so it takes ages to find stuff. They don't seem to do BOGOF offers, and worst of all, there is no reduced to clear section!

Which brings me to my top tip: whenever possible, visit the supermarket in the evening (about an hour before closing time is usually about right), when outstanding bargains can sometimes be found in the reduced to clear section, e.g. lasagne for 25p, 3 pack of garlic bread 25p, mashed potato with caramelised onion 16p, 2 mushroom burgers 20p, 2 cod fillets 30p.