What food to buy ahead of the VAT increase

Smidster

paddedjohn wrote: »

WHY WORRY AND START PANIC BUYING? IF YOU SPEND £117.50p ON VATABLE GOODS NORMALLY THEN ITS ONLY GOING TO INCREASE TO £120.00 FROM TUESDAY, NOT THE END OF THE WORLD REALLY IS IT?
MOST OF US PROBABLY WILL ONLY SPEND A FRACTION OF THIS AMOUNT EACH WEEK ANYWAY.

Firstly - Some people are already living very close to the line and don't have the resources to simply swallow the rise.

Secondly - EVERYTHING is going to skyrocket in the next month as fuel increases due to VAT. Food in particular, while VAT free, is going to see at least 5-10% inflation next month which I for one can certainly not afford.

Stompa

Smidster wrote: »

Secondly - EVERYTHING is going to skyrocket in the next month as fuel increases due to VAT.

I guess it depends on your definition of 'skyrocket', but I fail to see how the VAT increase on fuel can be responsible for anything other than a fairly minimal rise in prices.

Fang_3

freakybacon wrote: »

As long as we all remember who got us into this mess in the first place. Gordon Brown- step forward and take a bow!

Yup. One man caused the entire global financial meltdown. Forget the decade of good times that everyone in this country benefited from.

Erme

Interesting discoveries on what's VATable and isn't at my nearest cash and carry for cleaning stuff (and a few other bits)

see...http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=39853596&postcount=214 (cos I'm too tired to cut and paste it sorry guys [/i]

E

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

don't forget pet food!

Erme

Smidster wrote: »

Firstly - Some people are already living very close to the line and don't have the resources to simply swallow the rise.

Secondly - EVERYTHING is going to skyrocket in the next month as fuel increases due to VAT. Food in particular, while VAT free, is going to see at least 5-10% inflation next month which I for one can certainly not afford.

Well I've just done my maths on this one...on average I spend £20 for everything at the supermarket per week so that works out £2-3 extra per week or like £100-£150 per year...?

It's about the same as one utility in a nutshell...not that hard to swallow...

If push comes to shove I shall live on rice and lentils and veggies (frozen they're cheaper)

E
PS. Have you thought of trying weezl's recipes for food? can't recall where is it but it's pretty cheap (cheaper than my budget anyways) ....E

kiwikaz

Just been into Home Bargains to stock up on a few things and they've notices on the shelves saying that they're not increasing Vat on the 4th January.
Doesn't however say how long this'll last. Having said that it obviously wont stop them increasing their prices should they want to.

zygurat789

Smidster wrote: »

Firstly - Some people are already living very close to the line and don't have the resources to simply swallow the rise.

Secondly - EVERYTHING is going to skyrocket in the next month as fuel increases due to VAT. Food in particular, while VAT free, is going to see at least 5-10% inflation next month which I for one can certainly not afford.

The people who actually pay this VAT are the hauliers, they will be VAT registered and will, therefore, recoup the small additional amount (2.13%) paid against the VAT they receive. Net cost nil.

stilernin

Erme wrote: »

Well I've just done my maths on this one...on average I spend £20 for everything at the supermarket per week so that works out £2-3 extra per week or like £100-£150 per year...?

It's about the same as one utility in a nutshell...not that hard to swallow...

If push comes to shove I shall live on rice and lentils and veggies (frozen they're cheaper)

E
PS. Have you thought of trying weezl's recipes for food? can't recall where is it but it's pretty cheap (cheaper than my budget anyways) ....E

The increase on £20 will be 42p.

However, if you are saying that your total supermarket spend is £20, I would be surprised if all of that is VATable. I don't think that rice, lentils and frozen veggies have added VAT.

For every VATable £1 spent you need to add 2.1p

Hope that this makes you feel more optimistic.

paadzer

I have stocked up on:

Shower Gel (was buy 1 get 2 free in Tesco)
Toilet Paper (various offers)
Curry Sauce (will stock up at 54p in co-op)
Soup (was 4 for £1 in Morrisions)
Beans (were 4 packs in Tesco for 87p a few months back)
Cereal (got loads from dented boxes in Tesco that were reduced)
Laundry Detergent (Bold Gel was reduced to £3 and the Tesco till kept producing £1 off vouchers so they were only £2 each)
Fabric Conditioner (Were buy 1 get 2 free in Tesco)
Shampoo (various offers)
Pasta Bake sauces (were buy 1 get 2 free in Tesco)
Mince (reduced to 10p in the co-op!!)
Bin Liners (found about 10 packets at Glastonbury!!)
Pasta (3KG packs were reduced to £2 in Tesco a few months back)
Magazines (got a free subscription to Q and Empire from clubcard points)
Washing up liquid (Fairy was 2 for £1 in Asda in September - I think)
Crisps (Sensations were reduced to 10p in the co-op for the large bags )
Camping chairs (found 3 at Glastonbury)
Tent (found 1 at Glastonbury)
Toothpaste (buy 1 get 2 free in Tesco recently)

To be honest I just love a bargain and none of the above would have changed if there was no VAT increase