As The Workhouse Approaches....How To Do Everything To Avoid It, the Old Style Way

redlady_1

OK...following my confession that I have been to Waitrose I feel I have to report a few findings. 1 - Their meat is flipping lovely and not actually more expensive than Morrisons. 2 - Their veg is nice and the prices are becoming more reasonable...when I say reasonable they are not in the Lidl league but are definitely in the Tescos league but better quality. 3 - It is full of very posh people who wear bright colours, and it includes the blokes! 4 - I will NEVER pay £3.87 for tin foil. 5 - I reckon that if you are careful you can get good quality food for not alot different than the normal supermarkets (excluding Lidl etc). Perhaps they are getting the message???

maryb

I basically shop at Lidl's and Waitrose now unless Mr T or Mr S give me money off vouchers. Lidl's cold meats and cheeses are just as good as Waitrose and their carrots and onions are fine. Their broccoli is OK as long as you are going to eat it quickly and dry goods all come from there. The rest I find is not that expensive to buy from Waitrose and even if it is a bit more it is worth it for the quality of the tomatoes for example and knowing that they are the least exploitative of the supermarkets along with the Co-op. Some things are actually cheaper there than anywhere else eg if you buy 500g packs of butter it is £1.89 whereas 250g (the normal size) is now £1.10 everywhere. And their farfalle pasta is the cheapest I have found. If you have a John Lewis credit card and use that to pay you get 2% in points which they give you as vouchers four times a year. I do occasionally stock up on pasta and risotto rice in Mr T's and they are good for bulk packs of spices and chickpeas if I can't get to the Indian supermarket

It also helps if you cook a lot from scratch so you are buying ingredients rather than products. Now that I have cracked making yogurt and hummous and have a breadmaker, I don't need to buy those. And it's great when you do need slightly unusual bits and pieces - only Waitrose has marscapone as part of the Essentials range!!

GreyQueen

redlady_1 wrote: »

OK...following my confession that I have been to Waitrose I feel I have to report a few findings. 1 - Their meat is flipping lovely and not actually more expensive than Morrisons. 2 - Their veg is nice and the prices are becoming more reasonable...when I say reasonable they are not in the Lidl league but are definitely in the Tescos league but better quality. 3 - It is full of very posh people who wear bright colours, and it includes the blokes! 4 - I will NEVER pay £3.87 for tin foil. 5 - I reckon that if you are careful you can get good quality food for not alot different than the normal supermarkets (excluding Lidl etc). Perhaps they are getting the message???

Gawd bless us and save us, that's their price for TIN foil?! I'd want gold foil at least for that! I'd be tempted to hie me down to a Waitrose and check it out but it's miles away from me and on the opposite side of the city.

I'm feeling a bit weird tbh (I know, no sniggering in the back) have an absolutely splitting headache which paracetamol has barely touched and feel very strange. Went around a friend's for a birthday meal last night (her's not mine) and had one glass of wine at 7-ish and was home by 10 pm. Didn't have headache last night.

Feeling v. weird. think will leave t'office and go home. If I don't post in 24 hours send paramediccs.........

redlady_1

See GQ, that is what happens when you dont eat chocolate!!! It was the big roll but still...

I must admit mary that I am thinking I will be shopping in Waitrose when it opens in my home town (rather than work town)and Lidl (which will be opposite). I was really surprised at the value of the joints. Cant wait to try the gammon. And it just looks better. I have taken off the luxury bits I have bought and I reckon that there isnt much in it. Cue was 80p and in Morrisons its £1. Mushrooms were 89p but I seem to remember in Morrisons they are about 1.25. I also managed to pick up some reduced strawberries for 89p a punnet (big one) and the same price for raspberries. They also do 4 free range eggs which the OH likes. He says he doesnt waste anything that way.

GreyQueen

Got outside the office and discovered there'd been what was obviously a brief but heavy shower; puddles dotted on otherwise dry pavements and a sky full of scudding grey clouds.

It's my old ailment; thunder headache. I seem to be sensitive to sudden drops of barometric pressure but I was in the basement under artificial light and had no idea what was going on weatherwise. Relieved to find the cause otherwise I'd be worried. Still have a sore head but will rally with a cuppa and the forums before biking to the allotmentino with some ex-bathwater.

redlady, I ate a slice of birthday cake last night at my mate's do and it was chocolate refridgerator cake and it was very nice but the cravings didn't awaken so I may be safe now........

Charis

mardatha wrote: »

It was "O" and "A" levels when I was alive.

Oh dear, Mardatha, you are feeling down. :rotfl:

May you have blue skies soon. And that yellow thing.

(((Mardatha)))

bargainhunterss

cat_smith wrote: »

Get a dog! Local cats soon learnt to keep out of the garden:rotfl::rotfl:

lol the OH isnt too keen on dogs...(but im working on him!) were renting at the minute where theres quite a strict "no-pets" rule, which is a shame because I'd love to have at least a goldfish!

mrswive

I also do most of my shopping at Waitrose; they usually have good offers on fruit, which we eat a lot of, and excellent reductions. I agree that the quality, particularly of the meat, is a lot better than other supermarkets, and the 'price match' means that most branded goods are the same price. I go to Lidl once a month for some things, Mr T for a few things like Value oats, and Waitrose for pretty much everything else. I spend about £30 a week for two of us, and we eat really well. Mind you, I never pay full price for meat/fish (or anything else if I can help it!) I'm lucky enough to be able to walk there, so go several times a week about an hour before closing time; some days there's not much to be had in the way of bargains, but other times I have to call into OM's on the way home to put stuff in her freezer, as it won't all fit in ours! A thing worth knowing,( but keep it to yourselves!!!! )- when Waitrose have a BOGOF or 3 for 2 or other offer and the items are reduced, the offer still comes off at the till eg. last month I bought 2 packs of lamb shoulder which were reduced to 99p each; the original price was £4.99 per pack, and the offer was '2 for £8' so the lamb cost £1.98 and £1.98 was taken off. Now that's what I call a bargain!

mamaninie

I get my shopping online from waitrose deliver from my local store as they don't charge delivery fees. I think its worth it for the fruit and veg as the quality means you can actually eat every last bit of it. They always substitute you up and I usually do quite well on the substitutions. I shop their offers on meat etc, build my meal plan round that and what ever other bits of fresh I need. Other bits and bobs I do get from elsewhere - eg sainsburys DW tabs are £1.70 ish and the waitrose essential ones are £2.50. (you will no doubt tell me where they are even cheaper!) I haven't got time or the inclination to be traipsing 2 kids into a load of different supermarkets on my precious days off with them so I accept that I might pay a little bit more on some things, but the overall cost (taking into account the saving of £3.50 - £5 ish on delivery) pans out for me. I sometimes bulk buy rice and a few other bits from local asian shops as well though.

mama67

silvermaid wrote: »

My folks used to buy their coal and coke in the summer after a long dry spell as it was sold by weight and the wet fuel weighed more than dry. They would buy as many hundredweight of coal as they could store. x

I usually buy my coal in the summer as the price often goes up about Oct when people start having fires. I pay for 1 tonne and the coalman delivers it as and when I request it throughout the winter (small coal bunker)