Wonder why groceries cost so much?

Antispam

Lets not let this thread start into a benefit bashing, people working and not working can be feeling the pinch, it not always about your income either, as it depends on what disposable income you have once you pay for rent/mortgage/bills etc. That said lots of things can be cut down on without impacting to greatly on other things which are essential

Food/fuel particularly have gone up a lot but I do feel some supermarkets are taking advantage by raising prices only to cut them down days later and saying there is a price drop

smk77

awaytogoyet wrote: »

Yes, I agree - what I find really scary is the amount & frequency of the price rises.
Food price rises used to be a few pence per item & probably applied once or twice a year. Now, the same item seems to go up by 10-20% every week!
Tesco Value Baby Wipes doubled from 18p to 36p in one hit. A couple of weeks a go I bought a bag of frozen rice (not on offer), it was 90p - last week it was £1, this week £1.30!

Seriously, did you ever think that 18p was anything other than a long term special offer?? All supermarkets sell budget wipes at a price that regularly changes from 18p to 36p and back to 18p. They're loss leaders to get you into the store so that you then pick up their own brand nappies on a 2 for £6 deal rather than 1 packet for £3.10 and whilst you are there, maybe some other full price baby essentials.

Antispam

This is what I do to save money

Look for offers, buy several of these offers assuming they have a long shelf life. I stock up freezer, even if its with bread, got some good deals other day at Wilkos 6 pack of buns 10p so got 4 packs. Not to picky on brands although sometimes supermarket own brands are hit n miss. Its worth trying, if not any good dont buy again go back to old brand or try another make thats cheaper.

awaytogoyet

smk77 wrote: »

Seriously, did you ever think that 18p was anything other than a long term special offer?? All supermarkets sell budget wipes at a price that regularly changes from 18p to 36p and back to 18p. They're loss leaders to get you into the store so that you then pick up their own brand nappies on a 2 for £6 deal rather than 1 packet for £3.10 and whilst you are there, maybe some other full price baby essentials.

I was actually just using it as an example of a very substantial & 'overnight' price rise (they had been 18p for ages!) - but there are 100's of other examples I could have used!!!
I do understand exactly what a 'Loss Leader' is, thank you.

The point I was trying to make is that we are currently being hit with very frequent & significant prices rises across a massive range of products, most of which can't be explained away by any Marketing strategy such as 'Loss Leaders' or other type of offer, ending!

sandraroffey

i know how people are feeling; my only income is state pension with pension credit and a tiddly private pension of £32 a month.

everything has gone up hugely and the amount of my increase this year, is less than the cost of a loaf of bread. it just doesnt add up.

like a previous poster, i cant remember when i last bought something for myself, that was new. you get used to it and all the stuff i have got from charity shops is perfectly fine. but something NEW, just for me, would be lovely. i havent had a holiday in over 5 years. and i only buy meat when its reduced.

how on earth are pensioners expected to manage on the amount of the money they get???? mr cameron and his cronies probably spend more than we get, on a lunch!!!

luckily, i can cook and cook cheaply. if i couldnt??......

i do everything i can to keep the bills down and of course i get the winter fuel allowance (which i do use for fuel:two thirds on the gas, one third on the electric, but another winter like the last one, where it was still very hard to make the allowance last any length of time at all (and now they are reducing it??), and it will be a problem.


i seem to remember many years ago when it was first being discussed about joining the Common Market, and it was said that all our benefits and allowances would be brought in line with europe, where, at that time, the europeans were getting a hell of a lot more than we were. dont recollect that happening though......

Barneysmom

It's not just pensioners. We are in the same boat.

We have to be careful now. I bet your pension is higher than my wage now I'm only able to do 3 days a week.
There's no tax credits/benefits for me, no council tax rebate or anything like that.
I'll be repaying our gas bill till next winter then it will start again, we get no winter fuel allowance.

I just bought a big bag of smartprice flour for 52p. I make my own sponge pudding as I am desperately trying to get my hubby's weight back up.
Cheap jam, cheap dairy spread - no I don't buy cage eggs I can't bring myself to.

sandraroffey

i know that it is very hard for everyone; my sons and daughters atr struggling along as well. and to be honest, if it wasnt for the information and support on this site, i would know where i would be.

i feel now how my poor mum must have felt when we were all young and at home. i know what my dad earnt then, and she must have struggled and struggled.

it really is a horrible feeling not to be able to do really simple things, like a lunch out once in a while. my lunch out is a home made picnic on the beach, which is lovely and others will probably envy me for that. but oh to have someone say, what can i get you?'

Ben84

awaytogoyet wrote: »

I reckon there must be some very creative accounting when it comes to calculating inflation @ around 5% - it has to be massively more than that in the real world!

Inflation has been calculated by the price of a wide range of goods. While there's been a lot of upwards trends in the cost of energy and food, a lot of other goods like cars and consumer electronics and such have gone down greatly in price in recent years thanks mainly to importing cheap products from abroad.

It doesn't tell the personal story for many of us who rarely buy new consumer goods. The huge majority of my spending is rent, food and energy. Many of the electrical items in my house are from the 1970s and 80s so the lower prices on these items today has little effect on me. The fact that you can buy a washing machine or computer cheaper than ever before also doesn't take in to account that the washing machine or computer is likely to last significantly less time than ever before too. Planned obsolescence has really hit the mainstream and the measured values for new consumer goods don't account for us being heavily encouraged or even forced to buy and replace things at a much greater frequency.

To comment on the cost of living through inflation rates as politicians and the media sometimes do is, as you suggest, misleading.

Barneysmom

Good answer Ben84.
Now we've got to try and live with it.
Find ways of getting nutrition in our food without overspending.

geordie_joe

picnic wrote: »

for those you care.... I used to be on the dole, years ago! I now work full time and have done for over 20yrs! care for my children, and my grandchild twice a week to help my daughter so she can work! I also DON'T read the daily mail, I dont read a daily paper as their full of crap!! BUT familys on the dole (or what ever benifit its called now) get more money every time the have another child! as I work I know my employer would not give me a pay rise just because iv had another child!! or anyother working parent!!!! how is this system fair????

If you don't read the daily mail, how do you know it's full of crap?

You may not get a pay rise every time you have a child, but many working people get benefits for having children.

I have worked with people who get benefits, and tax credits when they do exactly the same job as me, they work the same hours and do the same amount of work, but they get money from the state just because they have kids.

How is that fair?

Why don't you stop winging and go and get your child benefit?