Bigger shop = bigger spend?

anguk

I normally shop in Tesco and pick up odd little bits at the market but like most people my shopping bill was getting higher and higher. This week I was at the retail park and I really couldn't be bothered with the hustle & bustle of the big supermarket so I popped into Marks & Spencer instead. I bought all the bits I needed (and a few extra treats) and was quite surprised at the till to find that the total cost was about £20 less than I'd normally spend at Tesco! :eek:

I'd bought a few reduced things and also a few of their offers 3 for £10 etc but the main difference was I hadn't bought as much as I would normally in Tesco. I had everything I needed but I hadn't picked up as many impulse buys which we tend to do in Tesco (no matter how much I try to stick to a shopping list OH still chucks other things in the trolley :mad:).

I've come to the conclusion that for us the bigger the shop the bigger the spend, there's more choice and more chance of impulse buys. I'm now seriously considering just going to Tesco once a month to bulk buy things like tins etc then doing a smaller weekly shop in M&S, the stuff is so much nicer and I spend less! I noticed they also have quite a few "value" things and price mark other things to match the big Sainsburys that's next door.

Does anyone else find they spend more if they go to bigger supermarkets?

PipneyJane

anguk wrote: »

Does anyone else find they spend more if they go to bigger supermarkets?

Not in my case, but I do find that if I shop more often, I'll spend more money. We normally do one big supermarket shop a month with a top-up mid-month for milk, yoghurts, peppers and mushrooms (and that's usually a 10 minute sprint on our way to somewhere else). On the rare occasion I wander the supermarket mid-month, I find it easy to spend an extra £20-£30 on unnecessary items.:eek:

However, I don't think I'm your typical shopper: I buy the majority of my veggies and my eggs from a farm shop (typically £10 worth every 3 weeks), my fresh/frozen fish from Costco (approx £30 every 3 months) and my meat from a butcher (typically £120 every 3-4 months). I buy my spices, flour, sugar, rice and cleaning supplies in bulk from Wing Yip. We eat quite a lot of dried beans and tinned fish, too.

Not that I want to hijack your thread, but I was wondering how much everyone spends on their groceries/housekeeping on a monthly basis. Here's our monthly housekeeping budget for two adults:-

Groceries: £120
Meat Fund: £ 40
Christmas: £ 10 (also Easter eggs)
Garden £ 10 (Gardening supplies, seeds, etc)
Bulk fund: £ 20 (Bargains, Costco and WingYip)
Total: £200 or £100 each a month.

The Meat, Christmas and Bulk funds are left to accumulate until there is a reason to spend them, whereas the Grocery kitty rarely has anything left at the end of the month. If there are bargains to stock up on, we raid the Bulk Fund.

Hawthorn

Yes, unless I take a shopping list and rigidly stick to it (which is difficult when you see a yummy offer )

I used to shop online to avoid temptation but these days I can't find much of what I need/want that way. They appear to be reducing the amount of items they stock on the online shopping.
Plus I have to avoid gluten and lactose and the websites aren't always great at giving labelling advice. Add to that the fiver delivery and it becomes pointless.

So, these days I get a big sack of potatoes/onions at the farm shop. Less than £6 for a 25k sack of potatoes that are much nicer than anything I bought at the supermarkets. Onions £1.99 for 4k.

I search for good offers on the websites of the major stores. If there's something nice then I try to buy a few and freeze/store. I check out the whoopsies there but I am really firm to avoid aisles I don't need to be down.

Otherwise for basics I shop at aldi. Usually reasonably priced (<3 the super six) and the bread is 47p a loaf (much nicer than the stores basics ranges)

Thankfully because of my bargain hunting for meat etc, I only have to really go to aldi weekly unless there's something too good to miss.

our weekly shop averages about £80 - that's for six of us, two adults, two teenagers, one preteen and one child, plus one Bull terrier who would eat all day and roll around instead of walk if I let her. I cook everything from scratch due to avoidance of gluten/lactose.

Justamum

I stick to my shopping list, but I do find that if my DH or children are with me I do get other stuff put in the trolley too - so I leave them behind and go shopping on my own. You might find it's cheaper if you leave your OH behind!

katiecoodle

I love our Aldi for stocking nearly everything I need, and for having a free carpark where there's always a space, and for not dazzling me with promotions where I overspend on things I need. I nip there for a couple of bits, and I get a couple of bits. If I nip to the big Tesco near me, I end up spending £35 on stuff I totally don't need, but I fall for the alluring 3 for 2's or bogofs....

rising_from_the_ashes

I'm trying out a new idea (for me) of doing one big monthly shop and getting it delivered and then small weekly ones - I'm very rural and only have small supermarkets and there's much better choice from the big ones in town where the deliveries come but trying to get better value that way. Eg in our stores, the biggest pack of potatoes is 2.5kg and I can get a 5kg one for not much more from the stores in town.

I would pretty much expect anywhere to be cheaper than Mr Ts TBH - it's about the most expensive place to shop - I checked my last receipt from Mr A online (hoping for a voucher) and Sainsbob's, Mr Ms and even Wait*rose came out cheaper than Mr Ts!

YORKSHIRELASS

Not for me. As someone else has said I find that the more times I go shopping the more I spend. Its really hard not to pick up "extras". I also live very rurally so food shops are limited.

I get a Tesco delivery once a fortnight and spend £120 each time. I then allow £10 a week for extra fruit and veg, milk and bread so a total budget of £280 for four of us.

I guess its whatever works for you. I have friends who swear by doing a weekly shop and hate online shopping!

anguk

Justamum wrote: »

I stick to my shopping list, but I do find that if my DH or children are with me I do get other stuff put in the trolley too - so I leave them behind and go shopping on my own. You might find it's cheaper if you leave your OH behind!

Unfortunately that's not an option. Firstly I can't drive so I need him & the car and secondly he absolutely loves food shopping! I would happily run in with a list, zip round and out but he loves wandering slowly up and down the aisles looking at everything. Sometimes I wish he was one of those men who hates shopping, it would be much cheaper!

I think that's why we spend more in the big supermarkets, there's more for him to look at and chuck in the trolley. He's a bit of a foodie and in M&S there is plenty of nice things for him to look at but as it's smaller there's less for him to buy.

I've tried doing a big monthly or fortnightly shop but found we were still "just nipping to the shop" a couple of times a week so it worked out more expensive. I swear my OH gets the shakes if he doesn't get in a supermarket at least twice a week!

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I go to Tesco once a month and buy the stuff I can't buy at Aldi.
I've just discovered Aldi this Spring and was very surprised at how much I save.
Also I'm lucky to have a realy good fruit and veg shop at the end of my road that is realy good value.
I get my milk and eggs from there too.
4 pts of milk for 85p and a dozen large free range eggs for £1.30 can't be bad can it.
Since I made a conscious effort to cut down on food shopping I feel realy disgusted with myself at the amount I used to spend,considering we still have the same amount of food in the house and the fridge is always full.
We spend about 70% of the amount we spent this time last year but don't seem to lose out on anything.

mumnotplusone

If I go to Mr t or Mr a I always spend loads as the stores are so huge so I completely agree. If I go to sainsbobs and aim for Orange and white I find it straightforward, quicker and cheaper, and I think it's because the store is smaller and in my mind "dearer" so u am subconsciously more aware of what I'm buying - make sense?!:undecided

seraphina

Absolutely. It's another reason why I really like Lidl - far fewer temptations, and a smaller shop means I can whizz round in 30mins.