2012 no supermarket shop challenge

meg72

I only use the big 4 for offers and whoopsies,make my own bread,yogurt,pasta and grow as much as I can so they already get the minimum from me but would love to make it even less.Interesting
thread.Willfollowto see how you get on.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I have just come back from getting a few bits and pieces from our local co-op.... I bought 14 tins of sweets ( 2 for £9.) these are for giving out to some of suppliers, had a great bit of banter from some of the other customers...

There is a new tescos that has opened within spitting distance of this store.... and yes for the first few days of the tescos opening the co-op store was dead, but a few days later they started coming back and using the co-op..

Today the customers on the co-op were a right mix of ages... and other customers that were having a banter with me were of a mature age....

these older customers could have gone shopping in tescos, but no they choose to shop in the co-op like myself...

My aim is to sprending my spending around......and not solely give my hard earned cash all to the mighty and the powerfull 4

marlasinger

I'm thinking of doing something similar, but I don't think I can cut out the big 4 entirely. This past year (and all other past years) I have always done a big weekly shop at one of the big 4. What I have started doing the past few weeks is walking into town each weekend (good excuse for exercise as well) and buying my fresh fruit and veg, and eggs at the local green grocer. I plan on doing this in 2012. I'm not quite brave enough to try the local butcher - purely because I just don't know what to ask for, and don't really know my cuts of meat (aside from chicken breasts, chicken thighs, and pork chops!). I have looked at their meat through the window though, and it's probably same price as supermarket, maybe a tiny bit more.

So, anyway from 2012, I want to restrict shopping at the big 4 down to once a month (if that), and only buy products I can't find elsewhere. The rest of the time I will:

- buy eggs, and fresh fruit and veg and the local green grocer
- buy any cleaning products and toiletries and other bits and pieces from the 99p shop
- buy from butcher if I get brave enough
- do the remainder of the shop at Lidl

Hopefully I can stick with this. While it may not come out reams cheaper, I hope it will help me avoid frittering away money on many little impulse purchases.

spikejrt

People mention the Co-Op likes it's a good thing, I personally find them to a complete rip off and the quality to be dire. If I want things from local producers I'd rather go to them direct and cut out the middle man.

the_cat

Have done some thinking on this today and actually there are a lot of options I can investigate to shift a lot of my shopping away from the big 4.

As a first step, I have placed orders with Food Bargains (10% off with code MERRY10 atm) and Approved Food (got free shipping but not sure if that offer still on) Will buy rest of food for xmas from Lidl and Iceland which will help me avoid the crush too and then blast the big 4 for post-xmas whoopsies. They will only see me for whoopsies in Jan/Feb - hopefully even longer

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Marlasinger...... dont be afraid to go into the butchers... and say... that you are not to sure of the different cuts of meat, tell him what you want to make, and he will recommend the best bit of meat for that dish...

Or just go in and buy chops or mince.... and have a look at the meat... and then after a few visits you purchase something else..

seriously..... the butcher is there to also help you..my butcher is fantastic.... we have a good chat, and he tells me which is the best buy of the week, and also tells me the best way to cokk diff meats and joints.....

you dont get that in the supermarket.... and you can buy as little as you want....

I have seen people go into our local butchers, and ask for 2 sauseages.... 2 rashers of bacon.... one chop etc.....

If you have a max amount you want to spend... tell them...

cant get that in the supermarket

brien123

Im up for the challenge - my husband has just been advised my the doc to stop working 80 hrs a week so he has decided to retrain for another career meaning we will have less money coming in but will have loads more time - we are looking at shopping in our local butchers, veg shop, bakers and pet store and going to farmfoods for the frozen and tins - I think we will save money as there will be less temptation for the kids - we always seem to come home with 'rubbish' from Tesco. Also buying locally we wont waste as much - I know its wrong but at the moment I do seem to throw a lot of food out that was bought on a whim and has gone off. Im looking forward to the challenge.:)

A._Badger

Cooltrikerchick is absolutely right about butchers. Not only does their meat tend to be far superior to supermarkets' fare, but a proper butcher will give you plenty of useful advice and guidance. Supermarkets have conned several generations into thinking they are the only places to shop - but they're not. I'm not even convinced they are cheaper for meat than butchers, especially if you compare quality with like quality. Some of the awful minced beef I've seen in supermarkets simply wouldn't be sold by a conscientious butcher, so you do need to be sure you are comparing the same things, when trying to work out prices..

Amishwannabee

I will subscribe to this thread as very interested in it.
We still have the milkman delivering our milk (56p per pint!) but only on 3 days a week. I have found a local baker who we buy fab granary and wholemeal bread from. I use my breadmaker to make a white loaf several times each week.
Locally there are all the usual supermarkets but there are good independant butchers and roadside fruit and veg shops so must make better use of them. Finding the 99p shops and Wilkos is the problem here as have to travel a distance to get to them but suppose I could do a big loo roll etc stock up when I do get there.

~Jem~

Hmmm....

If you have the luxury of being within walking distance then fair enough BUT if you have to drive to these places then you will end up spending more on petrol as well as some things costing more.