a month without supermarket - new challenge for 2011 starts at post 1013

vivw_2

I've just been out on my first non-supermarket shop. Living as I do on the outskirts of Ipswich on an 1980's development, there are no local shops, but I thought I would have a drive out [somehow that seems wrong] and see what I could find. One set of shops[2 miles away] I found, were awful, so I decided against them.
The second set, [1 and a half miles away]I found a convenience store but their range was very limited esp of baking ingredients, but I did buy a local paper. Found a lovely butchers where I bought a pork chop and some chicken breasts [ very competitively priced] and had a chat with the assistant and another customer - so civilised. The greengrocers was well stocked and I bought some daffs and a red pepper [didn't need much!] but unfortunately the assistant was more concerned with talking on his mobile than me.
The third set [approx 1 mile away] had no butchers or greengrocer and the grocers was a Spar, so will probably use that for milk etc
This afternoon I plan to go to Felixstowe about 6 miles away to see what that would be like for shopping. Has a pleasant high street so might be okay. Am hoping to find a good fish store, as we love fish...will report back.
Am also going to look out for farm shops on my travels!
This isn't going to be easy but I am trying

kscour

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

kscour....... if you ever go to swansea for a day out let me know.. we could meet up..... and we can go to swansea market...........i very rarely go to swansea now.... but when i go i allways buy cockles from the market yummmmm........i didnt know you could use white vinegar as a clothes conditioner......silly question... but does the clothes then smell of vinegar

Well I'm always saying I'll go and never get there:rolleyes: but yes that would be brilliant! I have happy memories of Swansea Market from my teens, me and a friend would go up on the bus and I always insisted on walking through (she got to love it too quite quickly!) I know we browsing rather than shopping but the feel, niose, smell, bustle of the place was wonderful.

The clothes don't smell honest:D It was my first thought too! I use an old ecover bottle and mix 1/3rd white vinegar to 2/3rds water and add a couple of drops of lavender oil to give it a bit of a smell. Sometimes when you first open the door there is a slight smell of vinegar but it disappears after a few seconds. DD2 used to get a rash very like a bad nappy rash but she hasn't had any trouble since I started using the vinegar. Did find a bottle of fabric conditioner in the back of the cupboard a few weeks after I switched and used it for OH's clothes to use it up - couldn't believe he noticed! He never had any problem before but told me to bin the fabric conditioner I was using up and get back to the new one cos "the old one made his pants scratchy" -did think about holding onto it just in case he did anything to annoy me:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

so. do i shread them....... sell them.......give them away.....you decide......

well my mum won't be influenced to buy the product just because of the voucher so it'll be taking something from MR T if she does use them. Given a choice I think I'd sneak into Mr T's wearing dark glasses and sellotape them to the products!:D

Icemaiden

I have been doing this myself for quite sometime but reading this thread keeps me on the straight & narrow:D

If I do venture into a supermarket its usually Asda but doing my best to reduce this even further and so far haven't been in since Jan.

Could I have a rebel Number please?

Ice
x

Penny-Pincher!!

Bacon was scrummy although a tad salty. No water from the bacon and cooked lovely:D ...very pleased and will buy again.

PP
xx

[Deleted User]

what number am I please cooltrikerchick?

I`m going great guns so far and am managing to avoid big T completely so far. Ok I don`t have brilliant local shops but I`m managing fine with mail order and riverford.

I have a brain teaser now. My dh needs 50 writable cd`s by tomorrow and big T is the nearest store where I can get them. I think I`ll turn the tables and I`ll have to go but I`ll be armed with a list of bogofs and I`ll play them at their own game. Now to go onto their site and make a list. LOL

ViksB

kittie wrote:

I think I`ll turn the tables and I`ll have to go but I`ll be armed with a list of bogofs and I`ll play them at their own game. Now to go onto their site and make a list. LOL

I know it has been said before, but supermarkets do NOT lose out by BOGOF offers. The companies that produce the products typically have to give the supermarket the "one free" for free and some retailers (I am sure you can guess which one) has been known to also demand the manufacturer pays them the profit that they would have had on that tin of soup etc. So the retailer loses nothing. Manufacturer gives away 50% of his product and some of his profit, for a promotion that they probably didn't want to do in the first place.:mad:

Sorry rant over, but supermarkets do really p*** me off, which is one of the reasons I no longer work in the food industry.

Viks

COOLTRIKERCHICK

HI......icemaiden.......you are rebel no.....22:T

hi... kittie....you are rebel ..no 23..........:T

welcome aboard....:T dont forget to add you rebel no.. to your sig.....

i cant believe how well this thread is being supported..... thanks guys.......:beer:

vivw...... dont let those few shops put you off......might be worth asking friends..about local shops etc......

well just done my adding up from last week's shopping and it came to £47.55... which i think is excellent......but this week.. its going to be a lot more as my pet food order which is being delivered tomorrow is £23. this is for a huge sack of cat litter £6... 18 giant tins of dog food £11.50.... tray of cat food £4.50 and a bag of bry cat food £1.
it looks it could be every fortnight for pet food.....

kethry

cooltrikerchick:

just an idea, about the clubcard, what you can do is to get Tescos to change it so that instead of mailing you all the points every 3 months or whatever it is, it keeps them all until christmas. This is especially useful if you get extra points for anything, like for example, if you're with powergen, you get 1 point for every £1 spent on powergen. you *do* have to ask for this to be done though. I did this last year, unfortunately i didn't ask in enough time really and only got £3.50 in vouchers for xmas.. LOL.. but on the xmas shop i asked them to reset the loyalty card for christmas 2007.

that way you can get either christmas pressies / food / booze through tescos once before christmas, and not feel so guilty.

[btw, not joining in with this: my efforts are geared towards growing stuff and reducing bills and stuff that i buy from supermarkets that way. but i appreciate where people are coming from, and i'm trying hard not to buy meat/veg from the big supermarkets already. interesting thread.. i'll keep reading!]

HTH

keth
xx

COOLTRIKERCHICK

hi.. kethry....... i did save them all last year and had them out christmas time...and changed them for mfi vouchers.... then i changed to pack so they will come out about now......as i am not using tescos anymore...... there will not be any points on the card.......plus on monday... we will be paying off ALL our credit cards including tescos one......i will have to wait to cancel my landline phone with them.... after the 3 month thing....... and then there will be no ties whatsoever with mr t.........

i was a right tescohead...... everything evolved round tesco and points...lol......but now i have seen them for what they truely are.....imo.....

but thanks for the advice........i want to try and spend ALL my grocery money in local/independants.... as far as poss.......and not just for the month... now that i have found these brill shops etc...... plus i am spending less every week on my shopping..... its now def... a perminant change......

vivw_2

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

vivw...... dont let those few shops put you off......might be worth asking friends..about local shops etc......

Everyone I know in Ipswich shop in the supermarkets. In this area you have to drive to the shops so for most its easier to go to the big stores