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

kscour

Glad you like my "back yard" it is a lovely place to live & work but it does have it's problems like everywhere. Funnily enough people never take photos of the run down areas or the council estates or the empty shops:rolleyes:
Still it is a good place to be and the people are lovely.
Just to brag a bit this link is to some photos of an old building at the end of our road. We go for a walk around it (about a mile long) know locally as going for a walk around the block.
http://www.carewcastle.com/english/castle_tour/ExternalViews.htm

I still can't get over the local shop beating tescos on price - surely tescos with their buying power should win on price on the basics? But thinking about it they don't do BOGOF's on potatoes and eggs as a rule and I guess it's all stuff you just put in the trolley without thinking. You get taken in by the hype of the BOGOF's and just assume that it's cheap to shop there. I'd have been ok if I'd found out last nights quick local shop had cost £1 more because it was quick & easy and we (according to DD's!) really, really, really needed tomato sauce. To find out I'd saved money left me triple checking my sums! Did check the price on their butter though and it was £1.19 a pack for the same stuff I got in Lidls for around 50p but then I reckon the saving on one pack of cheese would outweigh the extra cost on 2 packs of butter.

I started this thinking I would end up paying more but at least I'd be supporting my local shops. Two weeks in I've saved money on what I've bought & I've saved money by not buying stuff I don't really need.:T

sandieb

How much do you all expect to pay for a non-supermarket whole chicken? I prefer organic, but am interested in the "going rate" for both organic and the free range ones.

Thanks!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

sandieb wrote:

How much do you all expect to pay for a non-supermarket whole chicken? I prefer organic, but am interested in the "going rate" for both organic and the free range ones.

Thanks!

it all depends on your butcher.....my butcher gets free range local chickens... and they are around the £5....£5.50 mark...... but they are quite large..... so would do us for a chicken dinner.... some sandwiches...... and then a curry....

but i have seen some butchers do 2 for £5.... but they are fairly small... and i dont know if they were local....

i dont know what other peeps pay......

well my pet food has been delivered...£22.. he forgot to put the bag od dried cat food in ....fruit/veg..... was £17..25... but i also bought 4 lion bars for a £1.. and 3 packs of jaffa cakes for a £1.......bakers i spend £6.17... bought a kg of flour......and milk..my bread... and 3 pasties.... and a suasage roll for the kids.......
then wne into a little shop for sugar which was 89p... now this shop allways has offers on their beer.... so hubby will be pleased...:D

kscour.......tescos do loss leaders.... where they lose money on these items just to get you though the door... the logic is .... that you think everything else is the cheapest you will get that item......how many actually check their receipt ..and check it is the cheapest around they dont........ and the crafty beggers... when they do their price comparision.... they only compare supermarket.... prices.....ok ..yes certain things are more expensive......but i have noticed as i am not impulse buying..... and some things are a lot more cheaper than the supermarkets....... so i am only buying what i need.....

and i must admit.... i really do feel its now that i injoy my shopping tripes......and its not just a chore.....

little_miss_thrifty

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

kscour.......tescos do loss leaders.... where they lose money on these items just to get you though the door... the logic is .... that you think everything else is the cheapest you will get that item......how many actually check their receipt ..and check it is the cheapest around they dont........ and the crafty beggers... when they do their price comparision.... they only compare supermarket.... prices.....

and i must admit.... i really do feel its now that i injoy my shopping tripes......and its not just a chore.....

I remember a few years back (when i did shop regularly at Tesco's) they had a promotion on for huge multi packs of Coke (my husband drinks it by the gallon...mmm, will have to wean him off it, as they don't sell it in a farmshop, ha ha) Anyway, it was such a price for this huge box, but before i picked it up, i thought i would just calculate how much more it would be to buy two smaller packs...turned out it was 2p cheaper to buy the two smaller packs than the large box - i wonder how many of hundreds of thousands of pounds T's would have lost if everyone checked the 'deals' before picking the items up?

little_miss_thrifty

vivw wrote:

As I was walking around yesterday I had the same thought about the chemists and went in one to look for my hair dye. Unfortunately they didn't have it.
Somewhere you have mentioned free range eggs...where did you get them from, as I need to find a reliable supplier.

Vivw, i have found this website, maybe interesting for you and anyone else in this area of Suffolk - https://www.greenlivingcentre.org.uk

It lists many farmshops etc. I usually go to Hollowtrees in Semer or Hall Farm Shop in Stratford St Mary, near Dedham

ZTD

little_miss_thrifty wrote:

Anyway, it was such a price for this huge box, but before i picked it up, i thought i would just calculate how much more it would be to buy two smaller packs...turned out it was 2p cheaper to buy the two smaller packs than the large box - i wonder how many of hundreds of thousands of pounds T's would have lost if everyone checked the 'deals' before picking the items up?

You've always got to do that. It's surprising how often bigger ends up more expensive - even without promotions.

Another trick is to have (for example) onions at X per pound, or 6 pre-wrapped for 99p. Of course I take the 6 pre-wrapped and weigh them...

Peem

Just wanted to check in

I'm off to start my non supermarket shopping. (managed to wangle a 1/2 day off work!!).

I'll let you know how I get on.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

good luck peem..........hope you find some nice places....

little_miss_thrifty

kscour wrote:

3.5 kg of new potatoes (proper new potatos not greenhouse jobs or imported so they are bigger if you know what I mean) £1.70
.328kg extra mature cheddar £1.64
342g Heinz squeezy tomato ketchup 99p :eek:
2 carrots
doz eggs £1.50
1 creme egg & a freddo frog chocolate bar thing (yep DD's came too!)
came to £6.38
so I didn't mind - it was quick & local but out of curiosity I compared it to Tescos online to see how much extra it had cost and now I honestly can't understand this

tescos
3.5 kg of new potatoes £1.74 (even if I went for good but not "new" potatoes it would be the same or more
.328kg extra mature cheddar £2.51 used farmhouse if it had been welsh cheddar (as I purchased) it would have been more
342g squeezy tomato ketchup 35p - but I priced up for a bigger bottle of tesco own brand that I would have been happy with and worked out the cost of the 342g - so again been over generous
2 carrots - 14p
doz eggs £1.72 ( & they aren't as nce as the ones I got!)
1 creme egg 38p
freddo frog chocolate bar thing - don't do them so I put as 10p
which comes to £6.94 = 56p more.
How

Hi have just done the same thing - guess who wins!!!
LOCAL
Bread - 1.10
Complan Build up drinks - 2.45
Kleenex Tissues - 1.69
Fruit from market (grapes and Bananas) - 2.78
Cress x 3 - 60p
8 pints milk - 2.36
Cod (from fish van) - 2.73
TOTALS - £13.71


TESCO (website)
Bread (the one i used to buy) - 99p
Complan build up drinks - 2.60
Kleenex tissues - 1.88
Fruit (grapes and bananas) - 2.82
cress x 3 - 72p
8 pints of milk - 2.22
cod - 3.97
TOTALS - £15.20.................saving myself £1.49 and petrol money for traveling:T :T for shopping locally!!!

sandieb

How long will it be before there is a Cooltrikerchick General Stores?