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

Skint_Catt

COOLTRIKERCHICK :rotfl: that's sooo funny!

Let him do it - he's playing Mr T at their own game!

But instill on him that if he saves all his earnings he'll get a huge lump sum and be able to buy Mr T when he's 18, LOL.

Catt xx

COOLTRIKERCHICK

hi.. competitionscafe......

he's been buying tescos basic bars of chocolate for 25p

and selling for 50p.... he said he as also bought a few canned drinks when their are on offer and selling them for 50p.... but he doesnt do that regular as they are too heavy in his school bag......lol.....

he said he wants to sell the popcorn we make in school as well....... maybe he had that idea off me.... as i was going to try and do something like that with my chutney.. and hm biscuits etc.... not to the school kids .....lol.....

the thing is i got to give credit.... for it.... as last night he now wants to open a post office account as its closer and to support the local p.o.... so every week he can put his 'profit' away to earn money.....he does have an account with barclays.. but with the p.o is local he can do it all himself....

but he did say that the school is clamping down on peeps selling stuff in school.....so.... how long it will last i dont know.... but as he said .... if they stop him in school.... he will carry on selling on the bus....lol... as he said this is where i done most of my sales.....:rotfl:

sausagefans

Best of luck with this.

However...what will you do when you run out washing powder etc? I try and do all my shopping "locally" but I'm not sure where I can buy such things?

Thanks

kscour

sausagefans.com wrote: »

Best of luck with this.

However...what will you do when you run out washing powder etc? I try and do all my shopping "locally" but I'm not sure where I can buy such things?

Thanks

I use ecover and buy a big bag from http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk

CTC I think you should take him round Makros! - you must be really proud of him for wanting to save and not waste his profit like some kids would

competitionscafe

"Cheap - but not so cheerful?

With more than 400 stores in the UK - and plans to open another 40 this year - Lidl is becoming the supermarket of choice for foodies in search of a bargain, as well as families on a tight budget. Yet while Tesco comes under fire for its aggressive expansion, no one seems to care what Lidl does - even if some staff suffer in the rush for profits. Helen Pidd investigates"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/supermarkets/story/0,,2033346,00.html

spiddy100

I've been wanting to read this post from the beginning since it got past about 3 pages. Think I'm going to have to wait until one evening when the kids are in bed and DH has gone out, then pour a glass of wine and immerse myself in it. Apologies if my comments are out of kilter with what's being discussed, I have only managed to read the first few pages so far.

Anyway, I watched the 'green' episode of Shopping the Supermarkets and realised I'd forgotten how much fun local shopping could be. I'd been complaining to DH about the fact that when DS1 starts pre-school I won't have my semi-free mornings any more (with only DS2 while DS1 is at nursery), and I was dreading doing the supermarket run with two of them in tow.

However, the idea of going to the local shops with them actually appeals. I think they'll enjoy it - lots to see, lots of interaction with the shop keepers, a few free samples from the man who runs the italian deli I remember shopping with my mum when we were little and what a completely different experience it was to going to the supermarket. We used to get all our food from the market and we learned everything about choosing good quality meat, veg etc. There was an amazing old cheese and bacon mongers with huge marble counters and I can still remember the gorgeous smell of the smoked cheese and meat.

I'm still going to have to use Mr T for certain things (at least until I've read this thread and checked out some alternatives :laugh:), but hoping to keep it to a once-a-month bulk shop. Then the boys and I can visit:

The butcher: lovely farm shop about 20 mins drive away where we can do a quarterly stock up. They sell other local produce too (chutneys etc) and have open sections of the farm where the kids can see the animals. There is also a butcher on our high street which looks decent, where I can pick up bits and pieces in between times.
The greengrocer: we get a fortnightly organic box from Riverford which I think I will extend to include potatoes and some fruit. I have to say I am not desperately keen on the look of some of the stuff in the greengrocer, but I want to give them my custom as I'm glad they're there, so it will be nice to let DS1 pick some veggies to have for his dinner after we've been shopping.
The heath food shop: worth a visit for pulses etc I should think - no idea how their prices compare but we will investigate I will just have to keep myself away from the chocolate-covered ginger aisle.......
The deli: expensive and hardly local (most of the produce is italian) but the guy who runs it is lovely and again I am glad that they are there on our high street and like to buy something every now and again. It's a very genuine local business run by a middle-aged Italian guy, and I'd be gutted if he shut up shop.

I wish I could find somewhere to buy milk and basic cheeses (the deli do fancy ones, at fancy prices). We used to use the milkman but the service was pretty dreadful, plus I didn't really believe that the dairy were really substantially more ethical than the supermarket. There's a lovely farm in the next town where they milk their own cows and sell it in the farm shop but as we get through 2+ pints a day, we'd be there every other day and I can't justify the petrol. Even buying in bulk and freezing, I think it's too far out of our way to go on a regular basis (on ecological, moneysaving and purely practical grounds).

I'm sure that reading the thread will give me lots of other ideas too

spiddy100

Ooh, i have just looked here:

http://www.equalexchange.co.uk/index.asp

and forgot there is also a farm community shop a couple of miles away which I have been meaning to visit for ages. Again, it's too far away to justify going back and forth there too often, but it's part of 'a land based community for adults with learning disabilities' which I think is worth supporting. They stock Ecover products and other dry goods too

sausagefans

spiddy100 wrote: »

I've been wanting to read this post from the beginning since it got past about 3 pages. Think I'm going to have to wait until one evening when the kids are in bed and DH has gone out, then pour a glass of wine and immerse myself in it. Apologies if my comments are out of kilter with what's being discussed, I have only managed to read the first few pages so far.

Anyway, I watched the 'green' episode of Shopping the Supermarkets and realised I'd forgotten how much fun local shopping could be. I'd been complaining to DH about the fact that when DS1 starts pre-school I won't have my semi-free mornings any more (with only DS2 while DS1 is at nursery), and I was dreading doing the supermarket run with two of them in tow.

However, the idea of going to the local shops with them actually appeals. I think they'll enjoy it - lots to see, lots of interaction with the shop keepers, a few free samples from the man who runs the italian deli I remember shopping with my mum when we were little and what a completely different experience it was to going to the supermarket. We used to get all our food from the market and we learned everything about choosing good quality meat, veg etc. There was an amazing old cheese and bacon mongers with huge marble counters and I can still remember the gorgeous smell of the smoked cheese and meat.

I'm still going to have to use Mr T for certain things (at least until I've read this thread and checked out some alternatives :laugh:), but hoping to keep it to a once-a-month bulk shop. Then the boys and I can visit:

The butcher: lovely farm shop about 20 mins drive away where we can do a quarterly stock up. They sell other local produce too (chutneys etc) and have open sections of the farm where the kids can see the animals. There is also a butcher on our high street which looks decent, where I can pick up bits and pieces in between times.
The greengrocer: we get a fortnightly organic box from Riverford which I think I will extend to include potatoes and some fruit. I have to say I am not desperately keen on the look of some of the stuff in the greengrocer, but I want to give them my custom as I'm glad they're there, so it will be nice to let DS1 pick some veggies to have for his dinner after we've been shopping.
The heath food shop: worth a visit for pulses etc I should think - no idea how their prices compare but we will investigate I will just have to keep myself away from the chocolate-covered ginger aisle.......
The deli: expensive and hardly local (most of the produce is italian) but the guy who runs it is lovely and again I am glad that they are there on our high street and like to buy something every now and again. It's a very genuine local business run by a middle-aged Italian guy, and I'd be gutted if he shut up shop.

I wish I could find somewhere to buy milk and basic cheeses (the deli do fancy ones, at fancy prices). We used to use the milkman but the service was pretty dreadful, plus I didn't really believe that the dairy were really substantially more ethical than the supermarket. There's a lovely farm in the next town where they milk their own cows and sell it in the farm shop but as we get through 2+ pints a day, we'd be there every other day and I can't justify the petrol. Even buying in bulk and freezing, I think it's too far out of our way to go on a regular basis (on ecological, moneysaving and purely practical grounds).

I'm sure that reading the thread will give me lots of other ideas too

Let us know how you get on.

Stephen

thriftlady_2

spiddy100 wrote: »

I wish I could find somewhere to buy milk and basic cheeses (the deli do fancy ones, at fancy prices). We used to use the milkman but the service was pretty dreadful, plus I didn't really believe that the dairy were really substantially more ethical than the supermarket. There's a lovely farm in the next town where they milk their own cows and sell it in the farm shop but as we get through 2+ pints a day, we'd be there every other day and I can't justify the petrol. Even buying in bulk and freezing, I think it's too far out of our way to go on a regular basis (on ecological, moneysaving and purely practical grounds).

Spiddy, have you checked your farmshop for dairy produce ? Mine sells 4 pint cartons of milk for £1.05 - cheaper than any supermarket, and locally produced. I buy all my milk for the week as it usually has a week's worth of sell-by date on it. We drink about 16 pints a week.

The farmshop has lots of local cheese and yogurt too although not big chunks of Cheddar.

I make my own yogurt using UHt milk (no need to heat it first) and dried milk, but I can only buy them in a supermarket :rolleyes:

thriftlady_2

I found a copy of this book in my local Oxfam shop. I remember it from my childhood.
http://www.ladybirdbookcollector.co.uk/Series%20Breakdown/563/563_page4.htm

It describes shopping in a high street - butcher's, baker's, fishmonger's, ironmonger's, toy shop, chemist, haberdasher's, greengrocer's and grocer's.

Two children and their mother visit each shop and buy something from each. They go on foot and carry their purchases home in baskets.

It was written in the fifities, but it is exactly how I remember my local high street in the seventies (apart from the clothes) -we had all those shops and used them.

I love reading it, but it makes me sad for a vanished world.