Who else supermarkets in 5+ stores a fortnight?

TravellingAbuela

Like most people on here, I wouldn't dream of doing all my shopping in one supermarket! I get most of my basic weekly shopping in Aldi, then pop over the road to Sainsbury's to get what I couldn't get in Aldi. In between my main weekly shop I pop in on occasion to Farmfoods, B & M, Home Bargains, Jack Fultons, Poundland and Iceland to see what bargains are to be had there. Any good ones I stock up on:

Home Bargains - good for toilet rolls, toiletries, cleaning stuff, bleach (39p) tinned tomatoes, creamed mushrooms, all of which are always in stock.

Iceland - For their frozen haddock, smoked haddock and salmon.

B & M - short dated branded stuff are good buys. Cereal, crisps in particular.

Jack Fultons - short dated meat and dairy products in the chilled cabinets (most freeze well) Occasionally, if it's my lucky day, short dated speciallity products in the freezers. Short dated cereal bars, etc which also freeze well and handy for DGD's lunchboxes.

Farmfoods - Milk and bread rolls usually, but any other bargain I happen to spot! (Last week it was Kraft garlic & herb dressing and Heinz Tomato sauce) Also Nicky toilet rolls if I haven't already got them at HB's! (Same price!)

pelirocco

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

Please don't take this as an insult, but clearly the so called price matching does NOT mean you can go in any big store and do a full shop and be guaranteed to get the best price, its simply a marketing ploy. The so called price matching schemes have so many loopholes and clauses that they are almost pointless. TBH the big 3 or 4 supermarkets have always competed with each other on prices because they have to.

Many, many articles and price comparisons have been done that prove buying the same basket of items in the stores rarely comes out with the same prices. But say on a £20 ish basket you may only be looking at a difference of say £8-£9 between the most expensive and the cheapest, so if you have got the money I can see most people wouldn't bother about the odd few pounds each week.

However many of us are either on a really tight budget or on principle object to paying over the odds just to enrich a greedy supermarkets coffers. So we shop around. Having shopped all over I have settled on what saves us the most money.

I use a local farm/meat shop for high quality, high welfare local meat. All the prices are far better than the supermarket higher ranges and much, much better quality and taste. I would rather have less good quality meat than a pile of cheaper stuff. I shop probably once a month and fill the freezer as you get bulk discounts.
We have another local farm shop for veggies/cheese etc again much is locally produced and the price is far better than the big stores. But I don't go everyweek as we often get aldi/lidl veggies on offer and grow our own when the weather is warmer.

Weekly I do a round trip. I drive to Lidl-often at weekend if they have a good half price W/E offer on. Lidl is on the same block of shops as poundstrecher and b&m bargains so i whip around all 3 together. Then (not always on the same day) I go in Aldi for the other stuff i didn't get elsewhere.

I checkout threads on here and other sites for really good offers and still on occasion bob in to any of the other stores for good bargains/look out for reductions-OH is often out working as he is self employed so can bob in on his way from jobs so no extra cost in petrol. I occasionally do an approved foods order as well and sometimes nip in Asda to stock up on some smart price stuff/offers.

As our income can vary it makes sense to stock up on things when we have the cash and a good offer is available and to shop around for the best price.

However I can see if a couple both worked full time and were on reasonable wages they might well decide to just shop at one store as to them their "spare" time is limited. If we had to shop in one store I would choose Aldi or Asda. Aldi would be the best value as their items are as good as the best ranges but prices are closer to the value ranges. However some stuff you can't get in Aldi and I know not all towns have one, so out of the big store Asda is easily the cheapest.

Mind you if I had plenty of cash I would go for Waitrose or M & S lol.

You pay your money and take your choice.

Ali x

as I had previously said I avoid visiting supermarkets as much as possible

I will not buy meat from one I choose to buy mine from a local rare breeds farm , buy in bulk and freeze. Fruit and veg from local shop .Everything else once a month online shop , with a few top ups of milk and bread. I don't buy ready meals /processed/snack foods.

I admit I don't have to watch every penny but there are an awful lot of people who focus far too much on the money they 'save' rather then the money they spend;)

iAMaLONDONER

It's interesting how controversial this thread seems to have been at times!

trekkie74

I do a lidl shop once a month, 2 trolleys. As OH is an ex chef we plan our menu for the month, he takes 1 trolley for meat, veg etc & I take the other for tins, dry goods etc.
On Thursdays I meet him after work at Aldi, because he finishes later than me, I get off the bus at one end of the high street and walk down to Aldi. I pass a 99p shop, Asda, m&s, wilko, Poundland, Tesco & lots of little shops.
Because of this I tend to pick up bargains & save money while getting some exercise.
As a family eating good meals together is high on our list & it doesn't take too much extra time. We are very organised though and have a chest freezer to stockpile meat when it's on offer.

iAMaLONDONER

alandbailey wrote: »

Unfortunately, I need to attend hospitals regularly. As my journey could be 64 miles round trip I ensure I visit Asda,Tesco,Morrison's ,Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl on the way home. I sometimes visit Farm Foods, 99p Stores or Poundland, depending on freezer space, time and parking places. It makes a long day but I take advantage of my neccessaary journeys.
You have to spend money in order to save on the bargains.:beer:

It's an investment rather than spending if it results in tangible returns!

catwoman73

I'm lucky that I have an Aldi, a Farm Foods and a Morrisons on my way home from work, so I use them most, except for meat, which I bulk buy from a farm shop.

There is also a Tesco on the way home from work, but I think they are very expensive and poor quality compared with the above and all their fake offers and up and down pricing annoys me - I'm trying to avoid them.

From home, we also have a walkable co-op, and then an M+S, Asda and another Morrisons at a similar distance, so use those as well if shopping from home (all about 1-2 miles away). A little further away is a Sainsburys's in a shopping centre, so will go to Sainsb, if needing things and are at the shopping centre.

Also have access to a waitrose and a lidl, but these are both further away than the above, so need a special trip (but still only a 10 mile round trip). If these were closer would use them more, as I like them both (try to pigeon hole me as a shopper, no chance!).

We are also on the edge of a small town with a Home Bargains and Wilkos, so sometimes use them as well. Hardest to access are the pound shops, but I can't be bothered with them TBH.

So will probably use one of the above approx twice per week, but small shops each time. Rotate around the shops to pick up what we like or is good value from a particular shop.

I think the biggest money waster is a regularly weekly shop for the same items from the same place. I buy for the store cupboard and almost all of what we buy is either from Aldi or on special offer from other supermarkets and we probably save about 30% or more by doing this, and it doesn't take any extra time or petrol. Although we probably have a much bigger range of supermarkets than most.

I also agree with the poster who says that the price match isn't what it seems, as many items are deemed 'not comparable' Supermarkets deliberately specify different size packs to ensure this. Also if you buy something on 'half price' that is not half price at the other supermarket, this skews your results, as everything else could be more expensive, but because you have one item that is loads cheaper, this hides the fact that everything else is more expensive.

georgia1

catwoman73 wrote: »

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I also agree with the poster who says that the price match isn't what it seems, as many items are deemed 'not comparable' Supermarkets deliberately specify different size packs to ensure this. Also if you buy something on 'half price' that is not half price at the other supermarket, this skews your results, as everything else could be more expensive, but because you have one item that is loads cheaper, this hides the fact that everything else is more expensive.

The solution to this, as someone mentioned on another thread, is to separate out the items in your trolley as you go round. Put all the items on offer in one section and then when you get to the till pay for them separately. Then you get the best of both worlds. Very often you get a till spit for money off your next shop because when you paid for the items that weren't on offer they were cheaper elsewhere.

cgk1

Opportunity cost has to come into play surely? The money I save wandering around 5+ supermarkets is wiped out by the additional income I could earn working.

catwoman73

Opportunity cost has to come into play surely? The money I save wandering around 5+ supermarkets is wiped out by the additional income I could earn working.

That doesn't apply to most people though does it? For anyone who is retired, or a stay at home parent, or a part time worker, it is a good use of their time, providing that travel costs don't outweigh the savings.

I, and many others don't have any opportunity for overtime (salaried, or just not available) and don't want another job, so making that little bit of effort to beat the supermarkets at their own game is worth it to me and many others.

Scritti

catwoman73 wrote: »

I, and many others don't have any opportunity for overtime (salaried, or just not available) and don't want another job, so making that little bit of effort to beat the supermarkets at their own game is worth it to me and many others.

I agree.

I'm lucky in that I DO generally have ample opportunity for O/T as am on a salary but it's also attached to an hourly rate. I do anywhere between 12 to 100 hours O/T on any given month depending on what's available.

I tend to grab as many hours as I can. But even if I'm working loads and having not much time off, I will STILL check MySupermarket for Savvy Buys (this takes about 10 minutes) and visit a few supermarkets to get the best bargains and half-price or BOGOF offers. I already know what items I'll be buying (thanks to MS) so I'm in and out of each shop within 10 minutes or so.

The shops are all close, the amount of petrol costs for the few miles drive is nowhere near the amount of money I'm saving and I probably do the whole lot in the same amount of time that someone who does their entire shop in one supermarket does.

I understand not everyone is able to do this because of disabilities or transport issues but I do laugh when people say how their time is worth more so they don't shop around. It's easy, takes very little time and very few people couldn't spare an extra 30 minutes out of their day every week or two. I doubt that they never fritter away any time watching rubbish on TV or sitting on their **** drinking tea and procrastinating.

And no, I don't expect everyone to do ALL the great moneysaving ideas on this site. But I wish some would just refrain from commenting if they are only going to be negative. I don't read any of the threads on cooking your own meals and say "that's great but I haven't got the patience to learn to cook so I eat a lot of ready meals". What's the point??