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Can you live of basic/value/smartprice food for a month?

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  • sjpsam
    sjpsam Posts: 325 Forumite
    rog2 wrote: »
    Well, I think Martin proved that you CAN live well off of 'Value' and 'Own Brand' products - ITV1 at 8 pm on the Trevor McDonald Show.
    Average weekly save - 42%.
    Says it all. :T :T

    Awwww I missed it!!!
    :) If you like what I say please say thanks :)
  • lilmissmup
    lilmissmup Posts: 6,884 Forumite
    sjpsam wrote: »
    Online I roughly spend about £50 a week or less on my shopping, so it was the best thing that happened to me, then I found this site and the discount vouchers thread for tesco and I was well away! trouble is and I don't know about any tesco online shopper since finding those 2 thread on MSE I feel cheated if I don't put an order through with out a voucher code!!! lol :o

    I don't order unless theres a decent code about as don't feel its worth the delivery, have a few clubcard accounts so just stock up when the good codes are about ;)
    Now a SAHM trying to earn some spare pennies each month
  • emay
    emay Posts: 506 Forumite
    100 Posts
    OberonSH wrote: »
    Yup, farmer's market is 3rd friday of the month - was one yesterday. Not a huge amount of stalls, but there's local lamb, pork & ostrich - don't pull that face it's lovely. You've never lived til you've wandered trhough Grimsby munching an ostrich burger with cheese..... There's no just cheese stalls in toptown market now, but they all do a decent mild cheddar - good thing as DD is a cheese fiend.

    I think it's perfectly reasonable to live on just the basic range from a supermarket for a while - some of the products might not be to your taste - I couldn;t get on with the instant coffee at Netto - but you can do it, and with some clever cookng there's no reason not to still have yummy meals.

    Okay so I'm a little late reading this thread (amazing what you find searching for stupid things when bored!!!), anyway for anyone who fancies the ostrich meat, or wants to know the dates of local farmers markets around Lincolnshire here's the website for the ostrich farm, and calender with dates for farmers markets

    http://www.oslinc.co.uk/farmers.htm
  • jo1972
    jo1972 Posts: 8,901 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    emay, I'm glad you actually got this thread back up to the top, I need to budget really well this month cos as I work in a school and it's half term next week we've been paid a week early :eek:

    I did this challenge (almost successfully :o ) last year and it saved me a fortune and showed me which value food are actually no different to 'full price' and which shouldn't be touched with a barge pole!

    Also, my local supermarket is shutting for a week at the beginning of June for refurb and I need to stock the cupboards :eek:
    DFW Nerd no. 496 - Proud to be dealing with my debts!!
  • I spend an obscene amount of shopping every month, my friend was mortified when I told her, she opened her cupboards and it was a see of white goods!

    Then she started telling me, 16p for this 36p for that....I was shocked! She said most of the stuff tastes alright....so, having no choice and brand names are going to have to go, I am going to switch to white goods....something I never thought or wanted to do!

    Anyway, my kids are fussy, so i am going to play crafty mummy. The nice empty squash bottle will be filled with white goods squash.....sorry love but you can see on label it's Robinsons lol. Sorry, they are frosties look at the box...sneaky but has to be done.

    Also thought I would got to Sainsburys to get white goods....friend has done asda and there....and sticks with Sainsburys....will say to kids, look it's sainsburys....they think its well posher than asda lol, so this may help.

    Did a brief pretend online shop with Sainsburys and whilst I did not have meat, fruit or veg was shocked at other stuff I had put in trolley the total didn't seem to go up loads at a time and was a good price when done, calculated 32 items in there for think under £20.....aroound £18 ish. Shocking.

    Anything that I really, really should avoid with a white label?
  • helping_hubby
    helping_hubby Posts: 1,202 Forumite

    Anything that I really, really should avoid with a white label?

    This is a good post to look at: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=405198&highlight=value+basic+smart

    I buy a fair bit of value, smart price and basics products. I think some products are better/worse than the equivalents at the different stores. It really is experimentation really.
  • RedDino308
    RedDino308 Posts: 191 Forumite
    Hi Everyone,

    What a great thread - I'm glad i've discovered it.

    I'm a bit like hh above in that i've been experimenting with white label/own brand stuff and mostly I can't tell the difference. After all do does it really matter that the tinned tomatoes might be different colours when there in a spaggy bol????

    What amazes me is that we have become accustomed to paying more for food that is really no better.

    RD308
    "Life's Too Short To Drink Bad Wine"
  • smashedbooboo
    smashedbooboo Posts: 4,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Hi, if anyone is nerested, there is a farmers market on Otley, yorkshire, just in case anyone lives around that area. Its really good normally x x x
    Night Owl Member No 1 :rotfl: :rotfl:
    Night owl member of the threesome. Rules are for fools to follow and wise men to be guided by
    No Man is worth your tears,
    And the one who is wont make you cry !!!!!
  • my organic food bill was nearly 200 a week, (but needed to raise funds for sons private school fees.. not opening argument here.. son has s.e.n. ) so i have managed to cut weekly shop to £70 by buying value labels and no one has noticed.. lol
    " I'm just a simple janitor, who can control people with my mind"
  • smashedbooboo
    smashedbooboo Posts: 4,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Sorry forgot to say, its on tomorrow x x x
    Night Owl Member No 1 :rotfl: :rotfl:
    Night owl member of the threesome. Rules are for fools to follow and wise men to be guided by
    No Man is worth your tears,
    And the one who is wont make you cry !!!!!
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