OS Supermarket Shopping

debtfreehopeful_2

With a bit of luck in a few weeks or months we will be moving back to our home town. Currently i shop in small independent shops, bakers, greengrocers, butchers etc but when we move this wont be an option.

So now im going to be honest, supermarkets confuse me :rotfl: dont like them and here i wonder why people use them as were very lucky to have an amazing market and independant shops which to me seem far cheaper and healthier (all this despite the 10% discount we get from my dh working in one). So my problem is i want to stay os, i want to keep making food from scratch but were on a budget i allow £40 a week for 4 of us and a cat. In theory our wages will jump significantly but id like to plow it into debt cleearing if at all possible. So how do i buy good meat and veg on a budget in a supermarket, any specific pointers? this town has a huge amount of supermarkets, Tesco, Asda. Aldi, Lidl, Netto, Iceland.

There is a possibility of shopping in a butchers but I need to check it out. To be honest it annoys me that these supermarkets have worked so hard to push small independent hard working retailers out but thats a whole other thread!

So can anyone help?

poodlehorse

Is it possible for you to travel to a good butcher once in a while and buy enough meat to fill your freezer? That way you don't have to touch the supermarket meat. Would suggest a veggie box delivery but that might eat up a lot of your budget. Might be worth investigating though.

My goal for 2008 is to use the supermarkets less, trouble is I have used supermarkets for EVERYTHING for so long I am intimidated by real butchers. Must take brave pill and get myself sorted. Going to try out a veggie box too.

Good luck

vixtress

have you looked into the possibility of any local farm shops? even in cities you can often find them on the 'outskirts'
otherwise (money and space permitting) i would definately invest in a freezer and fill it from a butchers.

debtfreehopeful_2

Vix thats the ridiculous thing i live in the centre of Newcastle now and am moving to cumbria but there is nothing locally, we dont drive so the shops that are in the lakes are off limits. I have an interview on the 19th so when i go for that im going to suss out the one butchers in the town. am going to nose around the phonebook too but was brought up there and to my knowledge theres nothing new, oh and i forgot mosrrisons on my list! its s small town with so many supermarkets.

Poodlehorse go for it theyre lovely and if you admit youre unsure theyll usually help you out, ive found the same with fismongers (who always tell me how to cook the fish and give me recipes) and greengrocers. I was quite nervous to start but theyre lovely. Im going to stock up on meat before we leave, so that hopefully it will last a while.

I guess ill have to get used to it again the same as i got used to the small shops

two_sheds_2

I go to the supermarkets after 3pm or after 5pm when things are reduced. I just got some turkey breast for £1.23 and made 4 portions of curry out of it.
Also 8 servings of veg.chilli for about £2 (mushrooms 48p for 500g, 6 peppers for 32p, 500g carrots for 35p and so on...)

All bagged up, labelled and in the freezer

debtfreehopeful_2

ooh two_sheds we used to do that and id forgotten, thank you, will definitely remember that one

C_Ronaldo

OP why do supermarkets confuse you

debtfreehopeful_2

They're just horrible! I used to quite enjoy them but since i found my local shops and market i just find them too big, bright, crowded and full to the brim with junk i don't need (that isn't meant to offend anyone). There are aisles and aisles of things i dont need and when i do find what i need it always seems dearer than it is locally here but that might be how im shopping in the supermarkets thats something im hoping to solve.

It doesn't help they make me angry with how they are pushing small shops like the ones i use out of business. Its just something im going to have to get past but while im still here its something that worries me about the move

champys

i feel the same about supermarkets. Lidl or Aldi may be a good bet though, their range is limited so you don't feel so overwhelmed, and they are mostly good value. it may make you feel better if you try to grow a few things yourself, if you have a little bit of space, or a few herbs on the windowsill. it always cheers me up to look at the prices in the supermarket of veg i have in my garden. a little bit of consumer revenge.

thriftmonster

Where abouts in Cumbria are you going generally? My Mum and Dad live there and there are some excellent butchers, for example in Wigton, Workington, Carlisle as well as all the Lakes stuff

debtfreehopeful_2

will be moving to barrow thrift, to my knowledge there is one butcher which i need to check out and thats it, we dont drive so im limited to barrow really.

thats a great idea champys if we get a garden id love to try that, dh keeps killing live herbs so maybe its time i tried!