Baked Beans

MrsStepford

 @Rosa_Damascena I agree with you, that supermarkets will push premium products in the run up to Christmas. Budget brands have probably been ditched temporarily to free up warehouse space for them. 

We were poor but my husband worked hard, doing long hours and overtime to pay for part-time evening courses. He upskilled himself from blue collar worker on his knees to supervisor, manager and then regional manager. Our reward for that hard work, is choosing the best food we can. Not holidays, not designer clothes. Not a huge TV. 

Many, most ? people on MSE come into the working poor category that we were in, I imagine. Others make a conscious decision to economise on food, in order to afford the big TV, holidays etc. That's their choice. Decent food is ours. 

Nope, not getting fatter here. We eat low carb and husband hasn't had a pay rise above 1% in ten years. We get poorer every year. Very few people are getting wealthier. 

Rosa_Damascena

MrsStepford said:

 @Rosa_Damascena I agree with you, that supermarkets will push premium products in the run up to Christmas. Budget brands have probably been ditched temporarily to free up warehouse space for them. 

We were poor but my husband worked hard, doing long hours and overtime to pay for part-time evening courses. He upskilled himself from blue collar worker on his knees to supervisor, manager and then regional manager. Our reward for that hard work, is choosing the best food we can. Not holidays, not designer clothes. Not a huge TV. 

Many, most ? people on MSE come into the working poor category that we were in, I imagine. Others make a conscious decision to economise on food, in order to afford the big TV, holidays etc. That's their choice. Decent food is ours. 

Nope, not getting fatter here. We eat low carb and husband hasn't had a pay rise above 1% in ten years. We get poorer every year. Very few people are getting wealthier. 

We're about to feel the sting of inflation again. No doubt the younger generation will need counselling to cope with it.

I don't know why, but I actively dislike paying top whack for food. I get far more pleasure from a good book!!

maman

I'm fortunate that I could afford to pay top whack for food (or anything else) but choose not to. I just hate being ripped off. I think it's a common mistake to automatically assume that paying more always means better quality.

 These days you don't even get better customer service by paying more as the big supermarkets keep cutting corners to save costs. In Sainsburys, for example, the dedicated customer service desk has been closed and tagged on to the cigarette kiosk. Here they (or sometimes one person) try to deal with cigarettes, lottery tickets and customer service. 

GaleSF63

MrsStepford said:

GaleSF63 said:

At the moment you can get 4 for £1.20 which at least isn't such a big jump. The trouble with Waitrose offers is they don't show when they end (unless anyone can show me if that information is on its website).

On the website click on offers. Click on the item and then on the red offer price. It will then show when the offer ends. 

Thank you! I don't think I ever looked that far. I thought it would be on the item page if it was anywhere. 

pumpkin89

maman said:

I'm fortunate that I could afford to pay top whack for food (or anything else) but choose not to. I just hate being ripped off. I think it's a common mistake to automatically assume that paying more always means better quality.

Paying more for the same quality doesn't necessarily equate to being ripped off.  The popularity of concepts like Fairtrade, For Farmers etc. shows that many people are happy to pay more for the same product if the premium goes to the producer.

The difficulty is that, most of the time, you have no way of knowing whether the premium is (a) paying for better quality, (b) giving a better price to the producer, or (c) increasing the retailer's profit.  In cases where you do know, e.g. buying directly from artisan producers or farmers' markets, you often see people paying far more than they would ever pay in a supermarket.

maman

That's a good point @pumpkin89. 

I hadn't thought of fair trade. When I buy their items I think of it as giving a donation. 

Most of the time however, I'm pretty confident that increased prices  are to preserve the retailer's bottom line.

Brie

Side topic - always store your tins of beans upside down.  It makes it easier to get the beans out when the tin is opened as they aren't all stuck to the bottom.

personally I'm cheap about a lot of things and will look for the multibuys and bargains.  Annoyingly the local tescos only occasionally shows the 4for price and never the better 8for price.  That's noticeable on the receipt but by then I can't be asked. On the other hand I will happily pay more for decent fodder bought direct from the farmer.  A local dairy sells milk via a vending machine for £1.20 a litre and we get our bacon & pork chops direct from a chap with pigs.  All well worth the money spent.

Rosa_Damascena

Brie said:

Side topic - always store your tins of beans upside down.  It makes it easier to get the beans out when the tin is opened as they aren't all stuck to the bottom.

Don't they get stuck to the lid instead?

maman

Rosa_Damascena said:

Brie said:

Side topic - always store your tins of beans upside down.  It makes it easier to get the beans out when the tin is opened as they aren't all stuck to the bottom.

Don't they get stuck to the lid instead?

I suppose it's easier to scrape them off the lid than the bottom of the can. Alternatively, you could open the bottom of the can. 🤔🤣

Farway

Rosa_Damascena said:

Brie said:

Side topic - always store your tins of beans upside down.  It makes it easier to get the beans out when the tin is opened as they aren't all stuck to the bottom.

Don't they get stuck to the lid instead?

I normally give the in a good shake before I open it, disperses them nicely