It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Auntycaz

My local co op and morrisons are both a lot more expensive than waitrose @annieb64

Longwalker

Your Broccoli is a bargain - its 95p here

Cauliflowers start from £1

Cabbage -75p

And butternut squash was 1.50 a kilo

Onions are £1 a kilo, carrots 50p

And I nearly fainted Thursday when I saw Jersey Royals were £1.99 - for a tiny bag - didnt check the weight cos I wasnt buying. That was in Sainsbury's where I very rarely shop but I was shopping in the vicinity so popped in. It will be a long time before I pop in again - expensive or what???

London_1

Its scary how expensive stuff has become foodwise apart from everything else. I think folk have become far more aware of the costs now than before. The days of throwing stuff in the trollies without thinking have long gone, and even supermarkets are getting worried, as canny shopping and going from shop to shop if at all possible has become almost the norm.

I've always been a bit of a canny shopper ,having lived through many boom and bust periods over the past 70 plus years and growing up with post war austerity and rationing its almost second nature to me to check for the best price I can.

Thanks to my one of my lovely grandsons, I have 16 potato plants thriving at the bottom of the garden.I've just been down to water them. The cost of the seed Pentland Earlies was £2.50 from Wilkos the rest of the seed spuds I gave to a neighbour, and I think I will more than recoup the cost in spuds.

I checked the onion sets growing in the old butler sink halfway down the garden and there are a good dozen or so with healthy looking shoots up already.
I shared a pack with some friends, and my 20 planted worked out about 60p. So again a hopefully good return for the outlay.

My youngest DD is growing strawberries in pots that hang from her fences as she has three lively dogs that rule the garden she also has some 'tumbling tot' tomatoes growing in hanging pots. I also have some herbs growing on the windowsill of my conservatory. Ok not a lot, but anything that can be grown to help stretch the budget a little is handy.

I was going through my food cupboards yesterday listing all the stuff in stock and I was surprised at how much stuff was in there, so these next few weeks will be far less shopping than I imagined. Its definitely 'use it up' for the next month at least. I am away at the end of June on holiday, so its a good reason to spend less and eat from the cupboards.:) 

I shall still check out Dobbies 'Waitrose food hall' on a Tuesday morning as they have had some useful well reduced odds and ends there in the past couple of weeks.

I only just finished the two litres of milk this morning that was reduced last Tuesday to 39p, and I had a pint of custard made from some of the milk as well for adding to fruit for a pudding or two.My dozen Waitrose organic carrots made me a large pot of carrot and coriander soup during the week ,some of which is portioned up and in the freezer. they were only 40p so a real bargain. some total of food spending this week has bee £2.47   and I'm pretty happy about that.

Today I have got Hunters chicken made from a left over bit of bacon wrapped around a chicken breast from the freezer.I found at at bottom of my fridge in the veg drawer small pouch of BBQ sauce left from something else, so that will go over the top.

All my salad stuff is finished ,but I don't need any for a couple of days so will wait until I go to Dobbies on Tuesday as often their tomatoes get reduced after the weekend, and the firm ones will be used in a salad, and the softer ones will either get used on toast or reduced down to make a herby sauce for pasta.  

Yesterday I found three spuds in my potato bag that needed to be used up, so they were peeled ,boiled ,mashed with some grated red cheese and some fresh ground pepper and a splash of sweet chilli sauce, and turned into five portions of mash for the freezer. I use those little glass GU dishes to portion them up, and once cold they get a little cling film over them and stacked in a corner of my freezer.

My youngest DD buys them for one of the boys and saves me the glass dishes they are brilliant as one full is sufficient for me when to use when I have my evening meal as once defrosted they heat nicely in the microwave. Saves a lot of prep work,I'll probably have one with some veg from the freezer with my meal tonight.

Utilising every scrap of food,  my freezer is my best friend, and saves me a fortune.

I know as I live alone its easier perhaps for me . This afternoon I shall be making a trifle to take to DDs tomorrow as my contribution to Sunday dinner.I also have some shortbread for one of my grandsons Jack as he has been poorly this week and its his favourite. DD and I share any extras we get between us and she's a good lass bless her. 

Hopefully, according to the news this morning inflation has reached its peak, and maybe some of the absurd prices will start to fall, but it will take awhile so belt tightening has to go on for maybe a bit longer

So onwards and upwards chums we will get through this bump in the road  

JackieO xx

happydenial

Longwalker said:

Your Broccoli is a bargain - its 95p here

Cauliflowers start from £1

Cabbage -75p

And butternut squash was 1.50 a kilo

Onions are £1 a kilo, carrots 50p

And I nearly fainted Thursday when I saw Jersey Royals were £1.99 - for a tiny bag - didnt check the weight cos I wasnt buying. That was in Sainsbury's where I very rarely shop but I was shopping in the vicinity so popped in. It will be a long time before I pop in again - expensive or what???

I got some jersey royals YS in M&S - they were £1.19 down from £2.50! For a tiny bag as well. Tbh I didn’t really think they were any nicer than a bog standard new potato, so don’t know what’s going on there. 

My two nearest supermarkets are Waitrose and M&S, so I tend to drive 20 mins to the nearest Aldi or Tesco once a fortnight to stock up and then buy top ups from one of the above when I walk into town. I think if you know your prices and are willing to deviate from your list due to offers etc, they aren’t bad places to shop - I noticed that bananas are actually cheaper in Waitrose than in Tesco last week. 

Longwalker

I dont think its easier for you cos you live alone Jackie, you still have the costs of cooking that we all incur. What I think that makes its easier for you is that you have a lifetime of experience of making the money last , same as a good few of us oldies. This isnt the first time for us to be going through such costs, back in the 70's food was much more expensive . I earned £42 a week and £20 of that went on groceries - half my income. 

Over the years we have become used to having disposable income, money to spend on other then the basics of living. We have cars, we have all mod cons for the house and garden, we have holidays , we eat out and socialise outside the home.

Food and energy bills have eaten into the disposable income big time.

Some of us dont have lavish lifestyles and we have the wiggle room. I no longer need as much diesel, first I stopped as many car journeys as possible, now Im not working at all the car runs on fresh air. Ive turned the tumble drier off. I cook as energy efficiently as I can. We have stopped the pub trips - well cut them back at least We mend and make do - but then this is what we have always done and its second nature to us - we pull the belt in

For so many though, they are being hit not just with the price increases like they have never seen in their lives, but interest rates at nearly 5% - something not seen in 20 years or more. I really do feel for those starting out now. All their lives they have had relative wealth and now it seems like its all gone for them

And whilst we would love to think its a blip, I dont think so. I dont think we will ever go back to cheap energy and food. The world is changing, food security is threatened like no other time in our lifetime outside of war. I think this is going to be our new norm - again.

Still they aint spoken about government rationing - YET

Longwalker

happydenial said:

Longwalker said:

Your Broccoli is a bargain - its 95p here

Cauliflowers start from £1

Cabbage -75p

And butternut squash was 1.50 a kilo

Onions are £1 a kilo, carrots 50p

And I nearly fainted Thursday when I saw Jersey Royals were £1.99 - for a tiny bag - didnt check the weight cos I wasnt buying. That was in Sainsbury's where I very rarely shop but I was shopping in the vicinity so popped in. It will be a long time before I pop in again - expensive or what???

I got some jersey royals YS in M&S - they were £1.19 down from £2.50! For a tiny bag as well. Tbh I didn’t really think they were any nicer than a bog standard new potato, so don’t know what’s going on there. 

My two nearest supermarkets are Waitrose and M&S, so I tend to drive 20 mins to the nearest Aldi or Tesco once a fortnight to stock up and then buy top ups from one of the above when I walk into town. I think if you know your prices and are willing to deviate from your list due to offers etc, they aren’t bad places to shop - I noticed that bananas are actually cheaper in Waitrose than in Tesco last week. 

I will often shop in M&S, its a cut through to the car, so I look very carefully at what they have, and Ive been very lucky on a few occasions with YS - £1 chickens or 50p Atora anyone ?   But when they have their offers on - the 3 for 2 on a big selection, I can usually make a good buy - say a couple of packs of sausages and a pack of something else. I used to like their meal deals when they did a chicken - between that at the sides and a bottle of wine - was a bargain ( Id pick the sides wisely and maybe used them for sides with something else )

YorksLass

We don't drive so my shopping routine consists of a grocery delivery once a fortnight, although sometimes I can miss a week.  Other than that, I have to shop locally at wherever is within walking distance.  That consists of a Co-op (10 min walk each way), a largish Sainsbury (20 min walk there, bus back) or an M&S food hall (20 min walk each way).   All these are in different directions from home.  The Co-op is surrounded by houses and no other shops.  Sainsburys is in a shopping centre and I can combine that with a visit to the library or an Argos store.  M&S is on a main road with about 6 charity shops on the other side of the road, a pharmacy, an opticians and one bank branch (not mine).  I'm probably not as badly off as some but I sometimes feel as if I'm living in a retail wilderness!  

Monthly meter readings taken today and sent.  Electricity usage was the usual (it hardly ever varies month on month, I think we've cut down as much as we can) and gas usage was half of what it has been of late.  This is from mid-April when we still had some heating on to now (no heating from May 1st) and should come down even further next month.  That said, compared with this time last year, it's still costing almost three times more, even though our gas usage is slightly less than last year.  Not a happy bunny.  

Spring cleaning continues and today I've pulled out the cooker and cleaned behind there including the wall tiles and sides of the units either side of the cooker, mopped the floor and have washed/polished a glass light shade in the hallway.

Next job - after a coffee - is a meal plan for next week.  

London_1

Gosh your spring cleaning is getting on with a gallop. I'm afraid because of 'Dora the Drain" that's still attached to me I can do very little in the way of bending or cleaning at all. I can do the waist high surfaces, but that's about all.
 Luckily my eldest DD bless her is very good and whips around like a thing possessed when she comes to my house.

 She takes my washing away as well bless her, as even bending to try and get things in and out of my washing machine defeats me at the moment .
My cooking is also done at waist level so luckily my Remoska is useful, as its on one of my work surfaces and my microwave can handle most everything else.

I see the consultant on 1st June so I am hoping he may give me some hope about removing the drain as its been in five months now. 

Showering is a hoot, I have to enclose the drain in a plastic bag then sellotape it to my body I also have to cover the wire and my dressings with a cut out square of plastic, sellotaped all the way around to keep it as dry as I can as I can only get the dressing changed weekly now as I have been moved from the SMART nurse team to the District Nurses in Rochester, which is 6 miles away.

I have to book transport weekly, and you are given a two hour slot when they may arrive for pick up, and you can't book the return until your appointment has been done.

 Last Thursday I had to wait three and a half hours before I was picked up to go home, which make for a long day.

Luckily I had a book with me and can get a coffee while I wait .The district nurses medication centre is in the building of the Wisdom Hospice so at least the surroundings are nice where I wait in the sun room.

 I am hoping it won't be for to much  longer. Seeing the consultant will at least give the a nudge to get a proper care plan in place as the DN said it should have been in place ages ago.

Just to get the drain removed would be so nice as because of where its situated sleep is difficult ,as I cannot lay on my right side and turning pulls the wire which is stitched to me .But I have been a patient patient and do everything they tell me to do.

So my spring cleaning may turn into summer cleaning or at worst autumn good job there is only me at home and I'm fairly tidy anyway.

This afternoon I made a trifle to take to youngest DDs tomorrow as I go there every Sunday for dinner. I've been doing quite a bit of knitting today as I am making my youngest DGGD a unicorn blanket for her bed I already made one to go out to New York for the new little GGD due in July and the other two GGDs spotted it , and they too want one each, so plenty of knitting going on at least
Right time for a cuppa and a couple of biscuits I think
Hope the sun shines down on you all tomorrow, as its been a beautiful day here in Kent,

Night night God bless all here


JackieO xxx 

GaleSF63

YorksLass said:

 Corned beef tins aren't much better either - not that they feature on my menu very often nowadays at £3.10 for a large tin of SM own brand.     

I was previously inclined to agree with you about the price of corned beef, but last time I opened a tin I was surprised to find how far it went. It gave me 2 good portions of corned beef hash and about 3 rounds (2 slices of bread each) of well-filled sandwiches so perhaps still reasonable value? It was Princes brand and very meaty.

joedenise

GaleSF63 said:

YorksLass said:

 Corned beef tins aren't much better either - not that they feature on my menu very often nowadays at £3.10 for a large tin of SM own brand.     

I was previously inclined to agree with you about the price of corned beef, but last time I opened a tin I was surprised to find how far it went. It gave me 2 good portions of corned beef hash and about 3 rounds (2 slices of bread each) of well-filled sandwiches so perhaps still reasonable value? It was Princes brand and very meaty.

I always buy Princes corned beef too, mainly as there is very little fat to cut off it.  The cheaper brands tend to have loads of fat to cut off the outside which reduces the amount of actual usable meat considerably.