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

euronorris

Definitely lots of size shrinkage happening, and prices either staying the same or increasing as the product size shrinks. They've always done it, of course, but seems to be happening with increasing frequency atm. Last year I could get mince beef in 1kg packs. Now its 750g. Earlier this year I could get 2kg packs of chicken breasts. Now its 1.6kg.

That isn't really anything I can do about it though. Just have to keep shopping as savvy as I can. Meal prep, budget, hunt out best prices and keep eyes open for yellow stickers.

Managed to get quite a few yellow sticker bargains in Morrisons this week. 2 separate occasions they had a whole lot of reductions. Both times there were lots of fresh stuff being reduced, but on the first occasion the poor woman doing it had only just started and she was already swarmed with people waiting and grabbing stuff as soon as she stickered it! So I left the fresh stuff that day and got some bakery bargains instead. Thursday evening they had lots more fresh stuff reduced, and no swarm in sight, so got some lovely strawberries, a big punnet of raspberries, 2 packs of tenderstem broccoli and a pack of fancy cream and strawberry doughnuts (but in an éclair style).

Hoping it stays dry tomorrow so I can do a boot fair. Last weekend was very productive at finding some more bits to sell.

Off to MILs today. Have a great day all.

Auntycaz

YoungBlueEyes said:

I didn’t know where to put this but this is the liveliest thread and I think most people will see it here. I hope I explain it properly. 

Himself only uses Head and Shoulders shampoo. I’ve tried topping up his bottle with cheapo stuff but he can always tell cos it makes his scalp itch. So H+S is on the ‘good list’ and I grab offers where I can. Replenishing stocks today and I got an XXL bottle in Boyes for (I think) £4.29, which is cheap, it’s usually nearer a fiver. Got it home and todays XXL bottle is smaller than the one I already had. 

So do we also need to watch sizes of the same thing now? Fgs. 

Both proper H+S, but they are a different …erm… flavour, from different shops. I don’t know which is the bigger difference - is Boyes stuff always smaller than Savers? Or is the flavour the major difference? I’ll check next time I’m out. But just to make people aware really so yous don’t get caught out like I did  

It's happening all over, lurpak is now 400gm instead of 500gm but unless you see them side by side you could easily miss it as it still looks the same shape as the old one,

MACKEM99

YoungBlueEyes said:

I didn’t know where to put this but this is the liveliest thread and I think most people will see it here. I hope I explain it properly. 

Himself only uses Head and Shoulders shampoo. I’ve tried topping up his bottle with cheapo stuff but he can always tell cos it makes his scalp itch. So H+S is on the ‘good list’ and I grab offers where I can. Replenishing stocks today and I got an XXL bottle in Boyes for (I think) £4.29, which is cheap, it’s usually nearer a fiver. Got it home and todays XXL bottle is smaller than the one I already had. 

So do we also need to watch sizes of the same thing now? Fgs. 

Both proper H+S, but they are a different …erm… flavour, from different shops. I don’t know which is the bigger difference - is Boyes stuff always smaller than Savers? Or is the flavour the major difference? I’ll check next time I’m out. But just to make people aware really so yous don’t get caught out like I did  

Maybe get him to shave his head and no need for shampoo?😁

YorksLass

Is this an exception to shrinkflation?  Box of suet (beef or vegetarian) was £3 for 240g at Sainsburys (£12.50/kg), still same price but now 200g (£15/kg).  BUT Co-op price for 200g is £2.49 (12.45/kg).  And it was clearly indicated on both the box and shelf ticket that it was a new/smaller size.  Needless to say, I bought a spare for my stocks.  

My bugbear is the frequent unavailability of own brand/basics items.  I can see on the website what they say they stock but, when I login to place an order for delivery, items I want either aren't there at all (obviously not stocked at the outlet where my order comes from) or they're often out of stock.  I can get some of the items (either unstocked or out of stock) if I make an in-person visit to my local store but that's not always possible (no transport and not able to physically carry a lot - the reason why I have deliveries).  I have a list of such items ready for my next visit - when I can pluck up the will and/or enthusiasm!  As @euronorris says, we have to keep shopping as savvy as we can.

@YoungBlueEyes comment re: shampoo brought this to mind.  We always use their own version of H&S but all they have at the moment are the branded, much more expensive, versions.     I hope they haven't discontinued it.

Dinner tonight is a chicken korma with rice for me and a jacket potato for DH, fruit & jelly for afters.  Still need to work out next week's meal plan but I do know tomorrow will be pork steaks braised with onion, carrot and celery, served with mash and green beans.

Longwalker

Im also another user of H&S, haven't been able to change for years. Might get away with one, maybe two washes and thats it - ripping the head clean off me. And I too have had to suck up the price increases

BUT, I was in Home bargains and was browsing, and found a tube of Charles Worthington for sensitive scalps. It had to have been about £2 or perhaps up to £3, I dont mind, and I can actually use it. Luckily we live in a soft water area, I need a tiny amount, ( as I do H&S ) so it will last me months. Just looked at its £6 on amazon but I know I never paid as much 

You really do need to make use of your phones calculator now when out shopping to ensure you are getting the best possible price for anything. Mr L likes his Guinness and up to recently a 15 can case was £15 - £1 a tin ( now £18 ) - unless on the £12 offer. Now they sell in 8 and 10 packs - as well as 4's and not all the labels give the price per 100ml, some only give the price per unit so its out with the calculator . And thats just one example. I also found that places like lidl price whole chickens per unit, so a small is £3.99 and an extra large something like £4.89 with a medium being £4.69 ( as an example ) yet there might only be 50gr difference between the sizes on some chickens, so the top size in medium may just be 50gr smaller then the smallest Large   - its only pennies I grant you, but its worth looking at the weight, not just grabbing a chicken that says large 

Shopping is taking up a lot of my time this past year trying to keep the costs down and not skimping on the quality unless I really have to. As I said further back Ive got used to cheap tinned tomatoes but now getting a premium brand so cheap I can taste the difference. Most things I buy now are own brands but I "treated' us to HP sauce last week, it was actually under £3, and Im sorry but there really is no substitute for it .

How sad am I saying HP sauce is now a treat item?

Floss

Longwalker, I do the chicken shuffle when buying, searching for the heaviest in the price bracket 😊 I find it's good brain activity to work out what is best value using mental arithmetic, but occasionally have to resort to the phone calculator.

I'm planning a blackberry hunt today, to make blackberry & apple jelly for the cupboard. It's my niece's favourite and she acquired the last jar of last year's batch a while ago. I will have a sort out of the jams, as some are more mature than others & need using!

YoungBlueEyes

Yeah I know what you mean Longwalker. Himself would possibly use it once without saying anything, but after that he'd be reaching for my nice soap

I know stuff is shrinking for the same money etc. What tripped me up was the fact they have the same ‘size’ - XXL - on the front but are different quantities. I spose they can get away with it cos XXL isn’t a standardised amount, like a pint or a kilo. 

Anyway. Further research yesterday,  only on H+S XXL apple flavour. Different shops have their own size of XXL. (I wrote down the shop/price/ml as I was going round but I've lost the bit of paper. Naturally.) So from memory - the worst was Superdrug closely followed by Boyes, the best was Savers. In between are BodyCare,and £land. While lots of places sell H+S not everyone does the XXL marked bottles, just the normal smaller bottles.

So "XXL" varies from shop to shop. Another thing we have to be careful of....

wort

It’s really frustrating especially when you can’t compare the weight as it will say e.g. 4 fruits @ so much than a kilo for so much of another!! And sometimes they have say an extra 20% in and the ticket hasn’t allowed for the change in weight. It takes so long and if I have got a lift with someone they’ve done their shopping and I’ve only done half of mine.

KxMx

A few places still sell 500g punnets of grapes, but 400g became common, now it's 375g in Asda and I even saw a miserly 350g although I cannot remember where. 

ancientmum

Never mind shampoo, what about Kit Kat?  I haven't bought any for ages but popped into £land on impulse the other day and bought a 3 pack.  Well there was probably less in a four bar than there used to be in a two bar.  I suppose it is good for my figure that I will be a long time before I buy it again.  Maybe I should test Twix instead......