MSE Forum Poll: What's your usual grocery shop routine?

MSE_JC

From weekly deliveries booked online to a quick stop at a supermarket or corner shop, there are plenty of options for getting your groceries in. What tends to be your way of doing things?

ButterCheese

It's becoming harder to shop frugally and efficiently whilst getting all that you need.

Lidl are much cheaper for some things but we find their fruit and veg doesn't last an acceptable amount of time. But their meat is excellent for the price. Tesco is good for everything but is expensive. Morrisons is a good halfway house between the two so we usually do our big shop there, but for niche items (like my Earl Grey flavoured Redbush Tea) I always have to go the extra 10 miles to Tesco Extra.

It is becoming more like the old days where you have to go one place for groceries, another place for butchery and somewhere else for fruit and veg! It's a real shame that the budget supermarkets don't care about gluten free or dairy free / vegan products. I find it insulting; the assumption is that only rich people have food intolerances as if it's some sort of lifestyle choice, so Lidl don't bother stocking it, but are happy to stock umpteen aisles full of tinned chicken and all other sorts of weird stuff that nobody in this country buys

BridgetTheCat

I was an early adopter of online supermarket shopping about 20 years ago in an attempt to minimise manual labour. In a conventional supermarket shop you physically handle your groceries at least 6 times. I realised I could put 5 of those back on the supermarket at minimal cost. Still doing it. Still a good deal.

flaneurs_lobster

but are happy to stock umpteen aisles full of tinned chicken and all other sorts of weird stuff that nobody in this country buys

If "nobody in this country" bought the 'weird stuff' why would Lidl put it on the shelves?

Decoration?

horsewithnoname

get meat and fish from a proper butcher and fishmonger and veg from a proper greengrocer

Online shop as and when for “peripherals”

Rarely eat highly processed food and I enjoy cooking so as much as is possible I know where my food comes from.

Wine is generally from an on line wine club.

learnandshare

I voted 'a mix' because for me it depends on welfare, prices, convenience and a whole load of other stuff. Everyone's circumstances are different.

Dizzycap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81900819#Comment_81900819

My Lidl has a long shelf in the middle of Lidl with the weird and wonderful along with some bulk buy items that all seem to sit there for months on end until the end date & then it's chucked.

Jemma01

I do one big shop once/m and prep few meals and freeze them. Then every 3 days I go and buy salad and very small things that don't last a month like cereal, kefir, snacks etc, usually cost between 7-15£

okane_ga_nai

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81900434#Comment_81900434

When visiting Ireland I noticed that Lidl had a gluten free range.

Superfi

The 'sensibly local' shops to me are Tesco, the Co-op, and Aldi.

I boycotted Tesco for a year recently due to such poor customer service, and so bought mostly from the Co-op with an occasional big top-up shop in Sainsbury's in the city when I was in there. I actually saved money this way as I just bought what I needed! I no longer bought so much, the food lasted much longer (2/3 days to over a week after it's BB date!). An experience which shows we do not have to shop in the cheapest shop to save money!

• I don't buy any fresh food in our local Aldi as I have seen too many meats in burst packets or gone off, and some which made a friend ill.

learnandshare

When I go to a shop (which is about once a week due to mobility issues and so I mostly order online), I head straight to the 'reduced' aisle to see what looks ok and then that's my dinner for less than a quid sometimes. It's food and often healthy. If shopping online, Amazon Fresh/Morrisons also offer reduced shelf life deals.

Never buy any fish/shellfish products on their last use-by day and always look in the pack of any product to get a visual check on freshness!