Should I cancel Milkman and buy from supermarket to save money?

TDA10

Hi all,

I''m usually a 'grabbit' or 'DIY' forums girl so unsure of the right place for this one, so please move if in the wrong place!

I have just a small moneysaving dilemma that I would like some opinions on please.

I have had my milk delivered for the past 4 years since my DD was a toddler and the guy delivering it used to deliver to my home when I was growing up too so is quite well known to the family and is a nice guy. Now I'm all for supporting local folk when I can, but also have to think of my own pocket since lately being made redundant without a payout.

We only have a pint a day delivered so not a huge amount, but 'Steve' charges roughly 52p per pint, whereas I notice that Asda is about 40p a pint and of course is cheaper the larger the container. (and apparently Iceland is £1 for 4 pints!)

Now if I have done the maths right, 7 (pints) at 52p = £3.62 per week, thus making it £189.28 a year. (JUST IN MILK!!! HOW SCARY IS THAT!!!:D)

Whereas, if I bought from say, Asda, at 40p per pint the annual cost would be £145.60, therefore saving me approx £45.00 a year.

So the question - do I try my best to support Steve and keep him on and forget about the £45 extra he's getting per year (minimum), or be selfish and save the dosh?

Don't get me wrong, I know my measly 7 pints a week isn't going to be the worlds greatest loss to him, but I'm sure it all helps.

It wouldn't be so hard if he were 'just the milkman' but I've known him for years.

Thoughts guys?

Thanks!

Zazen999

We changed TO a milkman recently; as when you do pop in for milk, and you add up all the other stuff that you buy that you don't need, plus the extra miles driven for those little trips - it's not so cheap.

Plus then we stick to the amount that we get rather than buy it when we think we need it.

Seriously - it only works if you add it to regular shops and DON'T visit to top up milk in the house in between. 9 visits to top up, where you spend an additional £5 would wipe out the savings.

reehsetin

can you not go halfies?

TDA10

Thanks so far - I would just be buying the usual 7 pints on my weekly shop instead of the 'every other day' delivery I have now, especially as Asda have a weeks best before date on them so that would be ok, and I really rarely visit the food shops apart from on the weekly shop because we live quite far from 'corner shops' and stuff so don't have the temptation of nipping in there - probably, seriously it would be once every 3 months or something.

As for halfies, I had thought of something like that, but it seems a bit daft for Steve to call once a week just for about £1.50 or something!

Perhaps I should buy a cow?!

fas3robinj

We buy about 4 gallon at a time (Semi skimmed in 4 pint containers from Asda). We freeze all but one container (a container lasts us about 3 days). Twenty four hours before we need it we thaw the next one ready. When it's thawed we give it a good shake, and I never notice any difference in taste.

I know it's good to support local tradesmen, but money saving is about looking after your own money. That £40 you save you can spend on your children.

Primrose

There is also the moral point that if lots of people cancel out their milkman's delivery, a round may become so uneconomical that it will abandoned. This could mean many housebound people, the elderly or those without transport will lose a service that's invaluable to them, especially as milkmen also often deliver other goods such as butter, cheese, eggs, potatoes etc. Sometimes you have to adopt the motto "Use it or Lose it" and pay to keep it because once it's gone, you might never get it back.

geordie_joe

I haven't seen a milkman since I moved to Dorset about ten years ago!

What I do, and I live on my own. First I bought 4 x 1pint plastic bottle from the supermarket. As I used them I gave them a good was and kept them.

When I had 4 empty bottles I started buying 4 pint bottles. Now I transfer the 4 pints into the 1 pint bottles and freeze three. 1 pint thaws out over night in the fridge, so I never run out.

I do sterilize the empty bottles with baby stuff (fairly often), and as soon as they are empty I give them a good clean with very hot water then put them in the fridge.

dunstonh

I have a milkman and I know I pay a few pence more and dont care. Its nice on a cold morning to have 3 pints sitting on the doorstep without needing to drive a few miles to get more milk and no doubt buy more unneccessary things.

For the cost of chocolate bar a week I support the local economy, a local self employed individual and not some national monstor retailer. Plus glass bottles are recycled unlike the plastic ones from the supermarket.

melancholly

we stopped using our milkman after he kept trying to charge us twice and only delivered at 10ish so the milk would sit on the doorstep all day (bad in the few days of heat!). i'd like to have a milkman, but no other dairies deliver in our area..... but if you don't want to spend the extra money (which does add up), then make that decision. when money is tight you can't always do what you want to and that is entirely understandable.

isualive

geordie_joe wrote: »

I haven't seen a milkman since I moved to Dorset about ten years ago!

What I do, and I live on my own. First I bought 4 x 1pint plastic bottle from the supermarket. As I used them I gave them a good was and kept them.

When I had 4 empty bottles I started buying 4 pint bottles. Now I transfer the 4 pints into the 1 pint bottles and freeze three. 1 pint thaws out over night in the fridge, so I never run out.

I do sterilize the empty bottles with baby stuff (fairly often), and as soon as they are empty I give them a good clean with very hot water then put them in the fridge.

I live in Dorset, loads of milkmen around!

Becles

It's not just the local milkman you are supporting. It can be a local dairy farmer that you are supporting too.

I've considered cancelling our milk too due to the cost, but I'm reluctant as I know our milk comes from cows that live a few miles up the road, so I'm helping local people by buying it. Also the milk doesn't go on a nationwide tour, as supermarket milk can do, so it's better for the environment too.