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

fingerman

I agree with a lot of the earlier posts whereas if you just go out to buy milk to can tend to buy a few more bits i.e. bread, chocolate, wine !

Just this week we have opted to go for a Milkman and so far so good - not exactly sure how much he's going to charge us but we don't really care - it's nice to have fresh milk and fresh orange on the doorstep first thing - save the milkman!

I think/hope it will work out cheaper in the long run and with young kid's it's one less thing to worry about :T

melancholly

john.xs wrote: »

i'll have do disagree with you on this one melancholy.things are hard for some people but it is amazing how they can manage money for fags/drink/plastic tat/bingo/taxi to supermarket etc but paying a few extra pence to milkman suddenly tips them over the edge! once the supermarkets have destroyed the milkmen and have the monopoly they will then up the price of milk.people ask for opinions of others. ive given one opinion.surely it is up to the person requesting advice to collate the info and make up their own minds!

i personally would sooner not generalise and make assumptions about all people on low budgets.

i agree that milkmen are a great idea - i disagree with the suggestion that not using them for financial reasons is responsible for 'sending this country to the dogs'.

i think making moralistic assumptions about 'all' people with little money is far far worse! but that's just my opinion to add to the mix

emmy05

oh i wouldnt get rid of my milkman, we have had dairy crest come and try and poach many of us away, but there are 2 main milkmen round here and theyre both great! just depends where you live as to who youd get lol, but i much prefer paying that extra few pence for milk rather than having to worry about running out of it, and besides, too many trips to the shops just to get milk for my family of 5 would soon push my bill up more. i can see it now, 'oh ill just get this' and 'oh that too' by the time i get home, id be thinking just why on earth i got all the extras lol.

dunstonh

The OP is talking about a difference of 84p between the supermarket and the milkman.

Your budget has to be pretty tight to be worrying about 84p. Plus the explicit cost of 84p may be lost in implicit costs incurred by going to the supermarket more often. i.e. extra purchases (impulse buys), petrol, bus or whatever.

john.xs

melancholy my point was that the milkman is one of those british institutions thst has added value.it may cost slightly more but it has other positive benefits to society as a whole.
i inferred that some people had got their priorities wrong but not all as you seem to have misquoted.
i may have not expressed myself that well when referring to the country going to the dogs . what i meant was that in general people in the uk have the cheapest /something for nothing mentality rather looking at the bigger picture.this country could have been self sufficient in most things but we prefer to transfer it from the other side of the world.
-we damaged the nhs following an american model
-we buy lamb from new zealand and put our farmers out of work
- we are at the mercy of russia for energy
- yogurt from france transported by hgvs knackering our roads up
- i could go on but wont
i was only stating the milkman was a good thing in my opinion.whose gonnaget your milk when you are old and housebound?

Zebedee69

Another way of looking at the money:

- When you go to supermarket your under pressure to buy things the moment you step through the door. Not having to get milk from the supermarket could actually be moneysaving as the less you visit the supermarket the less your likely to impulse buy from there. Not to mention petrol to get the and things.

I think the extra £1 could easily be offset when you think about it..........

rosh12

Does anyone know why milk sometimes seems to last longer from the supermarket these days? I'm surprised it lasts longer than from the milkman...

Just wondering!

We have a Dairy Crest milkman (only one round here)- it's a lot more convenient, saves on impulse buys, and means we ALWAYS have milk!

katiecoodle

We use a milkman and really appreciate the value - we have 2 young kids at home and my husband works nights so if at 10pm I suddenly realise I've got no milk for breakfast, I don't panic cos I know there'll be some on the step in the morning. He's really faithful - same time (6.30) every morning, whatever the weather - PLUS his collection is really regular too so it doesn't mount up. There's a cost saving in the fuel, also there's the fact that you're not carrying 2 heavy 4 pint containers home as well as the weekly shop.
Personally if he's a nice chap, I'd have a word with him, be honest and explain that you're looking for a cheaper deal and see what he comes up with. If you pay him in advance/only once a month (so he doesn't have to collect as often) etc, can he come up with a cheaper price?

libra10

We pay our milkman by leaving money on the step each Friday morning. He always collects and we never get behind with payments.

butterflylady

This is the first time I have read a thread on this board.

I must implore(sp) you to keep your milkman.

My OH is a milkman its a hard low paid sometimes thankless job. I've been suggesting for ages that he gets a new job for better hours and money as we have an 8 month old son.

However I think I am probably wrong suggesting he leaves, he loves the job, the people on the round love him.

Just before Christmas he saved someones life, went to deliver the milk, saw that Saturday's was still outside, along with the gentlemans meals on wheels deliver (they shouldn't leave them outside!!!) and phoned the police. The police entered the house and found the elderly gentleman collasped and seriously ill. If my OH hadn't called them no one would have done anything and he would have died!!

On several occassions my OH has phoned the police to report serious wrong doing (car being driven badly causing damage to other cars, turned out to be stolen!!) Has found wallets and purses which have been dropped by the owners and returned them to the people concerned even though they weren't his customers.

He is told on a regular basis that he is only person some of his customers see week in week out ( they are mostly OAP's!!) and that he is a big friend to them.

I have known him be hours late home because he has stopped to DIY for his customers!! Really annoying when your waiting for him.

Having said that, I was totally overwhelmed when my son was born, these people who I have never meet. Think enough of my partner to knit cardigians, blankets for my son (he had more hand knitted stuff then any other child I have known in the last 10 years). They have made the effort to go into town and buy him clothes. They sent him some bits of money a 20p or whatever but because it was all they could afford it means so much to us!!

I can not honestly think of any other job in the world where William's arrival would have caused so much excitement to the customers. They still ask after him each week. At Christmas he was sent presents from these people.

So please keep your milkman, they are so important for your community