Grocery Shopping

[flowerpot]

Hi,

I just wanted to share a tip, lots of you probably already do this anyway.

Since having an IVA I have been doing my grocery shopping online and have found this to be an excellent way of keeping to a budget, buying what I need for that week only etc. Sometimes there can even be a little left to make up the trolley with treats.

When I started, there used to be lots of discount codes for free delivery, but sadly these are thin on the ground these days, and so I get my shopping delivered midweek when the fee is cheaper, £3.50.

I have found that this way, you get the most out of the offers, and have plently of time to consider them, rather than being seduced by the music, the smells from the deli counter or the children nagging!

Last week, owing to the bad weather, I had to go into tesco and do my shopping, and it was such a chore. I'd forgotten how misreable an experience it is, from other grumpy shopper knocking into you with their trolley, other peoples kids causing a scene, and of course the ever so helpful checkout where you queue and are generally faced with an in-sincere operator who isnt happy to help you pack your stuff!

I also ended up spending nearly double what I usually do!! This had to be the most painfull part!

So, its back to online shopping for me.

It can hard to get used to, but once you've got the knack, its well worth it.

Dont forget if they deliver a substitue or say fruit which is rough, you can send it back immediatley with the driver. There is a telephone helpline for complaints, and they are super helpful.

I use a combo of Asda, Tesco, and recently tried Sainsburys. They all their pro's and cons, for example, I find Sainsburys a bit on the expensive side, but I did try a lot of their own 'simple' brand and the stuff was really cheap and excellent quality.

Asda's smartprice stuff can be a bit hit and miss, I tend to stick to certain things I know are ok. But they do they do have fab offers and were the first to price match if they dent have the item you ordered.

Tesco, for me is in the middle, but then there are things I cant get in Asda, so I use them too.

Because we have an account in my name, another in my husbands name, with each of these, when their systems notice you havnt shopped for a while, you often get a free delivery code sent to you too.

Previous to my IVA I had started shopping in Lidl and Aldi. I still pop in for certain offers and favourites, but I would say for our family of 4, online is definatley the best.

Finally, if you've not used online grocery shopping before, there are sites on google which you can obtain discounts of up to £10 on your first shop. I use hot uk deals quite a lot.

And then there is 'quidco'.... this deserves a post of its own!

Hope this helps, give it a try!
flowerpot.x

[Skippy]

Thanks for the tips flowerpot. I have to say as much as I hate shopping I've never been happy with online shopping - I ended up having to send too much of it back as the dates were too short or the meat was too fatty etc. I prefer to choose my own as I'm too picky!

One website that I've found useful is mysupermarket, which compares the prices of all the main supermarkets. You can then order your shopping as well, although I mainly use it as it shows you 'swaps', so you can get the best deals. It can also be quite surprising which supermarket is cheapest - once it was Ocado (Waitrose) which suprised me.

[Julie]

Good post flowerpot.

I'm lucky I rarely go to supermarkets, I have my own personal shopper.....hubby works in one [:)]

He takes advantage of the reduced items, its surprising what you can get.It also helps he great in the cooking department and can make meals out of next to nothing [:)]

I always use discount codes for other online shopping and your right about quidco!

I also use price comparison sites to find out where to buy products at the cheapest price possible. Saved £30 on a George Foreman by doing this last year! I was going to get it from Argos but it turned out Comets had a deal on so bargain!

My favourite tip ( borrowed from my Mum) is to buy an extra item with your weekly shop, put it away in a box and you have your own hamper by Christmas time. Been doing this ever since I can rememebr and it frees money up in the run up to Christmas.

[Declan at DebtFreeDirect]

Excellent post flowerpot. I have never tried online shopping (somewhat guilty of living in the past!) but i definitely think its worth a go.
Thank you for the tips.

[size5]

I tend not to do it myself either, but I was a little surprised last week. Because of the weather the kids wanted a sledge so we went to Sale to pick it up and shopped at the Tesco there instead of the one we normally go to. However, I noticed a Farmfoods and a poundland across the way so went in for a quick mooch. Milk at farmfoods was 2 litres times 2, so 4 litres, for £1.50, much cheaper than Tesco. Quality branded frozen food was much cheaper also. In poundland, branded shampoos, cleaning products etc were far cheaper as well. For the sake of walking a few yards, I reckon we must have saved £15 or more, and Mrs Size, who is a bit picky when it comes to the brands, was well pleased.

It was sheer luck, but an experiment that we shall be repeating every week from now on.

Regards.

[kallis3]

I don't do online grocery shopping at all. Our Tesco is only half a mile away and I can't justify a delivery charge for that. Sainsburys I use sometimes as I love their food but find them expensive. However, they are only a couple of miles away.

I use Asda as I do get discount as daughter works there. We have a set amount of money to spend each week, but do sometimes spot 2 for 1 on things we use but don't need at that particular time. I will stock up in that case.

I have done a virtual shop online with all three stores to compare prices so I can make the most of my money, and I do have to confess to being sad and knowing the price of a lot of things I buy!

We use farmfoods and poundland as well.

[Shining]

Excellent post, we all have our preferred supermarkets and I personally swear by Sainsburys, I even like a lot of Sainsbury basics as the quality is good.

I don't personally do online shopping due to a couple of bad experiences which were rectified with a refund but the inconvenience of getting this far outweighed the convenience of the online shop (if that makes sense?) as I still had to buy the item that wasn't up to scratch.

Haven't tried mysupermarket Skippy but will look at that later.

I like going grocery shopping to a point and do find seeking out a bargain very therapeutic!

[Skippy]

I hate grocery shopping with a passion - actually I'm not too keen on any other shopping either!

I always shop at Tesco as I can go on my way home from work and I know where most things are so I can wizz round as fast as possible with my iPod turned up to drown out the shouting chavs and screaming kids!

[kallis3]

I love buying reduced stuff. I also like to look to see what stuff I can find which is suitable for me to eat as I have such a reduced intake these days.

When we do go to Sainsburys, I make a beeline for the reductions and I also think their deli counter is good. I would shop there out of preference, but 10% discount on top of already cheap prices is not to be sneezed at.

We treat Tesco mostly as a top up shop. However,their 1% milk is way cheaper than even Asda at the moment.

[flowerpot]

I forgot to mention maybe now and again I will go to home and bargain, iceland, farmfoods, and b&m, but to be honest there is a catch...

Dont you find you stock up on a few things you hadnt really needed because they were cheap? I end up spending a few quid here and there on stuff I could have managed without. But then again, loo roll is so much cheaper in home and bargain or b&m £1.99 for 9 rolls of the quilted stuff (I think the brand is called nickey, they also do lovley kitchen roll, 99p for 3 rolls).

Like you Kallis, I do tend to know the price of stuff i buy frequently, for instance, Aldi boxed tissues are the cheapest around for a nice box. Yes you can get smartprice ones cheaper, but they just cut your nose!

On the whole though, if I can get it online in my weekly budget, I will aim for that, and try stuff on offer, like laundry powder etc.

The biggest benefit has to be you can keep a very tight controll over your basket/bill and get a rook of stuff you actually need!

flowerpot.x

[kallis3]

I only stock up on things that I know we will use. Only ever used Iceland for Chinese Curry sauce, and they don't sell that anymore. Have to get it from Farm Foods.

Don't like Aldi at all! Don't buy tissues. We either use proper hankies, kitchen or toilet roll.

I'm a member at Costco and buy my washing powder etc., from there, in bulk.

[Skippy]

I don't tend to stock up, mainly because I can never afford to!

I did see Fairy washing powder half price last month so bought a couple of those as I know we'll always need it. The other thing I tend to buy is shampoo as it's never on special when I need it.

[kallis3]

I shall be using our council tax payment to fund the spending at Costco! Stuff does tend to last us a while.