| Cost of living / food shopping 14:35 - Dec 12 with 12488 views | clive_baker |
I've been playing around with buying some supermarket own brand alternatives lately. I shall go full Martin Lewis with you now and reveal my findings:
Tesco Chocolate Digestives. Get on them. Only 55p and bl00dy lovely. Actually better than the branded alternatives, more chocolate to biscuit ratio. Don't buy the Molly's ones though, they're rank.
Tesco Oat Milk. Passable but not as nice as the branded one I get. £1.20 instead of £1.80 doesn't justify the trade IMO.
Marmite - Don't mess with the GOD. Bought a supermarket alternative, had it once on toast and can't see myself eating it again. Absolutely fecking rancid. Literally tasted like salt on toast.
I don't mess about with Mayo or Salad cream, I'm sorry the stakes are far too high with that.
Bran Flakes - Switch. No brainer. No discernible difference. £1.10 instead of £3 for the branded alternative that sounds like Mellogs.
Dry Pasta. Commodity product, who buys branded pasta? 41p for 500g vs. £1.50. No brainer, switch.
Nappies. Fred & Flo absolutely fine (I've always bought these anyway to be fair). Not sure why you would pay twice as much for something that'll get covered in p1ss and sh1t and end up in the bin after a few hours.
Anyone got any more hacks in your shopping basket? |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:21 - Dec 12 with 1984 views | keighleyblue |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:20 - Dec 12 by J2BLUE |
Apologies to any northerners. I know you only have Spar and bags are yet to be invented. |
What is this "M&S" of which you speak? |  | | |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:21 - Dec 12 with 1980 views | factual_blue |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:06 - Dec 12 by BanksterDebtSlave |
Can I interest you in tinned sardines and a baked potato. Nutritional and dirt cheap. |
Aged Swanners gets by on Complan and Sanatogen. |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:24 - Dec 12 with 1970 views | J2BLUE |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:21 - Dec 12 by keighleyblue |
What is this "M&S" of which you speak? |
It's this magical place where you go in, buy 2-3 items and come out with a 5 year loan to pay for it. |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:27 - Dec 12 with 1951 views | monkeymagic |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 16:22 - Dec 12 by Tractor_Buck |
On the subject of Tesco biscuits, the Miss Molly's Chocolate Caramel Wafers are as good as Tunnocks. |
I really don’t consider myself an expert on any matter but suggesting any rival can match a Tunnocks product is an astonishing claim. Their caramel wafer bars are a reason to live. |  | | |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:30 - Dec 12 with 1943 views | BlueBoots |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 20:08 - Dec 12 by benrhyddingblue |
A lot of the time supermarket own brand comes from the same place as the branded - pasta for instance. Also things like crisps - years ago I spent a summer working in a crisps factory that supplied Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S - all from the same source apart from M&S which had it’s supply line. |
If you look at the packaging of certain goods, there is usually a production code number. Compare the code on a supermarket regular own brand with the code on their value / basic range of the same product (e.g Spaghetti) - if they match, you're getting the same goods, but in different packaging... |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:34 - Dec 12 with 1937 views | Nthsuffolkblue |
Some own brand stuff is fine but not caviar nor champagne.
And if they have run out of bread, there is always cake. |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 22:35 - Dec 12 with 1869 views | HARRY10 |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:19 - Dec 12 by J2BLUE |
Are you not suggesting that your BIL having seen her in Sainsburys the week before means she could not have been shopping at M&S? Or reusing bags for life from M&S to shop elsewhere? |
]"Hang on, we're not allowed to shop in more than one supermarket? And we have to use the branded bags for life for the exact supermarket we are in?"
So I did not say any of that, then
Am I going to be arrested?
Nor did I suggest that either.
I merely used an example from a while back, before bags for life etc, to illustrate a point ie there are more complex reasons for people's choice of goods, other than the core product.
In this case this woman was a 'known snob' who undoubtedly saw herself as someone who would, and could afford to, shop at M&S. And felt it important that others were aware of that.
Advertisers are able to play on some folk's vulnerability to push them towards certain products. | | | |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 22:47 - Dec 12 with 1855 views | factual_blue |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:21 - Dec 12 by keighleyblue |
What is this "M&S" of which you speak? |
It's a bit like Waitrose, but for people who can't cook. | |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 22:50 - Dec 12 with 1842 views | Meadowlark |
Lidl Mayo is exactly the same as Hellmann's. |  | | |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:05 - Dec 12 with 1832 views | jeera |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 22:50 - Dec 12 by Meadowlark |
Lidl Mayo is exactly the same as Hellmann's. |
Probably.
I always look at the sugar content when comparing condiments. That pretty much tells people what they need to know.
That one is more popular over another seems to be those with an over reliance on sugar (and often salt) to make their product more appealing.
I appreciate there are always exceptions but generally the ingredients tend to be the same but in differing quantities.
Products labelled as low fat annoy me as the sugar content is invariably much higher to compensate. Extremely misleading. [Post edited 12 Dec 2022 23:41]
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:21 - Dec 12 with 1829 views | clive_baker |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:24 - Dec 12 by J2BLUE |
It's this magical place where you go in, buy 2-3 items and come out with a 5 year loan to pay for it. |
You say that J2 but I think M&S food has a perception problem. I did a little shop there recently and there wasn’t much difference in price now between it and your other supermarkets. Depending on the product you’re buying of course. | |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:36 - Dec 12 with 1801 views | J2BLUE |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:21 - Dec 12 by clive_baker |
You say that J2 but I think M&S food has a perception problem. I did a little shop there recently and there wasn’t much difference in price now between it and your other supermarkets. Depending on the product you’re buying of course. |
You have to remember I was explaining to a northerner. | |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:43 - Dec 12 with 1789 views | monytowbray |
A brain dump of random shopping trivia my side.
I go to Aldi and would have refused to pay £3 for a box of branded bran flakes years ago.
You are correct on Marmite.
Oat Milk I am paying 89p a carton but we go through a lot. Dunno if I should tell you that though as it seems every c**ting vegan in Ipswich now also knows this and it’s often sold out.
Aldi’s versions of Haribo are vegan, and they do some decent sugar free sweets too.
Aldi Bourbon biscuits and own brand version of Oreos are good, as is their knock off Ritz crackers. Ground coffee at Aldi is also okay, although I expect the average coffee snob would disagree. Then again some of you drink instant I see from previous posts - I think I’d rather drink a spoon of dirt out of the spot my cats p1ss in the garden.
I will say Aldi bread is pretty dry and grim so that’s one I can’t skimp on.
Aldi’s vanilla yogurt is great but the plain one is not a touch on Alpro.
I used to believe Heinz beans were superior but I realised two years ago I ram mine with so much Tabasco sauce it doesn’t matter.
Where my shops are adding up are the “in-between big shop trips to smaller convenience stores” where it seems you can only pay over the odds on brand stuff and the only way to get a discount is sign away your digital shopping footprint to a corporation. I do find myself snacking less but I miss the odd little fizzy treat - I don’t want a big bottle but it cost me £1.15 for a can of Coke Zero the other day. Madness.
My final point - Self checkout tills without scales are best, it’s not like the Supermarkets put that saved labour costs back into wages or the community so f**k ‘em ;) [Post edited 12 Dec 2022 23:53]
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:45 - Dec 12 with 1789 views | jeera |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:21 - Dec 12 by clive_baker |
You say that J2 but I think M&S food has a perception problem. I did a little shop there recently and there wasn’t much difference in price now between it and your other supermarkets. Depending on the product you’re buying of course. |
Ready meals?
Same goes for Waitrose really. I go in there from time to time and stock up on bits that are cheaper there than elsewhere.
I tend to use Tesco mostly for convenience sake; a bit closer, easier to get to, can always get a delivery slot cheap if not etc. But they're not always the cheapest option we generally think of them as being.
And we're a bunch of saddos talking about shopping. | |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:55 - Dec 12 with 1774 views | J2BLUE |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 23:45 - Dec 12 by jeera |
Ready meals?
Same goes for Waitrose really. I go in there from time to time and stock up on bits that are cheaper there than elsewhere.
I tend to use Tesco mostly for convenience sake; a bit closer, easier to get to, can always get a delivery slot cheap if not etc. But they're not always the cheapest option we generally think of them as being.
And we're a bunch of saddos talking about shopping. |
I quite like going to different supermarkets. Sainsburys is probably my favourite though as they have a massive vegetarian/vegan section although I was fooking livid to see the 4 packs of Fridge Raiders I picked up in the vegan section without looking too closely were ‘100% chicken breast’ rather than the meat free ones I wanted. | |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 00:20 - Dec 13 with 1749 views | monytowbray |
Some more braindump…
International food stores - If you aren’t using places like Raja on Cavandish St (named because it’s my nearest) you’re missing out. I guess as a vegan and keen cook I’ve always loved such places but stuff I usually get there include…
- Herbs and spices.
- Cooking pastes like indian/thai curry and miso.
- Chillis and peppers (always a million times better than supermarket ones)
- Canned or dried stuff like beans, chickpeas, lentils, jackfruit and banana blossom (the latter two supermarkets often add a vegan-essential markup because they are exploitive bellends)
- Tofu and sometimes tempah (much better value for money again)
- Sauces, if you like hot sauces and condiments they’re usually well stocked.
- Naan bread (for some reason every supermarket one has milk in it yet ones in international stores don’t - and you usually get better value.
- Ramen noodles (assorted cheaper brand Super Noodles if you want to be specific)
- Rice (basmati and sushi for me)
- Onions and potatoes (loads more bang for your buck and seem to last longer/taste fresher than supermarket stuff)
Other stuff I will often grab are Okra, Plaintain and Ackee if I am cooking something that benefits such ingredients. Sometimes you’ll find good freezer stuff too - I have some Gyozas and fake meat oriental style ribs in my freezer that are both tasty.
Funge will vouch for Raja too, as I once bumped into him in there!
Go East in town is also another good spot for things like inari pockets, alas I’d say it’s not cheap it is good for specialist stuff. [Post edited 13 Dec 2022 0:21]
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 02:03 - Dec 13 with 1705 views | The_Romford_Blue |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:04 - Dec 12 by J2BLUE |
Hang on, we're not allowed to shop in more than one supermarket? And we have to use the branded bags for life for the exact supermarket we are in?
Mind blown.
I was in Lidl on Friday with a mix of bags i've accumulated. I was in M&S today. I didn't want much so grabbed the first bag I layed my hands on which was a Lidl bag.
Am I going to be arrested? |
I went in M and S once at uni in lockdown with my mate who wanted some pasta thing they did. Thought whilst I was there I’d pick up whatever their version of southern fried chickens strips were. Got to the checkout and couldn’t believe my eyes when they charged £7.30. Criminal that. Vowed never to return.
Chicken strips were nice though. But £7.30 is a liberty of the highest order. As I’m sure others in the self checkout were aware of from my ranting. Though with my mask and tracksuit on, they probably thought I was some common scum out to rob them outside the store for their shopping. |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 06:32 - Dec 13 with 1631 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 02:03 - Dec 13 by The_Romford_Blue |
I went in M and S once at uni in lockdown with my mate who wanted some pasta thing they did. Thought whilst I was there I’d pick up whatever their version of southern fried chickens strips were. Got to the checkout and couldn’t believe my eyes when they charged £7.30. Criminal that. Vowed never to return.
Chicken strips were nice though. But £7.30 is a liberty of the highest order. As I’m sure others in the self checkout were aware of from my ranting. Though with my mask and tracksuit on, they probably thought I was some common scum out to rob them outside the store for their shopping. |
If only there was some way to see the price of things before taking them to the till |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 08:57 - Dec 13 with 1574 views | J2BLUE |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 06:32 - Dec 13 by C_HealyIsAPleasure |
If only there was some way to see the price of things before taking them to the till |
If you know of a way wizard, speak now | |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:11 - Dec 13 with 1567 views | Reuser_is_God |
I thought you’d have been out of nappies by now. |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:15 - Dec 13 with 1561 views | unbelievablue |
I've become a pasta snob. Some dried pasta is dreadful. I always go pricey. |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:20 - Dec 13 with 1551 views | Dubtractor |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:15 - Dec 13 by unbelievablue |
I've become a pasta snob. Some dried pasta is dreadful. I always go pricey. |
I'm with you. We use a premium brand pasta and can't go back now as the difference is significant.
We don't have kids and are comfortable financially though, so can have our little luxuries. |  |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:23 - Dec 13 with 1535 views | OsborneOneNil |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 17:06 - Dec 12 by Lord_Lucan |
I have found Aldi to be far the best own brand for almost everything.
Generally won't buy anyones own brand peas or coffee though. |
Can’t cut corners on baked beans, either. Heinz all the way.
Did try the Lidl version of a hob nob recently. Poor. |  | | |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:24 - Dec 13 with 1535 views | J2BLUE |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:20 - Dec 13 by Dubtractor |
I'm with you. We use a premium brand pasta and can't go back now as the difference is significant.
We don't have kids and are comfortable financially though, so can have our little luxuries. |
I've found it varies.
Asda's own pasta is not great. Sainsbury's own is very good. | |
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| Cost of living / food shopping on 09:26 - Dec 13 with 1530 views | solemio |
| Cost of living / food shopping on 21:34 - Dec 12 by Nthsuffolkblue |
Some own brand stuff is fine but not caviar nor champagne.
And if they have run out of bread, there is always cake. |
Merci, Marie Antoinette. | | | |
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