How big is yours? Can you cut it?

toexpress

Shopping bill that is.

I was thinking about this, the cost of running your house because I was away a lot over the last couple of weeks so there wasn't much in the line of food in my house. I did a shop on Monday, now there is just me and the dog that's it. €132!! Madness I still am not entirely sure how the bill hit that level. Then you consider paying the phone bills and the electricity. I recently got rid of sky on the basis that I simply can't justify handing out €33 a month for TV.

So with the rising costs of food and fuel yet no real prospect of an increase in income for most people how do you cut back without living like a miser?

kneemos

What did you get for 132 euro?

Cork24

Don't shop in tesco or dunnes for start..

Go pay as u go on you phone move to UPC 60 euro for all 3.

Stock up on a lot of candles and turn off the ESb and use your candles at night create a fire out the back for your cooking

That shuld cut your bill by half

xzanti

Aldi is your Friend...

cournioni

That's crazy money, our shopping bill is about €40-50 max every week between two people. We shop at Aldi now, and we make a saving of €30 per week compared to Dunnes. It's less stressful too, you can do a full weeks shopping and be in the car in 15 minutes, whereas you could be spending 15 minutes in the queue alone elsewhere.

toexpress

kneemos wrote: »

What did you get for 132 euro?

A full weeks shop, cleaning stuff, veg, meat, dairy, some toiletries and dog food

BBDBB

before you go shopping

1) check your cupboards/fridge for what you still have as base ingredients and start thinking about meals you can make
2) make a list of what you need
3) eat before you go. Dont shop when hungry or you wont stick to your list

kneemos

toexpress wrote: »

A full weeks shop, cleaning stuff, veg, meat, dairy, some toiletries and dog food

Sounds reasonable so.

Chuck Stone

Don't shop hungry.

cournioni

toexpress wrote: »

A full weeks shop, cleaning stuff, veg, meat, dairy, some toiletries and dog food

How many people do you shop for and where do you shop? €132 is far too much for a weeks shopping in my opinion unless you have 5 or 6 in the family.

CardBordWindow

Yeah, the price of caviar has risen dramatically lately OP. It's a disgrace!

toexpress

cournioni wrote: »

How many people do you shop for and where do you shop? €132 is far too much for a weeks shopping in my opinion unless you have 5 or 6 in the family.

That's my point it's me and the dog! I was in Dunnes it's not like I went into the local corner shop and did a full weeks shop. But I looked through the prices. A packet of fire lighters was nearly €5. A jar of coffee was €8.50 milk was about €2 and so on. Basic things that we would use everyday were huge prices one thing that caught my eye was the price of potatoes. About a 50% jump in the last six months

Melion

Tesco fire lighters, 87c

kneemos

toexpress wrote: »

That's my point it's me and the dog! I was in Dunnes it's not like I went into the local corner shop and did a full weeks shop. But I looked through the prices. A packet of fire lighters was nearly €5. A jar of coffee was €8.50 milk was about €2 and so on. Basic things that we would use everyday were huge prices one thing that caught my eye was the price of potatoes. About a 50% jump in the last six months

They're new potatoes.

wyndham

toexpress wrote: »

Basic things that we would use everyday were huge prices one thing that caught my eye was the price of potatoes. About a 50% jump in the last six months

That's because of the wet summer.

cournioni

toexpress wrote: »

That's my point it's me and the dog! I was in Dunnes it's not like I went into the local corner shop and did a full weeks shop. But I looked through the prices. A packet of fire lighters was nearly €5. A jar of coffee was €8.50 milk was about €2 and so on. Basic things that we would use everyday were huge prices one thing that caught my eye was the price of potatoes. About a 50% jump in the last six months

Dunnes are expensive as fcuk. Try Aldi or Lidl, but preferably Aldi because their stuff is better in my opinion, they have a great selection of Irish stuff and you can get most veg for well under €1.

http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/product_range/productrange_coffee_3742.htm
http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/product_range/product_range_20126.htm
http://www.ireland.aldi.com/ie/html/product_range/product_range_23542.htm

Theres a huge saving on the prices and products you've listed already.

0ph0rce0

xzanti wrote: »

Aldi is your Friend...

Yes if you like your food to taste and smell like ****e

toexpress

cournioni wrote: »

Dunnes are expensive as fcuk. Try Aldi or Lidl, but preferably Aldi because their stuff is better in my opinion and you can get most veg for well under €1.

Yeah the problem with that is that I want Cif and Flash for cleaning the bathroom. I want Gold Blend Coffee and Avonmore milk. There are some things on my shopping list that I just don't want to substitute own brand stuff for to be honest and the idea of doing a round of shops and supermarkets breaks my heart .... but it may come to that yet

pickarooney

wyndham wrote: »

That's because of the wet summer.

Shouldn't they be running at about €45 a kilo on that basis?

Tar.Aldarion

The problem here is you buy dear things. You can get nice coffee for less than half the price etc

Chuck Stone

pickarooney wrote: »

Shouldn't they be running at about €45 a kilo on that basis?

They've probably imported foreign spuds* in anticipation of a shortage.


*you can tell foreign spuds by their eyes which are every-so-slightly closer together.

JustAThought

Im blaming the dog!!!
How much is your dogfood!!?

You can get quite good deals online - dependi.g on what it eats - check out the boards deals + animal + pets forum.

I hate shopping for toiletries as they boost your bill so much + you feel cheated!!

You seriously need to shop in Lidl/Aldi. They are eye-wateringly cheeper.

Forget Tesco/Du.nes/Sulerqinn.

Also - the butchers now are doing 3 for a tenner deals. ADD a bag of potatos + thats four or five main meals a week. Add a loaf of bread + jam + thats your breakfasts for the week. Twenty five euro. If you buy lunches for work you dont need more stuff. Otherwise decide all your lunches + buy. Eg potato + tuna with black pepper salad or fried potato cakes, tins of soup + hunky bread ; toasted ham sambos , tortellini + pesto or T sauce. All this shouldnt come to more than e55 IF you are shoppj.g in Lidl/ Aldi.

If youre a fish lover their frozen salmon is cheeper that the tin of tunas yku get from john west. + tastes great.

their turkey/ ham / chicken is v tastey + they have very gokd isles full of meat. And thou I resisged for years the steaks are dead cheep - and taste fab!

And you will get some fruit/ veg , chrisps, chocolate + cheese for that fifty there too

Otherwise forget it!!!

plys

toexpress wrote: »

Yeah the problem with that is that I want Cif and Flash for cleaning the bathroom. I want Gold Blend Coffee and Avonmore milk. There are some things on my shopping list that I just don't want to substitute own brand stuff for to be honest and the idea of doing a round of shops and supermarkets breaks my heart .... but it may come to that yet

Gold blend in Lidl is about €6. Also, Lidl's own-brand cleaning products are far superior to many premium brands (eg Flash) IMO.
I'm with you on the milk though

foxinsox

Lidl fairtrade coffee is 2.99 and is so much nicer than Gold Blend.

Next time read the ingredients/contents on your Cif or Flash and compare to own brands, I'd be surprised if they are different.

ted1

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Yes if you like your food to taste and smell like ****e

Your an idiot, food is often better in Aldi.

cournioni

toexpress wrote: »

Yeah the problem with that is that I want Cif and Flash for cleaning the bathroom. I want Gold Blend Coffee and Avonmore milk. There are some things on my shopping list that I just don't want to substitute own brand stuff for to be honest and the idea of doing a round of shops and supermarkets breaks my heart .... but it may come to that yet

There's your problem right there. You buy into the fact that there is a brand name on the tin. I don't know about coffee, but I know from my experience that the cleaning stuff in Aldi is better than Cif and Flash, I use the Power Force stuff and it does wonders. There is no difference between Clonbawn and Avonmore milk other than the price. I know because my parents get Avonmore and only because the milk man delivers it to them.

xzanti

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Yes if you like your food to taste and smell like ****e

I had that attitude too until I did my shopping there one week... I used to always shop in Tesco..

There is nothing wrong with their food.. Fridge fillers are the same quality as you'd get in Tesco, if not better in some items.. (except yogurts.. yuk)

Fruit and Veg are for nothing and all fresh and ripe.. I love the Super 6 deals..

All rice/pasta/bread/canned goods are the exact same quality as you'd get in the bigger supermarkets..

The only items I don't bother with are the likes of their own brand chocolate (tasteless imho)..the cleaning products are crap (with the exception of the washing up liquid which does the job fine)..

All the babywipes, nappies, toilet and kitchen rolls, bin bags, tin foil etc.. all fantastic quality, not a thing wrong with them.. and much cheaper than your mainstream supermarkets..

And I find the system of re-filling the trolly and packing at the bench so much less stressful than in other shops... You can go at your own pace and you're not racing to get the stuff in the bags as they're piling up in front of you..

Suits me fine.

LETHAL LADY

Aldi specially selected columbian coffee is €1.49 in my local store. It has the exact same jar and labelling as Bewleys coffee and it tastes great, this is coming from a woman who was addicted fancy coffee until I became a pauper.

Lyaiera

Do people realise that most of the own-brand products come from the same factory as the name-brand stuff, usually with fairly similar if not the exact same ingredients and recipe. That's why Kellog's make such a big deal about how they only make cereal for themselves, they're trying to protect their brand off fairly generic products.

wyndham

Who the fck drinks instant coffee granules nowadays anyway? It's not 1993. And at €8.50 a jar?

toexpress

wyndham wrote: »

Who the fck drinks instant coffee granules nowadays anyway? It's not 1993. And at €8.50 a jar?

Lots of people that I know. I am hardly going to make a pot of coffee just so I can have one cup

LETHAL LADY

wyndham wrote: »

Who the fck drinks instant coffee granules nowadays anyway? It's not 1993. And at €8.50 a jar?

Why what do you drink?

desertcircus

Why on earth would you buy branded milk? The stuff is a commodity product; the only ingredient is milk. Are supermarkets getting their milk from really crappy cows?

Milk is milk is milk. Buying a branded version is just short of throwing money into a bin. If you're going to buy branded stuff at least have the good sense to limit it to things where believing the brand makes a difference isn't entirely ridiculous.

Tar.Aldarion

You loyally buy gold blend, cif and flash? Eh why. Waste of 15 euro and then you complain?

'I only buy dear things, not better than cheaper alternatives, why is my bill large? '

planetX

desertcircus wrote: »

Why on earth would you buy branded milk? The stuff is a commodity product; the only ingredient is milk. Are supermarkets getting their milk from really crappy cows?

Milk is milk is milk. Buying a branded version is just short of throwing money into a bin. If you're going to buy branded stuff at least have the good sense to limit it to things where believing the brand makes a difference isn't entirely ridiculous.

I do, mainly because I have the idea in my head that the local farmers get a decent price from them. If I'm really broke I'll buy the cheapest, but I still check that it's not imported from the north.

plys

desertcircus wrote: »

Why on earth would you buy branded milk? The stuff is a commodity product; the only ingredient is milk. Are supermarkets getting their milk from really crappy cows?

Milk is milk is milk. Buying a branded version is just short of throwing money into a bin. If you're going to buy branded stuff at least have the good sense to limit it to things where believing the brand makes a difference isn't entirely ridiculous.

I don't agree re milk - IMO, Avonmore is superior to the Lidl/Aldi brands.
That said, the price differential far exceeds the quality differential, so I buy both!!

cournioni

plys wrote: »

I don't agree re milk - IMO, Avonmore is superior to the Lidl/Aldi brands.
That said, the price differential far exceeds the quality differential, so I buy both!!

Eh?! What's the difference? I buy Clonbawn and regularly drink Avonmore at my parents house and there is no difference. Milk is milk, and both brands are from Ireland so the likeliness is that cows eat, **** and drink in the same fields!

kneemos

Aldi dog food is very meaty and 39c for 300g,don't know about the dry stuff though

plys

cournioni wrote: »

Eh?! What's the difference? I buy Clonbawn and regularly drink Avonmore at my parents house and there is no difference. Milk is milk, and both brands are from Ireland so the likeliness is that cows eat, **** and drink in the same fields!

Like I said, I use both, and in my opinion, Avonmore tastes better, AND lasts longer. Whether that means it's fresher than Clonbawn, or goes through a different pasteurisation process, I don't know. All I know is that I prefer Avonmore.

desertcircus

plys wrote: »

Like I said, I use both, and in my opinion, Avonmore tastes better, AND lasts longer. Whether that means it's fresher than Clonbawn, or goes through a different pasteurisation process, I don't know. All I know is that I prefer Avonmore.

Have you double-blind tested your preference? It's quite likely that the difference is a result of perceived quality. And I'd be utterly astounded if one brand of pasteurised milk went bad quicker than another.

professore

planetX wrote: »

I do, mainly because I have the idea in my head that the local farmers get a decent price from them. If I'm really broke I'll buy the cheapest, but I still check that it's not imported from the north.

Aldi and to a lesser extent Lidl do as much for local producers as Dunnes and Tesco (which is English anyway). There are loads of excellent Love Irish products in Aldi.

Dunnes is SuperValu prices for Aldi ambience and yellowpack quality. That's why their "special offers" now say "cheaper than centra and SuperValu". What does that tell you? Half their fruit and veg is rotten when you bring it home. Since Ben Dunne left the management have lost the plot. Either go for price or upmarket, Dunnes pretend to be both but are in fact neither.

summerskin

We're a family of 4 and shop at Aldi and Tesco. We spend €170 per week on average.

samina

I cut mine down to around 180 for my big shop by shopping around. I spend around 30 in the butchers, around 30 on fruit and veg in aldi and the rest between tesco and dunnes. Tesco own brand juices, cleaning products etc are great prices and it's usually cheaper than dunnes so I would spend more in tesco than dunnes
.
Also shopping between both dunnes and tesco I'll usually get special offers on branded things that the kids prefer like cereal and yoghurts regularly enough that I don't need to buy aldi ones.

plys

desertcircus wrote: »

Have you double-blind tested your preference? It's quite likely that the difference is a result of perceived quality. And I'd be utterly astounded if one brand of pasteurised milk went bad quicker than another.

Don't want to derail the thread, but the likelihood is that you're right! That said, as a household, we don't drink a lot of milk - 2 litres tends to last us 5 or 6 days. So it's not going to cost me an awful lot more per week to choose Avonmore over own brand (be it Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Dunnes, M&S etc.).

OP, €132 for yourself and your dog is ridiculous. 2 of us shop for €50-€60 per week, and that's buying decent meat, fruit and veg. Do you buy a lot of convenience food?

Just shop for myself, My shopping bill is around 50 euro for 5 days (i.e. if I head home at the weekend) and maybe around 60 to 70 then if I'm around for the weekend, thats not including any drink I might buy as I look on that as drink money rather than shopping money. I do 90% of my shopping in supervalue and a little bit in the english market.

I strolled around lidl once or twice and on some random items it didn't appear much if any cheaper. I like supervalue personally, they have good quality stuff especially there meat which is far superior to other supermarkets and just as good as a lot of butchers.

SEPT 23 1989

Is the dog a heavy smoker and an alcoholic?

Abi

xzanti wrote: »

Aldi is your Friend...

Do you find them cheaper than Lidl xzanti?

toexpress wrote: »

Yeah the problem with that is that I want Cif and Flash for cleaning the bathroom. I want Gold Blend Coffee and Avonmore milk. There are some things on my shopping list that I just don't want to substitute own brand stuff for to be honest and the idea of doing a round of shops and supermarkets breaks my heart .... but it may come to that yet

I'm not being smart here, but if you go after name brands like that then you don't really have an argument regarding your bill.

xzanti wrote: »

And I find the system of re-filling the trolly and packing at the bench so much less stressful than in other shops... You can go at your own pace and you're not racing to get the stuff in the bags as they're piling up in front of you..

Do it no matter what supermarket you're in, I do.

mariaalice

In the nicest possible way but are you insane 8.50 for a jar of coffee:eek:

My husband work's away during the week and my children are grown up and mostly gone, so I am on my own most of the time except for the weekends.
I am off a lot during the day (shift work ) so I buy all the reduced stuff from tesco I haven't paid full price for meat or bread for months, when I am in work they feed me, however this week I am off work and I have spent about 28 euro on food and some cleaning products, there is lots of food in the fridge. I just cant imagine how a single person could sped 132 on food and cleaning products in one week.

SeaFields

We shop in aldi. Our bill for two is €90 per week and that includes a couple of bottles of their gorgeous wine.

The big retailers have do their upmost to undermine aldi/lidl. Often outside my local tesco and dunnes they used to have a trolley comparison with aldi/lidl brands in one and the very low quality own brand tesco/dunnes stuff in the other trolley. A lot of people seem to have taken that on board and believe their stuff to be poor quality.

And of course there are still those people living in celtic tiger mode and believe that they should shop no where but Marks and Spensers for fear the neighbours would know.

SEPT 23 1989

mariaalice wrote: »

I just cant imagine how a single person could sped 132 on food and cleaning products in one week.

There seems to be a dog with some expensive habits involved in this carry on

Mr Benevolent

toexpress wrote: »

Shopping bill that is.

I was thinking about this, the cost of running your house because I was away a lot over the last couple of weeks so there wasn't much in the line of food in my house. I did a shop on Monday, now there is just me and the dog that's it. €132!! Madness I still am not entirely sure how the bill hit that level. Then you consider paying the phone bills and the electricity. I recently got rid of sky on the basis that I simply can't justify handing out €33 a month for TV.

So with the rising costs of food and fuel yet no real prospect of an increase in income for most people how do you cut back without living like a miser?

I spent €64 yesterday for two people for a week in Aldi, and that included various fripperies (bottle of rum, a knife sharpener, a DVD, posh drinking chocolate etc). €132 is an utter pisstake.

Either go for price or upmarket, Dunnes pretend to be both but are in fact neither.

Damn right. Dunnes is shite.