The title of this post says it all. When you can't get out to shop as you normally would - using Lidl or Aldi for the bulk of your shop, and in my case, the big greengrocers at Abergwili for fruit and veg, the shopping bill soon begins to go up. Add to that the fact that supermarket online shopping doesn't seem to give you the same offers you would get if you went in person to the shop, there aren't many savings to be made.
Patio rose Peachy.
Some items just aren't available at supermarkets either - particularly flour - and so I have just had to buy culinary flour from Shipton Mill at £1.30 per Kg bag. It is organic, which I would prefer anyway, but if I was economising on a weekly shop, I would buy a cheaper bag to tide me over, and not 5 x 1 Kg bags because I don't know when I might next be able to buy it! I have bought my bread flour in 10 Kg bags from Wessex Mill, but still can't get our favourite Oats and Bran flour from them at the minute.
Teasing Georgia
Yesterday I had to make an order online for various woodworking stuff for Keith, and paid well over the odds for what he needed, as although there was "free delivery" it wasn't really, as delivery was definitely included on the price of what we were buying, so instead of one delivery cost, we ended up paying 5 lots of delivery charges! In normal times we would go into town for it . . . I tried a click and collect order from Screwfix, but they didn't have half of what we wanted . . .
Clematis (originally £1.49 or similar price from Morrisons) now climbing the apple tree in the front garden. Well worth the money!
One delivery I AM looking forward to is some material from Doughtys at Hereford - more fabric for quilt making. I had to order the backing sheet for the quilt for charity, and needed a hot pink for the borders (hoping it will be near enough the pink used on the blocks). Also a little treat for me in the form of a pot luck pack of fat quarters of floral print fabrics. I don't know how long I will have to wait for it though, as their website says they are snowed under with orders and Royal Mail deliveries have up to 14 day delays! Hopefully the latter is resolved now!
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First bloom on the Paul's Himalayan Musk. |
Anyway, until I get more fabric, the quilt for charity will be on hold, and I was hand-quilting the first of the 4 strips for the final border on the Baltimore quilt. Photo will be added later, when I have wiped off the blue fabric marker pattern. At this rate I shall be starting my William Morris heirloom quilt ahead of schedule!
Funnily enough, we are finding the opposite. Husband shops in person at a large Tesco, and a few building suppliers are open, so we've not had any problems. We are spending less than usual - but we've not been going anywhere!
ReplyDeleteI have to shield, and my husband very much the wrong side of 70, so we cannot go to the shops, unfortunately. We are saving on diesel at least, and what we might be investing on stock for Fairs.
DeleteHi BB, it can be a pain not being able to get to your regular shops; I do most of my shopping at Lidl. I don't go into town right now, only to the wholesalers once a month which we are lucky enough to have an account with due to the Airbnb listings. Jon goes to Morrisons once a week when he has to go to the bank so we do spend a bit more on our shopping there. Also we have used the local butcher and fruit and veg cabin for fresh things. However, we are saving money, it has to be said because we don't go into town each weekend so less petrol, don't have lunch out, go for coffee or make unnecessary pop ins at Home Bargains. Things we are saving money on are lunches and bus money for the boys which we plan on putting money aside for when we have an idea of when their schools will re-open. I think a lot of people will look at the way they spend after all of this, finding economical ways to make the best of the pound in their pockets.xx
ReplyDeleteOur local butcher sells wonderful meat but it's for special occasions only for us. When we did go out, we only had a lunch out if we went to Wotton to auction or Hay for a day out, and then it wasn't a pub lunch, but a good cafe meal instead. Not being able to car boot sales has made my outgoings higher too as I can't buy plants or gardening things or wine making equipment etc as I would have done in the past (had to pay full price and postage instead). We have no income from my business either, and probably won't have until next year or whenever it is completely safe to be in a large group setting. I am sure people will be looking at keeping expenses down in the future.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult when you can't shop in person. Himself will always choose to get everything from one place, whatever. My choice is to research first then go to several shops. I have just but the bullet, and shopped at one at a time..but not always the same one!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it ironic that the shortage of flour was really caused by lack of packaging...because it is made and printed in China....
Very ironic about the shortage of flour being caused by China! I think we need to rely on our own resources and companies even if we can't compete on price. Such a relief to be properly stocked up again.
DeleteIf and when infection levels have dropped to a real low, Tam will be able to go to Lidl or Aldi for the bulk of the shop each week.
Less spending here thank goodness - glad I'm OK to go out. Fruit and veg prices are up but I'm saving £s on diesel. The big boot sale has been cancelled for the whole year and I expect the small one will be too
ReplyDeleteWell, we have saved on diesel for the car and expenditure for Fairs and buying stock . . . We really miss the boot sales and will never take them for granted again!
DeleteMy very first garden had a beautiful Ena Harkness - how I loved her. Sadly she went out of popularity because she was top heavy - her blooms were too heavy to hold up their heads. But I expect there are still plenty of Enas around in gardens around the country.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that was why she went out of favour. Mum loved hers.
DeleteWe too have found our shopping bill has increased as my hubby is high risk due to the medication he is on so we are shielding. The local shop delivers but is very expensive and as you say there are no deals to be had on our Tesco delivery. Thankfully we are saving on diesal and eating out.
ReplyDeleteSympathies with your husband needing to shield. Mine does on age (though he has good health apart from slowing down a bit) but I am obliged to stick to the 12 week shielding - and this will go on for me until there is a reliable vaccine. Life will never be quite the same again.
DeleteI am probably spending less on the weekly shop as Tesco will only let you order so many items also saving money on petrol from hardly using the car although I did go a run in the countryside this afternoon. I do miss doing my own shopping but at the moment not prepared to take any risks. But I am spending more on ordering stuff online and postage and packing charges can be high. Your roses are so beautiful and the photos lovely so thank you for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteOh, a run in the car would be lovely. We will here on Friday what changes will take place in Wales.
DeleteToo much alcohol being bought by myself
ReplyDeleteWe made the mistake of buying a wine box one week and it disappeared in no time!
DeleteYour roses and clematis are so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGroceries here are very high, prices up, quality down. I was so happy to have gotten a small roast beef last week but it is so tough I have to mince it up and made salad. Wish I made hash instead, as it is too cold here for salad meals. My friend who shops for me even apologized about the costs and she mentioned she tried to be cost effective, but not much she can do. I am so fortunate to have her help. I fill in with online orders from Amazon and Target, but they are so slow! And a few fabric treats/ mistakes , again so slow I forget what I ordered.
lizzy
Thank you Lizzie. I have to say, I prefer to pick my groceries myself, especially fruit and veg and meat. Sorry about your leathery roast beef. I "treated" myself to a pack of stewing beef to make a beef curry and most of that was ancient dairy cow - tough as old boots!
DeleteThe shopping costs will stay high whilst things are like this I think.
It is a balance isn't it? I have noticed that my food shopping is costing a lot more each week but then I am not going anywhere else so our fuel bills are much reduced and there is none of the costs of all the classes and clubs that I take my children to every week. I wouldn't be surprised if overall we are spending a lot less money.
ReplyDeleteWell, we have a good store-cupboard, so I can do more veggie and bean-based meals.
DeleteYou will certainly be saving lots on your childrens' classes and clubs. I expect they miss them though.
We are fortunate that we can continue shopping at the Beachy Amish surplus store just down the road, as well as a produce market and whole foods shop a few miles away. I have bought flour in bulk for many years. I do wonder if I should buy some ahead. We were in town on an errand last week and on an impulse I went into the local Kroger. Loading my purchases into the car I remarked to J. that if that was our only shopping resource our menu would become very restricted. Pricey!
ReplyDeleteLovely roses! Flower photos always inspire and soothe.
You have the ideal shopping places on your doorstep. I caved in and bought my fruit and veg from Abergwili again, on the day they restocked, and SUCH lovely fresh produce. Prices higher but better quality (and more local) than supermarket stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo many things have been in short supply this year (anything to do with gardening for starters!) and I am glad I saw how it might be and laid in stocks of yeast and a good supply of flour which has lasted us until recently. Two giant bags of sugar too for jam and wine-making.