Any useful tips to beat the crunch?

[Meanqueen]

Good to hear of other ways of doing things, Hawthorn. I have never shopped on line, except a couple of eeee bay things, I thought you have to pay postage/delivery charge, or do they deliver it for free? Or is it free if you spend a certain amount?

I can roughly add up things in my head whilst ambling round a supermarket, or, I'll write it down, like I did when I wanted a £60 spend to use a £9 off voucher. I carefully selected the items I knew I needed and had a long date on, or bought reduced stuff.

We are going to have to agree to differ on the online v physical shopping. I can get a free bus to the supermarket so that has cut down my costs, also you can't get the items that are being physically reduced by an assistant when you shop online. Hmmmm, I'm pondering, if I was sat at a computer, it would be too easy to zap stuff, my basket would soon be full. I am very disciplined when walking around with my trolley, and can easily say 'no'. Perhaps some more imput into the online v physical shopping debate might be usefull.

Ilona

[Hawthorn]

You do pay a delivery charge, yes. Usually between £3.50 and £5, depending on the day you get it delivered.
I have thought about the 'whoopsie' thing, actually, recently. It's just we don't have a car, and I can't physically carry all the stuff needed for six people for a week. Bus fares to our supermarket would be about £2.50.
That coupled with the fact that at the moment, I can't do crowds (I get panic attacks) well, it's much better for me.
When I get better, I may well revert to doing the shopping myself, but at the moment it's too much for me.
Whenever I go (which is usually during the day) there are never any decent whoopsies on. Is it better to go near closing time for these?

[Meanqueen]

Thanks for shedding more light on that, Hawthorn, you have to do what's best for you. Some people take their own wheelie shoppers on the bus, I will get one of those if my mobility declines. They are morning buses so you don't get the dead cheap woopsies (As da) then but there still are some if you search. The best time to shop is between 5pm and 9pm, but round here there are no buses then.

Ilona

[kate egg]

The good things about online shopping -

1. you cannot be tempted by sights and smells
2. you always have a record of your regular purchases
3. they deliver sometimes free, almost always cheaper than it would cost you to drive there
4. they carry it to your door, and sometimes into the house
5. it saves the time and hastle of fighting around the shop

the bad things about online shopping -

1. you can miss out on offers, BOGOFs etc
2. sometimes sell-by dates are very close
3. you have to be sure you are in at a certain time
4. sometimes they run out of things and do not send a substitue or the substitue is wacky (I once ordered 3 bottles of a certain red wine, and they substituted the same brand but white when I called the hotline they refunded the money and told me I could keep the wine - so that turned out to be a pro not a con)

I think the pros outweigh the cons

[Hawthorn]

My Asda are good at substitutions. They always sub the same thing, but it's usually a more expensive variation, and they price match I LOVE getting substitutions

[Lilo-Lil]

Resist going food shopping when you are hungry, it`s amazing what I don`t buy when I`ve just eaten.

Buy loose veg, pref from a green grocer or market. This is often the cheapest way apart from growing your own.

We do plant swaps at work. Each of us will buy a different pack of seeds of say, tomatos, and then we swap the spare plants. I did cherry tomatos last year, and swapped the spares for peppers, cucumbers and courgettes.

Try sharing special offers with a friend if you only want one of something. I used to do this with my mum. Split the profit with them too.

[Bok bok bok]

I would say a definate yes to shopping with someone to share the BOGOF offers - it has worked really well for Mum and I in the past.

Also Skill swaping - If you are available to babysit for the family next door - swap an evening for some DIY help or a nice strong man to clean those windows that you can't get to!

x

[Babycakes]

Skill swapping - I like that idea. Must start asking around to see if anyone else is interested....