Time to catch up on a couple of shopping trips done on Tuesday, which actually feels like a lifetime away already. Alan had to ask me what day it was yesterday on our way to visit Mum, and I'll be honest it took me a minute!!
Anyway on Tuesday we went to Aldi as Alan needed quite a few bits of shopping and I thought with such an empty fridge it would be a good idea to get a few bits myself. But looking at the photo there's not a lot for the fridge there is there?
I did get another pack of the salmon fillets, as I was tempted by all the other options you gave me on the last salmon post.
We nearly always shop individually in Aldi as Alan likes to take time to browse the meat aisles and I like to look at other less gory areas in more detail, and of course it means that we can both buy two boxes of paracetamol for my little stash.
Over the course of a shopping trip we bump into each other many times, he is a very random shopper whereas I mostly go up and down the aisles. He caught me photographing my trolley contents and grinned, but he's used to being married to a blogger ... well he should be after over eighteen years of me blogging. 😄
When I got home I laid out the shopping for another photo before putting it away ... and he came in and caught me again!
Not in the trolley at the time of the photo were these purchases, which I picked up right near the till. The flatbreads are to use as little pizza bases, they are just the right size for an individual pizza for me.
I don't tend to drink 'squashes' or any sort of flavoured water, so two of these last me almost a year. I am just coming to the end of my last one at home. I use them on a Saturday morning when I have to drink two full glasses of water with my osteoporosis tablet before consuming anything else. Adding just a touch of flavour makes it much more bearable over the course of half an hour, but I still clock watch for when I can get to a nice cup of coffee.
The shopping in Aldi came to a grand total of £27.58.
Then we went over to Booths where I spent £15.15.
The quickest food review in the world - those Garlic and Herb Bites are NOT nice!! I ate two and Alan finished off the rest ... he's like a human dustbin. 😆
Alan wanted some specific things that he couldn't get from Aldi so we shared a trolley this time and I picked up a few bits that were on offer too. We temporarily abandoned our trolley at the foot of the stairs, and went and treated ourselves to a coffee.
The cost of a simple black Americano in Booths had gone up to £3.35, a rise of 15p overnight... I was shocked, and nearly all the other items on menu have gone up by a similar amount. If it was up to just me I wouldn't go out for coffees, or meals anywhere near as often as we do. But Alan likes it and as he also pays and asks me to join him I will keep him company, but always at the back of my mind are price comparisons.
For instance you can get 200g of instant coffee in Aldi for £2.09 ... I knew, I had just seen it.
Sue xx
Eating out is so expensive these days, but if it's a treat, why not? Everything is going up . . .
ReplyDeleteI just read your tribute to Suky. All dogs are special, but some are a little more special than others.
It is expensive, but yes I agree worth it if it's a treat, and I do love to go out every once in a while. But just recently Alan is wanting to go out more and more, and I do find it a struggle to find something to eat that's a bit different from fish and chips or a toasted teacake when we are out. I don't eat any meat, I have to eat dairy-free and the vast majority of vegan foods contain either mushrooms or avocado ... which I'm allergic to. It's so easy for me to make a nice tasty and totally suitable meal at home.
DeleteYes, Suky was a very special dog. She was with me from being eight weeks old until her very sudden collapse and death. She was my little soul mate, with even her name meaning exactly the same as mine although it was chosen for a very different reason. I still miss her lovely ways.
I am very wary of the nibbles on offer in supermarkets, and don't "do" Quorn. To flavour your water, try a couple of slices of Cucumber. It's what I have in my water and makes it more palatable. Tam had a couple of the Linda McCartney sausages I got recently and wasn't impressed. I shall have the last two with onions I think. At least I know the local bakery pasties are tasty. That's my quick tea for tonight, so not much washing up.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had any where near as many Quorn products recently. I do still like the ham slices, which I also cook and use in place of bacon, but everything else tastes so artificial to me now. I think I have learned my lesson.
DeleteI have tried cucumber in my water but the taste is too subtle to mask the metallic aftertaste of my tablets. I also can't use the lemon slice in water that I usually have every morning as it's too acidic, so squash it has to be. Believe me after four years I have tried everything that's allowable.
The only Linda Mc sausages that I eat now are the Lincolnshire ones, the others seem to have either weird taste or texture to me. Of course it helps that I also only have ketchup on sausage butties and burgers on buns, so maybe that masks the taste a bit, but gives me the hit of 'old favourites' that I am after.
The prices are unbelievable and still rising. Through it all I am still buying organic where I can but often items disappear off the shelves and I am left not knowing if it is temporary or permanent. I am missing going to Booths since we are not going up and down the M6 past Penrith. Sorry to hear about your mum - I think I read she is in hospital...I am trying to catch up with the blogs I read one by one.
ReplyDeleteI was really shocked at how many things had literally gone up overnight in Booths, both in the café and in the shop. I hope everything is okay with you ad you are coping with everything with your Mum. Yes, my Mum was in hospital, but she is out now. Discharged early due to her reckless behaviour and needing one to one supervision, which obviously they could not keep up with.
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DeleteSounds like my mum! When she was in hospital with a fractured hip they had her discharged into a care home within a few days as she was so restless and buzzing the nurses all the time to rearrange her pillows. She wasn't any better in the care home and at her assessment with the social worker and care home staff, to decide whether or not she could go back to her flat, I think they made out she could do more than she was able to be rid of her as she was time consuming especially at night when there was only 2 staff on - one upstairs and one downstairs for over 40 residents but none of them very able or mobile. Because the social worker thought she could do more she advised going home with carers going in 4 times a day...which is an extortionate cost and much more than staying in a care home (in fact over the 3 years mum's savings are now almost gone). It will be interesting to see now that we are having to apply for council funding for her care if the social worker will still advise carers going in or this time suggest a care home as it will be so much cheaper for them. I found the social workers assessments a bit of a joke to be honest and more about protecting council funds. I do feel for both you and your mum - there are just not enough resources now for the elderly with the amount of problems they have with mobility and mental health. Thinking of you. x
DeleteCoffee is going to keep rising. The crop wasn't great. Then factor in transportation costs and any tariffs they might incur. I just keep buying it when I find a sale.
ReplyDeleteAh, that explains a lot, thank you. Time for me to stock up on my usual Nescafe then before it too shoots up in price.
DeleteI am lactose intolerant also and milk is hidden in so many things.I always have a botttle of lactaid pills in my purse.I find the cheapest place to buy them is Costco.Can you buy them in the U.K.?There is also a lot of lactose free products to buy here in Canada thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteYes, you can buy lactaid pills here in the UK but they are expensive. Happily I make very few mistakes these days, as I do read labels very carefully. I also mostly avoid the 'may contain' items whenever possible to limit my exposure to any contaminants.
DeleteIt is a bit of a concern when a long term used product suddenly contains added whey powder or the like to bring costs down. But I have learned never to take anything for granted now and still check labels. If I do make a mistake that I pick up on at home, Alan gets a freebie, which he is usually very grateful to receive. :-)
We went shopping last Sunday and I was appalled at the cost when it went through the till. The best and freshest food we bought was a punnet of raspberries-they were succulent and sweet with Greek yoghurt. Thanks for the heads up about the Quorn bites-ai sometimes buy Quorn products if Norrie is having meat. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI only bought the bites as they and a lot of the other Quorn products were on a good offer, lesson learnt!!
DeleteI loved seeing Ginger's shopping - tasty treats for a lovely boy.
ReplyDeleteWendy (Wales)
I don't know exactly what they put in these squeezable treats but he is absolutely addicted to them. He comes over to mine first thing every morning for his 'fix'. He won't lick them out of the tube though, they have to be squeezed into his little white dish. Yes, I am merely the servant to my cat!! ;-)
DeleteThings just seem to keep right on rising. A few cents here and a few cents there really add up.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It was just a few cents/pence each time until this week, then all of a sudden it was an average of 10p or 15p, I was shocked. I really feel for anyone who is raising a young family and on a very tight budget, it must be so scary for them.
DeleteGrocery prices are getting higher and higher over here although we are told they have come down! I mostly buy things that are on sale (or, on offer as you might say), with coupons, etc. to try and keep my costs low. I don't drink coffee, but, I buy it for my daughter. I stocked up when it went on sale, last time.
ReplyDeleteThey really are. I need to stock up on some things like coffee while I have my Sainsbury's voucher, and have a little stash in the cupboard for Winter.
DeleteThe same thing is happening here in Greece,
ReplyDeletewe have constant increases in products and a small increase in wages,
so our purchasing power is becoming the same!
Europe must take measures for this, the rich are getting richer,
the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is disappearing!!
Exactly, we are all becoming countries divided by wealth. The rich are most definitely getting richer and just for their own gain, while the poor are steadily growing in number, and having to make sacrifices.
DeleteI know what you mean about "going out for coffee", and it is also something I would never do on my own.
ReplyDeleteEarlier this week I took an elderly friend to a couple of supermarkets and to say thank you she insisted that we stopped for coffee. I had to say yes, but hated what she spent on two lattes. I could have bought enough coffee beans to last me nearly three weeks at home . . .
I think our brains are now programmed to do a conversion on what we 'could' have had, when we splash out on a coffee or a meal aren't they. She most likely loved the companionship and the thought of 'paying her share', so you did a good deed drinking that coffee. :-)
DeleteSue, I was always curious of whether you and Alan were dating or married, but you mentioned married in this post. But you live separately? I've heard of this before, but it always piques my curiosity. Have you elaborated on this in the past or would you rather not? Either way, I always find things like this fascinating and like to learn more.
ReplyDeleteYes, we have been together for twenty one years, and married for almost eighteen years now. It's no secret that I live in the annexe of Alan's house. It suits us both, and we have the best of all worlds living this way.
DeleteAlan worked away from home for four days a week from the very start of our relationship until very recently, so we have always been used to time apart, indeed we both thrive on it. We are both very independent, we like different foods, different tv programmes, different styles of home and both like doing different things. When we get together every day we have lots of talk about, we will never be the sort of couple that criticises the others bad habits ... well rarely!! Or that sits in silence when we are out and about. It works and we love it, and that is the main thing.
Prices aren't going up by just pennies anymore...at least not in the US. I do look on UK websites like Waitrose and the Coop, just for comparison to my local supermarkets. Much less expensive in UK...but I know it is all relative to wages, etc.. I do feel for young families. Just for two of us, the cost of the weekly shop is now about 1/3 more than the beginning of the year. And it isn't just the prices going up...it is also that the contents of many products are being reduced, but stealthily because they don't change the size of the containers/boxes. Unless you read the measurements (i.e. grams, oz.) carefully and know what you were getting previously, you may not realize that you are paying more for less. Sometimes a lot more for a lot less. Today in the supermarket, I saw that a bar of dark chocolate (8 pieces--similar to a Lindt brand) that just a month ago sold for around £2.5--it was "on sale" for more than £5. The so-called regular price was even higher. Needless to say, no chocolate in my future. Because of the orange idiot and all the tariff increases, fresh fruit and vegs are almost out of reach, too, even non-organic, as many items come from places like Mexico and Canada. Coffee from Brazil (the major producer of coffee sold in US) now has a 50% tariff.
ReplyDeleteI'm heading over the Pond solo next week and will be staying in a flat in Scotland for five weeks. Already have my MS and Waitrose card from past visits, but will download the Coop and Tesco apps/discount cards when I get in country as those will be the stores closer to my place. Have already started my grocery list!
What with rising prices and the sneaky shrink-flation we have to have our wits about us whenever we go shopping haven't we. 🤔
DeleteI hope you have a great time in Scotland, and having as many cards for the shops as possible is a brilliant idea. 😀
I'm glad to see that it's not only in the US that prices are going up, even though it is so inconvenient and frustrating to see every time I have to go to the store. I absolutely hate shopping, so I feel like I load up on groceries and try to make it a few weeks without needing to go back. This is so fun to see what people outside of the US eat and really makes me realize that we could do with a lot less and portion things better. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhen my Mum and Dad visited the US a couple of times, we have relatives in Chicago, they were shocked at the large portions. They ended up getting one meal between them, and still had enough leftovers for a doggy bag sometimes. Somehow our relatives always cleared their plates though. I guess it's what you're used to eating that you can manage.
DeleteI am conscious of the costs of take-out coffees as we have a Costa and a Greggs near where we live, and I sometimes get an offer on Costa coffee through my mobile phone deal. Currently a large white is £2.30 at Greggs, and £3.65 at Costa.
ReplyDeleteGreg's is good value compared to other chains isn't it, and I think the coffee is good. We stop on the way back from visiting Mum at least twice a week. I make great use of the App. 😀
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