Beat the credit crunch by Nettoing a bargain
With the price of food on the up is it time to ditch any snobbery about 'no frills' supermarkets? Consumer Editor CATHERINE HENDRICK heads to Netto to see whether it's possible to save money on your food bill without compromising quality.
LIKE everyone else, I've noticed my food bill has shot up over the past year.
As a couple we spend around £85 every fortnight on a major shop at one of the mainstream supermarkets. And that amount seems to be creeping up every time we reach the tills. The last time I visited a no frills supermarket like Netto was as a student when I lived on a diet of 8p a tin beans! Then there was little choice and you were forced to buy own brand or obscure Scandanavian brand products.
So I was surprised when I visited discount Netto store in Sheldon to find big names like Branston and Kellogg's alongside cheaper versions by lesser known names. Granted, the choice was more limited than your local Asda or Sainsburys'.
You won't find ten different kinds of curry sauces to choose from.
But with with a bit of canny shopping you can find plenty of bargains, without compromising completely on quality.
For instance, I managed to pick up a packet of 'posh' Jordan's Museli for £1.99. The same product cost £2.98 at Asda.
One of my best buys was two giant packs of Kellogg's Cornflakes (750g) which were on a buy one get one free offer for £2.19, enough to keep me in breakfasts for weeks!
I also found packs of three peppers for 99p, which normally cost me £1.49.
If you're prepared to ditch the labels you can find even bigger bargains. I bought a tin of Farmers Fayre new potatoes for just 25p and Farmers Fayre sweetcorn for just 20p.
The tip is to head for the bargains section in the store where you'll find that week's special offers. It can be a bit pot luck - I found everything from coffee to children's paddling pools on sale!
But I managed to pick up a couple of real bargains, including a catering size bottle of Fillipo Berrio olive oil (two litres) for £7.99 which should last me until Christmas.
That's the beauty of it. While you might not have the same choice as the 'posher' supermarkets it's great for stocking up on special offers such as the cereals.
Instead of the usual £85 I spent a wallet-satisfying £56 on a trolley which included some extra treats including a decent bottle of wine (Wolf Blass) for £3.99.
If you're a die-hard bargain hunter who's happy to ditch the brand names and be flexible about what you buy you'd save even more.
I don't think I could completely rely on budget supermarkets for a ll my shopping (I thought you could tell a difference in quality in the joint of beef I bought which seemed quite fatty). And I like the wider choice you get at some of the bigger supermarkets.
Share
