Shaving money of the grocery shop (but still a soft cat mama)

I've just done a big Tesco shop online (£3 delivery but it cuts out all impulse buys and supermarket rage) and thought I'd done a pretty thrifty shop...until I checked the grand total. It was £70 for two weeks worth of shopping for two people. That seemed like a hell of a lot so I opened the basket and scrolled through, ready to weed out any extravagant purchases. Job done, I checked the total - £68. A further weeding got it down to £66. This still seems like alot to me. I buy mainly from the Everyday Value range, buy with meals in mind and think ahead to how left overs can be used in case there are any, and if there's a saving to be made I buy in bulk. If I see a recipe I want to try I price it up roughly and if it's too much per portion I find a way to make it more cheaply or I don't make it at all. My lunches for work are generally a 26p can of beans, a tuna or ham sandwich or (pushing the boat out here) a 46p can of sardines on toast. I buy the cheapest of everything unless it's false economy.* I try anything once - trying the value washing up liquid turned out to be a 35p gamble that didn't pay off and I'm going back to a more expensive brand, but the 27p toilet cleaner is a top buy, and the 46p bourbon biscuits are splendid. 

This all shaves money off, but the fact remains that the big shop that cost me £40 three years ago now costs close to £70!

With food prices at a high what ways do you find to save money on your grocery shop? I'd love to know and to see what you think.

*Ah - nearly everything. It turns out that my shop was indeed frugal and practical until I got to the cat stuff. A big bag of premuim litter (cuts down on nasty smells), special cat food for two weeks as they get sick eating cheap stuff (fussy little sods) and poop scoop bags for freshening the cat litter between changes = £16. Dammit.


Comments

  1. We buy our cat and dog high-quality food too--I tell myself it's a savings in the long run, as we're avoiding vet bills that way. Still, my husband nearly had a fit when he saw the price on the case of food I bought the other day (which will last 3-4 months, but still).

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  2. That's how I see it too - all they ask of us is a home, cuddles, good quality food and a litter tray and in return they're healthy, happy, friendly little animals.

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