As the title says - has the recent down turn affected whwre you shop for food, clothes etc?

It has for myself, I'd never shopped in Primark before now I love it for certain things (handbags mainly) plus I'm amazed at the bargains that can be found in Poundland type stores, I've even picked up a few items for my wedding from there (don't tell anyone though!!)

Just interested...

Not yet, but picking up all the food items on offer i normally use and anything near its sell by date which is on offer also. Still not making a huge saving though..

I did attempt to in getting some new show shoes. I went to Matalan, Brantano, Asda and nothing fitted right, so ended up in Next and found some in there, well they weren't that great.. Slipped about in the ring and turned my ankle over, had to kick my shoes off in the ring but by this time i hurt and i had pulled my boy down on his shoulder too.. Sobs...

No, not really changed where I shop but I do find myself waiting for sales now before I buy clothes. I've always been one to buy essentials from Primark, Matalan and George @ Asda anyway........................should I be owning up to that!!

The credit crunch hasnt changed where I shop, but having recently had a baby has !!! I always preferred to buy good quality clothes (im very much into surf labels) they last longer so I buy them less often (well thats the theory !!).  But since I had Elsie nothing fits and I refuse to spend a fortune on new clothes when im determined to go back down to my original size so alot of my clothes lately have come from Primark and Asda. 

As for poundland, its great for certain things, at the moment they are doing alot of weightwatchers sauces/crisps/naan bread which is great buy they also sell a load of old cr@p !!!.  Wilkinsons is another good one for cleaning products and toiletries, I got a real bargain on baby wipes in there last week - 6 packs for £3.97, they are usually over £2 a pack (now I feel sad for getting excited about baby wipes !!)

> now I feel sad for getting excited about baby wipes

Bless.... soon you will be talking potty training!!
Something to look forward to ;-)

It's affected more the way I shop.Two for one items I used to buy and keep one as a spare.Now when I buy them,one of my girls will go halves with me,so we get what we want at half the price.I'm also buying own brand cereals,that's a big saving.I don't go clothes shopping very often,but I like George and sometimes Sainsbury's.My two girls are mad on Primark and TKmax.Sarah has 17,yes that's 17 coats from Primark,and none of them cost more than £15.Kate bought all her bikinis for her holiday in Sardinia there,at a fraction of the cost of other places.I know I'm their mum,but they always look stunning,and amazing.The thing that's worried me most is keeping on top of the utility bills.The line rental and standing charges,and the tv licence are outrageous.Still we're a lot better off in this country than many others.Just look at the choice we have in our shopping.

It has very much affected me . I was so embarrassed the other day as i only had £60.00 left ( to feed 5 ) and had to go round Tesco's with a calculator .   

> I was so embarrassed the other day as i only had £60.00 left ( to feed 5 ) and had to go round Tesco's with a calculator

I don't think you should be embarrassed St Domingo, sounds like a very sensible plan whether you're down to your last £60 or not.  Far too often I chuck non-essentials into the shopping basket, maybe if I wrote a list & set a budget I'd save a few pennies too.  At least you didn't just stick it on the plastic as I think some do.

Gotta say & I'm sure I'm not alone, I'll be glad when things start to return to normal again, it's so depressing & we've (as in my & OH) not been hit that hard by it all.

Well, its affected me because I was made redundant in February and the job market in my field is dead. 

It hasn't affected the where I shop.  I've never been a shopaholic per se and I was raised to look for bargains.  However, now when I shop I will not buy some things that I used to buy before without hesitation (like Chanterelle carrots) and I will also buy meat that has been reduced for quick sale, which I never did before.  (I still will not do that with fish though, at it can go "off" much more quickly than meat.)

I'm just glad that I have no major purchases that need doing.  Replaced my old dining room furniture two years ago.  Sofas are only 3 years old.   My double ovens went last year when I replaced them, washing machine and dryer are both relatively new .... keeping my fingers crossed on the hob! 

Carpet needs replacing ... but I can't even bare to think about how much that would cost, so that's a big impact because if I was working it would be gone and replaced.

> It has very much affected me . I was so embarrassed the other day as i only had £60.00 left ( to feed 5 ) and had to go round Tesco's with a calculator

Don't be embarrased, I now tend to mentally price things up as we go round Asda, and I always say, no treats, just the essentials, when we have a tight month and our shop has to come in on budget it really works, we set an amount and don't/can't go over it.

We live all bills and food etc inclusive with our job so havent done a proper food shop for perhaps a year so I was horrified by the price of everything when I went to tesco the other day. Pasta sauce (branded) was like £2+, if i have to go again i will probably go to the 'cheaper' shops, lidl etc.
I feel so privileged to have my job and all the perks that go with it but i still shop in primark and asda for clothes as i was brought up to hunt for a bargain and look then look after what you buy.

dont be embarrassed st.domingo im sure alot of us have been in same boat , i know i have last week (before payday) i had £20 , left to feed 4 over 3 days and i noticed i actully did better than i thought i would i even said to OH i wish i shopped like that when the wage came in maybe we could have something left by the end of the month if i was that carful all the time, so im tryingto be more resorcful this month,#

i now find that once all bills are payedwe dont have hardly anything left anymore where as we used to be able to put a lil bit aside,
no i find we pay the bills and are left living off my carers allowence and child benefit each week ,

i no a friend who lost her job way before xmas ands on JSA she gets £118 every 2 weeks and has to pay rent out at £40 a fortnight , im sad to say she has started shop lifting for food as she has nothing left for food time her bills are done, so it could be worse ,

i think i shop better when iv got less money,

our dogs food was the last to be downgraded from the science plan to a farms own brand but dogs seem to be doing fine on it, just couldnt afford the previous brand anymore i needed 2 bags a month was over £100 for that alone ,now is £60 a month and thats with their meats,

i'd say its the gas and electric bills thats killing our budget most every bill seems to come in at £200 or more even when i think we have been cafeful this quater its still same,

For those who are on a strict budget HOME BARGAINS have amazing prices on lots of food items :D

Sadly most of their stuff is unavailable to my family - wheat allergy and Gluten-free puts it off our list :( :(

Used to shop at ALDI but their prices have gone through the roof and the quality just isn't the same any more - Morrisons is cheaper!

i would have thought that if someone was hard up then buying handbags would be pretty low on the list???
nothing has changed in my shopping habits!! I still only buy 2 or 3 items of clothing a year when I am at the game fairs usually. meat/veg/milk etc all home produced....basics like wash powder and loo roll comes once a month in a tesco direct van!!

> It has very much affected me . I was so embarrassed the other day as i only had £60.00 left ( to feed 5 ) and had to go round Tesco's with a calculator .

Don't be embarrassed, plenty of people use a calculator, even if they don't have to budget thier food bill.
My OH has lost his building business, due to lack of trade (people being carefull with thier savings thanks to the 'credit crunch' :( ), so we are struggling with money. We've got rid of sky HD and now only have the free-to-view channels, we've also got rid of our 'phone line.
Food shopping just has to be very carefully bugedted or we simply wouldn't eat. I am not ashamed atall by adding up my food as I go around the shop, I also spend time checking out the '£ per kg' on all things I am buying, I have found that a lot of the time it is actually dearer to buy the large/mulit packs I know it's only a saving of maybe up to 30p per purchase but that adds up and makes a difference when funds are scarce. I've also switched to own brand/cheapest brand on everything apart from tea-bags. I do miss my Nescafe coffe, but I just can't afford it so make do with the manky teso 70p per jar coffee - well, it's better than nothing, LOL .

It's quite shocking how much money we waste when we are not struggling, we are getting by with very little money, OK, it's a struggle & it's a constant worry, but we're getting by. I cringe when I think of what I used to spend. I would happily shove a few DVD's & CD albums in the trolly without thinking about it before, now I would have to save up for months to afford a DVD and then the money would be better of spent elsewhere!!

i have all the supermarkets close by me inculding Aldi's and lidel i dont find them any cheaper for food not really i used to go their for thing like crisps and biscuties for my son but like you say Dill they prices went up and i now find im better off getting the tecos vaule brand and they taste just as good as the origanal , i find Asdas own vaule brand stuff has no falvour very bland so i prefur tesco blue stripe tho sainsburys stripey brands are good,
Morrisons cant be betten for taste i think but their Egg prices are a joke my branch want nearly £3, for 16 eggs i get same in asdas for £1.50,
i like the markets for my fruit n veg they all doing bowls full of fruit for £1.00 each so spend £8.00 and thats LOADS of fruit n veg for whole week for us

I certainly wouldn't feel emabrassed with a calculator. if I met you I would be thinking what an organised thrifty person. I like shopping via the internet usually sainburys because I know what i am spending and can add and take things out to fit my budget. Infact I find I save money if I shop this way as i am not so tempted with things I see 

> I like shopping via the internet usually sainburys because I know what i am spending and can add and take things out to fit my budget. Infact I find I save money if I shop this way as i am not so tempted with things I see 

Couldn't agree more, I spend much less this way. Not so easy to get codes for free delivery any more, unfortunately. I see Tesco are now offering delivery vouchers as part of their clubcard deals.

M.

as for clothes lol well me iv been fat thin fat thin fat thin for so many years now i gotta say i only have to lose or put on a few pounds to then go out in a whole new waredrobe that has been hidden in their since i last fitted into it lol
i prob buy myself 4 cheap tops and joggers a year as i have so many clothes if i ever get back to my size 12's then im laughing i was into a size 12 for such a short time all of them are almost brand new,
im back up to an 18 now :-( , sob sob so out came the tent tops ,
my youngest son i get all him joggers from socer sport very cheap and nice brand name stuff to,
was a little ticked off when i picked up his uniform from his school yesterday as i was told weeks ago i had to buy it from then only so payed nearly £60 for 1 jumper 1hoodie 1 pe top 2 polo shirts, the polo shirts i could have cryed they charged me £12 each and their not ever a school logo on them like the jumper, so i could have got those from asdas 2 for a fiver, that wound me right up,

Oh,St.Domingo,Why should you feel embarrassed?You wouldn't think a person hadn't much money if you saw them using a calculator,would you?It's just a means of knowing what you're spending that's all.You could be spending a fortune and still use a calculator,no-one in the shop is in the least bit bothered.I always have a count up before going to the checkout,sometimes I have to take something out,sometimes I can put something back in.I love the self check out tills because i can keep track of how the bill is going up,and nobody cares if something gets put aside-everyone does it sometime or other.I never feel embarrassed about it.

> i would have thought that if someone was hard up then buying handbags would be pretty low on the list???

never said i was that hard up, just watching the pennies & a £3 handbag certainly cheers me up!

> £3 handbag certainly cheers me up!

My friend bought a handbag from primark just the other day for £3 too, she was well chuffed, she wants to go back to see if she can hunt out a black one at £3 I don't blame her either!
I got my girls (only because they told me they sell them there otherwise I would of paid more) some pumps for £2 in primark, in new look etc there in between £8-£12 a big bargin. :-D

> some pumps for £2 in primark

I really must venture into town rather than shopping estates we have.. That is a true bargain..

Though what i'd really like them to do is reduce the cost of NHS prescriptions, way too much that they charge per item..

I always say, no treats

I try to make/bake my own treats. Own brand flour is cheap and I have a recipe for a chocolate cake that has no eggs or milk and is the most requested....it is so good it needs no icing.
Making scones,biscuits (cookies to us Yanks) etc is so easy and cheap once you get a few store cupboard items in. And once you feel confident enough with you skills you can adjust recipes to make them even cheaper (like reducing sugar) And you get the added benefit of knowing whats in your food. Same goes for bread....flour,salt, yeast (some bakeries will GIVE you a lump for free if you ask nice) oil and water...that's it apart from a bit of elbow grease...and you can make all manner of flavours.
No fancy machines needed. :-)

I LOVE to bake and if buying ingredients carefully you can have plenty of treats and goodies.
I once made a peach pie with own brand tinned peaches and homemade crust with a tiny drizzle of cream when served and every one loved it.
Check out the search engine for frugal recipes and you'll be amazed at all the goodies you can make on a tight budget.

We moved house last year and are now really struggling with living costs.

We got a log burner for heating, and fortunately a chap my OH works with cut down 2 trees so we're ok for fuel this winter.

I've started doing my own baking - especially handy for school packed lunches and we just got some chickens so now have eggs on tap as it were.  As for general shopping we are a bit restricted where we live, there's only a Tesco but I do buy there value stuff - get the same results on the plate 9 times out of 10.  With clothes etc - I have to confess to being a Charity Shop shopper, although I find their prices have suddenly soared.   So I go to Car Boots and Jumbles.  It's amazing what you can get for 20p!!  My daughter got a Hooch jacket a few months ago for 20p.  And don't get me started on Freecycle - i love it.

We dont buy many treats as i cant bare the prices and id get fat.

I make chocolate cornflake or rice crispy nests (own brand cereal) and the bars of chocolate are 27p from asda. They are sometimes gone within the day as my sister scoffs them all, same with and cakes and crumbles. We grow our own rhubarb and its cheap as chips. Not cooking just regular smart price on the sweety isle. My OH likes his nachos but it was very expensive 3pound i think for even the own brand nacho kit, so we had a look on the crisp isle and for a cheap cheap bag of doritos its 22p, own brand salsa and cheese, makes out at less than a pound really. Im not a fan of cheap chips, and can only really eat the mcain ones. But we rarely eat them anyway. So ive started to make wedges, i chop potatos into wedges boil them for a few seconds, toss with baking butter (much cheaper than regular) goose fat would be much better for any with geese) sprinkle with herbs ans seasoning and bake in the oven. Extra tasty with home made mayo and hopefully not as fatty? but its all insulation for the winter. We go to farmers markets for eggs and the town market for fruit n veg, pay 8 pound for a weeks worth, including tatties and peppers for teas. We dont have a morrisons but were moving soon and we will be closer to one, my favourite place to shop as the cheap stuff is quality. I make my own pies and lasange, quiche and im really getting into cooking now.

Louise

We've definitely changed the way we shop this year. OH is self employed and while he still has some work, it's not as much as last year, so we're having to watch the pennies.

I've always been a big bargain hunter anyway and prefer to shop in chartiy shops / car boots / auctions as then you don't always end up buying the same stuff everyone else has. I also 'womble' loads of things that other people are throwing out, furniture etc. Some of my friends jokingly call me a 'scav' but they stopped laughing when I wombled a £300 solid wood tall bookshelf/dresser for our living room last summer!!! I drove past a house in our village and this lovely dresser was standing on their driveway, along with loads of things that looked like they were going to be tipped, so I stopped my car, got out and said to the people 'I hope you don't think I'm being cheeky, but you're not tipping that dresser are you?' They said yes, we're just working out how to chop it up to put it in our car - do you want it? My friend was mortified I'd asked but she still helped me to drag it home!!! I took the couple a bottle of wine around later, as they wouldn't take any money for the dresser as they saw it as 'rubbish'!!

I always do a 2 week meal planner too, and a shopping list so I don't end up buying things we don't need in the supermarket. I use a local farm shop for eggs as they're cheaper than the 'unhappy chicken' eggs in the supermarket, and my Dad & FIL grow loads of veg, so this time of year we don't really need to buy much veg. By meal planning and being a bit creative, our weekly shopping budget for 2 adults is usually between £20 and £25 per week. If we have a few really cheap weeks we'll put the money we've saved aside to treat ourselves to a takeaway one Friday too.

I think my bargain hunting comes from my parents, they are pretty comfortably off by anyone's standards, but my Mum loves charity shops, bargain hunting etc, and nothing pleases my dad more than getting hold of a useful freebie from someone who's throwing something out!!! :-D

I have always loved rummaging through charity shops for the bargains. I find all the best things and everyone is so jealous :)

> That is a true bargain..
>

I know it is fantastic, my Youngest Raven told me, as that is where all her friends buy them! I was quite shocked, normally with children it's the the dearer the better, but Raven and her friends actively seek out cheaper shops to buy there goods.
I also got the girls "dollie shoes" (well thats what they call them) they are a canvas type shoe but come in various colours again very cheap at £4, again in Primark, I have a few pairs of "dollie Shoes" from there, but I call them slip ons I buy mainly black leather look ones, no heels, they do lots of colours, including animal print one's too. For just under £4. :-D

> Though what i'd really like them to do is reduce the cost of NHS prescriptions, way too much that they charge per item..

Oh that would be great, but alas I can't see that happening no matter how hard we wish! :-(

> I try to make/bake my own treats.

A few weeks ago I did start making my own, we had brownies and lemon meringue pie.
During the summer I especially love making blackberry and apple pies or tarts, my newphew has a lovely apple tree in his garden, and where woodlands back onto his garden I can pick the blackberries all for free! His neighbour has a plum tree and has told him to help himself as he does not eat them, well we all do!

> I have a recipe for a chocolate cake that has no eggs or milk and is the most requested....it is so good it needs no icing.
>

I like the sound of this, did you get the recipe from the search engine too?
Will start searching for some goodies, I wonder if they have the noodle recipe, when I used to work at an American school one of the mum's used to make these fab treats from noodles and peanut butter, they were so delicious. :-D

The problem arises when you have always planned menus/budgetted and shopped carefully you can't pick up much slack!

Having survived the 70s/80s/90s slumps and credit crunches, it is second nature for me to have a menu plan - which might change if I get a "bargain" - but if it helps others out there here are are few tips:-

1.   Batch cook - I used to cook down 5lbmince at one time - divide it into 4 and you have the makings of shepherds pie, spaghetti bolognese, chillie con carne and mince cobbler - will stretch to 4/5 people.   Especially if you dry fry the mince first, then add onions and seasoning - and here's the trick ....add 1 heaped tablespoon of porage oats - this absorbs the fat, bulks it out healthily (oats are good for you!) and thickens the mix.   Add your seasoning and tomatoes/garlic/chillies/carrots/leeks etc - and there you are.    Four meals started for the price of one!   

2.   Plan ahead - if you are having potatoes today and plan on shepherds pie tomorrow - cook all the potatoes at one time, save enough for the mashed topping - another saving.    

3.    If you are cooking a roast - use the rest of the oven for tomorrow's casserole, or a cake, or a pudding.

4.     Roasting a chicken?   Buy a slightly larger one than usual, then use the leftover meat for a pasta chicken & mushroom bake for the next day - cheqp tin of mushroom soup plus some mushrooms plus leftover chicken in a casserole dish with some penne pasta or shell pasta - another meal!

Now we've retired we have got an enormous veg plot and so we are enjoying all our own veggies - from salads to spinach, lettuce to leeks (later) greens, tomatoes, sweetcorn, courgettes, beans - broad, french and runners and peas.   I've made some rhubarb & ginger jam,have frozen down blackcurrants,  have started picking plums - and the apples and pears will be ready later - so at least I can save there - and I always get my eggs from the farm shop - might be a few pence dearer than the supermarket, but there are some things its just not worth sacrifing quality for.

Also - breadmaker - making your own bread is cheaper than shop bought!   Actually handmaking it (not using a breadmaker) is very theraputic!

can't say it has, but what has is the new shopping bit opening behind my work - there's home bargains and wilkinsons, which i love - i'm in home bargains nearly everyday! I find myself scouting what's in, buying it, then knocking it off my weekly food shop list. I don't spend much less, but i do buy more.....!!

To add to Lokis mum's excellent post

Beans!!! :-D and lentils

I buy tins of beans which are very cheap - Borlotti, Pinto, Red Kidney, Haricot, Butter Beans - any of these added to mince and a tin of tomatoes with some herbs and spices will make a really nice meal.  I dare say I could save even more money if I bought the beans and soaked them myself ;)

I usually use 2x beans to mince and a stock cube ;)  Shhhhhhh don't tell OH - he hasn't seemed to notice and he's a real meat man - if he hasn't had a gurt big lump of meat, he hasn't eaten LOL

Lentils don't even need soaking and are a lovely addition to soups and stews to make the meat go further.  they also taste good on their own with spicy veggies and rice :-D

On that I buy a 12 month card and that means no extras to pay I use 5 medications a month or £35.50 X 12 = £426.00 for £105.00 card.  I got my son one for his birthday plus a gift token so all his stuff is now "free" he is asthmatic so it saves him about £14 a month at least.
You can buy 6 months I think so if you can save for one its well worth it.

> add 1 heaped tablespoon of porage oats - this absorbs the fat, bulks it out healthily (oats are good for you!) and thickens the mix.

I will try this, I allways have a good stock of porridge oats!

> Now we've retired we have got an enormous veg plot and so we are enjoying all our own veggies - from salads to spinach, lettuce to leeks (later) greens, tomatoes, sweetcorn, courgettes, beans - broad, french and runners and peas. 

How I would love to grow my own but we dont have the room, and I have to wait for an allotment space.
Our Rottie Bo does produce some wonderfully organic cherry tomatoes, though lol :-D
My sister has chickens so when she comes over she brings eggs over for me, to which I am so grateful.

> Also - breadmaker - making your own bread is cheaper than shop bought!   Actually handmaking it (not using a breadmaker) is very theraputic!

We as children allways used to help our mum make bread, I may well make the effort to do my own, we made some at school with the children and it was gorgeous.

Some really helpful tips thanks! :-D

> I buy tins of beans which are very cheap - Borlotti, Pinto, Red Kidney, Haricot, Butter Beans - any of these added to mince and a tin of tomatoes with some herbs and spices will make a really nice meal. 

Again some good ideas, that i'd love to try

> Lentils don't even need soaking and are a lovely addition to soups and stews to make the meat go further.  they also taste good on their own with spicy veggies and rice :-D

Just wondered if you have ever tried them in risotto, if so what were they like?
Thanks Diane

Thanks Whistler, It may be worth me getting one, though i just never know when i'm going to need meds as the Dr's are still going through trial and error, anyway i'll look into it, is it on the NHS website?

On cooks challenge yesterday they did a puy lentil salsa to go with turbot and it looked really nice. If turbot it expensive you could try another tasty (but cheaper) whitefish...:-)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crazy-Cake/Detail.aspx
if you read some of the reviews you can get ideas on add ins or changes you could make.

On change I ALWAYS do is at the end of the ingredients list is 2 cups of water....I boil some water (maybe 1-2 ounces on the measuring jug) and add in 2-3 teaspoons of instant coffee. It gives the cake a more chocolate kick. You can ice it if you want...My kids like peanut butter icing (one tub of ready made vanilla icing and a few good dessertspoons of peanut butter whipped together ). but the duncan hines or betty crocker ones are fab too.  Still VERY good with out icing as well...

I found an over blouse that was bought for fiftysix pounds and got it for a pound..shhh...and it was brand new with the label :))))

I think if you put in NHS Persription charge  it will come up. Its saved me a fortune.