Prices are rocketing across the board and it is hard to find bargains as families feel the squeeze on already overstretched budgets.
Energy, fuel, taxation and high inflation is biting hard and some A**hole in government said that people should buy ‘own brand’ products in the supermarkets to save money on their ever spiralling upward food bills.
Well Pal, having read an article yesterday (source), I’d like to know how!!
Extract
According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, food inflation soared by 5.9% in March.
New figures also show that the prices of dozens of value range items at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Aldi all went up in recent weeks by up to 30%.
Price rises were recorded for 102 items including tinned vegetables, jam, pasta, coffee, fresh meat and cheese.
I had already noticed that our budget 69p meals from Tesco have gone up to 75p, but it’s not a one off. Fresh fruit and veg prices are also rising every day and in all honesty, I refuse to pay it. Frozen fruit was always a good alternative, but even that has gone up considerably, the last pack of summer fruits I bought being £1.99 from £1.69.
I am glad that most of the products listed are not what we would buy as a rule anyway, but we do have UHT skimmed milk which was 49p not that long ago and went up 1p for a while. It has since seen two hikes to 55p and now currently 59p per litre. A 500g tub of Flora Lighter margarine has also rocketed from £1.19p to £1.45 in Lidl in recent weeks and shop brand alternatives are a lot to be desired in the ‘light’ range.
In summary (full list of items is in the article):
Extract
Asda
Asda increased the prices of 37 out of 158 Smart Price or Farm Stores products between 4 April and 2 May.
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s increased the prices of 20 out of 237 value range products between 4 April and 2 May.
Tesco
Tesco increased the prices of 42 out of 216 value range products between 4 April and 2 May.
Morrisons
Morrisons only increased the price of one product out of the 43 value items between 4 April and 2 May.
Aldi
Aldi only increased the price of two products out of their 90 everyday essentials items between 4 April and 2 May.
I can’t see BoJo or our chancellor with a trolley full of budget food, and have serious doubts as to whether they actually have any idea about rip off Britain and any excuse to put prices up businesses as they have no money worries. I have no issue with people working hard, earning good money, or being well off. But our Chancellor has multiple homes, millions in the bank, and married into a wealthy family, so how can he possibly have the remotest idea of what the lower paid population is facing now?
I cannot understand why the Government don’t step in and STOP these greedy energy and food giants hiking prices out of all proportion. With yet another horrendous rise in energy bills expected in October, the chancellor can shove his £200 ‘loan’ that most of us don’t want but have no choice, and tackle the energy crisis at source.
Already it is a case of heat or eat for too many, but looking at this article, more and more people will be unable to afford either.
pensitivity101 
Honestly, it’s not greedy companies. It’s fallout from not being able to hire enough workers to move things along. They’re trying higher wages and increased interest rates to compensate, which increases prices.
Here or there, it sucks. I don’t know if you’re experiencing this as well, but we in the U.S. also have products become less-available or not-available. The latest is eggs; apparently there’s a sickness in some chickens so they had to be killed. A dozen eggs went up to $5!
We’ve had the avian flu over here which has led to the cull of thousands of turkeys and chickens. Free range eggs are no longer available, and the equivalent are labelled as Barn Eggs as the birds are inside, but not in cages like battery hens.
We pay about £2 for 10.
Ah. Us as well, but the eggs are more expensive.
I think we will see more increases though.
Politicians are completely out of touch. ScoMo (Scott Morrison Aussie PM) said if you can’t afford to rent, you should buy a house. 🙄. His offsides Barnaby Joyce asked why rising petrol prices would affect low income earners. They didnt have cars, did they? Election next weekend 😡
There’s insufficient infrastructure here for electric cars to be practical on long journeys. Imagine queuing on a forecourt for half an hour for just ONE car to charge and then wait the same time for yours to do the same!
Heat pumps are being pushed to replace gas boilers at charges ten times as much to install, not to mention how expensive they are to run AND the noise pollution of them all running at once, especially through the winter months at night. Where do they expect low income earners to find the money?
As for buying a house, OK if you can find one in your budget and now that interest rates have gone up, so will mortgage repayments. Caught all ways.
Here too. It must be tough(er) to feed a large family these days 😢
I’m glad it’s just Hubby, me and the dog, though I can remember feeding a family of four and two dogs on £8 a week in the 80s. I would top up my freezer on pay day, then that £8 covered the week to week shop. I was lucky I worked for a vending machine company and food came back off site which was still good and I could take it home. I’d pack the plates out with chips and have plenty of bread and butter so we didn’t starve.
I don’t know how some people manage, and now some idiot MP is saying the only reason for food banks is because people don’t know how to budget or cook!
Ugh. Finally, here, one of the few members of Congress who is not a millionaire said hey guys prices have gone up so much I couldn’t buy bacon! Maybe they’ll take it seriously now…
bacon? It’s been a while…………………
It’s all going south and it the lower paid who suffer the most. I have noticed the food that is the least good for you is the cheapest, fruit vegetables and fish and meat cost more it’s all wrong.
Never mind the fat cats of Westminster don’t care!🥺
Exactly. I cannot believe the price of fruit, even in Aldi or Lidl it’s horrendous and the quality lacking! I’d rather pay a few pence extra and get some that will last more than 48 hours.
Yes me too 💜
Sadly the phenomenon you’re seeing is global. Over here? Shocking. My favorite grocery store “Smiths” mostly only stocks their own brand now and the quality (IMO) is substandard. I’ll pay a few cents more for name brand, if they have it. Looks like I’m going to become a shopper at “Mecca” (Evil Squirrel’s name for Wal*Mart). I dislike their policies and how they misuse their staff by underpaying and other crap, but at least they’ve got the variety and it is overall cheaper than my old standby. The world is crashing down, but as long as the 1% have theirs, they don’t have any f*cks to give.
I’d rather pay a little extra for quality produce I can use rather than cheaper stuff I have to throw away. Rising fuel costs knock up delivery charges and some businesses are cutting staff so there aren’t that many people to do the work in the first place! It’s a vicious circle. And your last sentence is spot on.
Yep where I am we haven’t seen high prices since 1981. We have gone up a total of 9.5%. Within the last 2 months 2.2% increase. Up a total of 8.4% since last year. They also did a study just within my area. We In Pennsylvania land on the 21st highest increase within the 50 states. That’s food and energy cost. I actually anymore hate going to the grocery store. I hate even bringing home a “paycheck” at this point lol it’s not even that. I spend nearly more then half just on food. We are a family of 4. 2 children 5 and under and 2 adults. I used to have stock piles on piles of extras that don’t even exist in my home anymore sadly. I get just enough for the week nothing more nothing less it’s ashame.
I can understand having brought up a family of 4 in the 1980s on a low income.
Energy prices have rocketed by 54% in April with another hike due in October, Luckily we are on a fixed tariff at the moment but will be paying more than double what we are now when that expires in October 2023. Food I can tweak here and there, and currently our food bill is around £35 pw. Five years ago it was only £25. My food bill for 2021 was just under £1800 for the two of us. Now we have a dog again, her budget is £50 a month as a sack of food is £35.
The prices are going up for the producers as well. They’re trying to stay ahead of future price increases to them so they can continue producing at their current levels. Freezing prices increases the chance that you won’t get what you need, because they can’t afford to produce as much. I know, economics is a pain in the backside….
Yep. I tend to budget on the number of meals I can get out of a pack of minced beef or chicken breasts, the adjust the rest accordingly. It all has a knock on effect doesn’t it.
So we’re all dealing with food shortages, energy shortages, and premium prices on both. Who’s to say there’s something behind all this?
IMO It’s pure greed John. People expect price increases every year, but not 54% to be followed by something similar six months later as it is with energy suppliers. I count my blessings, but how can the lower paid cope with this kind of hike on every day necessity?
I think it’s a very small bunch of hyper-wealthy individuals who want to keep us poor (or make us poor).
I agree with you there John.
Thankfully my garden is starting to produce. Are you able to offset any part of your food bill from your garden yet? Do they have surplus grocery stores in England? The pop-up food pantries where you buy a share for a modest amount of money have really helped our household. One site I volunteer at allows the volunteers to glean on what is left over first before the rest goes to local food pantries. (I buy a share for our family at each site I work.) I’ve brought a lot of food home to my neighbors and people on Social Security that I know. A lot of people that we serve are middle- and working-class people who just aren’t able to make ends meet. Many of the people volunteering also fall into this category. You really have to scrabble during times like these.
We’ve just started our veg off, so will feel the benefits later. I can freeze tomatoes again, and our onions keep for months.
Its madness! I cannot believe how much food prices have increased lately! Its the same over here in Ireland! Just. unbelievable!
It is the same here. Gah! The price of milk is soaring. Meats are outrageous – the price of hamburger (mince) is currently at $5.99 per pound and that’s for the cheap stuff!
I bought a kilo of 5% minced beef for £4.09 and got five portions out of it. Chicken prices are soaring at the moment.