I’m trying new tactics with the grocery shopping at the moment, I’m always trying new tactics, the grocery bills frustrate me.
I usually buy the shopping from different supermarkets, buying all the offers, and then visit the farmers market once a week for fruit and vegetables I need. Due to time constraints this week and wanting to try something different I’ve just been to one supermarket, Aldi. I spent £42.98. Not a full weeks shop, as I still need salad and vegetables, however enough to last a few days with food from the freezer and store cupboards.
When I got home I went onto My Supermarket and entered all the items that I bought to compare the prices with Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Ocado. I tried to do like for like with everything. The results are very interesting.
Price comparison for a like for like shop:
£42.98 – Aldi
£52.30 – Tesco
£58.58 – Sainsbury
£59.16 – Asda
£73.57 – Ocado
I was very surprised that Asda came out more expensive than Sainsbury, I was also surprised that there is a £9.32 difference between Tesco and Aldi. Obviously these amounts all vary from household to household depending on what you buy and your preferences, but there is a huge amount of difference between them all.
Annual savings:
Aldi v Ocado = £1,590.68
Aldi v Tesco = £484.64
Tesco v Ocado =£1,106.04
I would recommend keeping a price book, as Aldi is not always the cheapest for every item. Take today, 4 pints of milk is £1.40 at Aldi and I bought 3 so the cost for 12 pints was £4.20. Tesco currently has milk on offer so 12 pints will cost you £3.00 there. I should of checked first!
I think one of the reasons you can save money at Aldi is there are less temptations. Walk into any of the large supermarkets now and there are clothes, books, magazines etc, all there looking lovely before you even get to the food. You name it you can buy it. With Aldi there is definitely less temptation.
I’ll let you all know if I can keep the bill under £50 this week.
Further Reading:
Organising: My menu planner
Living Frugally – Saving money on grocery
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Doesn’t surprise me. It’s incredible what savings can be made by shopping more carefully. I shop at Tesco’s and while not the cheapest my shopping habits mean that I save around £2,000 a year over what I was paying before. That’s equivalent to getting around a £3,000 a year pay rise, for doing practically nothing.
Your last point about temptation is a good one. DVDs and books can kill your grocery budget
I had to work hard at getting that to a more reasonable level.
Kind of related I recently got my insurance renewal quote in from Esure – they’d hiked my premium by £60 (I always keep last years paperwork to check against). I wasn’t happy with that so hit the Internet. I got the same thing at Churchill for £125 less. Not bad for about 3 minutes work.
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Good saving on the insurance Tony. It never pays to just renew without visiting a comparison site.
With regards to the grocery shopping, I dread to think what I’ve wasted over the years. Enough to have paid off this mortgage I would imagine
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I find some stuff here in Portuguese supermarkets quite pricey compared to U.K. Fresh milk is a rarity here, you only find it at really big supermarkets unless you are residing in the Algarve. I cant remember the price of it now but I do remember thinking that it was expensive. Once you get to Portugal your best bet is to do a weekly market, here in Tomar we have a huge market every Friday with fabulous cheap fresh, veg, meat and fish.
Your blog is looking great, I must get myself into gear and start posting more on mine but I’m having a writers block and ‘ideas’ block right now.
best wishes
DP
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Hi. I tried to do this comparison exercise some time ago, but in Algarve is not easy. Prices are stable in Winter and go up in the summer. Sometimes markets are a good solution, if you live near or have a car. For example in Quarteira, Loulé, Faro and Olhão markets are in the center, which is difficult to park. To me it´s not worthy to go every week. I have a Cooperative Supermarket very near my house called “Coopofa” that has all the best national fresh products with lower prices. I can´t remember the last time I went to the market. Some products I buy directly from producers: Olive oil, potatoes, vegetables and fruits. If you move to a city, there´s a lot to choose from, but where you save more is in big supermarkets, it´s simple: They buy more quantity, they can sell products cheaper.
Hugs from Faro. Mizé.
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