When it come to things like toilet roll and tissues, if you actually calculate the area of paper you get for your money, Adsa own brands, both “cheap” and “standard” actually work out more expensive than the branded goods. E.g., I calculated (always take a calculator – it’s the only way to make sure you aren’t being diddled) that you got more (100 per box vs 60), and (I think) a larger area of two-ply tissues by buying a double-pack of Kleenex for Men on special offer than by buying either of Asda’s own-brand products.

One further point on saving money. From nearly 18 years of shopping in Asda I never buy anything (e.g. soap powder) that is placed on an end aisle away from its normal location, without first price-checking against the same product and its competitors in its normal location. More often than not, I have found such items are more expensive than newer or older stock of the same product in the “normal” location. Being the the cynic I am, I cannot help but believe that such overpriced stock is placed away from similar products precisely to prevent the customer from comparing prices.

Here endeth the sermon.

We shop fortnightly at an Asda hypermarket and we get through £130-140/fortnight, which is equivalent to £300 p.c.m. However, we also top up during the week on staples like bread and milk, so factor in an extra £15-£20 p.w. So our total food bill would come to £400 p.c.m., or £100 p.w.

As for “Value” brands, you learn from experience. Asda “SmartPrice” goods vary considerably in quality and edibility. For example, their cheap cornflakes taste awful, but their cheap bran flakes, muesli and most biscuits are OK, if not mouth-watering. When it come to things like toilet roll and tissues, if you actually calculate the area of paper you get for your money, the “cheap” own brands actually work out more expensive.

Hope this information helps.

Interesting blog topic, by the way, although I only occasionally stray this way (usually via Iain Dale’s blog).

I have a few larger sized bags of rice as well as a load of cans of food as an emergency food supply. I don’t think people realise how quickly – given optimised supply chains – the shops would empty of food in an emergency. My wife complains to me about the space it takes up.

Some countries (Switzerland ) make it a duty to have an emergency reserve of food in the house – and a Nuclear fallout shelter in the Swiss case ( may have changed since the end of the cold war ).

We should remember that there have been years when world crops have failed – as during the eruptions in Iceland in the 18th century ( which could easily happen again ). I bet the government doesn’t have food to feed the population for a year.(There are after all no votes in it ).

Christine, you are right about the snobbish bit, sometimes Tesco Value is ok, like their tinned peaches, and other times it isn’t. If it is something I like, I buy it regardless of what the others think in my house.

Well there’s your problem. You’re married to a snob and have brought up snobs. Supermarket own brands are a fact of life for us normal people. My family of four spends less than £200 per month on food and we never go hungry so an extra £200 to feed one extra mouth doesn’t sound very hard.

No chocolate, few cakes, bulk buying of offers and of course zero – like zero- waste.

Mass eating of meat is neither healthy or cheap.

When I read of soem budgets in the UK exceeding ££100 per week per head,,, etc I wonder what people eat.

Of ourse we have Home Bargains ( basically offers are 33% of list price (not “off”, “of”), Lidl Aldi, Morrisons, Asda Tesco etc. Tesco are the most expensive as any discerning shopper knows .. except for Sainsbury and the Co-op. Somerfield have cheap Andrex toilet roll offers.

We reckon to save £70 per month due to offers.

Selective shopping is all.
And of course we have frozen raspberries free.. home grown. And we do eat quails’ eggs – home grown..