I may be a week in, but I've only really been playing at this cuts business. I need to start making some tough choices and really start cutting.
Saturday was a trip to Sainsbury's to do a weekly shop so chance to do some benchmarking (lovely PR phrase, sorry)...
Bottled water: Hideous expense. 4 litre bottles of Volvic (useful for going to the gym) is £3.60. Today I spent £3 on a 750ml water bottle from JD Sports, so I no longer have to buy these. 100% cut.
Lunch: £2 for 2 bags of rocket, 70p for a cucumber, £1.19 for a loaf of bread, £1.29 for some hummous. Lunch for a week £5.18. 75% saving compared to buying 5 Pret sandwiches (about £15-£20)
Weekend breakfast: 2 packs of bacon £5.58, free range organic eggs £1.63. The only savings here would be to stop buying British bacon (for some reason Sainsbury's own brand basic bacon is only Dutch... and is full of water anyway) or to go for battery eggs. Having debated my chicken dilemma I really think I'd rather be vegetarian than eat battery hens / cows / pigs.
5 a day: 4 litres of Tropicana fruit juice (on special, 2 for £3). Nectarines (buy one get one free). Bag of Cox's apples £1.99 (cheaper than buying individually). Only way of saving here is getting juice made from concentrate, but reckon that's not as good for you...
Tea: £1.99 for large box of Peppermint tea. Seems reasonable...
Snacks: 99p for a big bag of Bombay mix. Not very good for you, but very tasty. Reckon this is probably a luxury. All snacks abolished.
Beauty aisle: Hideously expensive. Think this sums up much of the problem, quality or cost. It's tough. Deodorant was 2 for 1, so that seems like a bargain (although you have to look out for supermarkets being tricky on these deals). Moisturiser £7.99... I've tried cheaper but they just don't work as well. Toothpaste £2... again experience tells me that if I want a toothpaste to work, stick with what works. Corsodyl everyday mouthwash £4.40 or Listerine for £2... I prefer my mouth to be clean, not stripped of life, so stick with Corsodyl. Shower gel £2.85, not bad and it's stuff (Menex) which doesn't dry your skin.
Anyway, enough of this advertising for products. Using Mysupermarket, it seems that Sainsbury's is as cheap as Tesco, Asda and Ocado. So next week I'll try Morrisons or the new Aldi on Camden High Street... or sacrifice my quality and ethics.
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