Hello. I was searching the internet yesterday to find the best price for Heidi's cat food. Not the cheapest I know, but she likes it, and it doesn't upset her tum or give her diarrhoea. There are six pouches in a packet. Morrisons £2. Pets at Home £2.09. Amazon £1.66. Zooplus £1.89. Wilko £1.60. Hilhouse £1.49.
I normally pay £1.49 at Home Bargains or B & M, but they never have many in stock. Sometimes it is on special at Wilko for £1.25, but not very often, and when it is that price it all goes very quickly. I saw it in Tesco on Wednesday night for £2.10. Sainsburys and Asda are the same price unless it is on offer at £1.50, which again isn't very often. I have noticed that Poundland is selling it at £1.50, they are not strictly a £1 shop any more, they sell anything now at any price. I am getting a bit fed up of trawling these shops looking for the best price.
So how do the numbers stack up. If I had bought all these at the big supermarkets for £2 a packet , it would cost me £192. So, a saving of £76.08. If I had trawled the discount stores for several months and bought them at £1.50 a packet, it would have cost me £144. So, a saving of £29.80.
This will cut down my trips to town, I won't need to go so often, saving me petrol money, and saving me the bother of lugging heavy bags back to the car, or dragging the shopping trolley about. All I need now is for Heidi to live a long life, and not to run away to a better home. Not that she will find one, ha ha. She is showing no signs of illness, so the tablets are working.
Other cat news. Sadly it looks as if I won't see Garcia again. I asked his owners if he was alright, they said yes he is, but they are keeping him in now. His walking was not so good when I last saw him so he is better off indoors. My Bugsy lived on the dining room table for the last six months of his life. The good news is that Tina cat has a new home, with a lady who has one other cat. All is well there.
Have a great weekend. I'm partying, my cousins 50'th. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip
That was lucky!,Youve done really well there.I have to bulk buy my cat food from Aldi,because most of the time the boxs they have in are all with jelly.Ive had to get on my hands and knees to dig to the back of the shelf to see if there is any with gravy.When there is I drag as many out as I can!Why cant they just put both on display?...Its strange,but i was going to ask you about Tina and Garcia this morning!!.So very pleased that Tina has been rehomed and glad that she has settled in.Thats lovely news!.So sad for Garcia though,poor boy...at least he has been surrounded with love all his life and will spend what time he has left in warmth and comfort.Im doing a 10 mile walk with my Grandaughter in a while...if the blooming rain keeps off.Im so looking forward to this!.Anyway,enjoy the party and have a great weekend all,Debi,xx
ReplyDeleteI would love it if we had bulk buy places here, alas we do not :(
ReplyDeleteWe have five cats, so only as a rare treat do they get pouch food (and then 2 pouches between them all as a little special titbit with their dried cat biscuits). I have to buy cat food in tins, and keep changing it about as they get bored with the same old same old. They even go off Whiskas sometimes! I wouldn't be without them though.
ReplyDeleteGreat deal on the cat food. I hope that Heidi doesn't suddenly decide she doesn't like the Sheba. My 15-year-old cat has become such a picky eater. She looks at me as if to say, "Is that all you've got for me?" I find a food I think she likes and after a week or two she wants something different. No matter what she does, though, I love her.
ReplyDeleteexcellent bargain!! you must be feeling chuffed with yourself!! my cats have had to get used to cheapo lidl but joy of joys, I found felix pouches (their fave) mega-cheap on amazon last week -stocked up with 2 huge boxes - 240 pouches £54.00,free delivery. happy cats all round!
ReplyDeleteWhat a saving Ilona. I order my cat food online from 'Feline fayre' because it is quality food with a high percentage of meat or fish, they all love it. Every so often they email me with offers and I always take advantage of this.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like us. We cut costs for ourselves but spend oodles on the cats, foxes and seagulls, lol
Briony
x
Quite a bulk buy! By my calculation, if she eats one a day that's a year and a half. Hope she doesn't go off it before the sell by date, the little darlings can be quite fussy, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that Tina has a new home. It must be so stressful for her, losing her long time owner, being moved to a sanctuary and now, thankfully, a new home. I hope she soon settles in and loves her new home.
So sad about Garcia. Words cannot express how heartbreaking it is when one of our babies has to leave us. It's hard too, to make the decision and know the time when it is kinder to let them go, rather than to watch them go on suffering until the end. So sad, hugs and kisses Garcia.
Meanqueen: how are you able to buy from a Cash & Carry please? I asked at my local cash & carry a few months ago, having heard you mention it on a previous blog and was told that they only allow people with businesses to shop there, not private individuals. Just wondered. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis Cash and Carry also has several shops, they buy up out of date and discontinued food. It's a local business. They call it a Cash and Carry, but there is a sign outside saying open to the public.
DeleteMost Cash and Carry places are for trade only, but some let the public buy as well.
Jozef bakes bread and we buy the flour by the sack full. We use powdered milk , again we by in bulk and so I was surprised when people started talking about the shortage of bread and milk in the shops in the recent bad weather. It can be useful to have a stock of things you use. Great deal there Ilona
ReplyDeleteGreat cat food find, yay! I am fortunate in that our oldest cat, the one with the least amount of teeth, seems to prefer dry kibbles. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoyed your cousin's birthday party!
You shall have to visit Garcia for us. Natalie
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure that I have £115 to bulk buy any food although I can see the saving . Can I ask what percentage of your pension you live on as we find it difficult to save on a state pension.
ReplyDeleteJeanette,
DeleteThe trick is to get to a place where you obtain everything at the lowest cost. It starts slow when you are on a budget, but you can get there.
When staples like dry beans, oil or flour are on sale buy three months worth if you can afford it. Your cash will go further so then just keep adding more items. You will build a stock cupboard of low priced foodstuffs this way and you will find you can afford more variety.
Take care.
Jenette, I have no idea about percentages, I can never work them out. All I do is spend less than what I have coming in, then save what's left. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, depends on what bills I have to pay.
DeleteTry keeping a spending diary, writing everything down to the penny, even a bar of chocolate or a newspaper. You need to know where ALL your money is going. Then read your diary every week, and work out if you really needed to buy certain items, and could you manage by not buying them.
I think you are right Patti and Ilona I notice that I spend a pound here and there without thinking. I’m better than I used to be with the getting rid of my cards etc but I’m going to keep the diary and see if I can get some left over. Thank you both fir taking time to reply .
DeleteGood luck with that, Jenette. Don't forget, you can't spend your money AND save it, you either spend it OR save it. Stop dipping into it for the odd £ here and there, and write all your spends in a diary.
DeleteI stock up on all kinds of things whenever there is a great sale. We don't have the mark-downs like Tesco but we do have a lot of BOGO's (buy one get one free) which cuts the price in half. I have checked when they are not on sale and the price for one is the same so they really do give you one for free. I have done this with canned goods, frozen goods and breads. Luckily I have a big freezer in my garage that I can stock things in. It really does save lots of money when it is something that you would be buying anyway. Congratulations on your chance discovery. Heidi will be one well-nourished cat!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great buy and massive saving. Your post prompted to think that we haven't been scouting for bulk buys lately and need to get. back into the swing of it. I like to buy tins of dog food and the dry food in bulk. I also look out for tins of olive oil and stock up for the year when I can.
ReplyDeleteI buy dog food in bulk as I can save a bit.Lovely lilys food is cheaper online rather than from vets.I occasionally also buy large sizes of out of date food online too-such as flour,gravy,veg stock.I miss Garcia x
ReplyDelete76 pounds is real money! What a great buy!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that Tina cat now has a loving home. I hope that Garcia's last days will be as comfortable as possible.
I hope the cat doesn't decide to turn her nose up at that flavour now you have plenty in stock.
ReplyDeleteOur two old cats have Chicken, from the cheapest available supplier. Dry food so no waste, and breeder sized bags, so minimal packaging, £53 for enough for over nine months.
Best wishes
NellieGrace
Hi Illona, I would only caution you to read the ingredients on the cat food packages. I lost my cat, Ernie to kidney disease which I blame on the food that I, through my ignorance fed him. There's a documentary I would recommend to anyone who loves their pets called "Pet Fooled". It's an eye opener.
ReplyDeleteGail:)
I love a good bargain, my hubby always laughs at me when I bulk buy but he loves the money we save and we have never had anything left after a bulk buy. I am still using a huge jug of conditioner I bought 4 years ago...lol ps: so happy for the lovely cats in your life.
ReplyDeleteGood way to save money if ya space to store it. I buy extras of items that are on sale when I spot them in stores. Once in awhile there's coupons which helps as well.
ReplyDelete