Hello. I'm a bit late tonight, my fridge was empty so I did a yellow sticker shop at Tesco. There was a lot of waiting as the young man put the third and last sticker on. He had such a lot to get through, but he was very quick on the machine. I was in the shop for two hours, worth the wait though, with 75% off. It was all very friendly, not many people in the shop, and plenty for everyone.
Down the other end of the shop they were putting more reduced out into the chiller cabinet. I went to have a look to see what there was. Nothing much of interest to me, meat and convenience foods mainly. There was a bit of a scrum there as well, I went back to the fruit and veg where it was more sedate.
Other items I bought at normal price. Frozen vegetable patties 2 boxes @ £1 a box of six. Cat food £2.25. Mayonnaise 60p. Tartare sauce 55p. Butter £1.60p. Milkshakes 3 @ 50p each. Fresh milk 50p. Almond drink £1. Carton fruit juice 2 @ 65p each. Gloucester cheese £1.55. Soft cheese 50p. Leerdammer cheese £1. Eggs 89p. Chicken 78p.
I prefer shopping at night because I like to open the fridge door the next morning and see that it's full. Hooray, no more shopping for a week or two.
A bit tired now. Thank you for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.
WOW! You folks in the UK are so lucky with those Yellow Sticker prices - we never get anything near to that over here!
ReplyDeleteAt our Tesco,the last time i went in at that time,the staff were telling people to complain to customer services,what they were having to go through!.Its great if every one is polite....but Im afarid that doesnt happen where I live.I wish that I could get these bargains,..Im 5 mins from my local Tesco..but I cant afford the fine I would get when someone is digging me in the ribs,lol.xx
ReplyDeleteHello from Idaho coming over from living cheap...We have red stickers on one of the story we shop at.
ReplyDeleteThe other day we got a beef roast for five dollars.
If you have time stop in for a cup of coffee
For 75% off, I would be willing to wait a bit, too! That's a lot of good food!
ReplyDeleteTescos yellow stickers on fruit and veg ere ending soon. Reason they say best before dates confuse people leading to food waste. I may be sceptical but this mainly means Tesco can sell food for longer past previous use by dates. I dont really go by use by dates at home but when buying fruit n veg i always go to the back , boxes underneath for newest picked. Believe will only be Tesco,s own. When that happens will go to Morrisons
ReplyDeleteThat is just what I thought Kirrie when I read it in the newspapers the other day!,xx
DeleteI'll let you know what happens in my store when I next go shopping for yellow stickers. They might get rid of 'best before dates', but I can't see them ending 'sell by dates'.
DeleteSouth of Lincoln in the Local Coop you get a posh little pork pie reduced to £3 when it was £6 to start with , veg so far gone it would have to go in the recycle bin and bread like concrete , you couldnt possibly survive on their prices on a limited income , which is sad because theres so many past the internet generation in the villages
ReplyDeleteLocal Co op prices are very expensive, as are local Spar shops. I only pop in if I am passing, would never go shopping there.
DeleteHello from another Lincoln resident! :-)
DeleteWe have a Co-Op in the next village (round trip 6 miles) and I popped in there the other day (as Morrisons didn't have any lettuce). Within 2 days of purchase, the edges of the leaves were turning brown. Ok, not a big deal, but for folks who only go shopping once a week it means that we'll have to either go without or shop more often. As you've said, not everyone is of an age to deal with the internet. What makes me laugh is that you read/hear that "We're an ageing Society" OR "We're an obese Society". If that's the case, what are "the powers that be" doing about it?
Have a good Bank Holiday weekend.
Carol
Hello, Ilona. Wonderful bargains there. However, a lot of those items have a short shelf-life, such as strawberries, houmous, etc, and yet you say that means no more shopping for a week or two. Do you freeze things such as houmous? (I've not tried that, by the way.) I know we can extend Use By dates a little, using common sense, and Best Before dates are often a nonsense, but I do wonder how you can eat all this before it's gorn orf, as they say.
ReplyDeleteMargaret P
Hi. I check the food in the fridge two or three times a day, and eat things in the order they are going to go off. Soft fruits first, prepared vegetables before whole vegetables. I usually manage to get through it without freezing, but if I find I can't I will freeze, or cook into stews then freeze.
DeleteBread goes in the freezer. I don't freeze houmous because it is ok up to a week later, maybe even longer.
My meals from now on will be only from the yellow stickers in the fridge. I won't be using tins, packets, or frozen. Priority is to eat what needs eating first, that will be salads, fruit, steamed prepared vegetables. I am strict with that, there is no, what do I fancy today. Looking at my list, I will eat mushrooms every day, either raw in salads, or cooked with egg on toast. I will eat houmous with every meal, salads and steamed veg, and on sandwiches. Hard root vegetables will be eaten last because they last longer.
A lot of my cooked meals are just steamed veg, I will have six different ones on my plate.
When all the yellow stickers have gone I eat from the cupboards and freezer for a week or so, until I feel like shopping in Tesco. Then the whole cycle begins again.
Thank you, Ilona, for such a detailed account of how you eat, and I agree with you - eat what you have that will go off first, not what you fancy today. It's good and if its nourishing and well cooked, it will be tasty regardless of what it is. Yes, we will eat the same things a couple of days running to finish something rather than wasting it.
DeleteAll good wishes,
Margaret P
Hi Ilona
ReplyDeleteI never know what time to go to get the best bargains. I’m either too early with just 20 p offir too late and there’s nothing left! How do you judge it?
Thanks
Jane
Hi Jane. It's always the luck of the draw. One day they might have over stocked and have loads of reductions, other days they might have nothing because it has all sold at normal price. I always get to the store for 7pm because I know that is the time the third ticket is due to go on. They might have done it early if they had a staff member to do it, so I find there is not much left. Or the staff might be too busy to deal with it and are late with the stickering, in that case I have to wait.
DeleteI like the 75% off (3rd sticker) but others may be happy with 50% off so that might not leave much left. I might not get exactly what I want, so I am flexible with my eating and will try most things except meat and fish, as an alternative. It pays not to be too fussy.
I use Tesco because it is the nearest store to me. Asda always has plenty of reductions in the evening but the store is too far out to take a chance on there being anything I want.
I suggest you ask the staff at your store what times do they mark down, on the departments where you want to buy, fruit and veg, or meat, or chiller/dairy cabinet, or bakery. Get to know the exact locations so you can go there first when you enter the store. Most stores have dedicated shelves or trollies where the reductions are all together.
It's a case of getting to know your store, making yourself known to the staff, chatting to them, and it's a good idea to dress down, casual or even scruffy clothes are best. Other shoppers get a bit huffy if a well dressed person scoops up the reductions ahead of them. Look as though you need to buy cheap food.
Yellow sticker shopping is a habit, I used to go once every ten days, now I leave it 2 - 3 weeks. I get some things in Aldi which are cheaper there. Also shop in discount stores, but then I have to time to do that. It's a trade off between time and money. Invest time in seeking out the bargains and you will save money. Or go to work to earn more money to pay for the food at normal prices because you haven't got time to check prices in different shops.
Good luck.
I've been in Tesco a couple of times recently & been happy with the -I think half price perishables at around 5pm & 6pm & all friendly.Apparently the fruit & veg about 7pm.2 security guards to keep things safe x
ReplyDelete