The battle of the supermarkets

We usually get a wad of advertising leaflets in our free newspaper every week. I often have a quick look through them to see if there is anything I should take a closer look at, just in case there is something I need. This week we only have two from the supermarkets, Tesco and Netto. I thought I might do a summary on them.

Tesco must be saving money, or saving the planet, because it is only one single sheet folded in half. The banner on the front says '100s of Essential Savings on everyday prices'. Seems odd to call them 'Essesntial Savings', are there any 'non essential savings' then? And the term 'everyday products', baffles me. How many of these products do you have to consume in a day, before you can say they are 'everyday products'?

The special offers always include many foods that are bad for you, processed, sugary, salty, stodgy, and detrimental to your health and wefare. These should be eaten in moderation, so why are they promoting them as 'everyday'? The only healthy foods I can see in here are apples, tomatoes, and frozen peas.

I'll go through some of the items and give you my opinion on them. Alpen, from £2.39 to £2. I would never pay this much for a breakfast cereal, my 78p basic bran flakes are fine for me. If you like mouslie you could make your own with oats and dried fruit.

Hula Hoops multipack, 100% extra free, 14 for £1.38. No, no, no, get the Value equivalent for a lot less, if you must have them. Basically they are junk food, but I sometimes have as a treat, Value multipack crisps for 47p and they are lovely.

Little pots of Ambrosia custard, jelly, and creamed rice, 3 for £1. I would never get these. I don't eat custard or jelly, too much sugar. If you want them make them yourself from a packet. I sometimes get a tin of rice pud and split it into two days, but that's a treat.

Fruit Winders, what the heck are those? Six rolls in a packet for £1.50. Whatever they are they look like junk, loads of sugar, you don't need them.

Chicken pies and chicken portions. I don't eat meat. Is the chicken free range? I don't eat many pies anyway, too much fat and salt in the pastry. Once in a while for a treat.

For goodness sake, they now have toothpaste with ages on the packets, 4 - 6 years and 6 years plus. Just get a big tube and everybody use it.

Pre packed beef burgers, what ever next, rolls eyes. Are people too lazy to buy the bread rolls and cut them in half themselves? How ridiculous. And beefburgers are junk food unless you make them yourself.

Lunch box filler. 6 pack biscuit crunch yoghurt, trust Muller to come up with something we don't need. Rot the teeth of your little darlings by putting one of these in their pack up every day. Junk again.

Great offers on toiletries, cleaning and laundry, I don't think so. The best places for these items are the discount stores. I see they have Plax on offer, what is that, some kind of mouthwash? You don't need it, just brush your teeth regularly.

Magnums are on special offer, I love magnums but I wouldn't buy them from a supermarket. I would not trust myself to save them for later, I would pig out on them. So I get mine one at a time, for a treat, when I am having a day out. They are not an everyday item.

Always some booze in there of course. I might have a bottle of wine sometimes but it is always around the £4 mark, or a special offer 4pack cider, but definately no spirits. I like to stay in control of my faculties, my drinking days are over.

The only thing on this leaflet that I might get is Tesco six pack yoghurts reduced from £1 to 90, not a massive saving but I quite like them.

And now for Netto, their leaflet is a double edition, ten pages, but dont think it has ten times as many bargains as Tesco. I don't very often go in my local store because it is so disorganised I can never find what I want. The special offers sell out quickly, so I walk out again, I will not buy anything else.

Again a lot of junk food here, chocolate, biscuits, sugary cereals, pot noodles, frozen pizza's, fizzy drinks, and savoury snacks. Here is a list of the cr@p that I would not buy.
Pom-bear, teddy shaped potato snacks
Honey monster puffs
Monster munch french fries
Wicked pig hog roast snacks
Doritos chilli heatwave
Hot dogs in a jar, at 13p each they have got to be cr@p
Frazzles
Chipsticks
Fab ice lollies
Pepsi & Coke, Sprite & Lilt
Banana Puffs cereal
White bread
Nesquik cereal
Muller desserts
Munch Bunch drinky

Well that's chucked away eight pages for a start. I do sound like an old misery, don't I, but hey, there are some things worth buying at Netto, that's if you can find them. A selection of fruit and veg, any 4 packs for £1.90. Onken wholegrain peach yoghurt £1.29, bogof. Seriously strong cheddar, £3.68 for 400grms, also bogof. Robinsons dilute juice, 2 litre, £1, that's cheaper than Tesco's own label. Echo Falls wine, £2.99, oh bother missed it, this weekend only.

Here's something that might be usefull....not. A digital money box. It's like a jar with a plastic lid, and when you insert your pennies in the slot the digital gadget on the top adds it up for you. It's only £4. Do people really buy these things, can they not tip their savings out onto a table and count it themselves. A totally useless piece of junk. I am flabbergasted.