The massive cost of living...

[Allan G]

When petrol hit £1 a litre in October, world oil prices were $100 a barrel, it is now $80 a barrel and the price hasnt fallen, i drive a diesel wich now stands at £1.09 a litre, there are 4.54 litres to the gallon, so in 5 months fuel has gone up 40.86 pence a gallon, the trouble with this country is that nothing will ever go back down, remember a few years ago when the patato crops were bad and chips went up from 60p to a £1 within a year, they never went back down the following year when the crops were fine again

 

[pandora]

i do alot of my shopping in Lidl or Aldi now. Currently Aldi have alot of fruit/veg at 49p & its good fresh stuff. The chioce is more limmited than Asda / tesco etc for tins jars etc, but certainly can do a weekly shop for about £50 (4 of us)

 

[Melliewoo]

My inlaws live in spain and they pay 46 cents a litre for diesel and they spend half as much on food but have more than they did in the uk it's unreal why is it so expensive to live in this country???? it's ridiculous they pay a one off charge of 49euros for their council tax and they get the exact same as here just bins emptied..... so why are we paying 1000 pounds plus a year??????????

 

[Meneither]

Although the high cost of food kind of helps me justify to people th CD. (not that I should have too) So many people say "that diet's so expensive, how can you afford it?" I just say that I'm saving a fortune on food to pay for it!

I would agree tottally. i was doing sw, i was spending about 5 a day on fruit 3 or 4 bananas, oranges, blackberries etc on top of the meals i was having a whole chicken here.

in a month on sw i lost 4lb according to the scales this morning and from the morning i started cd i have lost a stone in six days.

Me.

 

[jakkiG]

I can't wait til my youngest starts senior school NEXT september he'll get the bus with his sister and then maybe i can cycle to work and use less petrol or maybe even give up the car! that's if I can still afford to run it by then. I reckon everything has gone up by about 30% it's not good really soon we're all going to have to make massive lifestyle changes

 

[rowanx2]

MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

that site is a great if youre feeling the pinch. great forum on it.

 

[annie_d]

I just went to Aldi, for the first time and the only fruit that was ok to buy were the grapes. All the rest looked a bit ropey

 

[pandora]

well the apples, oranges, fine green beans, sprouts & new potatoes i bought yesterday were top quality & i have NEVER bought anything there that wasn't
xx

 

[annie_d]

Years ago when times were REALLY lean i used to go to Netto and their fruit and veg was fantastic value for money and very fresh.aybe this Aldi today was having an off day....or the week's leftovers being sold off on Sunday

 

[pandora]

i'm sure things change day to day & even store to store. we have found the "fresh" stuff in Asda & Tesco going of quickly recently .
My Hubby is a Builder & gets alot of his tools from Aldi/Lidl & says they are as good as "named" tools.
C'est la vie eh ?
xx

 

[KD]

My Hubby is a Builder & gets alot of his tools from Aldi/Lidl & says they are as good as "named" tools.
C'est la vie eh ?
xx

Many of the things are actually better at Aldi/Lidl Some of the items are 'top brand' in Germany.

I prefer their sliced meats. No added water in most of them. Fruit and veg is a little random. Sometimes it's fab, other times less so.

Great bargains there though. Got our Christmas goose there so cheap and chocolates (sorry) are lovely and much better value.

MSE forum had a great thread that went on for ages about the best things to go for there. Worth looking up if you have an aldi or lidl close.

 

[BIG BIRDY]

My ds prefers their ketchup. The chocolate, cooked meats (ham etc), jams and ice cream, biscuits, tins are great. Don't do the coffee..........

 

[pandora]

have used the coffee when really hard up, its very bitter tho :jelous:
Lidl ready made lasagne is gorgeous
xx

 

[Allan G]

I can't wait til my youngest starts senior school NEXT september he'll get the bus with his sister and then maybe i can cycle to work and use less petrol or maybe even give up the car! that's if I can still afford to run it by then. I reckon everything has gone up by about 30% it's not good really soon we're all going to have to make massive lifestyle changes

Even school bus fares have increased, it would cost me £20 a week to send my two on the bus every day, it`s a pound each way so over the school year it is a fortune

 

[BIG BIRDY]

It costs me £20 a week for my two on the bus. That goes up at a rate of 50p a term too!

 

[rowanx2]

Lidls stuff is always nice, but unfortuantely alot of the info is in german so you have no idea what the calories are (seldom listed) but their fruit and veg are always top notch.
tesco on the other hand, someone else mentioned too, their fruit and veg I swear can be soggy and mushy by the time you get it home, and fit for the bin within a day or two. I gave up buying greens and fruit from there.