Comparing supermarket prices (real advices)
When comparing prices, don't look at the actual cost, look at the small print below which tells you £ per kilo or litre or whatever. This will of course give you the best idea of value. Supermarkets will often use the marked price to hide their better value stuff. This is especially the case with loose veg, which is almost always cheaper than veg in a packet. For example, packaged courgettes at my local co-op are £1.60, which the small print says is £4 per kilo, whereas loose courgettes are only £1.85 per kilo - less than half the price, but the numbers in large print imply that the loose ones are more expensive.

This can be a bit of a tricky game with alcohol, because it will be listed as £x per litre, and it's no point having a bottle of something that's good value for volume liquid if the stuff inside is weak as cat's piss. You can of course be really obsessive about getting the most alcohol to the pound and bring a calculator with you. Of course, one of the bonuses of saving money on food is you can be a bit more reckless with your alcohol budget.

Another trick supermarkets will use is to list one thing as £ per kg and another as £ per 100g, so the numbers may look very different at a glance.

Don't be afraid of supermarket's own stuff. It is nearly always the best value, although it tends to have a bad reputation as people assume it's poorer quality. It is however nearly always identical to one of the leading brands, and I mean literally identical. After all there isn't some Tescos factory somewhere producing all this stuff, so what the supermarkets will do is strike a deal with a manufacturer and buy a certain amount of product to be labelled as their own (the Kellogg's motto "We don't make cereal for anyone else" is a reference to the fact that they are one company that actually don't do this). You can usually work out where the product is actually from by comparing packaging and ingredients lists.

Special offers are great, but it's worth doing a bit of maths, because sometimes very highly-priced products are still worse value even when on offer. Also, don't get carried away and try and only buy what you are realistically going to eat. If you buy two items that were on BOGOF then throw one of them away cos it goes out of date, you haven't really saved any money at all. This is especially a problem because it tends to be stuff that is about to go out of date that gets put on special offer.

Next week: Yummy recipes.
( Photoshop Bitch 2014 edition, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 17:58, 13 replies)

As I said below, the quality of supermarket own-brand goods depends very much on the supermarket as well as the manufacturer.
For instance some of A**A's own-brand toiletries are shoddy crap because they opted for a manufacturer who could make them on the cheap - by cutting corners and giving them inferior products.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:09, closed)

I heard their "fresh" fruit and veg
scarcely lasts a day after you buy it.
( Moon Girl Technologies horrendous beanbag, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:26, closed)

for the alcohol, you need the tramp index

www.foodfight.org.uk/other/images/trampindex.pdf
(court escaper, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 18:46, closed)

I wish Baileys really was 20%

( Peej, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 20:41, closed)

2 pints of Baileys
sounds vomit inducing.
(darras jeg har en grevling i hodet. Grevling, grevlang, Wed 16 Nov 2011, 15:00, closed)

this is good
unless you take into account the fact that asda and tesco fruit and veg can go rancid within 24 hours. i'll go to lidl for my fruit and veg. it may cost a tiny bit more, but it lasts for about a week and doesn't have to be binned. also, i can save £3.60 by walking to lidl instead of having to take the bus to tesco and back.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 21:32, closed)

Must depend on the store.
I've been buying Tesco fruit and veg for the last two years, sometimes it's stayed OK well over a week.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 21:49, closed)

it goes off quickly round these parts

( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 22:03, closed)

The reason most loose fruit and veg goes rancid muchos quick is because what they do is when packaged fruit and veg is on the day of its use by date they open the packs and stick them in with the loose lot (provided it doesn't look rank already that is) used to work in one of them there food o marts and seen it done many times.
(matt_hollywood81, Sun 13 Nov 2011, 22:08, closed)

that explains a lot

( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 19:11, closed)

Odd.
Not here at least.
I'm shopping monthly, and some of it lasts nearly a month in the fridge.
(speedevil, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 12:32, closed)

i've had lettuce and cucumber from asda turn to mush within 3 days
and lots of people i know have the same problem. i don't know if it's just the north west that this happens in, but i used to have to throw loads of fruit and veg away when i shopped there
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Mon 14 Nov 2011, 19:13, closed)

Shopping in a supermarket around here is tantamount to satanism. Apparently we're all fucked.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u8_1VzYxM4
(Gritty, yet fluffy. kipperpillock is obsessed with me =), Mon 14 Nov 2011, 1:41, closed)