Cost of Living - Shrinkflation is speeding up at an alarming rate

cheesefest said:
Then some people are eating two of these things. Not just solely on one item, multiple items. Wonder if obesity has increased in the line of shrinkflation.
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I donno personally I find I'm buying less crap now, I can't justify the price of a lot of junk food now so just don't buy it.

I've found I've also switched more to frozen, frozen fruit is amazing and I've found myself having a lot more that goes pretty well with blender for some smoothies.

I'm very adaptable though when it comes to food, I'm one of those weird people who just turn up to a supermarket and wing it the whole away around making it up as I go along I don't use lists. I tend to look for the bargains and I've always been someone who buys on price per gram over size or amount.

Perhaps that's just a hangover from my uni days but I've not really noticed much of a price increase of anything my bills have actually decreased as I've increasing switched from branded to unbranded in a lot of items.

A lot of inflation does seem to be more brand related than product related. Just look at that scandal with Lurpak where butter increased by literally £s across every SKU yet Danpak good ol' Lidl hardly changed sure went up 30-50 pence whatever it was but considering it was already significantly cheaper it's still cheaper than Lurpak before the price increase.

Was in Lidl yesterday Heinz Ketchup over £3 a bottle Lidls own 79p for the same size. I've never really been a brand person though and I've found that's really helped and being this way and I've not really noticed much of an impact over the last year thanks to they.
 
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Rroff said:
Sadly there is a point to what they are saying though - theses demands and attempts at trying to equalise things will actually result in the worst off being hit even harder over the longer run, although that doesn't excuse the fact that is due to the way things are being run with the ever concentration of wealth away from the bulk of the population.
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You are right.

Most people who are striking aren't struggling to survive, they are struggling to maintain their existing standard of living. What they don't seem to realise (or don't care) is that if they do maintain their standard of living, they are forcing people who are worse off than them further in to poverty.

Part of the reason we recover so slowly from these little disasters is that people are completely unwilling to let their standard of living slip. The truth is, though, that fifty years ago, things were much worse than they are now, and yet everyone managed and was a lot happier than they are today!
 
Costa are the latest that I’ve noticed.

They’re large use to be around 600ml as I’ve got reusable cup. Last week at some point they increased the prices and a large is now a medium. Looks like my cup is ¾ full now
 
kieran_read said:
I donno personally I find I'm buying less crap now, I can't justify the price of a lot of junk food now so just don't buy it.

I've found I've also switched more to frozen, frozen fruit is amazing and I've found myself having a lot more that goes pretty well with blender for some smoothies.

I'm very adaptable though when it comes to food, I'm one of those weird people who just turn up to a supermarket and wing it the whole away around making it up as I go along I don't use lists. I tend to look for the bargains and I've always been someone who buys on price per gram over size or amount.

Perhaps that's just a hangover from my uni days but I've not really noticed much of a price increase of anything my bills have actually decreased as I've increasing switched from branded to unbranded in a lot of items.

A lot of inflation does seem to be more brand related than product related. Just look at that scandal with Lurpak where butter increased by literally £s across every SKU yet Danpak good ol' Lidl hardly changed sure went up 30-50 pence whatever it was but considering it was already significantly cheaper it's still cheaper than Lurpak before the price increase.

Was in Lidl yesterday Heinz Ketchup over £3 a bottle Lidls own 79p for the same size. I've never really been a brand person though and I've found that's really helped and being this way and I've not really noticed much of an impact over the last year thanks to they.
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Difficult thing with brands is, is that you have to experiment with whether you are paying extra for anything. Sometimes the more expensive branded stuff IS better.

Ketchup i definitely agree - i can hardly taste much difference between most ketchups and the supermarket's own is almost always fine.

For Gin, i genuinely really like Lidl's own Gin and its £14 a litre so almost always get that.

However, as an example, Cajun spice - now the only decent one i have tried is Schwartz. Every single supermarket own brand cajun spice i have tried (and that is a lot) is literally awful.
 
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moon man said:
Just bought some Lidl barrista oat milk will check out the label, only have it in coffee though but a lot of non vegans do now just for the better taste
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I'd be trying high end jersey millk as a comparison to the premium for higher priced oat milk, seems almond milk has it's fans
weekends often have a amaretto/rum type liquor with evening coffee so flavour wouldn't be anathema,
would still have higher glycaemic index and maybe that, kick, contributes to better taste,
studies on coke showed people who can't distinguish it from pepsi, but as soon as you identify the products, they say it tastes better - the power of advertising .. like oatly ?


SpellowHouse said:
Most people who are striking aren't struggling to survive, they are struggling to maintain their existing standard of living. What they don't seem to realise (or don't care) is that if they do maintain their standard of living, they are forcing people who are worse off than them further in to poverty.
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disparity of income between rich an poor in the uk nonetheless increased since 2008 , to the detriment to poorer of some £6K/pa versus france/de, something to redress that is needed,
but PM/chancellor will need to increase high earners/corporations input to the piggy bank.

Costa employees probably an example of struggling

Costa Coffee follows Pret a Manger with third staff pay rise in a year​

don't drink in coffee shops, but anyone drinking there isn't poor, although like phone subscriptions aren't they in the cost of living allowance/shopping basket
 
Terminal_Boy said:
Another vote for frozen fruit and veg so you‘re not throwing half the stuff you purchased in the bin 2 days later.

Lidl own brands are great value for money and some are almost as good as the brands they seek to emulate.
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There's a few things ill eat but I do think they taste different, like Dark Chocolate digestives, the Lidl ones don't taste as good, McVities don't taste 2x better though so Lidl wins my money there!

The thing is though most stuff is made in the same factories with recipes only slightly tweaked, when you realise that you also realise how much you pay for brands. I remember a few years ago a customer in M&S (i think it was M&S) was complaining that one of those fresh vegetable packs you get in the fridge had an Aldi logo on the back or something, and they were charging £2.50 for it when Aldi was under half the price. People literally pay twice the price for the exact some thing just because of brands it's unreal.
Jono8 said:
Difficult thing with brands is, is that you have to experiment with whether you are paying extra for anything. Sometimes the more expensive branded stuff IS better.

Ketchup i definitely agree - i can hardly taste much difference between most ketchups and the supermarket's own is almost always fine.

For Gin, i genuinely really like Lidl's own Gin and its £14 a litre so almost always get that.

However, as an example, Cajun spice - now the only decent one i have tried is Schwartz. Every single supermarket own brand cajun spice i have tried (and that is a lot) is literally awful.
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100% agree some stuff I notice, like my Digestives I mentioned above, but like you say a lot is just as good you need to be willing to experiement and try stuff out, some stuff I don't go back too but i'm always willing to try. It's a bit of an eye-opener when you realise "hey I could have saved £100 or so this year alone if I switched to this cheaper option" makes you really think.
 
SpellowHouse said:
It's the worst thing they can do, as well, because value for money decreases as the portion decreases in size. The overheads become the main thing you are paying for.
I think the most ridiculous one I have seen to date is Coleman's, who's pots have reduced to minuscule - 150g.
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One customer has said she buys two jars when her family has roast beef as all 6 like horseradish
 
jpaul said:
disparity of income between rich an poor in the uk nonetheless increased since 2008 , to the detriment to poorer of some £6K/pa versus france/de, something to redress that is needed,
but PM/chancellor will need to increase high earners/corporations input to the piggy bank.
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Absolutely.

The Conservatives really have fallen back on their roots over the past 13 years. Shockingly so.

The thing that alarms me the most is the way they lie about it. I have absolutely no problem with a government implementing policies the country voted them in for, and policies they tell the truth about, but what I have a real problem with is when they implement policies they know darn well that the public don't want, and they cover with a web of lies.

Their policies have failed, and they can't keep on hiding it with lies. They need to go away for ten years and sort themselves out.
 
DavidTJ said:
I am pretty sure your doing something wrong, Sweetcorn, Carrots, Cauliflower, Broccoli all have been fine for me from frozen
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I guess that depends on how you like your vege cooked. I like a firm bite to my vegetables, the total opposite to the mush that comes out of boiling them to death
 
SpellowHouse said:
Absolutely.

The Conservatives really have fallen back on their roots over the past 13 years. Shockingly so.

The thing that alarms me the most is the way they lie about it. I have absolutely no problem with a government implementing policies the country voted them in for, and policies they tell the truth about, but what I have a real problem with is when they implement policies they know darn well that the public don't want, and they cover with a web of lies.
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Because they only care about one thing and its NOT us.
 
DavidTJ said:
I am pretty sure your doing something wrong, Sweetcorn, Carrots, Cauliflower, Broccoli all have been fine for me from frozen
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Frozen veg is usually rubbish, completely changes its texture. There are exceptions; peas, sweetcorn, edamame/beans etc. are usually OK because of their relatively low water content.

You're probably just used to overcooked veggies.
 
Rai200 said:
Frozen veg is usually rubbish, completely changes its texture. There are exceptions; peas, sweetcorn, edamame/beans etc. are usually OK because of their relatively low water content.

You're probably just used to overcooked veggies.
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I steam veg, seems to keep their texture well.
 
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