Brands v Own Labels

In the past my supermarket spending was ridiculously high.  As a family we ate well and I was in a financial position of being able to buy brands, supermarket premium products, Fairtrade goods, organic fruit and veg and organic meat.  I still believe that we should fuel our bodies with good food but as a single parent I cannot afford to spend the same amount money I used to.  Over the last few months I have reduced my supermarket bill by two thirds.  I cook from scratch and refuse to put rubbish into my body.  I still buy meat that has come from animals who have lived a decent life but probably only once a week now.

I pulled a few random products out of my cupboards.  On the right are the brands that I still buy as I haven't found suitable replacements yet or are a guilty pleasure!  But I buy them when they're on offer and we use them sparingly.  On the left are some of the supermarket value and basic lines that we've found are a pretty good substitute.

For example last week in Sainsbury's, Green Giant sweetcorn was on offer at 4 x 198g pack for £2.23. Their Basics sweetcorn (also in sugar, salt and water) were 21p each.  So that's 84p for 4 x 198g.  And it tastes the same! I did a blind taste test on the teenager!! It's a no brainer.

I now buy UHT milk as I was throwing out fresh milk every week (even stretching it by using it past it's use by date!!)  A pack of 6 x 1 litres was on offer at £3.  That's 50p a litre.  Almost half the cost of fresh milk.  I don't drink it at all. The teen and visitors have it in their tea n coffee. And nobody has noticed the difference.

I've worked out I can bake a white loaf for under 50p or buy a Warburtons white sliced one for £1.35.  I can make a decent home made loaded pizza for a fraction of the cost of a premium brand one.  And the teenager loves them both.

I used to think that saving 50p on milk or £1.39 on tins of sweetcorn wasn't worth the time and effort to compare prices.  I never checked my till receipt to see if it was correct.  Earlier this week I returned to Sainbury's as they'd overcharged me by £1.70 on a frozen fruit deal. I got my refund. But now every single penny saved goes towards my future financial freedom.  I'm treating this like my job.  I'm running my home like I would run a business.  It's challenging but so far I'm enjoying the challenge.