I was invited to go along with a friend to Peterborough today, as she was going to two cash-n-carry/discount club warehouse type shops, and I had expressed an interest in seeing what they were like, and the quality of the goods they sell. Because of the distance involved, and the significant amount she buys each time she goes, she doesn't go that often - perhaps just three or four times a year.
The invitation came last week, and I debated with myself the timing of the visit, coming in the middle of a challenge month, and came to the conclusion that I would be cutting my nose off to spite my face if I didn't go. I actually enjoyed the experience of going shopping with someone else for a change, and slowing down!
So, in the first place, where they didn't sell food, I bought new face flannels, and a couple of small gifts. These are not from the challenge or food budget, so that was OK.
The second place was the huge food warehouse - they sold an absolutely amazing variety of food - and so much ethnic food as well; Peterborough is very multi-cultural, and I had an interesting time peering at all these foods and wondering what they were, and what they might taste like. My friend's husband is Anglo-Indian and she cooks a lot of curries, and other Indian foods, so she was able to explain some of the ingredients to me.
I spent just over £30 in this shop:
5kg of fresh chicken breasts for £16.49 - there were 24 breasts in the pack, and now 22 of them are safely packaged in plastic bags and nestled in 11 packages in my freezer - the other two have been eaten by the family with Curry in a Hurry sauce for their tea. This means that four servings made from two breasts will cost about £1.40 altogether - very good value for money.
3kg Dark brown sugar - £5.69 - a good price compared with the supermarkets.
6 jars of Hartley's raspberry jam - £5.29 so less than a £1 a jar, when it retails for about £1.20/jar.
2kg bacon for £4.49 - this is still in the fridge at the moment, but it is going to be portioned up and frozen too.
Total spending £31.96 which is not coming from the challenge, of course, or that would have blown the budget completely and it would not be realistic as we are clearly not going to eat all of that in one week!!
It's life.
6 hours ago
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3 comments:
Great deals, especially for the chicken.
I find the cash'n'carry useful - sometimes - but do have to check their prices against the supermarket [and also be aware that sometimes VAT is added at the checkout which bumps up prices]
I get laundry stuff in bulk - and when we had a dog, our pet food - because that was always a definite saving.
Yes, Angela - I was walking around looking at things and working out prices with the VAT added on and then thinking about how much things would be in the supermarkets or Lidl. There were several other things I was tempted to buy, but once I had done the calculations, I worked out that they would be cheaper elsewhere!
The chicken was definitely a good deal, and my friend bought a large piece of beef as well; she knows their prices and knew what she wanted so it was less of a challenge for her! It was a little overwhelming for me, as I really had no idea of what would be on offer, and how much money to take, but I was pleased with the experience in the end.
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