FROM bumper bags of rice, pasta or frozen fish, to extra-big bottles of dish-washing liquid, bulk-buying supermarket basics can HALVE the cost of your monthly shop.
That is the finding of a Sun on Sunday Squeeze Team investigation after we shopped for value buys for a family of four to beat rising costs of food and other household essentials.
Our bulk-buy shop to last a month or more totalled £63.89, whereas repeat small purchases of the same items, adding up to similar quantities totalled £128.75 — double the spend.
We bought everything from one store in Manchester.
Squeeze Team money-saving expert Martyn James says: “Larger options often hidden on lower shelves are more cost-effective than repeat visits for separates, saving hundreds of pounds across the year.
“And it is not about multipacks with big ‘offer’ stickers, they are not always what they seem.”
Food prices rose 4.3 per cent last month, the biggest spike in eight years.
Martyn, of consumer site Resolver, is part of our Squeeze Team of experts here to help with weekly tips.
He adds: “If cupboard and freezer space is tight, focus on essentials that last and can be used in countless meals — pasta, rice, pulses, tins and dried goods.
“Big bags of frozen fruit and veg work out cheaper too. Large containers of milk, or loaves, can be split up for use now or freezing.”
Most read in Shopping
Hunt for low prices
By David Jarvis
SHOPPERS are spending an extra 1.5billion hours a year hunting around for the best prices, The Sun on Sunday has found.
With the economic squeeze biting, our research reveals that millions of us are visiting up to five stores, instead of just one, for the weekly shop.
Younger shoppers are far more likely to trudge around than older ones.
Seventy-three per cent of Millennials and Gen Z (18 to 34-year-olds) say they are visiting several supermarkets instead of just one.
That figure was 62 per cent for Generation X (35 to 54-year-olds) and 54 per cent for Baby Boomers (55 to 74).
One in ten shoppers said they now visit more than one supermarket to do the weekly shop even if it only means saving £1. Forty per cent said they are happy to visit multiple stores to save less than £5.
On average, shoppers travel two miles to their supermarket, but 18 per cent were happy to make a journey of five miles or more for a good deal.
Yet researchers found that only 46 per cent of those who shop around for a cheaper deal actually find one.
And 66 per cent of those who visit multiple supermarkets to get the best deal end up spending an average of £9.58 more than they intended.
The poll was carried out by Tesco asking 2,000 about their weekly shop.
An average household spends £63.70 a week or £3,312 a year, on groceries. Our finds included a 10kg bag of rice for £5.50, instead of 18 500g packs totalling £18.
Our 3kg of pasta at £3.30 trumps six 500g packs adding up to £4.20. A £6 bag of eight frozen cod fillets beats four fresh two-packs for £15.80.
A box of 240 tea bags for £2.47 saves 83p on three 80-bag ones at £1.10 each. A 200g jar of coffee was £2 rather than £1.49 for 100g, and £3.65 for an 825g block of cheese instead of £1.99 per a 250g bag of grated.
Martyn added: “If you have limited space, see what neighbours might buy with you. And freezer bags are a must as you can get more in. Freeze all sorts, from cheese and yoghurt to eggs and coffee.
“Shop mid-month, rather than after pay day, when making money last is on your mind. Stock up seasonally — such as our 10kg bag of rice on sale ahead of Ramadan.”
Music fans’ cost-of-gigging crisis
TICKETS for music festivals and concerts are up to 50 per cent pricier than pre-pandemic, as organisers try to fill a £1BILLION hole from cancelled events.
Punters are also being hit with “fulfilment” fees of up to £15 for having tickets emailed or posted, and secondary selling sites are charging well above face value.
Tickets for London’s Wireless Festival, where Nicki Minaj and Cardi B will play, were £65 in 2019 and this year are £95 – up 46 per cent. Tickets to Glastonbury, with Paul McCartney set to headline, are up 5.6 per cent from £265 in 2019 to £280, and for Reading Festival by over 35 per cent from £69.50 to £94. Parklife Festival in Manchester is up 24 per cent from £125 in 2019 to £155, and Download Festival at Donnington Park, Leics, 12.6 per cent from £238 to £268.
Concert-goers will be hit too.
Four years ago tickets for the Rolling Stones’ No Filter Tour were reportedly available for £67.75. This summer’s cheapest, put on sale several days ago, are around £90. But only a small number will be available. Some tickets at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium are £228, in London they are from £172 to £566 in June for a standard ticket and July £184 to £927. Ticket site Viagogo was last week asking £6 to email tickets or £15 to post them.
Dua Lipa tickets could be had in 2018 for a reported £29.95. This year they start at £40. Last week Viagogo quoted £73 plus £24 VAT and booking fee.
Lady Gaga’s UK tour in 2017 was reportedly £35 a ticket. This year the cheapest is £51.65. On Viagogo last week they were £79 plus £27 VAT and booking fee.
Fans hoping to see Billie Eilish in June at London’s O2 must dig deep too.
Viagogo is charging £158 plus £56 VAT and booking.
Concert ticketing giant Live Nation Entertainment last week predicted record profits this year.
But Martyn James at consumer website Resolver warns: “These rises will prove too much for some fans.”
Our findings heap pressure on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to axe a 7.5 per cent rise in VAT on concert and live-event tickets from April 1, putting the tax back to its pre-pandemic level of 20 per cent.
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