Almost everyone in the UK is trying to cut all household bills, while daily we hear of increases. Kitkat, Unilever and Primark are the latest of to say they have no choice but to put prices up again. The ONS says that grocery prices are increasing by 6% year on year. But we should not just accept the increases. It takes time to save money, but it is definitely worth it. Remember Tesco made £2.2 billion last year and predicts it will increase profits to £2.4 billion to £2.6 billion. Sainsbury also doubled profits. Lidl and Aldi say they are […]
Category: Supermarkets
Beware stealth price rises
As you make a shopping list for the Easter supermarket shop this weekend remember two things. Supermarkets are increasing prices by stealth and that could be why Tesco could report a 30% increase in profits this week. While milk and bread are likely to be the same as last week and the week before those items you buy infrequently could well cost more. I reckon that for every reduction there are two bigger increases in other aisles. Then there is the regular yo-yo pricing that has everyday items such as loo rolls or mayonnaise moving up and down week by […]
Prices are rising fast but official index misleads
Inflation is rising fast, but the Government and the supermarkets would have us believe that prices are not soaring above earnings. Experts tell us we are mistaken when we think our weekly shop is more expensive. Today we are told that prices in the newly configured inflation basket have increased by 2.3% year on year. That is according to the official consumer price index invented a few years ago and according to the new CPIH index that includes the economists’ take on the cost of owning a home unveiled today was also exactly the same as the CPI, which does […]
Beware supermarket vouchers
We are in Advent. The trees are up and the Christmas shopping lists are made. And every time we go to a supermarket we get another voucher offering great riches…or not. You need to be wary not to be conned into spending more than you would normally and to understand how little you will get with some of the offers and how many hoops you will have to go through to get any cash at all. And the stores are probably hope that the lure of points will take your eye off the price of the food on the shelves. […]
Supermarket Christmas shopping tricks beware
Christmas is coming and the supermarkets want to fatten their profits. So beware. Ignore the bigger boxes of biscuits, the larger jars of goose fat and the mince pies that must be eaten in the next three weeks. The name of the game at this time of year for the Big Four supermarkets is to get you to buy more of your Christmas food and drink from them than from their rivals. But unlike their discounter competitors they tend not to try to battle on price. They try to do it by sleight of hand. Making us feel wanted. They […]
Bye bye Brand Match – Sainbury’s price comparison with Asda hits the dust
Sainbury’s price compari-gone So farewell then Brand Match. Sainsbury’s has announced that from the end of April it is no longer going to compare prices with Asda for customers who buy ten or more items. It says that this is because we shoppers are less likely to buy 10 or more items in the stores. Hmmmmm… Maybe they should look at their research more closely. If we are all filling our baskets and trolleys with only nine items they are in trouble. It could be because the store is also ending its Bogof – buy one get one free – […]
A tale of two supermarket vouchers
The latest inflation figures showed that food prices are rising – along with petrol. This is no surprise to Money Fight Club. Part of our job is to monitor the tricks being played on us, every single week, by the supermarkets. A batch of supermarket vouchers currently doing rounds demonstrate the latest wheeze that’s designed to get us to spend more. At the till, when paying for my last weekly shop, I received a voucher that promised me five times as many points if I spent £60 or more in the following week. In other words, if I spent £20 […]
Why Black Friday 2014 gives retailers a rosy glow
Black Friday 2014 falls on November 28. If there’s anything black about it’s the feeling your liable to get when you look at next month’s bank statement and discover that your desire to bag a bargain has put you in the red. We imported Black Friday from the US. It always takes place on the last Friday in November, which has long been the start of Christmas shopping on the other side of the Atlantic and follows on from the spending and consumption that surrounds Thanksgiving. Black Friday 2014 is a tricksy little marketing device. Under the guise of ‘bargains’ […]
Why supermarket price wars aren’t all they’re cracked up to be
Tesco has joined Morrrisons in tantalising supermarket shoppers with offers of price cuts. According to The Telegraph: Tesco has cut the cost of a cooked breakfast, with lower prices on eggs, bacon and tomatoes, saving families ‘£96 a year’. Hmmm… The Tesco salvo was in response to a similar promise to cut prices from Morrisons. Of course, it would be cynical to point out that both these generous offers were made on the back on dwindling profits. We’re all for basics such as bread and eggs costing less but we trust supermarkets about as far as you can throw a […]
Supermarket special offers. No more two-for-ones on sneaky please!
Supermarkets are as sneaky as they ever were and, in our opinion, getting worse. The good news is that you’re all getting sick and tired of it. The fake discounts and multi-buys that are more expensive than buying individual packs are finally catching up with them. A survey by Netmums for the Sunday Times found that 80% of customers want better regulation of supermarkets. At Money Fight Club we agree and say you need to go into supermarkets armed and prepared to be ambushed if you don’t keep your wits about you. A basic supermarket self defence weapon is the […]