Nappies 20 pack size 5 £1.41 – these are great, they are not plastic feeling like other value ranges and are very absorbent. Alison wears them at night time as she is toilet trained during the day and although very full they don’t leak and they are only 7p per nappy compared to around 16p for other own brands.
Sponge scourers 5 pack 14p – they are scourers they do the job and save me a lot of pennies.
Kitchen towels 3 pack £1.88 – I have actually realised that these are not that cheap and a quick stop in the pound shop a few shops down would have saved me 88p
Hand wash 38p – its green slimy and smells of grapefruit but it washes your hands and coming in a lot cheaper than other brands I will certainly be buying this again.
Air freshened 29p – this smells like flowers which I hate but it does freshen the bathroom up so I suppose it does its job, I just won’t use it in my toilet (we have three) but will use it in Hubbys which is the one that goes through the most air freshener.
Facial tissues 45p – surprisingly soft and fairly strong these have been put to the test by Alisons constantly runny nose and they have withstood the pressure.
Mushrooms £1.59 – like the kitchen roll these are not actually that cheap and I could have saved money by going to the fruit and veg market.
Muffins 6 pack 59p – These muffins are great and at less than 10p each makes a great breakfast or snack
Tortilla chips 23p – I used these to make nachos for a Mexican evening and people thought they were Doritos so why spend so much when you can get the same quality for a lot less.
Tortilla wraps 6 pack 67p – Elizabeth doesn’t really like bread so we do wraps for her packed lunch instead. She loves these and they save me a fortune. We also used them for fajitas and they didn’t fall apart from the moisture as some do.
Part baked baguettes 2 pack 45p – The only bread Elizabeth enjoys eating is fresh from the oven and dipped in soup, we used the rest to make hot chicken baguettes and they were great.
Food bags 42p – not too thin and perfect for sandwiches or snacks.
Mozzarella 44p – we used this on a cheap pizza to add some texture and flavour, and it was really good. The kids loved making their own pizzas.
Tea bags pack of 80 27p – I gave these to hubby and he couldn’t tell the difference until he saw the packet in the cupboard. My hint put them straight into a storage jar and no-one will ever know.
Grated cheese £2.18 – A nice medium cheddar thickly grated and a resealable bag
Sliced ham £1.65 – This is one of the staples in our house and with other ham going for about £2 for half the amount this will add up to a lovely saving.
Fresh Sausages 8 pack 57p – these were one of the biggest surprises because I hate cheap sausages, I did plan to have them in a casserole but ended up having a sausage and egg butty. I had to add oil to the pan as none came out of the sausages and they had a lovely texture once cooked not like the slimy ones you usually get.
Salsa 69p – we used this for making nachos and fajitas, it wasn’t very spicy and I like hot salsa so I stuck in a few drops of tabasco but £1 less than the other salsa dips available and seen as I bought 3 jars it is a substantial saving.
Chilli con Carne sauce 52p – it was ok, but needed more spice and kidney beans added so you may as well spend a bit more and get a decent jar that doesn’t need anything added.
Mayonnaise 48p – it is full fat which means I didn’t try it but hubby says it is ok. I prefer to buy half-fat or light so not sure I will keep buying this.
Small 6 pack fromage frais 50p – small yoghurts suitable for kids lunchboxes, they tasted alright and the kids eat them. Half the price of the ones on offer and a lot less than the ones, not on offer.
Large 4 pack yoghurt 33p – these surprised hubby a lot as these were for his lunches at work. He said that they were really nice and creamy and had a great flavour to them so definitely a swap here.
Tin of 8 hotdogs 55p – Hotdogs are a great lunchtime snack for the kids and these were no different, I even enjoyed a few.
2ltr bottle of cola 17p – well this was disgusting but hey it was 17p so what did I expect. In fact, if you like Pepsi you will like this as it has that same sickly stickiness to it. I prefer Diet coke and have actually found that Tesco value diet coke is a great replacement and at the same price as this.
So at the end of that trial, I have realised that saver or value items can actually be quite good and it is just a case of trial and error. Also, don’t think that because it is a saver or value product it is actually cheaper or the cheapest you can find as sometimes that is just not true. One product to mention is that Morrisons do some bread that is always on a “Half Price offer” at 60p and we love thick-sliced bread. I think it is called Rathbones or something similar but with it being a lot less than Warburtons and really decent thickness it is our main bread purchase from there now.
So apart from downgrading, meal planning and not going shopping hungry do you have any other suggestions on how to save money?