Well when we first started OBL we all had alot of discussions about what it would mean to us and ways to go about it. The biggest thing that we all agreed on was that although the goal of OBL was secure housing that in fact it touched how we lived our everyday lives in numerous ways.
If we want to live a better life then changes had to made to reduce our outgoings. Now we dont live very well off affluent lives so i have to confess to not being able to see the wood for the trees when we first talked about this. How do we reduce our outgoings anymore?
Well, step 1 took place on Friday. We needed a food shop, the cupboards were looking distinctly empty and with Finn going bavk to school on Monday i also had lunches and healthy break to consider again. Neil kept the kids and i headed of to visit Mr Tesco.
Now, generally when i go to Tesco's i have 3 kids in tow, who get fed up very quickly, need the toilet (never all at once!) , have suddenly found a need for everthing in the toy and sweet aisles and get hungry very quick (which they like to inform you of in a loud winge type continuous manner!) so i have to say walking into Tesco's on my own, although strange was actually very relaxing.
I had checked the bank balance on the way in and to be honest it wasnt looking overly healthy, i did wonder how i was going to get everything on my list as it included biggies like nappies, wipes, toilet roll etc.
I needn't have worried, with the thoughts of OBL in my head and time to browse and calculate everything of i went.
Now breakfast cereals in our gaff is a bit of a bone on contention! We used to get Kelloggs cornflakes and rice krispies. As Madison who is coeliac can eat both. None of our kids take milk on there cereal so we were finding very quickly that half of it was ending up on the floor as they tried to scoop it out! They all enjoy cereal but how wasteful and an expensive breakfast if some is being wasted.
We have now solved the issue with Tesco Everyday Value Cornflakes and Rice Krispies.Both suitable for Madison which is excellent. And the best bit??
The cornflakes are 31p per 500g box and the krispies are 70p. Not bad, Eh?
And, the kids love them! Neil and i dont eat the kids cereal so we got the everyday value muesli, £1.18 for 1 kg and i have to say it tastes great..
I continued on along this line and actually bought the majority of my shop from the value range, i had time to work out costings etc and see what we would actually be saving. It some cases the difference was unreal.
I had two purchases of the day which i couldnt believe and since getting them home and trying them, am still in total aww!
With 2 kiddies still using nappies (Valentina only at night) we have found that we are still spending an extortionate amount of money on nappies. Now before i get messages saying we should have used washable, we did 100% for Finley, part time for Valentina but never for Madison. When you have 3 in nappies, which we had when Mads arrived the convenience and simplicity of disposable takes over!
We were buying the boxes of pampers simply dry nappies, costing between £10.99 and £12.50 depening on what offers were on. We stuck with these as we never had a problem with them, they never leaked etc. Well on Friday i took the plunge and bought a pack of Tesco Everyday Value nappies!
Now i must confess, i bought these thinking, it was about time Madison was starting to think about the potty and we are trying to get Vale out of nappies at night so i didnt think these would be as absorbant, therefore introducing Mads to that being wet feeling!
Wow, well how wrong was i! These nappies are fantastic, they are just as good as pampers (to the point i did question as to whether they were re branded pampers?) They didnt leak and the girls seemed comfortable in them. This has got to be a champion find! Now i did stick with Tesco's own wipes rather than the value range as i found when i tried the value range wipes before that i used more of them so it was a false economy. Tesco's own wipes are currently on offer for 3 packs for £2.70 which is better value than there big 'value' box of 6 packs, so just be careful while that offer is on and utilize it!
The second purchase of the day was ketchup.I had thought of making my own but with time constraints recently it just hasnt happened. By the time i reached the ketchup aisle i was in full money saving mode! I got a bottle of Tesco Everyday range tomato ketchup for 20p!
It is only a small bottle but the equivalent in a branded range was £2.78!! No one has complained about it this weekend so i must assume its as good as the other and its suitable for Madison as well!
This is only a few of the things that i bought i could go on for ages and go through everything individually but i think you've got the gist from this select few!!
I was really impressed from the petit filous (6 for 41p!) to the nappies, i had a very sucessful shopping trip out. When i have a minute i must sit down and calculate the actual savings against branded goods.
Although many may not agree with latge supermarkets taking over from small businesses in our towns i have to say, well done Mr Tesco for stepping up to the plate and providing a range that is reasonably priced and good quality!
Have a go, it was genuinely enjoyable!!
Suzi
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