On Saturday we popped to Wetherby, mainly to get some meat. There's a butcher there who does 2lb of stewing steak for £5 and it's so lean that there's never any waste. I bought 4lb, it will make lots of meals and I also bought five pork chops for £5. That may sound a tad expensive but each chop will serve two people, I kid you not, they're huge. Anyway, whilst we were in Wetherby, I decided that I'd do a shop in Morrisons. There were some things I didn't manage to get there, some things which we can only get from Tesco or things we knew were cheaper at Tesco (not many, I hasten to add), and there will be bits and pieces I still need to pick up throughout the week. My bill came to £29.99. I had to laugh when the cashier gave me a coupon, spend £110 or more and save £13.
£110! Even if I were stocking up or I were buying some things in bulk, I doubt I'd spend this much. I've had coupons for £5 off a £40 shop or a fiver off a £60 shop but they're having a laugh now. I know it's a good saving, over 10% but it's a lot of money to shell out in one go to make that saving. I can't even pass it on to someone who would spend it as it has to be used with the Match & More card which was swiped when the coupon was printed.
They call this rewarding us for our custom.
Butchers can be ok if you find a different one, now I like a bargain or deal, but that offer would not tempt me at all x
ReplyDeleteWe're quite lucky with butchers, we have some good ones but some are definitely better value than others. No, the offer won't tempt me either.
DeleteWow, that is some spend. The only thing I could think of was doing a shop for the month.
ReplyDeleteI know. I suppose it would work out well on a monthly shop but I can't shop that way myself as I'm just not organised enough, I can hardly work out what I'll need for the week, never mind a month.
DeleteI love Morrisons but i have to go a bit out of my way to do a shop there so only go if i'm near one. Although that's probably a good thing because their cakes are wonderful and i always end up buying some!
ReplyDeleteThat's one big coupon! like you say, they are usually £5 or £6 off - I was behind someone in Sainsburys a few weeks ago who's bill came to almost £200!!! Glad it wasn't my bill.
There's just been planning permission passed to build a Lidl nearby, I was hoping it would be a Morrisons as we have to go out of the way to do a shop there too. I wonder how long that £200 shop will last them, it's amazing what some people spend.
DeleteI love our local butcher, the meat is great quality and much better value than the supermarkets.
ReplyDeleteThese sorts of deals really annoy me, when I was single (and obviously only having one income) I used to get so annoyed that you had to buy in bulk to get any discounts. Three for the price of two, buy one, get one etc... when you live alone you just don't need all of that food, and sometimes you can't afford the price even if you could store it! Why can't they give good prices to start with and a blanket discount for everyone?
I love having a good local butcher. Wetherby isn't very close by but it's worth travelling to get the deals they do. We do have a couple of other good butchers which are local and the meat's always much better than the supermarket. I agree with you about the deals, it would be much fairer for everyone if they just lowered their prices and I'm sure they'd attract just as many customers, if not more, if they did.
Deletedoes it expire? it would do you a pretty major christmas shop!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it does, there's only a week to spend it. As you say, it would have done a great Christmas shop.
DeleteMorrisons used to price match with their match and More card and we regularly received £5 vouchers to spend as cash. They dropped thisiodea and now just give points on what you spend. You now need to spend about £1000 to get a £5 voucher. They reckon this change is due to listening to what customers want. As if customers would opt for a worse deal. I would have more respect if they just said that it was costing them too much!
ReplyDeleteI knew about the change but because we don't shop at Morrisons on a regular basis I hadn't worked out how their reward card works now. That's quite a difference to how it used to work, they must have lost a lot of customers. I agree, why they don't just admit to the reason they're changing things really annoys me, we all know the real reason why.
DeleteThat's so bizarre it's almost a joke! Perhaps some people would be tempted? My supermarket bill seems to go and down like a yo yo some weeks it's around £30 then next it's up to £70!
ReplyDeleteI laughed when I first looked at the voucher but as you say, I bet some people are tempted. My bill is like yours, some weeks we need more shopping than others, especially now the kids are the ages they are. Some weeks Daniel may be home from uni and others Eleanor may be out more than she's home so the shopping alters accordingly.
DeleteThe trouble with most of the supermarkets is they are having to really compete for our spend ... and by doing this they do all seem to be going to ridiculous lengths.
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many people say the best way to shop is to make a shopping list and stick to it. Avoid the end of aisle special offers, and coupons you have, because would you actually have bought that item or spent that much?
Of course they are all good tips, but how many of us do it!
I do like Morrison's fruit and vegetables market (as they call it) but suspect like most of us I shop at my most convenient store most of the time but enjoy a change, albeit slightly further afield, every now and again.
All the best Jan
Sticking to a shopping list is definitely the way to go. There's some really good offers sometimes though but it only goes to show that if the supermarkets can cover these offers then how much are they making on things in the first place. I definitely think that a change is as good as a rest and I'm looking forward to the new Aldi supermarket being built nearby. I doubt I'll do a full shop there but it's handy to have one on the doorstep for the bargains they offer.
DeleteThey all do these sorts of coupons and offers and I sometimes wish that they'd stick to basic prices. I also wonder who really benefits, them or us. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteMe too. It's definitely them that benefit, we may pick up one or two bargains but the supermarkets are still making a good profit on them and keeping us out of their competitor's stores.
DeleteWe have found a good local butcher and the meat whilst expensive does taste so good. We now try and have one or two days meat free to counter the extra spend on the meat. It is working for us, and we are enjoying the meat free meals. The supermarkets really annoy me, they only feather their own nest, every thing is about getting us to spend more.
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely a difference with meat bought from a butcher to that bought in a supermarket. We all enjoy our meat so it's very rare that we have meat free meals, though I wouldn't mind it so much, Mick would definitely kick up a fuss. I had to laugh at this voucher, as if I'm going to spend that amount of money on a weekly shop when they've just seen that I've spent less than a third of that amount.
DeleteI love the sound of your butcher, it must be nice when you find one you trust. The Morrisons coupon is silly. I had an £8 of £60 but I'm not tempted!
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I like about my local butchers is the customer service, you just don't get it in a supermarket. Hmmm, I might be tempted on an £8 off £60, depending on the offers on at the time, I could stock up on things but I'd have to stock up on an awful lot of things to use the £110 coupon.
DeleteI agree with you about the coupon. I've had a few recently that just wouldn't ever work for me. I don't spend a lot on food, maybe $100/week (I think that would be about 70 pounds? I don't remember the conversion. Anyway, I'm trying to move away from stockpiling and buying things just to say I got a "deal" on them. I think your coupon would make it too easy to fall into that trap!
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people are more aware than ever of the amount they spend on shopping these days. My freezer is usually kept quite full but other than that, I don't really stockpile things, I don't have the room for one thing.
DeleteSadly we can easily spend £110 on a weekly shop, but most of that goes on food for three dogs, a cat, hedgehog and birds, pet food certainly isn't cheap is it? Without pet food I'd never manage to spend that......unless I threw plants in which I'm also guilty off.xxx
ReplyDeletePlants, yes, they have some great ones at Morrisons. You can definitely spend a lot of money on pet food, and having more than one animal in the house, it soon adds up. Even the wild birds seem to eat me out of house and home.
DeleteMy goodness, that meat was certainly cheap. Our meat these days is extraordinarily expensive and even our local butcher (we know him from the car club) says it has gone up as much in the last 12 months as it did in the last 30 years. Wow! As for that voucher, it is certainly ridiculous, unless you shop for all non-perishables monthly of bi-monthly. Ah, the way of the world these days. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThe meat is fantastic value, especially as it's so lean and it goes a long way. I wonder how many people use the vouchers when they're such large amounts like that, if certainly won't tempt me to do a bigger shop.
DeleteHi Jo...I hate it when you get the vouchers where you have to spend a lot before you can save, however I think someone else may be able to use it...I know my brother has passed them on to me before and it has took the money off at the checkout...even without a match and more card...worth a try if you know of someone who will spend that much!!!
ReplyDeleteIt does state that it can only be used with the same Match & More card that was presented at the time the coupon was printed but I suppose it would be worth a try passing it on to someone else to give it a go if they were to be spending that amount anyway, not that I know anyone who would spend such a large amount in one go. It expires at the weekend so they haven't given much time to spend it either.
DeleteCrumbs. They might have made it a "reachable" target like £6.50 off if you spent £55 or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree, that would make much more sense. I'm sure they'd tempt more people to do an extra shop then so it would be win win.
DeleteThat sounds like a LOT for an average person to spend in one go. Their promotion would likely be more profitable if they cut both the required spend and discount in half. I don't think people mind having to purchase a FEW extra staples in order to get a discount, but not an entire truckload.
ReplyDeleteThat's so true. They'd tempt more people to spend more by making the required spend less, even if the discount is less too. It would be interesting to know how many people use these coupons when they're for such a big amount.
DeleteI know there's inflation but wow that's too much for the present time.
ReplyDeleteIt is for us, we don't spend anywhere near that on a weekly shop.
DeleteWe don't have a Morrisons near us so they aren't somewhere I've ever really shopped in. When we went to Gosport last year I nipped into one for a soft drink as we were thirsty and came out with a king size duvet they had reduced in the sale!
ReplyDeleteLisa x
It's great when you hit on a bargain like that. I do like Morrisons, I find their prices are generally good and they have a good range of products, I just wish they had a store closer to where we live.
DeleteThat's more than a months grocery budget in one spend for me, and I'm not loyal to any shop so wouldn't be able to use it. I always used to use my local butcher for meat when we ate it, and my Mum still uses it. He does a loyalty scheme which offers 10% off your 10th purchase, so Mum buys small amounts 9 times and then stocks up on the 10th!
ReplyDelete£110 is such a big amount to spend in one go, I wonder how many people actually use these vouchers. That's a good loyalty scheme which your butcher runs. I like to use local shops where we can, I can see a time when there won't be any left because the supermarkets have put them out of business but more often than not you do get better deals in them as well as better customer service.
DeleteYes, I think Morrisons have got that one wrong - though presumably some people with big families will be able to make use of such vouchers. smaller savings on smaller spends would be so much better.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely would, then small and large families could all benefit. I do like Morrisons but I don't like this initiative.
DeleteIt does seem a very random amount doesn't it I think I'd struggle to spend that even at a stock up shop. We are lucky that Mikes best friend is a butcher so we buy in bulk every so often. Certainly keeps the cost down in the long run xx
ReplyDeleteIt certainly does seem like a funny amount, I can't imagine that most people's regular shopping comes to that amount. Having a friend who's a butcher must come in very handy.
DeleteStrange. Here in the states, we usually get $5 off or something like that but unless the Hubs is doing a major stock up on certain foods he likes, we never spend that much. However, we do go to Sam's which is a big warehouse store and buy bulk about every 6 months or so. We are lucky that the Hubs sister and her Hubs raise a beef at least once a year and we share in the butcher. We know exactly where the beef came from, the butcher who does the packing and we have plenty of beef. Usually we only get one every other year but because I've been sick so much this year, we may not need one for a couple of years. It certainly make a difference when you know what you are eating.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Sharon
I've never seen a coupon for so large amount before, they're usually for something like £5 off a £40 to £60 spend. I agree about knowing where your meat comes from, it's such a good idea to buy the way you do, it's something we'd definitely look in to if we had more storage space.
DeleteUM.... I'd spend around 150 pounds a week OR MORE on groceries - seriously food is VERY VERY expensive in New Zealand (it freaks tourists out!)I don't know anyone who spends anything less than that either! ie milk is 2 pounds for 2 litres; bread around 1.50 ; cereal can be 2-2.50 a box; honey 1.50-2.00; butter 2.00; cheese (1kg) is around 4 pounds.... No supermarket here would ever give such a discount. I remember buying 6 magnum iceblocks in the UK for 99p - here they are $NZ6-8 a box! Look at www.Countdown.co.nz for our food prices.
ReplyDeleteThose prices could be similar here if you go for branded products, Magnum lollies are about £3 for a box of three but you can buy the supermarket's own brand for about £1. The supermarkets here are always giving coupons or they have special offers, buy one get one free or buy three and make a saving, anything to grab your custom away from their rivals.
DeleteThat particular coupon is definitely not a case of 'More reasons to shop at Morrisons" Jo. I like their fish counter and the fruit/veg selection is usually good. We only have Asda, Lidl and Aldi on our side of the river whilst on the other side there's Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, Asda, & M&S all within reasonable walking distance of each other. I usually cross the water to shop :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha, it definitely isn't. I must admit that I like Morrisons, I usually find it one of the better supermarkets but I won't be using this particular coupon. Our nearest supermarket is Tesco but planning permission has just been passed to build a Lidl. A car ride away is Sainsburys and further afield is Asda, Aldi and M&S, Morrisons is the furthest. Typical that I like it the best!
DeleteSainsbury's is the same - I regularly get a coupon with the promise of lots of Nectar points if I spend £90 ..... of course recently when I did spend that much (I had bought some clothes that had 25% off, as well as the usual food shopping)I didn't have a voucher. I think they should have said, here's lots of bonus points for spending that much!!
ReplyDeleteIt's typical that you don't have a voucher when you do spend a large amount. I rarely shop at Sainsbury's but I do like their clothing section, it's very reasonable too.
DeleteI think the amounts that supermarkets offer as "rewards" is derisory really. What is valuable to them though, is the data they collect through your loyalty or points card. I don't like having to sign up or create an account online, so I don't bother much with them. Food shopping is a big weekly expense in our house even though I mainly shop at Aldi and the local butchers for meat.
ReplyDeleteOur food shopping bill has gone down considerably since Daniel went to university and I expect it will reduce further when Eleanor goes later this year. I must admit that I do have reward cards, I know the stores are collecting my data but that doesn't really bother me.
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