Yes, I’ve seen this in the news of late too. So often they are buy 2 specials which is annoying also as we get more than we really want. The Supermarkets really need to get on board with what the consumer wants. Prices are up and I can’t see any sign that they will ever come back down.

I do see a lot of junk food on special and sometimes buy blocks of chocolate at half price because chocolate is so expensive these days. I also occasionally find great half price specials on olive oil, coffee, muesli and really stock up on those items. I hardly ever see meat and fish on special.

Yep! 100% – especially this time of year – it’s all aimed at Halloween (trick or treat). Now they will focus on more of the chocolate boxes and things that might be gifted for Christmas. A lot of the time, it is not really much in the way of specials that are useful to the average family. Last week I didn’t buy any ‘specials’ from Coles.

Yes! And it’s one of the reasons lower income people are more likely to have problems with things like obesity and related health issues. They’re not lazy, they just can’t afford to buy the healthier food. Junky stuff is cheaper and goes further. It’s awful because they get the judgement of others on top of their other problems.

This is part of the reason why it’s so hard to make good food choices! I note one Mum below avoids those isles entirely. Smart move! It’s always been a marketing strategy, to get people to come in for those little treats, knowing that once there, you’ll buy many other things!

Yep! But im finding as it gets to this time of year around back to school/halloween and Christmas approaching they tend to do a lot more snack specials as of lately. There are definitely trends to their sales and what they promote. I always look online though as there is only so much they include in the catalogue

Yes you are definitely not the only one to have noticed this unfortunately. It is actually really frustrating when you try looking through the sales only to see most of the things that are on sale or at least have a decent sale on then are mostly ‘junk’ food which we are actively trying to reduce from our house. Without decent sales on the more healthy wholefoods the food budget definitely doesn’t stretch as far.

This is a frustration I always have. Sometimes the meat section will have 3-4 things on sale, one being a cheap meat like sausages, but a tonne of junk and sugar. The ‘always down’ stuff doesn’t count for me, because it’s only about a dollar off on meat and dairy. Its annoying for sure.

We do hunt for other products on special online and in stores but we also take the opportunity to stock up on treat food for special events and the holidays. It does take discipline to not touch them and eat and drink the products but the savings are well worth it.

I have! I always draw the kids’ attention to the way “real” food is rarely on special, while they try to draw you in with all sorts of specials on more junky food. Mind you, it’s handy at this time of year when I’m planning for some gatherings and treats. But it’s a pain otherwise.

We always do a good hunt for the specials; online and in catalogues. Chips, lollies, chocolate and fizzy drinks are products that often seem to be on special and also seem take priority shelf space in store. We always look for the other specials and also buy the treat food and of course eat it in moderation.

I have never noticed that before, but I just looked and you are so right!! I don’t shop online often so I guess I don’t notice as I don’t go into those aisles in store

Junk food has always been cheaper than healthy options, but i have to agree they do tend to be the items on sale all the time. You have to make sure you create a list online called a watch list and then you will be able to see when other items are on sale. I always stock up when meat is on sale which is not often but when it is, it can be great. There are always some veggies that are cheaper each week but they tend to be the items that are in season.

Yes… A while back Coles were saying that they had reduced the prices on a lot of household essentials. I was stunned to see that Coca Cola was classed as one of the household essentials. Stunned that anyone would consider it as such. I dont mind it on occassion but its certainaly not an essential

You are so right!! Anything healthy and fresh will pretty much always hold its price! Just food has such a big markup that the stores can afford to sell it half price and advertise it to everyone. Unfortunately people can’t always afford or have time to make diy fresh recipes etc but I definitely recommend buying a bag of apples as opposed to the half price Tim tams and Doritos, your kids will thank you for it later in life