Oca, oca ocado, ocado, ocado

I have been having the most wonderful love affair with Ocado.  For over a year now I have had my groceries delivered to my door, by nice drivers, on time and what's more--with very few "substitutions."  (I have had two very poor experiences with Sainsburys deliveries and Tesco won't deliver to me because I live on a farm.  I am not a farmer, but that does not matter to them.)  Yes, I prefer our local farm shops and our meat and vegetable box delivery scheme, but they don't sell everything.  So needs must.

But they are too expensive, you say?  No, they have Tesco price match, Waitrose brand products, Ocado brand products, and deals all of the time.  Plus, when I go to the grocery store I end up putting tons in my trolley.  Online, I can take them out if I go over budget---much harder to do at the till with a toddler.  I have actually been able to reduce my grocery spending over the last year using ocado.

I want to pick out  my own stuff you say!  Well, I don't with a toddler.  Any trip to our Tesco Extra means 20 minutes in the toy aisle and then a frantic look around for what I want.  I can never remember what I want by then, and always leave disappointed. (I do like Tescos, but on my own, or with a lot of leisure time to explore the toys!)

Actually I am sometimes disappointed with the produce from ocado, but I do pop into other store occasionally.  (The produce is usually very good quality, but your avocados might not be as ripe as when you pick it out yourself. ) I also purchase cheap toilet paper elsewhere, because we need the really cheap stuff because we have very old drains which can't cope with puppies and teddy bears.

I don't want to pay for dellivery, you say!  Well, the nearest supermarket is 20 minutes away from me, and with the money I save by not putting extras in my trolley, I can afford the delivery.  Plus I have a trick.  They offer a annual delivery pass for about £110 or so.  I wait until they have an insanely good offer like last year when I got the delivery pass for £59.  You can then have as many deliveries as you like for the price. 


Having said all of that, I have to make some dramatic cuts to my spending and so I need to cancel my ocado for a few months.  My free delivery pass is expired.  And with a minimum spend of £40 per delivery I cannot manage this amount for a while.  I need to be extra frugal if I am going to meet my financial goals this year.  So it is farewell and not good-bye.  We will meet again one day.