It is half term. I do not need to set an alarm. I do not need to get out of my pyjamas or even get out of bed, but today I did. I dilligently packed a bag. I travelled for one hour and a half from my warm, comfy house. I studied maps of london and went through maze like subways . The reason for all of this effort and energy expenditure in the holidays? Cheap food.

When I heard that Easy Jet’s founder has set up a shop where everything is 25p I knew that I had to go there! 25P?Twenty five pence for actual, real  tangible food? When I was little 25p could easily give me decent, satisfying snacks but now I feel like 25p is so worthless that I would not even bend down to pick it up if it fell out of my purse.

From  Hanger Lane Station to the Easy Food Store it was supposed to be a  17 minute walk, let’s just say it took me slightly longer. I’m usually a pro with google maps but I’m not sure if the app is quite cut out for subways (I’m sticking with this excuse).
After what felt like a million wrong turns and walking besides motor way like roads that I felt like I really shouldn’t be walking next to, I arrived.

 

 

There was a queue. I saw this as a good sign.

There were two security guards in the shop who only allowed about seven people in the tiny warehouse like store at a time. People came out rolling hauls of goods in boxes, suitcases and grandma shopping trolleys. My rucksack and pretty shopping bag didn’t quite cut it.

Whilst waiting I immediately made friends with a fellow bargain hunter, a 60 something year old Irish man who told me that he was in London ‘on holiday… for 42 years’.
He was funny, interesting and helped to make the 20 minute wait feel like a couple of minutes.

Whilst in the queue to get into the mythical store, an Easy Food Store employee came out with a few Easy brand related goodiess. Despite the fact that a couple of men felt no shame about grabbing  freebies out of my hand ( I almost got a mug), I was very happy with my pre- 25p shopping haul.

My Queue Friend got a bag

 

Finally, it was my turn to experience the wonders of a shop where everything is 25p.
The shop was very basic. Tinchy with metal shelving. Items were still in their boxes. It reminded me of  an even more  basic version of Netto circa 2000.

There weren’t the seductive food pictures, huge range of products and fancy aisle signs that you find in standard supermarkets but as everything was so cheap I didn’t really care.

As I did not have a granny trolley or a car I could not go all out ,so got the things that I thought were most value for money. I got 10 tins of tuna for £2.50. In Asda , which I consider quite a cheap supermarket, this would have cost me £5.30, in Sainsburys ten cans of basic tuna cost £7.00! I would have gone for more but I could only get 10 of each item and thankfully remembered that I was carrying it all home.

 

 

 

I was super happy with my haul which cost me just £5.25 in total

In Sainsburys, going for their basics range, this shop would have cost me £10.80

Easy Food Stores has really got me thinking about how much profit some supermarkets must make from the food they sell.

I travelled one hour and a half away from my house, in the holidays to get food which cost 25 p each.Am I very very cheap or a smart savvy saver? I still don’t know but I’m very happy with my haul and may pop down to Easy Food Stores again.Until the end of February everything in the store is 25p then it will go up to 29p.

This is not a sponsored post, I am just a die hard bargain hunter.

©  Cultural Magpie 2016