My brother and his wonderful Girlfriend Fiancé have decided that they are getting married next year (yes they got engaged – squeeeeeal) and not only have they decided to do the deed in Las Vegas but they want us all there too!!

After about 10 minutes of “we can’t afford this!” We realised that a) life is too short and b) it’s my baby brothers wedding so we started the planning process. Now me being me this has already involved a spreadsheet and some jiggling of our own plans (2nd honeymoon anyone)

As I start shopping around for the best deals I realise this isn’t just me being practical, but that it’s a lifestyle choice that I will always make. I admit it, I’m a complete and utter bargain hunter!!

So why am I telling you all this?

Well it came to me yesterday evening, after I happily spent most of the night shopping around for the best grocery delivery deal I could get, that this is a skill, and a valuable one.

Some background…

I’ve been using the Asda home delivery pass which gave me unlimited daily deliveries for £15 for 3 months. I needed to spend £40 a pop for the deal to work but I reasoned that I’d easily manage that a couple of times a month.

It all sounded great in principle but the reality has been far from ideal. My order was nearly always wrong which meant I spent Saturday mornings on the phone. I also didn’t realise that, unlike other supermarkets, Asda show the price at the time you order, not the price you pay on delivery and as they don’t give start or end dates for discounts it’s impossible to budget correctly.

This meant my delivery was usually more expensive. This didn’t just cost me time and money, Asda ended up costing itself much more in goodwill gestures by not getting these little things right. Now I’ve been locked into this deal for three months but finally my delivery pass runs out this week so I’ve been weighing up the alternatives.

Here’s what I’ve found….

Sainsburys delivery charges vary by timeslot 2.99 – 5.99 with free deliveries on orders over £100 on some midweek deliveries. They do offer a £60 for 6 month delivery saver deal (and you do pay the price on the day that you checked when you order) but from experience their ‘suitable alternatives’ deal means you get charged the price of the alternative, which it personally don’t like.

Waitrose is the only supermarket to offer free delivery at any time and they do have an incentive deal on at the moment but they came out most expensive in my recent survey of the things I buy and you have to spend at least £50 per shop (and £75 to qualify for the incentive)

Tesco I used to be Tesco thru and thru, regularly racking up my clubcard points but after a couple of dodgy experiences with their delivery team I decided to give them a miss. After a second look their delivery costs work out the most expensive, with charges between £2-£6 or a delivery Saver at, £36 per 1/4 or £60 for 6 months. Add to this the obligatory £40 spend, and although their replacement scheme is good their prices just aren’t competitive any more for the things I buy.

Asda (yes I still checked) has a minimum order of £25. Charges range between £1 and £5.50 and its cheapest slots are Tuesday to Thursday. They do offer a monthly (£8) and 1/4ly delivery pass (now £24) But for this there is a minimum £40 spend and as with the others there is a limit of one delivery per day. However with £1 delivery slots most midweek evenings (with a minimum spend of just £25) I just don’t rate the pass as value anymore.

Ocado charges vary, from free on orders over £40 to £1.99, with the cheapest slots being either late evening or early morning. There is a smart pass option which I couldn’t quite understand but with free delivery over £40 and a wide selection of comparably priced offers why would you bother.

The verdict…

I’m not going to tie myself into a delivery pass again. With free slots for larger shops at both Sainsburys (£100), Ocado (£40) and Waitrose (£50) I will probably look at which is the cheapest at the time I’m shopping and what deals there are and do a monthly shop there.

But for next week it’s Ocado. They have a deal where if I spend £40 in my first order I get £10 off which is win win for me. It’s got free delivery And I can just spend the £40 minimum to qualify!!

Oh and before you think this is an online thing, just a warning- I’ve been known to go to all 3 local supermarkets on shopping day just to make sure I get the best deal!!

So will I right Asda off totally?
No- with £1 delivery slots and a minimum spend of £25 it’ll be worth it for heavy stuff occasionally (cheap fizzy drinks, potatoes etc) but I don’t want to be tied to them for everything.