Where Britain actually shops when the budget is tight
Twelve places to buy food, second-hand, and full-price goods — ordered by which one is genuinely cheapest for the use case, not by which one runs the best ads.
Supermarkets
Aldi
Cheapest weekly shop in Britain, basket-weighted.
Narrow range, no loyalty card needed, prices that make Tesco's Clubcard 'deals' look thin. The Specialbuys aisle is chaos but sometimes useful for kitchenware and kids' kit.
- Cheapest staples
- No loyalty card
- Specialbuys
Lidl
Aldi's twin — within 3% on staples, better bakery.
Functionally identical to Aldi for a typical weekly shop. Bakery and cured meats are noticeably better. Middle aisle has the same charming chaos.
- Cheap staples
- Strong bakery
- Middle of Lidl
Asda
Cheapest of the Big Four, especially with the Rewards app.
Cheaper than Tesco/Sainsbury's at shelf price; the Asda Rewards app stacks 'cashpot' contributions on most baskets. Online delivery available — Aldi and Lidl don't deliver groceries.
- Cheapest Big Four
- Online delivery
- Rewards app
Surplus food
Too Good To Go
End-of-day surplus food bags for £3–5.
Bakeries and supermarkets list mystery bags of food they'd otherwise throw away. Reliable for bakery, hit-and-miss for supermarkets. Pay in-app, collect within a window.
- £3–5 mystery bags
- Bakeries best
- Pay in-app
Olio
Free surplus food from neighbours and shops.
People and businesses post food they'd otherwise bin. You collect; you eat. Listings skew toward generosity rather than glamour. Best in dense urban areas.
- Free
- Hyperlocal
- Volunteer-run
Resale & second-hand
Vinted
Buy and sell clothes with no seller fees.
Took over from eBay for second-hand clothes. Free to list, buyer pays a small protection fee. A bin-bag of unworn clothes is genuinely £80–300 over a couple of months.
- No seller fees
- App-first
- Buyer protection
eBay UK
Still the deepest market for everything else.
For anything that isn't clothes, eBay is still where second-hand prices are set. Sort by 'sold' filters to see what items actually go for, not what hopeful sellers ask.
- Largest marketplace
- Sold-price data
- Auctions
Depop
Vintage and curated second-hand, mostly clothes.
Younger, more visual, more curated than Vinted. Vintage and Y2K do well; basic high-street clothes do better on Vinted. 10% seller fee.
- Vintage focus
- Visual feed
- 10% seller fee
MusicMagpie
Sell old phones, tech, and DVDs by typing in the model.
Type a barcode or model number, get an instant offer, send it free. Prices are low (this is their business model) but it's the path of least resistance for clearing a drawer.
- Instant quote
- Free postage
- Tech & media
Deal hunting
Charity shops
British Heart Foundation
Charity-shop chain with a serious online presence.
BHF furniture stores accept and sell larger items most charity shops don't. Online shop ships used books, vinyl, and homewares nationwide.
- Furniture stores
- Online shop
- Free pickup
Oxfam Online
Curated online charity shop with strong vintage and books.
Picks the best donated stock from across their UK shops and lists it online. Rare books, vintage clothing, and a music-only section that punches above its size.
- Books & vinyl
- Vintage clothing
- Charity