Latest news with #familyessentials
The Sun
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
I shopped at B&M and Home Bargains… but which store had the best bargains for lowest prices?
ON the high street, a battle of the bargains is raging and busy mums can't get enough of discount stores B&M and Home Bargains. Writer and mum-of-three Lynsey Hope compares 15 everyday essentials from each – and reveals which one offers the best value. 1 From baby wipes and toothpaste to crisps and shampoo, discount giant B&M is a treasure trove for families wanting to stock up on everyday essentials. Not only does the budget chain sell cleaning and beauty products at rock-bottom prices, but they also stock oodles of edible goods, such as chocolate and crisps – the sort of snacks most families devour by the bagful. As a busy working mum with three children - Jacob, ten, Olive, eight, and Ivy, five - B&M has become one of my favourite places to pick up a variety of goods I use all the time. As the cost-of-living crisis continues, I'm always on the lookout for best buys for the whole family, whether that's cereal, batteries or washing-up liquid. All of us mums love a bargain and these stores often sell items even cheaper than you would find in the supermarket. But is B&M really the best place for bargains? Its biggest rival, Home Bargains, is experiencing record growth. Profits grew by 34.2 per cent to a record £434million in the year to June 2024. There were a staggering 617 stores across the UK at the end of 2024 — 23 more than the previous year. More Home Bargains outlets are due to open in Watford and Newport this summer, while other retailers struggle. B&M, for example, issued a profit warning last month and said like-for-like sales were down by 3.1 per cent. But they still have 686 stores in the UK with a plan to expand to 1,200 sites in the next few years So, when it comes to B&M versus Home Bargains, which one offers better value? I bought a basket of 15 essentials at each shop and tallied up how much they cost on the day. It's worth noting that these prices can fluctuate, so while this comparison reflects what I paid at the time, costs may vary depending on when you shop. Here's what happened when I took to the aisles to investigate . . . B&M Home Bargains LYNSEY'S VERDICT I WAS really surprised to find that Home Bargains was cheaper than B&M. I shopped around for lots of items and many things like washing up liquid, fabric conditioner and shampoo were the same price in both stores. However, Home Bargains did have some everyday stuff at lower prices. I picked up some sun cream, batteries and baby wipes all a bit cheaper at Home Bargains. It's only a small saving, but given I get through a lot of these, it's definitely a saving worth having. Even a pouch of Quality Street was 51p cheaper than it was at B&M, and one of my favourite sheet masks – a real mum treat – was 30p cheaper. Lots of this stuff was 'on offer', so I'll have to go back to see if these bargain prices continue. I shopped at both stores at around 4pm, so it's possible B&M would have discounted further if I'd gone closer to the 10pm closing time. Food products seemed cheaper at Home Bargains, but the candle I picked up was cheaper at B&M. There was only a penny in it, but they also had a much better selection of gifts and home products, such as photo frames and towels. There was also a better selection of toys. I didn't buy anything this time, but with lots of children's parties coming up, I'd definitely go back to B&M for those. More importantly, both stores offered much lower prices than most supermarkets. The six pack of Walkers crisps was £1.95 in both stores. These would set you back £2.20 at Morrisons and Sainsburys, £2.15 at Tesco and £2 at Asda. And the tiny tin of Vaseline was cheaper here than it would be if you bought it from Sainsbury's, Ocado or Waitrose. The sun cream I chose – £6.49 in Home Bargains – would cost you £7.50 at Boots. WATCH FOR PROMOTIONS CONSUMER expert Helen Dewdney, of says: "BOTH shops usually offer good value for money. However, it really depends on what it is you want to buy as to which one will work for you. "For everyday essential food stuffs, like bread and canned goods, Home Bargains may offer better deals. "Conversely, for household items and toiletries, B&M might provide more savings. "To ensure you are getting the best prices, you have to carefully compare the different items. Neither store has universal pricing across items, so consumers should compare individual items and if you want it buy it before it goes as stock can vary. "Sometimes you have to be lucky as B&M often discounts items later in the day, bringing the price to lower than Home Bargains. Of course, Home Bargains may also discount some food items later in the day. "Both have frequent promotions, but it's only a saving if you need the item – so be careful of buying something just because it is on promotion. "B&M has one advantage over Home Bargains in that it has an app with a barcode scanner where you can uncover discounts in store. Both run promotions, so check on websites and signs. "Be careful of sizes and multi-pack deals which may be cheaper in the supermarket."
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Funding dries up for two Auckland charities as demand increases
On Monday it was another busy morning at West Auckland based charity Nurturing Families with the buzz of staff packing and facilitating pickups of essentials such as nappies, clothing, prams and toiletries. When Checkpoint visited Founder Taylah Nasmith and partnerships manager Marissa Bell were busy in the warehouse sorting through dresses, onesies and winter woolies to fill a box for a family of seven. Marissa read out the brief of what was needed: "So the one we're going to pack is a family that is struggling as Dad's lost part-time work, seven family members are living in a two-bedroom home and mum is struggling to buy warm clothes." Tayla Nasmith started the charity when she was just 12 years old. Twelve years later, she has seen the need skyrocket, the charity now supports around 300 families a month. "The need is the highest we've ever seen, so every single month we continue to have record-breaking months. "There are so many case workers that don't even know where to reach out to, so when they find us we're often inundated with applications for families." They are partnered with 200 agencies to provide boxes of family essentials, which can be obtained through a referral from a social worker, police officer, midwife or nurse. But just a few months ago their major sponsor of five years, a private philanthropist, pulled their funding. Funding might be drying up for these two Auckland charities but demand is continuing to increase. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Partnerships manager Marissa Bell said that sponsor's contributions had paid the salaries of two staff members, who were now in limbo. "It was a hard conversation because they really believe in the work that we do. They've had a personal circumstance where their business is not doing very well so they are unable to continue to support us, yeah, it was a tricky one." In the same week they lost other sponsors, all up losing $100,000 in funding - a fifth of their annual budget. The team has been having difficult conversations about how they can keep going. They have brought forward some of their funding campaigns and applied for whatever grants they can. Bell said they had almost exhausted all options. "It's a sign of the times, you know the work that we're doing is so important we've got levels that we've never seen before. "The need is rising, but the funding landscape is not keeping up with us." Nasmith was adamant they would keep fighting. "There are children who are going without and so they drive me every single day to wake up in the morning and make sure that I can do even just a little bit of good. "That means that they can have a fresh change of clothes or, you know, a warm bed to get into with some clean sheets." Tayla Nasmith started the charity when she was just 12 years old. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Another charity which provides clothes to those in need is Common. Charli Cox, who started the charity six and a half years ago, echoes the concerns of Nurturing Families. "Yeah, we were declined over $230,000 worth of funding last year and dressed nearly 10,500 on $74,000." The charity re-circulates clothing donated by the public or extra stock donated by brands. The clothes are delivered through social services like Rainbow Youth and Victim Support. The number of social services the charity provides for has increased from 14 at the end of last year to 23, that means they are able to provide 1000 people a month with clothing. Cox said funding had always been a struggle, but never more so than now. She felt clothing was overlooked by those making funding decisions. "Some of the responses we have is like 'people are wearing clothing, we see the street community wearing clothing' and it's like they could have been in that clothing for days, weeks, months. "It's the only set of clothing they have, they do absolutely everything in it, they sleep in it there's absolutely no dignity attached to that clothing." Charli Cox who started the charity Common said they were declined over $230,000 worth of funding last year. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi To keep some money coming in, the charity has a small retail space where it sells donated clothing, and it sells online. It is also able to rent some items to the production and film industry. Cox said if they had access to more funding, they would be able to help more people. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
