Aldi and Lidl - what do you think of them?

[agora1]

We are overspending every month and it is mainly due to food shopping. We currently shop at Asda but wondered if we would save much if I switched to Aldi or Lidl for our big shop but still went to Asda midweek to top up on the things we may not find in Aldi/Lidl.

I would be interested to hear what your experience has been.

[YankNCock]

I did this, and found I did save on certain things. I used a app on my phone to keep track of what was less expensive at Aldi, but also to remind myself which things there were absolute shite for quality.

I haven't been back for about a month though. Too pregnant with PGP to push trolleys around so been ordering from Asda again. Plus last time I was at aldi there an absolute psycho accused me of trying to see her pin number at the checkout, and then abused me for not being from this country. Irrational, I know, but I don't want to go back in there. Ended up sobbing in the queue with toddler DS, humiliating.

[scrivette]

I kept walking around Aldi saying 'wow it's so cheap!'

The nappies are very good and they have very good special offers on their vegetables.

[Bunbaker]

I like Aldi, but the nearest one is further away than my nearest supermarket, so any savings would be eaten up by the extra petrol I would use. I have found that their vegetables don't keep very well, but everything else I have bought from there has been excellent. I particularly like their Lacura multi intensive serum, which I now use in place of Protect and Perfect as it is about a fifth of the price.

[marriednotdead]

Yank, that's awful

Agora I started shopping at Lidl a couple of years ago when money was really tight for us. I used to do all my shopping at Sainsburys before that.

I'd say I do about 60-70% in Lidl now. Great value for basics like pasta, rice, fruit and veg and dairy. I also buy chicken and mince there. Have tried lots of stuff that previously would have chosen big brands for, rarely been dissapointed.

There are far fewer choices but this is a good thing!

[Theas18]

Love aldi. Most things are fine/ better than supermarket own brands. Still buy herbal tea and various bits elsewhere ( why don't they stock corn flour for instance?).

Out aldi has a nice corner shop feel as its often the same people too.

Sadly I can see them becoming " more mainstream" and therefore more expensive too- some big brand items eg Heinz baby food have crept it, and they are doing their own value items eg the have 2 sorts of beans now , and I'm sure the old ones are much more expensive that they used to be ...this I do not like.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I find aldi much cheaper than asda tbh.

Dh can't believe the prices in sainsburys now.

[SquishyCinnamonSwirls]

I do my main weekly shop in Aldi and then top up with the bits they don't do/we prefer from Tesco or Sainsburys.

[GobblersKnob]

I love Aldi, though I tend to shop between their and ocado.

Aldi is brilliant for cereal, the dc's go through tons of the stuff and it is so much cheaper. Their washing powder is really good too.

Also buy
Biscuits
Bread
Tnned stuff (beans, tinned toms)
More things that I can't think of right now.

Personally, I don't buy fresh fruit and veg or meat from their anymore. It is absolutlely fine (and they do free range chicken too) but it is just not quite as nice and I find the fruit and veg is a bit like buying from a market, fine if you use it quickly, but it tends to go off rather fast.

[agora1]

Thank you for your replies. You are convincing me.

Supplementary question: which do you prefer Aldi or Lidl? They are both a fairly close distance to me, so is one better than the other?

[notcitrus]

Most stuff in Lidl is a bargain but some esp brand names is the same price as other supermarkets. A few food products like tinned macaroni cheese are foul but most are very good. Seasonal veg is a bargain, cheaper than the market.
I live moments' walk from Lidl but no Aldi nearby, so easy choice.

[Bunbaker]

"I find the fruit and veg is a bit like buying from a market, fine if you use it quickly, but it tends to go off rather fast."

That has been my experience as well. I am lucky because I buy my veg from a local farm shop that has a really fast turnover, so the veg is really fresh and keeps for ages in my fridge.

[ChuffMuffin]

I love them both! Aldi is all European branded stuff, but Lidl does have some UK branded stuff in there.

[exoticfruits]

I love them! We only have Lidl so it is a simple choice.

[nkf]

I don't think any one supermarket is the answer if you want to spend the minimum on everything. They all carry loss leaders and have higher priced goods.

[ivykaty44]

I find the fruit and vegetables last longer than tesco and a lot of the fruit and vegetable is better quality - the avacodos are hard to beat and far better than waitrose or sainsbury (where they are brown and mushy sometimes before they even ripen)

The grapes, blue berries are all good and cheaper than the special offers in other supermarkets, the strawberries yesterday were really nice and the melons are usually a pound a piece and you only have to buy one to - not two to get the price at a pound.

[BoffinMum]

Aldi is a great place to shop, small like many branches of Waitrose, and good for Italian foods and cold meats, etc, as it stocks things Germans like. Its packaging is rip off Tesco, and it narrows down its product lines to 2 or 3 of the moment popular that Tesco have. Customers are usually very friendly, so Yank's experience was unusual and sad.

Lidl is supposed to have fresher and bigger fruit and veg, but it's more like a wholesaler inside.

[WhoKnowsWhereHerMajestyGoes]

Never been to an Aldi, none near here, but I go to Lidl once a month or so. The fruit and veg is great, also cheap staples like pasta, tinned tomatoes etc and things like cold meats, cheeses, olives, olive oil are good, they also have good prices on branded goods such as Heinz beans. If you are choosy about ingredients, be careful of the cheap lookey-likey versions of things like biscuits and jam, they tend to be full of the ingredients that the supermarkets/big brands are phasing out, such as artifical colourings, hydrogenated fats etc.

Iceland is very reasonable for basics too, although not such a big range of room temperature stuff.

[BertieBotts]

We only have Lidl. Their cooking foil was the best deal when I did a comparison shop - really good quality too.

The food seemed fine, I just wish they did online shopping!

[LST]

Lidl is amazing. Don't do big supermarkets anymore apart from the odd thing or 2 as I live across the road from a morrisons. Our local lidl has its own little bakery.

Ask sparkling she'll agree

[yellowraincoat]

I love Lidl. Stuff like sliced meat, bread and cheese I find to be better quality than Tesco for example and much cheaper.

As others have said,fruit and veg go off quicker, but maybe that's because it's not full of chemicals? I'm not sure if that's the case.

They don't have the huge range that Sainsburys and so on do, but that's good as it stops impulse buying.

[gabsid]

I have started using Lidl more about 2 months ago and keep record of grocery bills.

Our nearst supermarket is Tescos and I found that I got sucked in with their points a bit lately, so I decided to use Lidl once a week (it on the way into town, so not a detour) and get the rest from either Asda or Tesco.

I am very happy with Lidl, especially joghurt, tinned tomatoes, most of the stuff really. I agree with veg going off quicker and the choice just isn't there. I have recently started getting bits of meat there too. I paid 6 or 7 pounds for a medium chicken at Tescos, and yesterday I bought a large one for £3.8ish at Lidls - I couldn't tell the difference.

Unfortunately I haven't got accurate records for the Tesco shopping, but at Tescos we spent about £450 per month, and last month I spent £378 on groceries.

[gabsid]

yellowraincoat - you may have a point about the veggies. When we grow salad in the garden we have to eat it pretty much after bringing it in. I do think it is a bit suspicious that you can keep a bag of cut salad in the fridge for a week and its still fresh and crispy - this isn't normal!!

Its convenient though ... that's why I still do it.

[vogonmothership]

I do my monthly big shop at Aldi. It's consistently about £90 for an overflowing big trolley. The only thing I don't get there is loo roll.
Even the tampons are brilliant - apart from the fact they are branded 'florettes' which makes me think I am inserting a bit of cauliflower
I like the fact there is hardly any choice and you have to buy what's there, I can be in and out in 30mins for the big shop and dd doesn't get bored.
Clean, good quality and a good car park.

[daisydoodoo]

I just moved house and have been super skint. My sainsburys shop had gone up to about £130 a week (1 adult 4 dc aged 14, 10, 6 & 2 and two dogs) and I just can't afford that anymore.
There is a lidl and an Iceland at local shops do I tried both of those and pleasantly surprised at the price difference. We're vegetarian so no meat costs but between lidl and iceland I spend no more than £70 a week so a huge saving for us.
The fruit and vegetables have been fine but then I batch cook on a weekend and freeze or refrigerate and reheat as I work full time. Make up things like veg curry or lasagne and then we!ve got nice home cooked food ready to reheat.
I do like aldi over lidl but it's the other side of town and gets Packed and Parking a nightmare.

[agora1]

Thank you gabsid, that's useful to know.

We go through fruit, less so with veg, very quickly and I always have to buy more mid week, so Lidl/Aldi may work for me in that respect.