to think that Aldi/Lidl are not that much cheaper than Sainsbury's/Tesco's etc?

[ophelia275]

I recently went to my nearest Lidl and Aldi on a shopping trip with the hope of picking up some bargains as I had heard they were so much cheaper than the mainstream supermarkets.

I was a bit surprised to see that the stuff they have is quite random and I didn't find it much cheaper than the other supermarkets. Perhaps a few pence but nothing to write home about and some of it was definitely the same price. Sure, things like Lidl's nappies are cheaper but I just waited a few days until Sainsbury's/Tesco's have an offer on and got a load of Huggies nappies cheaper than Lidl's. Perhaps it's just a case of not buying expensive brands (except when they are on offer) and looking for offers/bargains at the big supermarkets?

YANBU. When people first started telling me it was cheaper to shop at Lidl, I went and did a shop there. I then went to Morrisons to get the stuff Lidl didn't have. I walked around Morrisons with my Lidl receipt and found it had cost me more to buy the shopping in Lidl.

But Aldi's square of treasure in the middle is a real distraction just.

Certainly when we first discovered Lidl it was very cheap for deli quality culinary delights and I still think it is... But still remember how we went there about 9 years ago and spent the princely sum of £10 on loads of stuff....now it seems that we are very tempted by the overseas speciality foodstuffs and although they are cheaper than elsewhere they still add up quite quickly....

I don't think that any one shop is cheaper per se - you just have to shop around if you have the time, energy and inclination.....

YABVVVVVU! Lidl is 100% (literally) cheaper and we shop at either morrisons or asda. Both of which are cheaper than Tesco and sainsburys.

I agree about Lidl. Cheap but then so is Tesco/Sainsburys basics or own brand. The much prasied chorizo/salami stuff is more expensive than going to the deli counter and asking for it to be sliced thnly for you.

Yanbu. Asda is cheaper with far more choice.

An Aldi has just opened in our town and I'm in love! I save at least £15 a week shopping there. I don't really buy the meat but I do top up our fruit and veg there and never have a problem with quality. Nappies are a bargain. a pack of 48 for £4.99 and I think they're much better than huggies (which are just terrible IMHO).

And wine, don't get me started on the wine....

And the continental hams and cheeses are some of the best around.

In short, YABU IMO

It depends what is on offer, a few weeks ago aldi were doing packs of 3 peppers for 69p, the same for a pack of 4 leeks, which were much cheaper than asda (£1.50 and £1.99). also large free range eggs for 89p/6.

But last week, asda had peppers and leeks on offer for £1 (aldi peppers were £1 and leeks were £1.17) and eggs had gone up to about £1.39. cereal had also gone up from about 69p-99p. asda always have our cereal 3 for £3 and the family prefer asda own brand rather than aldi.

I'm in asda 3/4 times a weeks due to work, so I can get the offers when I see them, but I still try to do my main shop at aldi.

Love the free range chickens for £4.99 at aldi

Asda is not as cheap as lidl at all. We have 10% discount and don't buy brands and still spend more than we would at lidl.

I think the shelf life of the fresh stuff in Aldi depends on where you live. I've heard that they use local wholesalers/suplliers whenever possible (cutting down on transport costs) so it is possible to get better quality in some ares than others.

My aldi(s) in Leeds, all seem to have really excellent quality fruit & veg that lasts well over a week, sometimes two, in my house

Fruit and veg is a bit hit and miss in our Aldi, so I usually top up at the farm shop

at the square of treasure. Its my favourite bit.

I think Morrison's are very reasonable. And their stuff is fresh. (Unlike Tesco's fruit and Veg which is a disgrace). I don't shop much in Aldi as I can't seem to find what I want in there. And I think buying when on offer is a good way to save money. Especially things like dishwasher tablets and washing powder or other cleaning stuff.

Following this thread as I haven't yet got into the habit of shopping at Aldi but would like to save some cash if possible. However, we don't eat meat in our house and tend to buy a lot of fruit & veg, so not sure if Morrisons might be a better bet for us? (Currently shop at Tesco).

How about local markets - are they usually cheaper than the supermarkets or not?

I find them a lot cheaper. However I am selective and I don't do a whole shop there. You can make huge savings on some things.

YABU!
I use Lidl quite often and find it cheaper and superior in quality for things like continental meats and cheeses, fruit and veg, olive oil alcohol.

I don't use Asda as it's too far away and my local shop is Sainbury's which I did find quite extortionate for some products, however they do seem to be keeping more of their prices in line with the other supermarkets now.

I buy most of my cleaning products, shampoo/conditioner/toothpaste etc.. from £1 shop's also the cat's food too, he'll only eat Gourmet food twat! and it's 3 sometimes 4 sachets for £1 there.

YABU. We spend between £75-£100 every 10-14 days in Aldi and we eat better now than ever before. There are 5 of us, 4 packed lunches everyday, nearly all meals cooked from scratch and we entertain guests quite a bit too. I have already converted my mum from Sainsburys to Aldi (and she is fussy). We were spending around £100+ a week at Asda. Apart from spending £5 a month at Asda on frozen veggies there is nothing we can't get at Aldi.

Aldi is much cheaper than Tesco. In fact I went the other day, bought my usual bits and was shocked when the total came up as half the amount. £15 instead of £30.

I am a total lidl convert - I find it cheaper and definately quicker to whizz round than bigger supermarkets.

The booze is great - cider for 2 pounds and Baileys equivalent for 4. My friend is a real Baileysvfan so she did a blind tasting session with the real stuff and couldn't tell the difference.

I tend to find that normally expensive things are cheaper, (like fish, cheese, fruit and veg) in Lidl and Aldi, - but cheap stuff like baked beans is about he same or sometimes slightly more than tesco or Sainsbo's basics range.

I just like Lidl more than Sains and Tesco, because its so much quicker to do your shopping there, and I spend less because I don't buy any extras (I steer away from the central bargain area!) And I think a lot of the food is better quality and more interesting. And they will open up more tills if the queue gets big, rather than ignore you and have one till operating in rush hour (I'm looking at you Tesco )

Even if the price is not that much different the quality is far superior imo.

Asda is cheaper for me as I don't drive and live a 45 min bus then 20 min walk from lidl/aldi. Asda deliver for £4 which isa hell of a lot less than the bus plus the taxi it would take to let me get more than a couple days shopping. Not worth the savings on food and you aren't guaranteed they will actually have what you ate looking for.

Yanbu, although I can't comment on Aldi as we don't have one here. I go to Idl occasionally, there are a few good bargains but for most things I don't find it that much cheaper than anywhere else. I tend to mainly buy supermarket own brands.

i find aldi probably 10-20% cheaper
however there's lots of things that we eat regularly that I can't get there, so we only tend to go for top-ups.

I go to Lidl for some stuff and finish off at Tesco. The jams amd marmalade at Lidl are lovely and much cheaper, the celery is a different type and nicer and cheaper too. Lidl chocolate digestives are half the price of Tescos. I normaly reduce the cost of the shop by £5-10 pw by using both stores.

YANBU I have tried Lidl and Aldi and I don't think they are significantly cheaper than Asda. Especially because you can't get everything there so I end up having to go to Asda or the rest anywhere.

Tesco is definitely the most expensive of the 'normal' supermarkets (i.e. not waitrose!) Their meat is extortionate.

Morrisons is good too, but in our Morrisons 90% of the shelf space is cake/crisps etc and not proper food.

Our Asda is ginormous and brilliant though.