to think Aldi/Lidl aren't THAT cheap?

[carlajean]

I go to one or the other now and again, and come home thinking 'blimey, all that food for so little money' but there is always at least one item which is disgusting (this time it was the cider - it tasted like fizzy apple juice with several teaspoons of sugar added). So, if you factor out the horrible stuff, it really isn't that much of a bargain, IMO.
I haven't got time to shop there for what IS good, and then go somewhere else for all the other stuff, and I can never get everything I need from them.
I know they're amazingly popular, but can't see why.

I like aldis better then lidls. Aldis I put whatever I want in the trolly Inc alcohol and toilet roll and it still doesn't ever get over £40.

the different sized packaging thing is cobblers. My tin of tomatoes is 400g in both shops. A lot of the cleaning stuff is exactly the same as the branded items, although you will find that in the main supermarkets too. Remember to look up or down, never buy what is at eye level on the shelf. One of the reasons that I like Aldi is that they don't play sillybuggers like this!

I buy a lot of stuff by checking unit price anyway so package size doesn't register.

When I first started shopping there, I couldn't get everything there. Now, 90% of shops I don't need to go anywhere else as I tend to cook what I know they have.

It helps that I buy almost nothing branded and v little processed food/ready meals. And Waitrose is a 10 min walk away - I can park in Lidl's free car park, do my shop and walk round to Waitrose for the odd bits, all before the parking runs out. Marvellous.

I found Lidl wasn't any cheaper than asda and asda deliver for £1 so I'm not bothering again. I did find I bought lots of biscuits as you have to walk passed them and I have no self control. In asda I avoid that aisle or online don't buy biscuits. Ended up with far more crap and the veg was very limited. We don't have an aldi nearby. I didn't hate it but it's not for me.

I find lidl quality better than Aldi, in general. But aldi is better at 'throw in the oven' meals.
Mines gone from over £100 a week (without affording lunch for me) to £35 with the odd lunch for me.
It's literally changed my life.

Things I find great in lidl;
Orange juice in the fridge bit
Butter (British)
Bacon
Ketchup (55p and better than Heinz!)
Mayo
Salad cream
Toastie bread
Gold tea bags
Cien 33p shower gel (not tested on animals either)
Hand wash 55p
Deodorant 75p
The meats and fish are all really good
Olive oils etc great
Cat and dog food brilliant - even nutritionally compare to supermarket equivalent
Bathroom & kitchen cleaner
Bin bags
Passata is fantastic
Pasta great

It took a while to get the hang of lidl shopping but it's genuinely changed my life- I can eat lunch now!!!

Milk I get from sainsburys / tesco / m and s. as they pay a better rate to farmers And Fruit is hit and miss though, but I rarely buy fruit due to the cost

i see the weight / smaller quantity thing in pound shops but find the opposite in lidl. The bathroom cleaner was bigger than sainsburys more expensive equivalent.

Cat and dog food brilliant - even nutritionally compare to supermarket equivalent

This is the only thing I disagree with - my cats won't touch Lidl cat food and I personally find it looks really unappetising compared to branded ones.

Lidl vary wildly, by my old place loads of great fruit and veg, cold meat etc. The one where I live now has great bread but the rest is frozen ready meals and crisps, minimal veg and fresh stuff.

I think that things are cheaper in Lidl (not sure about Aldi as there are none near us in our leafy part of SW London) BUT the caveat is that there's so many more enticing deli type products that it's easy to be seduced off 'money saving piste'. Know that DW always spends more on their interesting continental deli products that she'd not consider buying in Waitrose, Sainos or M&S. So a basic Lidl shop will include lots of non-basic luxury items...

They're generally worth it though!

I think a lot of people who swap save money due to there being far less stuff shoved in your face than if you were in tesco. Less choice isn't a bad thing. Same with online shopping. You avoid the crap you dont actually need. If you shop smart you can save too.

I can see that Aldi and Lidl may not be for people who need a specialist diet (eg gluten free), or need their shopping delivered, but I've shopped in Aldi on and off for nearly 20 years and have never had any of the quality and overcharging problems mentioned here. Aldi and Lidl match their taste and quality to the big brands, not supermarket own brands.

I now go twice a week as I pass them on the way home from work so about 90% of our shopping comes from Aldi.

There are very few items that they don't have that I want but it's no hardship to go to another supermarket every once in a while (about once a month, if that). For non perishables, just buy a few months supply so you don't have to go very often.

Except for a very limited number of known value items, I'd say that Aldi and Lidl are slightly cheaper (about 10%) than Asda and Morrisons, much cheaper than Tesco and Sainsbury's (approximately 20-30%) and about half the price of Waitrose and Ocado.

I simply can't see how Aldi and Ocado can be comparable on price unless you are deliberately buying the few items that cost about the same, which would restrict your choice significantly.

I also think that, in a genuine blind tasting, most people would be happy with the taste and quality of Aldi and Lidl products, or at least think it is not worth the extra to pay for brands.

Talking of petfood, both our cats love Aldi food and won't touch Whiskas or Felix anymore.

As well as price, I like the simplicity. I don't want to have to choose from dozens of different types of tinned tomatoes, or bleach or work out which is best value. I like that there is only 2 or 3 types to choose from, and from experience, everything is very good quality for the price.

I had to go into Tosscos today for Flea treatment for my cat and while I was there I thought I would get the things I needed for cake making, to save nipping round to Lidl.

Caster Sugar - £1.48 (Lidl 85p .. same 1kg bag)
Eggs (6 lg free range) - £1.25 (Lidl £1 .. same 6 lg free range)
Stork (500g tub) -£1.10 (Lidl ... I would buy Scottish butter ... 85p)

So, on JUST 3 things which have little or no difference I would have saved £1.14 by going round the corner to Lidl.

THAT is why I shop at Lidl

Aldi's cider is way nicer than Strongbow and half the price

I haven't had anything from there I wouldn't buy again to be honest

I definitely save money by not having stuff shoved in my face.

I thought I shopped quite smartly in Asda with their chosen by you range and smart price. It was still up in the 60/70 a week range and that was with budgeting, meal planning and home delivery so I wouldn't get tempted. Dc also had school dinners.

Now with our 30 to 40 pound shop a week they also have a pack lunch every day.

Much prefer Waitrose TBH & if you meal plan & cook from scratch you can still be frugal.

I love lidl. I feel lile I am on holidays when I shop there . Theu have everything I need and some very decent wines. Although on holiday in france we went to lidl there and it was alot better. Cheaper and with more choice. I love lidl. Large supermarkets make me feel sad now if I have to go into one for any reason.

You save money by not buying as much - it's not much cheaper if you are buying exactly the same things. That's a matter of shopping discipline not prices.

Personally I try to avoid aldi due to my weakness for all the crap I don't need in the middle aisles.

They're fruit and veg are miles cheaper then Asda. A good £30 was spent on f&v with Asda now it's probably around a tenner. That's including blueberries, raspberries avocados ect.

I found it cheaper. until I had to do top up shops in other places in order to get what I couldn't get in aldi and lidl. I found with aldi especially that ours became grotty. never any fruit ir veg left and things like bread flour disappeared and we were having to get more and more elsewhere.

when I added up what I spent in all shops combined it was more than a single shop in the supermarket in use now.

I shopped from a list and from scratch at Waitrose - it's still cheaper at Lidl. Plus I get the enjoyment factor from buying random crap from whatever special week it is.

Even with the impulse buys, it's still cheaper.

I think whether or not they're a lot cheaper depends on what it is you're buying...
I went to Aldi and Lidl for the first time a couple of weeks ago to see what all the fuss was about. Some items were similarly priced to other supermarkets. Some were a little cheaper, some were quite a lot cheaper. I couldn't find everything I wanted - free range chicken thighs and sweet potatoes to name a couple. Of the stuff I did buy, quality is variable - some things I would gladly buy again; other things I had to throw away because they spoiled well before normal compared to other supermarkets' produce (bread, grapes); other things were disappointing (toilet roll which, when you get it out of the pack, is blatantly not as much on the roll as other supermarkets' own brands).
It's too far out of my way to be worth going to regularly. I've decided I'll probably go every month or two to stock up on things like washing powder and will have a look around when I'm there, but I'm sticking with the other supermarkets for my usual shopping.

Our nearest Aldi is very good, never any issues with things going off quickly. I think they vary in that regard. I've definitely found it's cheaper than the other supermarkets, am always surprised when people say they've not saved money shopping there.

While I can't get everything I want as there are some branded items such as hellmans Mayo, Heinz ketchup, batchelors beans that we prefer, I would happily do about 70 to 80% of the grocery shop there each week. On the odd occasion I've done a biggish shop in another supermarket as it was convenient and I've been shocked by the cost.

The fresh meat, fruit and veg is all good. Of course these are very basic, totally unprocessed foods. I have had mixed luck with things "made" by Lidl.

Things with some level of "processing" that I think are alright:
sliced sandwich bread

ham
sausages
bacon lardons
creme fraiche
cream cheese
parmigiano cheese
fresh tropical juice
salted nuts
canned peaches
plain flour
almond slivers
crisps
popcorn
delux salted crackers

The rotating specials from around the world in the freezer section, tend to be yucky imho.

My weekly shop is about 60 to 80 quid out aldi and there's 9 of us living here at the mo. I have to buy milk and bread and eggs every day out the we shop but apart from that it's all aldi. I think it is. I'd be well over 100 at asda