To think Aldi isn't actually that much cheaper?

[Allhallowseve]

I've been an Aldi convert for a while now .
However today I need to pick things up and was close by a Sainsbury's so decided to go there instead of across town to Aldi.
I was shocked that there was hardly any difference in price .
Plus it was a much nicer experience. I always feel like an inconvenience to the staff in Aldi .... either in their way while they are trying to stack shelves or not quick enough at checkout.
I also picked up some pretty good deals in Sainsbury's with meat etc that had been marked down.
So aibu or is it really not that cheap anymore?
Has anyone gone back after being an Aldi convert?

We don't have a Lidl or Aldi in our town whereas Tesco and Sainsburys are both within walking distance. So if you add petrol /bus fares into the cost of the shop it definitely isn't cheaper.

quality of food is so much better in aldi

I find the quality of Aldo food is far superior to Tesco and Asda. I wouldn't buy my meat there.

For wine I've stopped buying at Aldi as the coop always have a good deal on wine and I got a bit snobby with aldi wine and was only buying the expensive ones so can usually get a decent coop £5 deal
But for everything else it's still loads cheaper. Ours was closed for refurbishment for a month so I had to go to Tesco and it was easily 30% more on my bill. I notice it most on cheese, meat, olives and cereals

We've switched from aldi to waitrose & as long as I stick to offers & do a top up shop of much cheaper stuff at aldi it's cheaper to use waitrose.

Dh is disappointed that the food isn't that much better though.

I do my shopping between Lidl and Asda. Lidl does save me a noticeable amount of money. I'm pretty good at not impulse buying anyway, but in Lidl it's easy because there isn't a vast quantity of choice.

They sometimes run out of odd things though - I couldn't get any chopped tomatoes last week. I get about 95% of what's on my list from Lidl and then probably spend another £10 or so getting the remaining bits from Asda.

I find the Lidl fruit and veg OK but it doesn't last, so you need to factor this in to your cooking plans. I shop on a Sunday and use the fresh veg by Tuesday as it won't last all week. I batch cook though so it will do us throughout the rest of the week.

I love Aldi but cannot bear Lidl...not sure why but i just cant go there...

The reason I have just conveyed to Aldi is because I'm not tempted by the isles of toys, clothes and bogofs. I don't find it that much cheaper and still top up at Waitrose for things like tofu ect

Have tried to warn to Aldi but can't

Ridiculously Long queues

They throw everything at you and glare if you aren't fast enough at the checkout

Not a good range of whole foods like lentils, nuts , peanut butter ( that's sugar free ), spices

Not much cheaper

I like to relax and take my time . Everyone is so stressed out in there .

I spent £173 in Sainsbury's earlier - can't believe how expensive food shopping is. I did pick up some kilner bottles and a baking tray and a couple of other bits but thought it was extortionate. Meat in particular is very expensive.

It isn't fair to criticise the checkout staff: they are timed at the tills and are penalised if they fall below a certain speed.
I love the middle aisles - Aladdin's Cave!

I'm noticing Morrisons becoming more expensive too.

If Brexit happens they're all going to get lot more expensive.

Goodness, I must be the odd one out here. Our Aldi just gets better and better. I save on average £30-£40 a week compared to when I previously shopped in Tesco. The fruit and veg selection is amazing and hugely varied. This week I managed to get Rye bread that I was previously paying £2.80 for in Tesco for 85p in Aldi. Admittedly, I swerve the middle isle, I find that those items are often very overpriced and I don't buy ready meals. I can't fault it. I line my trolley with 3 large bags and put it straight in, no need to repack. The only things I go and buy elsewhere are Bird's Eye chicken dippers as DS will only eat those and baked beans.

tearsinmyeyes I am surprised, our Aldi stocks a wide range of nuts, also lentils, chickpeas, and indeed a really delicious sugar free version of the Meridien peanut butter brand that is about a pound, a huge saving. I have recently bought chia seeds too. Maybe it depends on location or size or store.

I like the fact I can be around Aldi and through the tills in half an hour - we normally go to Sainsbury's for stuff we can't get but spend the same amount of time/money buying about 25% of list with 75% bought at Aldi.

I think it must depend what you buy - I have heard so many people saying they have to go elsewhere as they cannot get everything at ALDI but we do..... we get everything for a household with 3 adults, 14, 8 and 2 year old plus cats and dogs. The only things we buy elsewhere are medical and occasional bread milk etc from corner shop. We go to aldi one week and lidl the next and have not stepped foot in one of the others for several years.

Oh and we spend £50 -£60 each week.

Have gone back to Tescos delivery here too

We get everything in Aldi too, our store is quite new and reasonably large so I'm sure there are variances but I can't think of anything I haven't been able to get in there.

30-40% cheaper than sainsbury and cheaper than tesco.

Love the quick checkout. Put heavy stuff on the belt first, then it goes in the trolley first. Bag up out of the way. Easy .

I still shop there for the majority of my groceries. I did exactly what another user upthread did and took my long receipt and manually looked up the equivalent price for the actual things I would have bought in Sainsburys instead. It came out at least 20% cheaper. I do agree though that Aldi prices have gone up just like other retailers, and the shopping 'experience' is not exactly something I enjoy but am willing to put up with. I do admit to feeling very impatient in other supermarkets now where checkouts don't move as quickly though.

I love Lidl's, I went there last week to do my first big shop in a long time. My trolley was over flowing and I only spent £57, I was so amazed that I went back in to buy some retro storage tins for my kitchen! My cupboards are over flowing and I couldn't be happier with the prices!

A lot of things in Aldi and Lidl have gone up in price recently because the pound has fallen against the euro, and the majority of products there are imported from abroad.

I find Aldi much cheaper than any of the other supermarkets (except Lidl, which I haven't tried). When I do my weekly shop at Asda or Tesco it costs me about £25 - £30 more. And the fruit and veg at my local branch are very good.

I've found that shopping at Aldi is cheaper if I meal plan and stick to my shopping list rigidly - however I cannot resist all the nice foods at decent prices (i.e. Buffalo mozzarella for £1 that is about £2.50 in Sainsburys). So we probably do spent more overall, but I feel we get more for our money. There's one or two things I'm not too keen on, but overall we're fans!