AIBU to think I will save money by going to aldi??

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A new aldi has opened near my work and I am really looking forward to shopping there and saving money on my weekly food shop.
I already have a lidl near my work but I just cannot bear going there as the queues are so long and also I don't find it to be much cheaper than tescos?
I normally spend about 250 pounds a month on groceries in tescos / sainsburys
To any one that shops in aldi, are the queues aa bad as lidl? In my lidl they only have about four tills open at a time, hence the queues? Is aldi the same?
Also what foods are good to buy from aldi and what should I avoid???

Is Sunday afternoon a bad time to go or is it just this particular store

Sunday afternoon is a bad time to go to any supermarket. Nearly all of them are going to have full car parks and partly empty shelves at that time.

I often think 'fuck knows why anyone goes to the supermarket, ikea, shopping centres etc at the weekend when they're packed' but then I remember that this sort of behaviour by the majority leaves it clear for me to go first thing in the morning or some other quiet time where you usually find it much more bearable and that everything is in stock too.

I’ve just been to Aldi. In and out in 17 minutes. Full shop done. Never need to top up anywhere plus never struggle to get all items on my list.

I used to go in the evening when babies/children were left to OH, was lovely and peaceful used to see lots of brain dead, spit shouldered mums doing the same thing.

I will try again one evening. It might be better if I can actually see what's on the shelves. 😂

I've noticed this happening with a few friends:

They love shopping at Tesco.
They try Aldi/Lidl and think its horrendous.
But then they get to the check out and its WAY cheaper.
But its just not worth it because it was such an AWFUL experience!
They complain a lot that week, especially about how rushed they felt at the checkout, and say 'never again'

Then they go back to Tesco and breath a sigh of relief, but this week, when they get to the till, there's a bit of anxiety, and it feels even more expensive than usual. Is it worth it? (doubt has set in)
They experience a mild hangover guilty feeling in the carpark.

So they try Lidl/Aldi again the following week.
They try to keep positive but are still not enjoying the experience.
Then they get to the till and its so much cheaper, so it was worth it. (Maybe they have toughened up a bit too)

A few weeks later they go back to Tesco.
They enjoy the shopping so much, its like drinking full fat milk after suffering Skimmed milk for weeks.
Its heaven, they stroll around the aisles enjoying themselves and saluting old friends.

Then they head to the till and get an almighty sting with a huge bill.

The gaps between going back to Tesco get bigger.
Eventually they only go to Tesco for the spices / weird things that Lidl and Aldi don't have.

They look back on the days of weekly Tesco shopping much like looking back on wild teenage years, 'weren't we so carefree then, it was like there was no tomorrow'.

The more people that go to Lidl and Aldi, the better they get.

Its a love story really.

Its a love story really

It certainly is for me. I didn't even take that much convincing.

3luckystars that's spot on!

I love Aldi/Lidl but occasionally, on a weak day, I allow myself the odd trip to Sainsbury's, mainly for their bakery . A quick wander through the air conditioned, bright, wide and uncrowded aisles almost sucks me back in.. BUT Very quickly reminds me how much more expensive it is!

On a very weak day I wander into M&S food

I know but the nice shop 'hangovers' get worse.
It starts as soon as you are stashing the Tesco bags in the boot of the car and the guilt sets in, the shopping experience is now over, and you wonder if you had roughed it at LIDL, then you would have money left now. Its only food, and it either ends up down the toilet or stuck to you so what difference does the quality of that hour of grocery shopping make really?

If you go totally mad and go to Marks and Spencer's, it feels like you got so pissed that you smoked too, by accident.

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud's illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and ferries wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud,
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

But now old friends they're acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day.

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all^

Ok I know that song wasn't about Lidl, but you know what I meant, about looking back at carefree days.

She was a wise woman.

I think the stores must vary. Ours has just had a refit and expansion. It stocks almost everything I need and is looking more like a 'normal' supermarket. And is definitely cheaper. It's only food. I couldn't give a hoot about the 'experience'. Tescos is still packed full of people and can't see it worth paying more for.

God I love that song. Especially the 'something's lost and something's gained' line.

Actually I shop in M&S as much if not more than before. I'm more about cutting out the middle man. I buy 90% of my shop in the discounters, then I feel totally justified in going somewhere really nice for things like fancy desserts.

If I never stepped foot in Tesco again it wouldn't upset me

The discounter 'experience' is good in its own way. The fact that it's all so much quicker. Looking for random tat in the middle aisle of madness. Good times.

We call the middle aisle

The shiny aisle of shite

Anyone want a sprocket set or a massive bottle of caravan toilet cleaner?

I live in a village in the middle of nowhere. We have a local Morrison’s but Lidl and Aldi are a fair drive away. This is a rural farming community.
Aldi produce is awful. It never lasts, I’ve bought things and had to take them back because they were rotten, squashed potatoes at the bottom of the packet, a dozen strawberries with mould growing on them at the bottom, lettuce with maggots in the heart etc. Fetid, rotten meat.
Lidl, directly opposite have lovely produce. I’ve never had bad meat from them.

Tesco meanwhile just doesn’t stack up. They are lacklustre fruits and wilting veggies.
I’d say Lidl any day! Cheaper, hardly and queue, and lovely food all year round. I’ve managed to get our weekly shop into £30 for two adults, one 4 year old and a nearly fully weaned baby.

I’m an Aldi convert. Ours is very new, modern, clean, spacious. The cashiers are efficient and friendly.

Top buys for me are their anti pasti bits, falafel, ricotta stuffed peppers, olives, etc. They shamelessly copy good brands, Higgedy pies, Jo Malone room fragrances, etc at bargain prices.

However I have yet to see someone shopping in their slippers in Waitrose.

Oh, and Aldi’s bakery bread - specifically their malted wholewheat bloomer - is delicious! (Not their so called butter croissants, they are shite).

Liked the Joni Mitchell song.

Big Yellow taxi is topical too.

You will not save money in Aldi.

Four words:
Central aisle of awesome.

Go in for milk, come out with a canoe.

Go in for milk, come out with a canoe.

That has to be one of the funniest comments I've ever read.😂

The thing about Aldi is that it's so cheap you will feel ripped off going elsewhere! I love it.

Be careful with fruit and veg though as the amount of times I've bought things that had mould on or go off before the date is untrue. You have to really scrutinise it before buying!

We love Aldi. In fact DH frequently offers to do the weekly shop, he likes saving money!

Particularly recommend their frozen fish, porridge oats, Moser Roth chocolate and washing up liquid. Their wines are pretty good too.

I think there must be big local varieties, as I've NEVER had a problem with fruit from our local Aldi, and I've been using them about 14 years.

Sadly though, ours doesn't have a bakery (or toilets - not that I need them, as you don't spend long in their, and I don't have a 'just trained' 2 yr old )

Out of interest I compared my shop in Lidl with Tesco to see if I had saved any money.

My shop was almost totally fruit and veg (me and DH are vegetarian) and some things were 1p or 2p cheaper than Tesco, some things were dearer than Tesco.

I saved the grand total of 69p on my shop! Considering we then had to go to another supermarket to get the items Lidl doesn't stock the cost of fuel would mean we save nothing

Go in for milk, come out with a canoe.

See, this is the beauty of it. Where else can you say that of?