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

[user1471556443]

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???

I know a buyer for m&s food and she confirms they use some of the same growers/suppliers. I find the fruit doesn’t last long. Their fresh meat is as good quality as anywhere else and they have a good selection of deli products

Aldi meat is very good quality. Aged steak recommended.

Getting a compliment on my packing speed from the cashier at Aldi was a high point for me! They do pass things through very quickly, most people bung it all back in the trolley then pack on the packing shelves or straight into boxes in the car boot. I have a system for loading the conveyor belt and big sturdy shopping bags, so I can keep up with the cashier, it's definitely a skill though. It is cheaper but I find I can't get everything I need there especially laundry detergent (don't like their own brand), toiletries, cat food (spoilt cat) and some cooking ingredients, so I also tend to do Waitrose or Tesco every other week. We've also just renewed our Costco card. I still get most of our meat and fish from M&S or Waitrose but that'll have to stop once I'm on mat leave. Aldi is good for a basic shop.

I like it for some stuff - this week Lidl had breaded goats cheese and croque monsiuer. They have really good cheese and wine. Love the fresh croissants for 35p!

Other stuff - less impressed. The eggs have paper thin shells and crack when making poached eggs. They don’t have maple syrup for pancakes.

We do our main shop at Waitrose for around £60 a week and buy a few bits from Lidl.

Oh and the “ripe” avocados tasted waxy and were really hard so we threw them away. Unlike the Waitrose ones.

I've been doing my weekly shop in Aldi since 1996. That store was grotty and smelly, but cheap.
Since then, 2 more have opened near me and they're very nice.
I love the food, flowers, prices and simplicity. Although Lidl bakery takes some beating.
I had a couple of years using Asda mainly and when i returned to Aldi full shop was reminded of why i used them since 1996. Staff are friendly and helpful.
I don't go on weekends but on an evening (Although lately my local is barren so I've had to use Lidl which is fully stocked of an evening).

Love shopping at Aldi, I use the bags you stand up in the trolley, so I pay at the checkout then just load it directly in the bags. No need for packing elsewhere. I save loads and get really nice food.

Also, their dupes are great. I’ve just bought a pixi glow tonic dupe from there for £3.99. It’s exactly the same as pixi glow but £14 cheaper.

Who, except the Borrowers, are able to do their weekly shop at Waitrose for £60?

I usually shop in Aldi and it is loads cheaper. I've got quite good at packing my shopping and if you can't manage, just step away and pack it on the shelf. Lidl's near me seems to have long queues and I don't find the shopping as good quality or close to the brands. Aldi's always open up another till If queues get too long.

I find these kinds of threads a bit bizarre, Aldi is just a supermarmarket, not some other universe. Why don't you just go and try it?

How can anyone know whether you will find what you need to buy or will like the taste or quality of the food?

No-one can tell you if it will be cheaper than your usually shop, it's no help to you to know that someone else finds it cheaper for what they buy.

There might be a cashier in Dundee who throws the shopping at the customers but unless you live in Dundee and go to her till that's not relevant either.

Bizarre I tell you, just go and try it!

I don't like it. For what we buy I can't do a full shop in there and the fruit and veg doesn't last as long as Morrison's. I can't be arsed faffing with doing another shop elsewhere etc.

Oh yeah you've reminded me Aldi ham is yuck

Lidl pizza thing is yummy.

I don't understand the you can't compare Aldi /Lidl to supermarket own brand prices . Why not ?

The whole thing is people get lured by brands at Tesco but in Lidl/ Aldi they can't buy them. But of course they buy their copy brand packaging.

Brands pay or demand premium positions in supermarkets so you see those at eye level. And they advertise.

If you stick with your own supermarket and buy own brand or take time to work out the best deal on branded offers ( look at the cost per g ) then you will save money.

So yes I did spend more at Aldi because I'm a careful shopper normally and buy own brand anyway.

Aldi isnt as cheap as morrisons. I spend more at aldi than i do at morrisons. Saying that their baby bits are cheap and good. I tend to shop ldll and morrisons with abit of tesco throw in. Cant afford sainsburys.

Polar right about waitrose..if you buy their bits on offer its cheaper than asda and sainsburys. It really depends on what you buy.

We swapped a while back and reduced our weekly shopping bill by £40!! That’s £160 a month we saved. I don’t like the car park or the fact there’s not much space in the shop etc but for that kind of saving I have to suck it up!!

Crikey i saved £25 - £30 a week swithching from morrisins to aldi!

Local meat, cheese and eggs.
Gin week - I've read the entire thread and nobody's mentioned gin week! "Artisan" guns at £20/bottle rather than 30.
German bakery items.
Have really good fruit and veg at mine - but I know that is variable - even at the big 4.
Ground coffee is good.

Zara87, it's not a matter of thinking Aldi must be lower quality than say Sainsbury or Tesco. I have no problem shopping in any shop if I can save money. However the veg in Aldi is just not very good.

As I said above, in over 25 years of buying mushrooms, the one and only time I opened a punnet to find almost all of them except the top ones, slimy and mouldy. They were FIVE days within the sell by date so that is totally out of order.

I have been to another one over 150 miles away and their veg looked really awful and the mushrooms were going really brown and looked horrible,.

Because I buy so much veg it is just a waste of my time to shop in Aldi.

I have been to Lidl today and bought loads of fruit and veg which all looks good so it will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

My mum switched to Aldi and saved a lot, she likes it a lot. The trick is to have your bags open and ready in the trolley to put things in. They don't have a lot of quick veggie meals which means I can't shop there.

All this stuff about Aldi getting their products and produce from the same places as other retailers... It doesn't matter does it?

Just because a factory makes chips for McCain and chips for Aldi doesn't mean they're the same, the Aldi ones will use cheaper potatoes or cheaper salt etc.
Same as fruit and veg.. just because Aldi get theirs from the same farm as tesco, it doesn't mean it's the same, farmers will sell A grades to one buyer, B grades to another.
Etc etc.

I’ve nailed the Aldi pack.
I put it on the belt in bag groups. Then I open the bags in the trolley ready for the shopping to go in. Then as it’s bunged off I chuck it in the relevant bag. No packing shelf and no delay. 🏆
I don’t win at anything else but I give myself this each week!

how does it work if you have a basket? do you have to put it all back in? i dont use a trolley as have a pram.

maybe we are lucky as our aldi is great, i used to spend around £80 a week at asda , but the same amount of food at aldi is more like £60, their cooked meats, specialist cheeses, yogurts, butter chicken curry sauce, passata, bolognese sauces, corned beef, chick peas, tinned peas, tinned tomatoes, sugar, tea bags, coffee, crisps, chocolates, cakes, bread are all equal to asda mid range brand, potatoes i have found sometimes last sometimes dont, but the veg always seems to last. the smoked haddock fish cakes with cheese inside (the dearer ones) are yummy, their angus beefburgers are better than icelands, and their hunters chicken, i dont buy much from the freezers because iceland is four doors away so i generally buy my frozen stuff from there,, but i have gone from spending £160 a fortnight to between iceland and aldi £120 a fortnight, and quality is good and i can afford more treats by shopping here

I have no issue with aldi and happily pop in there for odd bits as its handy. Everything has always been perfectly acceptable (except the breakfast cereals which I can't get along with). They have some lovely stuff in at Christmas and I actually prefer some aldi stuff. I don't even have an issue with the checkouts.

However, I don't actually find that I save money when I shop there. I mostly buy value or supermarket own stuff anyway and am not brand loyal (I'll buy whatever is on offer that week). I do a meal plan so I only buy what I need and I shop online so am not tempted by random extras in the larger supermarkets which bumps your bill up. I find I shop at aldi and end up having to still go to a supermarket to get the stuff they don't have and between that and what I've spent in aldi, it comes out at roughly the same, certainly not these massive savings I hear about, and certainly not enough to lose the convenience of online shopping. I imagine if you are used to shopping in a massive Tesco, Sainsburys or similar (I use Asda usually unless I have vouchers for somewhere else), then you will definitely notice a difference if you go to aldi as you just don't have the choice and range of items to fill your trolley. But if you are quite a careful shopper to start with, I don't think its as cheap as people make out.

Creeper8 I usually have a basket. I just have my shopping bag open and put each item in as soon as it's scanned. You can pack at the till if you can keep up with the cashier.