Advice on Aldi/Lidl

[somewherewest]

I'm planning to be an SAHM for a few years once our first is born, so we're looking for ways to slim down our outgoings. Has anyone good any advice on whether Aldi or Lidl are worth it? I've heard that some Aldi/Lidl products are really good and some are crap, but have no ideas which is which...

Agree that the washing powder is just as good as leading brands. Their chopped tomatoes are really nice, and I like their beans. Other none food stuff is worth keeping an eye on too. I've bought all my pans from Aldi, and they're really, really good value and good quality. I buy loads of food and veg from Aldi and do the majority of my shopping there.

I love Lidls for their ranges of foods from round the world. AT the moment, it's France, so we had French supper last wek-tinned potato dauphinois and tinned ratatoulli (just like the working French mums make ).
Their fresh fruit and veg is really good. I've been buying loads of their vine ripened tomatoes recently and they are delish.
I started going to Lidl because it was cheaper, but I don't think it is any more. Some things are more expensive than other supermarkets so you have to know your prices to make the most of it.
At the moment, I love Sainsbo's Value range, which is often cheaper than Aldi/Lidl, I've found!

Aldi and Lidl are FAB.

Free range chickens for a fiver or so
Meat good,pork medallions £2.99
good quality sausages 2 for a fiver
Atm in Lidl aubergines 50p
Nappies good,in fact in Lidl atm they have a big "Best nappies as voted by Mumsnet" thing going on which makes me :)
Tinned tomatoes,beans etc really good value
Good ham/cheese etc
My local Lidl now has its own bakery bit,maple and pecan plaits for 39p yum!!
Give it a go,you won't look back,but be warned the checkout people are going for the Olympic record in how fast you can put items through the till!You get used to it though.

Been to Lidl today and bought

Whole free range chicken
Bag of rooster potatoes
Cauli, broccoli, large vine tomatoes
4 pack Branston baked beans
12 pack mini solero ice creams
Lg bottle orangina
Bottle sauvignon blanc
Huge pack extra mature cheddar
2 packs of thick sliced carved ham
Multi pack of wotsits
Multi pack of penguins
Luxury muesli
Large bag pasta
Large carton orange juice
Bag sugar

Came to £37 something.

I love Aldis and find them cheaper and just as good as other supermarkets for lots of things. I buy:

Fruit and vegetables
Fruit juices
Beans
Soup
Tinned tomatoes
Sweetcorn
Butter
Margarine
Flour
Sugar
Eggs
Pasta
Rice
Bread
Chicken
Fish
Cheeses
Ham
Icecream
Frozen peas
Frozen Chips
Chocolate
Toilet roll
Kitchen roll

All of the above I have found really good. I think some of Aldis frozen food can be more expensive than other supermarkets so I tend avoid these and buy them in Asda or Sainsburys. I have to got to other supermarkets for vegetarian food, brown rice, nice yoghurts and speciality ingredients. I bulk buy these when they are on special offer in other supermarkets, where possible. My weekly food bill comes to under £40 for two of us and we eat really well.

Our Lidl is quite close to Tesco and Sainsburys. I'm not in dire financial straits but want to be able to keep the weekly shopping to £90 and I was struggling to feed 4 of us and dog for this even though I get a discount at Tesco because DS1 has weekend job there.

To economise I spot the special offers at Sainsburys when I do the top up shop on Tuesday and on Saturday I get those plus the things I think are really good value at Lidl - celery, yoghurt, olive spread, part baked baguettes, fruit and veg on special offer, squash, chocolate digestives (49p! and lovely) shampoo and conditioner, jam and mamalade and some of the ethnic stuff they have on special offer ( huge bag of Basmati rice that has lasted 3 months for £5) Overall this strategy saves me about £10 per week, which means I have not had to increase the shopping budget despite rising prices. Our Lidl has plenty of Audis in the car park and seemes to be populated by cash strapped single mums and the squeezed middle in equal quantities!

Did my first Aldi shop today after having my SIL to stay who persuaded me! (I should add it is actually my nearest supermarket so actually saving petrol too!)
I got;
Pack of 3 Peppers
Family Pack Mushrooms
2.5kg of Maris Piper Pots
Pack of Salad
Pack of Spinach
Head of Broccoli
500g bag of carrots
Bunch Bananas
6 Pink Lady Apples
4 Nectarines
Baby Toms
Mild Cheddar Cheese
Double Gloucester Cheese
Goats Cheese
2 x 2pt Milk (1 semi, 1 skimmed)
Pot of natural yoghurt
Pot of Double Cream
Tub of Marg
Big pot of coleslaw
Pack of Jumbo Peanuts/Cashews
Pasta
2 x Jar Pasta Sauce (Tom&Herb/Tom&Mushroom)
Mint Sauce
Apple Sauce
Jar of branston pickle
Hovis Best of Both Medium Sliced Bread
Pack of 4 Croissants
Pack of 2 Pain au Chocolat
Bottle of Merlot wine

For the grand total of....£37.15 I couldn't believe how cheap it was! Although have yet to discover if the wine is drinkable but was £2.99 so who cares!

Forgot to add also got 6 free range medium eggs in that price!

I find I'm shopping more & more at Aldi & spending less & less everywhere else; the nearest one is 7 miles away but def worth it (also when I do shop at Tesco now I get a tillspit for 10-15% off next shop )

best bargains (that I can think of off top of head) are fruit & veg, milk (4 pints £1), free range eggs (99p), herbs & spices, wine (esp Toro Loco), high-juice squash (99p), bacon, extra-virgin olive oil, frozen peas (99p)

Lidl has some good stuff too but I prefer Aldi in general

oh, & fresh fruit juice (not-from-concentrate) £1.29 per litre

was just talking to DS earlier about trying our local Lidl, it is the closest supermarket to us and after a shocking 109 pound shop at Sainsburys today I will definitely give it a go next week

mumofsussex, I priced a £65 Aldi shop on mysupermarket.com the other day (mostly produce, chilled, store cupboard & frozen) & Sainsburys came out well over £100 in comparison; although tbf that did include wine, & good Aldi wine is v cheap

Have you only got Lidl nearby? IMO Aldi is better for most things, even if you have to go a bit further

Lidl is absolutly fantastic, there is one near where we holiday and I fed me and two children, for the week, on £30.

Ponders don't recall seeing an Aldi anywhere but then I've not really been in the UK much over the past 5 years. Will definitely have a look for one though. Was really how much food has gone up in the time I've been away!

Aldi cheaper than lidl but less branded goods, IMO aldi food is fab and I can't bring myself to go back to tescos et all. Love aldi here!! My weekly shop for me,DH and two DS's is approx £60 per week. The only items I buy outside of aldi are rice cakes, pampers and fresh fish? Never tried aldi own brand and hope to potty train DS2 soon so hopefully one less item to buy anyway.

The other supermarkets now seem a total rip off and I am horrified by their prices on the rare occasion that I visit.

Broccoli is often 39p!!

Free range eggs 85p for 6 and now they do free range chicken too that's a weekly treat here too

I much prefer Aldi to any of the other supermarkets these days. I spend £40 less a week, which is a combination of Less Choice!! and lower prices. I actually prefer that there is less choice, it makes life less stressful!
I spent £70 in Aldi's on Saturday and £20 of that was on a Grill thingy my dad wanted me to get for him. I normally do a top up at the local sainsbos and our local butchers in the week for about £20 but I always did that even when I did a £90 weekly shop at morrisons/tesco/asda etc I always spent the extra £20
I don't think I want to go back to shopping in a supermarket ever again.

We LOVE Aldi. Just hope it doesn't get too popular and then the prices will increase. The produce is top quality. We get about 90% of what we need there, and pop to Tesco to buy things like birthday cards, lower sodium water and the other odd thing.

Their nappies are fine, and wipes are quite thick.

We like it that we are in and out quite quickly, it is quiet and we actually get REALLY good service. We tend to go the same time each week, and the same few staff are on. Normally they tell us to go over to a certain till when we have finished which they will then open up for us.

I don't rate the nearest Lidl as much. Too cramped and with too much signage. Produce a it more expensive and not as good IMO.

I am someone who loves their food and would not compromise in this area. It doesn't compare in anyway to somewhere like Kwiksave or Iceland.

Hello. I am a SAHM too. I used to shop at Aldi and Lidl because it was "fashionable". The nappies from both are much better than Asda's and Tesco's own. I used cotton too so the saving were maximised. Some products are of less quality but some are better (pasta sauces). I had no problems finding wholemeal bread at my local Aldi. Face creams are fab. Feminine stuff good too. The fresh meat was less than great but the quicken was fine. Lots of delicatessen products available too (like Spanish serrano ham!). The only drawback is that you don't get any help packing so unless you are really good and fast good tend to spill out of the end of the till and unto the floor if you are not careful!

The aldi nutty musili (sp?) is fab, not far off the dorset ones. But cheaper.

Aldi do Thai Fishcakes - they are seriously lovely, had them last night. Bought Tuna Steaks, but haven't eaten them yet

Both from frozen section

Aldi do a Super 6 promotion on fruit & veg too - for 69p, great value.

Lidl is better for washing powder and dishwasher tablets though

watching this post with interest as I'm really struggling to afford food these days. do you have to pay with cash at Aldi/Lidl or can you use a debit card? Also, do you need to take your own carrier bags or do they give you free ones?

Dont know about lidl but at Aldi you can buy by card but not credit card. You can buy carrier bags there but best to take your own. You dont pack as the stuff goes through the check out but put it all straight back into trolley then pack after you've paid.

IKEA bags are good for the till I find, you just throw it in. Now live very far from Lidl and Aldi none in my 3 local towns so its probably not worth the petrol costs. DS allergic to something in the Aldi nappies which is a shame, only nappies to give him nappy rash.

Lidl is debit card or cash only, and you have to buy bags or take your own - best thing to do with a big shop is to just put it straight back in the trolley and repack into bags directly in the car, or (if you're walking like me!) using the packing area at the front of the store.