Aldi and Lidl - what do you think of them?

[agora1]

We are overspending every month and it is mainly due to food shopping. We currently shop at Asda but wondered if we would save much if I switched to Aldi or Lidl for our big shop but still went to Asda midweek to top up on the things we may not find in Aldi/Lidl.

I would be interested to hear what your experience has been.

I used to sneak aldi stuff into the shopping too and see if dh noticed when it was served up. He didn't.

Even the WW2 cookbooks told women not to tell their husbands they had economised.

He told his brand snob mom the digestives and beans are better than mcvities and heinz, which went down like a lead balloon.

He still doesn't know we have sainsburys basic tea bags, and have done for 18months now. I put them in a pg tips catering size bag so that's what he thinks we have. I did tell mil when she complimented the tea I made her over the weekend though.

The foundation is surprisingly good too. I usually struggleto find a match as I'm so pale.

For things like spaghetti op just switch and say it's asda. I use Aldis really cheap spaghetti and it's nice.

Bah - ended up at Morrisons earlier as needed to drop a prescription and time was too short to do both. Should manage next week hopefully.

Sadly getting quite exciting about possible savings (slopes off realising she leads quite a sad life

i did a shop at asda this week and even though meal planned and stuck to the list as usual still came to £110. the same shop would have been at least £25 cheaper at aldi or lidl.
I only went to asda as we cashed in huge jar of 2 and 1 p coins and had a coinstar voucher for £55. still annoyed that even though had £50 extra to spend i still didnt get any luxuries or anything that was any better than lidl or aldi.

I don't much like Aldi or Lidl. I prefer the traditional supermarkets like Sainsburys Asda's and Morrisons. Do not like Tesco's although it's the nearest. I like to buy brand stuff on some items and also buy Supermaket own brand. But reading this thread I might give Aldi another go. Because sometimes I only get what seems a few things and I'm thinking how can it be that much. We don't seem to have a Lidl.

I find Aldi are cheaper than the big supermarkets. You have to be careful about the quality of some of the fruit and veg at our local one though so I tend to buy most of those at the supermarket. Aldi can be good for some tinned things though and some other things.

Aldi rump steak, frozen potato wedges (79p a bag) and salad for tea tonight... yum!

the fruit & veg doesn't have a use by date but does have a package code at Aldi, eg 2106 would be week 21 day 6. If you look at the dates on several packages you can work out which is the freshest.

Aldi for me, I buy washing up liquid, diluting juice, butter, Hovis 50/50 bread flour for pizzas, free range eggs, cheese and butter. Morrisons for fruit and veg, and then into M&S on a Sunday afternoon for their reduced chicken/meat to fill the freezer. I used to spend between £80-120 every week in Sainsburys for everything but now down to about £50

I popped into Aldi today and got a good bit for under £25 main things were
nappies, 12 tins of dog food for £4.88, fruit juice, tooth paste, 9 toilet rolls for £1.99. I also got snacks for the kids and some treats, didn't buy meat or fruit and veg as I did my main shop at Asda yesterday which was £89 for 4 people these were the things I forgot to buy. Next week I am going back to Aldi for a full shop if I can see if it's cheaper there is a Iceland next door to our local store so I will nip in there for things I can't get in Aldi!

Aldi wine very good apparently - has won lots of awards.

here

Ponders Thanks for the tip on the dates, I'll remember that :)

I've also found Aldi/Lidl F&V goes off quicker than other supermarkets. Is that because they're not sprayed with pesticides?

Our nearest Aldi is 20+ miles away, but every so often I just have to do a store cupboards/freezer essentials shop there :) I buy frozen fish of numerous varieties, tins (kidney beans, carrots, toms) in bulk, cereals, nuts/seeds, pasta, rice, couscous, cheese, ham, salami, pizzas, juice cartons in bulk, mini yoghurts, Lacura make-up/skincare (I love their foundation, concealer, pressed powder etc, but I only need to replace those occasionally). DCs get very excited when they know I've done an Aldi shop!

I am very cross about that Toro Loco, sleepydog - I've been buying it for months, but since it was in the media they are permanently sold out

you're welcome, Lemon I've discovered that aldi broccoli, for instance, will keep for a week or even more as long as it's in the veg crisper, but elsewhere in the fridge it turns quite quickly, so I try to keep as much as poss in the crisper (not things like spuds & onions, obv). I don't know about the pesticide thing, but they're not refrigerated in the store as they are in Tesco & Sainsburys so that might make a difference.

Ponders Sorry to be thick, by veg crisper do you mean the drawer at the bottom of the fridge, or is it something different?

I've been thinking about buying this for ages. Seems a bit dear at £4.49 but has good reviews and should last a long time.

yes, that drawer, sorry, Lemon (not sure where the word crisper came from, it just sprang into my brain )

the mat sounds good, but I don't think it would work in my drawer - it's rammed with things in plastic bags (not tomatoes though, they live in a bowl on the counter. I am evangelical about not putting toms in the fridge).

Aldi is too far from us, so we shop in lidl. Their Jeeves is a good version of pimms. We buy lots of whoops meat from tesco and asda(today I got a pack of pork mince, 8 good sausages and a topside of beef for £4) and will menu plan around that for next weeks food. If you have time you can get your food bill right down. We spend between 30-40 max a week, sometimes less. But have no kids in nappies!

I might venture out to do an aldi shop and see how they compare!

We have a Lidl which I embraced after our Sainsbury's shop was just getting ridiculous. We split it now across the two (and Tescos too when it suits - they have a really good luggage offer on at the mo) and I reckon it's knocked around 30% off. I find the grocery stuff the best - olive oil, rice, sugar etc. excellent value. Tinned toms as well plus they just get random bargainous things in so you have to be a bit flexible I think to get the best out of them. Eg huge wodges of pecorino cheese which I bought instead of paying over double for Parmesan at Sainsbos.

I've always found the fruit & veg good quality and def cheaper. Chocolate great quality & 70p a bar. Only dud has been muesli which was salty & full of wheat flakes. Made me a bit hesitant to get other cereals so we just get own brand versions from Sainsbos now.

Our lidl is a right shithole. I can't find anything I would buy in there tbh.

Ponders I never put toms in the fridge! they lose their flavour and taste horrid. I'm trying to spread the word

usualsuspect I think they do vary. The two near me are excellent but I've been to some shocking ones.

I went and did a weeks shop at Aldi today a weeks worth of food including dog food, washing tablets and some treats came to £42.62 I am usually between £60/70 a week in Asda every week. I make mostly everything from scratch can't believe the price difference it was 65p for a loaf of Hovis rather than £1.25 in Asda! Will be going every week from now on I think!

O i almost got stung in tesco with a ham with a big £4 sticker..also kilo.
8.99 i'll put that back thatks!

We do our main shop at Aldi, their lean mince, huge free range chicken breasts and packs of smoked salmon are brilliant. DH loves the various German meats for his lunch and their meatballs are delicious. Pasta & rice are good, frozen veg are great. Sauces are good too, great curry and bolognaise.

I did notice the other day that their milk tends to have a pretty short shelf life (but is that healthier than a long shelf life, who knows ??).

I pop to Tesco for the rest (like diet coke but a friend told me Iceland are really cheap for DC so maybe I'll pop there next time).

I do all our shopping at Aldi. I never spend more than £50 for two adults and a 2.9 yr old. I love it. Very occasionally I have to get something from somewhere else, but after nearly a year I just adjust our menu planning.

we are lucky(or unlucky whichever way you look at it) and have asda,sainsburys next door to each other,then last year a tesco and morrisons opened within a month of each other-all better for the consumer I say.
Also have Lidl and Aldi and I shop wherever I feel like shopping and whatevers cheaper this week!Love aldi,especially the 'special edition' gold label irish cream-its EXACTLY the same as Baileys and £3.99 a bottle-bargain!!

agora I get VERY excited about all the money I save shopping at ALDI!!!

For 2 adults and 3 DCs I usually spend between £70-80 a week at ALDI, probably saving about £35 on my former Asda spend.

The ONLY things I don't buy at ALDI are Froobs (cos they don't sell them!), hot chocolate (14yo DS insists on Green and Blacks the spoilt little herbert!), toilet roll (still prefer asda shades) and thats about it!

I second headintheclouds recommendation on spirits, we buy Austins - Aldi's version of Pimms - and really can't tell the difference, apart from the price about a third of Pimms! Also their Marlborough Sauvignon is gorgeous.

I love the fact that I can get my weekly shop done in less than an hour. Trawling round our local asda/tesco etc can take forever and they have FAR too many distractions, magazines, clothes etc.

Long Live Aldi