Just done a split shop, Aldi and Morrisons and did save a fair bit.

[CuriousMama]

Dp works for Morrisons so we go there for the 10% dissy plus their meat is great. British abatoirs

But I like Aldi too, especially for veg and fruit deals. So today I told him we'd go to Aldi first, I'd go in alone seen as he hates it there and then we'd finish off in Morrisons. Dp actually usually loves supermarket shopping. I'm not so keen but like Aldi as it's small.

Dp bakes a lot of bread and sometimes uses the bread mixes. Today in Aldi they had some for 59p!! Even he was impressed. Plus dp has high cholesterol (7.3) and we're trying to reduce it without statins. I need to lose weight too so we're healthy living together. In Aldi the benecol type drinks were cheap and nuts were too. I ended up spending £37 but got loads of stuff. Then went on to Morrisons and spent around £77. We did expect a much higher bill in total so I think this will be how we'll do our shopping from now on?

The shopping this week had a few more expensive things in it, the cholesterol lowering spread and stuff such as that. Plus we're out at friends tonight and bought wine to take. So really it's been a bit of an eyeopener for dp.

I wrote down the prices of things in Aldi as I went along to compare. The only thing no cheaper was potatoes. With our discount they were a similar price. Also I couldn't get a good few of the things we needed in Aldi.

Has anyone tried the Aldi bread mixes? Dp's doing them now, one to take tonight as our hosts love homemade bread.

We discovered Aldi a few months ago and do an Aldi/Sainsburys mix each week. There are 5 of us, effectively 4 adults and 1 child, and we're saving about £80 a month.

There are 4 of us but dss are preteen and teen, big lads. That's a good saving SirChenjin. Effectively the price of a holiday.

The price of potatoes seems to be high everywhere atm.
I haven't used the bread mixes but we do use Aldi yeast for our bread and cobs which works great.
We do a mixture of shops too. We mainly do weekly shops at Aldi with occasional bits at Tesco if certain things are on offer. In fact, I shop everywhere! Farmfoods, iceland, Sainsburys, Pound/ bargain shops, markets, butchers, grocers, online... Whichever is the cheapest place for each item I need basically.
I realise not everyone has the time or patience for this but if you can then it really reduces your shopping bill.

I saw the yeast too, will price that up next time.

I do some local shopping in the coop and butchers. I've never tried Farmfoods can you recommend any bargains from there?

Potatoes have been badly effected by weather this year- alot of blight which means increased demand reduced supply and higher prices. Expect more random shapes too!

I usually buy all our frozen fish from Farmfoods. They have lots of offers on seafood. I also occasionally buy name brand burgers although I tend to make these myself but I like having a box in the freezer just incase. Veg oil is really cheap there as is the pasta, ice-cream, sweets, pittas and wraps.
I have to walk through the town centre 4 times a day so its easy for me to shop around and look for the best prices.

I do a late shop in tesco on a Thursday, just as they are reducing things and usually get a trolley full for about £20. Then, depending on what I have, I shop in Aldi on a Friday - £40/£50. That's for 5 of us, pretty much 4 adults and a child.

Asda do 100g tins of allinson easy bake yeast for £1, it works out cheaper than sachets.

I love Aldi, so quiet and small. The choc marzipan eggs are to die for.

Christmas- Are the reduced items things that you freeze?
Or have to eat by the next day (ish)

I wish we had an Asda near us. They seem to have some great deals. We have 3 Tesco stores which seems to have pushed out any competitors.

Thanks all.

Did you know supermarket bakers give you free fresh yeast? We got some from Morrisons.

I love Aldi and when I was on Mat Leave started shopping there. Ive had to stop now as my totally random shift patterbs mean I need to rely on deliverys (aldi dont do.online), or going at 11pm (aldi shut then).

We are ttc #2 and second on my list of exciting things with a newborn is having time to go to Aldi again!

I go to Aldi for nearly all my shopping & a big trolley of food including my treat bottle of wine rarely comes to more than £80.

This feeds me & 2 hungry teens for a good fortnight asa well as refilling the store cupboard.

I top up certain things from Tesco once a month thath I can't get at Aldi.

The only thing I hate is that they over package the fresh stuff but I guess it's easier to restrict wastage that way.

Our local (big) Tesco stopped doing free yeast and our local Sainsbury's charge for it.

Slight aside, but the 5:2 diet is meant to be v good for reducing cholesterol without statins. I think unless I didn't understand the program v well.

Curious - funnily enough, the best bargain I get from FarmFoods is the Toilet rolls! 2 packs of 9 for £4, and the paper is really 'thick' unlike some cheap toilet roll you buy.
I generally go to Aldi about 3 shops a month, then stock up on the things I can't get there (wholewheat pasta being one) when I go to Sainsburys or Morrisons or wherever I go on thee 4th week. I'm not sure I could cope with the idea of doing 2 supermarket shops one after the other

We've had free yeast at tesco must depend on the store?

I did notice aldi don't do wholewheat pasta. I got 9 loo rolls for 1.99 though :-)

I shop around too.

nearest supermarket is co-op which only do offers and reductiions as its expensive.

we did used to do big tesco then knocked down got even bigger and realised its pricey.

Our nearest big sainsburys is on retail park opposite lidls so trick was to do lidls fisrt then go sainsburys for anything I couldent get.

e do like aldis but nearest one used to 20 min drive and wa sbit out way,

people who say aldis lidls same they not they good for different things.

Aldis you can do more of a shop at, the supersix good, better selection wine, copycat brands.

Lilds weekend deals, formil washing powder and nappies are good.
lidls has more brand names, not keen in lidls frozen stuff but cant fault fresh red tractor meat, free range chicken for £4.50.

Now aldis has opened near us, Must admit we bit spoiltt as have orrsions with aldi lilds either side nd 5mins frfom there they opened b&m and opening an iceland so technically I could do all 5.

we used to shop at iceland but find it pricey.
we prefer farmfoods which is 20mins drive but we get 10%coupons in paper.

Thinks to look out for in farmfoods and oddly not frozen

got 7.5k aris pipers other day for £3
they had bag fresh onions on limited veg section for 39p.
toiliet roll.

hovis loaves 2 for £1.60 or hovis bakery products, crumpets, muffins and rolls 2 for £1.

ilk reducved again 8pints for £1.60 making it cheapest place for milk and we get through loads of it.

sugar 2 for £1.50 giving most people 25p+saving per bag.

Their cartons juice ok.

They friozen veg and plain fish is good value
The rest we buy youngs, birdeye or walls.
Their meta free cabinet quiet competative with 2 for 3 on qourn and lots stuff £1 when big 4raising price meat free to cash in on horse scandel.

They do wyke farm branded mature cheese 400g was flashmarked at 2 for 4 was actually 1.50 per block and see it in other superarkets we only like mature not mild.

They had posh looking sea salt and black peppercorns in glass bottles with inbuilt grinders for £1 each.

Sometimes they dont always have same things few months ago they had one of those pots with sprinkles in for icecream with 4different type of sprinkles in which is used to decorate cakes for £1
They also had 24pack carton drinks not seen in ages.
its kind of when its gone its gone.
It has very small sall fresh section and I hate their butter.

Other than that we do online with money off codes been new customer with ocado 4times, waitrose just sent me £10 of £100 as not shopped with them for a while and sainsburys £12 off.

dont forget use cashback sites too.

we rarly use asda as does head in.

we are family of 6 2in nappies and use 6pints milk a day and current 80quid a week trying to get down to 50quid.

Thanks for all that info mam29. Amazing to think you can do all that for £80!

I do the same as thingymajigs. I mostly shop at Aldi, cheap greengrocers and butchers, Morrisons, Asda, Home Bargains, B&M, Heron foods, Poundworld, Poundland and 99p shop.

Whenever I buy a new item I store the price and where I bought it in my phone. If I see it in a different shop cheaper without being on a temporary offer I save the new price and shop in my phone. Most things now I automatically know where it is cheapest but the list is good to check things you don't buy regularly.

Good idea nappyaddict.

Is anyone doing the Morrisons Easter Payday Bonus? Dp wasn't fussed on doing it but I've asked for the tickets. Means we save £10 off a £35 shop. We won't get our 10% discount on that amount but it'll pay for the wine we're taking on holiday.

I am so thick, I only realised today that I can get two loaves out of a bread mix not just one.

It's in the bread maker right now.

Lidl had big bags of bread mix 1kg.

We always make 2lb loaves. Dp's just made a multi grain one.

Curious I work for Morrisons too, and am doing the Easter bonus. Was very sneaky with week 2, bought a toaster as part of my shopping (£20) got my shopping to just over £35 to qualify for voucher, got £3.50 discount and I returned the toaster the next day (it didn't work) but got money back, so I got the voucher for only spending £11.50

I do a big monthly shop at Aldi. I meal plan for an entire month, then write 2 shopping lists, 1 for Aldi and 1 for Morrisons. Aldi is a 30 mile round trip from me, so I time it so that my DS's fall asleep in the car on way home. I get all the shopping in and unpack chilled/frozen, then go to Morrisons where DS's have lunch in café before doing the rest of the shopping ... makes for a long day, but gets it all done in one go. I even buy 10 loaves of bread and 6x4pts of milk and bung in chest freezer, then I only need to buy fruit/veg on a weekly basis. Saves me loads of money, on average £100 per month, on what I was spending as I'm not impulse buying, or popping to the shops all the time.

Great sneaky trick

I tell you what we've noticed lately. Some of the lower price ranges have gone right up. Dp was buying the cheap mushy peas for 8p the next week they were 18p! Passata doubled almost too. I get that from Asda or Tesco now but will check Aldi's prices now he's keen to go there. I use a lot of passata.

I'm sure it's the same in all of the supermarkets but the price hikes are terrible.