Did my first-ever Aldi shop last week and...

[KindleMum]

I've never lived near an Aldi before but we moved a few months ago and having read about it on here, I decided to try it. So we went last weekend and didn't really like the feel of it. Spent £45, came home, decided to run the same shop through the Sainsbury site and was astonished to find it would have cost me £92 at Sainsburys! Unsurprisingly, that price difference somewhat changed my view of the shopping trip! And all the products we've tried have tasted great.

Went again this week, tried Sunday morning which was much nicer than the Sat morning experience of last week. A bigger shop this week as we needed more things so we spent £62. Ran it though Sainsburys again and although not as good a saving as last week, it would have cost me £97 in Sainsburys.

And I figure I will also save a bit more money as there is less junk to tempt me in Aldi. In Sainsbury etc more things we don't really need will end up in the trolley. It seems much easier to stick to the list in Aldi.

So thanks for the threads - I'm a convert. I will still need the main supermarkets for a few things but I'm hoping to do a monthly top-up of those. It will save me loads.

[Ghostsgowoooh]

To be honest I think the reason people save at Aldi is because it's a small supermarket and can't be tempted to go down the clothing aisles or the dvd or electrical section and bung the odd candle in the trolley on the way to get the washing up liquid. I know Aldi have the middle aisles but lets face it its like a bloody jumble sale,all stacked up in the baskets.

There is far less choice there and the prices arent all that different to store own brands. You can't have a good wander in Aldi and buy loads of crap and I get the feeling the staff want you out of their shop as quick as poss

[plum100]

I LOVE aldi , i started gping when we moved at the nearest asda was too massive and it used to take me ages. I would find my trolley would be full before i had eveb got to the food part!
All the family love aldi- when i went bck to asda one week for a change they all complained! Normally do a hood shop there for 5 on 80/90 pounds. We can have nicer things at aldi as its cheaper.

On friday we had their quick fry steak - i dont like steak at all but it was 3 in a pack so i had one while dh has the other 2 and actually i really enjoyed it.

We do have 3 aldis in our town and they all vary in tidyness etc.

[DziezkoDisco]

Gobbolino- i love the tills, I treat it as a shopping challenge. I usually have two ro three kids with me so have to be really organised.

I put all the large items that dont need to be in a bag like cornflakes just be loose in the trolley/car on the conveyor belt first. Then have two bags open in e trolley ready, one strong largish bag and one huge blue ikea one.

I then load up all the tins and heavy stuff for first bag
Then all the light things in big bag
Then have another strong medium bag for all the freezer/fridge stuff which I put on top of the tins bag.
Then loos rolls/poppdums/eggs on the top.

I shop for six of us so a massive shop and always manage to keep up with the till.

Does involve some scooping.
Sometimes I even get my cash card out before they ask for it.

Such a sense of achievement

[Mummyhop]

My top tip for shopping there with kids in tow is to put everything in the trolley fast (as you have to) then take the trolley out to your car, strap the kids in to their seats and then unload it into your bags in the boot. I am a recent convert to Aldi, my equivalent shop would be £30 more in Tesco. That's over £1000 in a year.

[teaselweasel]

Don't knock the random tat. Yep it's random but where else can you leave a shop with you groceries, plus a nice socket set you didn't't expect to buy! Their tools are pretty good. Brother spends a fortune on their random tat. He got a good loft ladder from Lidl, much cheaper than the DIY stores. I bought a fleece zip jacket for £7.99 and it's perfect for wearing this time of year when cleaning my chickens.

[teaselweasel]

I recommend the Norwegian smoked salmon from Lidl, the Aldi one is not as nice imo. I like Aldi luxury fruit and nut muesli, and all the chocolate confectionery as I prefer continental choc to Cadbury or mars.

Aldi London gin and their own brand amaretto are every bit as good as the big brands. I have 3 bottles of the gin - £9.65/700 cl, in a container on my windowsill with sloes steeping in it....

[comingintomyown]

I do find I need to get stuff at another supermarket as they dont do everything eg coffee filter papers but with savings I make I am fine with that.

I like their crisps, chocolate, rice,noodles,pasta, all cleaning/household products especially the clingfilm, pizzas, cheese and the super 6 s brilliant

Not so keen on their cereals,mascara,yoghurts and fresh coffee but I am an Illy girl !

I dont mind the speedy packing but sometimes virtually climbing over pallets or rollers in the aisles is annoying.

I am curious about the way so much floor space is given over to random tat though and how there is no attempt to merchandise it ! I think its the same in Lidl

[seb1]

Our Aldi takes credit cards and as I have a tesco credit card I get Tesco points too

[Lonelybunny]

Aldis economy tomato soup is lovely! 23p a tin ! That's my lunch sorted for a few days

[elizabethsmum]

Hi-am a total convert to aldi having regularly done main shop for about a year now. Can pretty much get everything we need for a family of 5 for a week for around £80 max. Rarely go to tescos anymore-it seems so expensive now!

Apart from all the products already mentioned would also recommend aldi nappies and pull ups- didn't even particularly like tesco own brand and used to bulk buy Huggins when on offer- but aldi ones are fab. Also the baby wipes.

Another recommended product would be their 'miracle oil' copy of Moroccan oil for hair- bargain at £3.99 and in identical packaging.

I cannot fault many of the products at all.

Our store does not take credit cards either but I either pay with cash or debit card.

Once you get used to where all the products are it is actually much quicker to shop there than in some of the larger supermarkets.

[trickydickie]

I asked the lady at the till for change of £10 to get a £1 coin for the trolley. She gave me the £1 and said it is Aldi's policy just to give you the £1 coin if you don't have change. Fantastic.

[OurMrsReynolds]

We do morrisons once a month and Aldi the other 3wks. DDs don't like the cereal and the cats don't eat the wet food but apart from that we love it

[stickysausages]

Did our first aldi shop at the weekend & we are also converted!

Searched & found this thread, as I was hoping for some tips & tricks ;)

Found the packing a bit manic but will know better next time!

Meat looks great, and was amazed I got all the veg & fruit I wanted, including Savoy cabbage, lemons etc & slightly unusual items for recipes I want to try such as mango chutney.

Best of all, was the lack of choice! I dither so much when shopping, weighing up offers etc... to have little or no choice was actually really liberating!!

Bio washing powder working well too!

[BackforGood]

Yes, proper full size trollies here too.
Gobbolin - it's a FAR better system for packing, in that you can pack in your own time, to your own system, with feeling harrassed or pressured by people in the queue behind you. They don't start putting things through until you are ready, as they go straight into your trolley, they don't have the space for it to start building up before you are ready. The conveyor belts are longer too so you've actually got room for a full trolley to be loaded onto conveyor belt, unlike in some of the bigger supermarkets.
Take own bags (or can buy them there)
In mine, they take debit cards but not credit, although, in previous threads on here, a couple of people have said they do take credit cards in their Aldis.

[everydayaschoolday]

oh I had a proper full size trolley, like you'd find in tesco. Perhaps it varies between stores.

[Hashtagwhatever]

My only complaint with aldi is their shopping trolley is infact a tiny basket on wheels

[everydayaschoolday]

Hi Gobbolino Our Aldi is clean and tidy, but did have the products stacked in their boxes for customers to lift out themselves.

The check out lady waited for me to finish loading all my shopping onto the conveyer belt before stating to scan things through; was very nice and chatty at checkout; I did have to pack the groceries right back into the trolly, she went at an efficient pace but my stuff wasn't thrown at me. After paying, I took my groceries over to the side (3 steps away from the till) to pack them into my bags - seems 'purpose-built' area with deep window ledge for sitting bags on to pack them. I took my own bags, I don't know if they sell bags there but definitely no free plastic bags. And you'll need a refundable £1 coin for the trolly (if you need a trolly instead of a basket).

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Right - this thread is starting to convert me. I've been in our local Aldi and it all looks such a mess. Bizarrely that makes me worry that the food in the fridge isn't stored properly and is on the verge of going off! Howrver, I know that is really silly

I'd have to take my 7 month old DS. Currently shop at a mix of sainsburys and waitrose and they are always lovely and helpful with packing etc. however, is it right that I won't get bags etc? Also I'm not able to pack at the till? Worried I'll be having food chucked at me whilst trying to deal with the pram etc!

[Beatrixpotty]

I love Aldi and do a weekly shop there topping up with extras from the market or Waitrose.
Buy a lot of baby products,cleaning & laundry stuff and they are all brilliant.

[carolthesecretary]

I love both ALDI and LIDL.

Took a little while to get into but I am a total convert now. Much better quality and not a gazillion and one BOGOF offers vying for your attention just decent prices.

[Mandy21]

I agree - its not necessarily cheaper than Asda's smart price stuff (although we don't have an Asda locally so its a while since I've been) but its much better quality than lowest value / budget ranges. So you might pay a few pence more but its much better.

[MERLYPUSS]

Aldi prices are somewhere between sm brand and basics brand price I think. They are much tastier than basics. The squirty mayo and ketchup is massively cheaper than hellmans or heinz and although it doeant taste the same it tastes as good IMHO. I do 80% of my shop there and top up with basics at Asda.

[everydayaschoolday]

OK- I did my first Aldi shop today after reading rave reviews on mn. I'm an utter convert. I did a direct price compare Aldi/tesco and EVERYTHING was cheaper in Aldi with the exception of a match on the 19p own brand paracetamol. Aldi shop was £61.45 tesco equivalent was £90.22. The Aldi choc tastes lovely, all fruit and veg looks nice and fresh and lovely selection of continental meats and cheeses. Thanks Aldi.

[LippyDiDooDah]

The Pimms equivalent Austins is just like the real McCoy inho.

We love the crisps, cereals, free range chickens, frozen homestyle oven chips.

Don't like their pack of 6 yoghurts - long life and artificial tasting. Don't like their spread either.

[emma16]

I think I must be missing out on something here because ive been into aldi a few times now, thinking I've gone wrong somewhere, and each time whenever I've looked at a product & then the price its been not much different to Asda. And in some cases, more expensive. In fact there was nothing there that made me think it's worth swapping my entire big shop from Asda to there & hoping we like the food?!
I've no doubt its cheaper than Tesco, I hate that place it's so expensive! But Asda I've always found hard to beat, I buy a mixture of smart price & asda brand products, never top branded products unless they are on special offer. Always always look at the price per ml/kg part rather than the actual ticket price etc.
Oh & always go with a list! I can do a big shop there for anywhere between £90-£110 & come home with the cupboards/fridge/freezer packed, then just do top up's for milk, veg,fruit locally etc. Where am I going wrong??