Shopping Bills

[Chinchilla]

Long story, but dh and I are having to make cut backs in our monthly expenditure. We realised that I was spending far too much while shopping, because I make several trips to various supermarkets, and get a few extra things that can sometimes add up to £30 a time, on top of the weekly shop. OK, so we decided to stop having take-aways at the weekend, going out for pizza, and for me to make only one visit to the supermarket, unless I need milk or bread (and then I must only buy those items). No problem there, and last week, I managed to spend 'only' £75 in two trips (one for milk only!) However, today I went for the weekly shop, and managed to spend £110. Before you all gasp in horror, I have ds's 2nd birthday party next Monday, and a lot of the shop involved fizzy drinks, wine, squash etc. Also, there were a lot of toiletries involved this week. In addition, wherever possible, I bought BOGOF items and 'two for £xxx' offers.

I am addicted to the little crispy snacks-garlic are the best-called mini-bake crisps. I go to lidls just for those. They are yummy, cheap, loads in a packet and last for ages once bag open (if you dont eat them all!). Also chicken nuggets were really good- breast meat only. Ready made neopolitan icecream wafers were also big hit with children. I tell the young trainees at work, who are always hard up, to go in there and they wont because they are embarrased someone might see them

I have bought some non-food items from Lidl - tempted in there by their flyers. Got a great wireless TV signal-sender thingy for £35 that we use so that the kids can watch TV/video in the playroom. But I've never been tempted by the food - fear of the unknown and the clientele in Newport is similarly scary as elsewhere (well, everybody in Newport is scary, actually ). But having read all your posts, I may give it a try. What's the worst that can happen?

I did buy a new silver and blue bin for the kitchen for 3.99, but that was the only non-food thing that tempted me yesterday. I will definitely be going there again even if it's just for that Prosecco (polished off a whole bottle to myself last night - just as good as tesco's £6 version)!

Now this is REALLY sad, but I've just gone onto tesco.com and put everything i bought at lidl into my basket to see how much it would've come to, and the tesco price is £70.58, Lidl price £51.28! And that included a new kitchen bin which i couldn't have got at tescos!

Every single thing we have tried from lidl so far has been excellent and as janh said, looking at the ingredients would suggest that the food is of BETTER quality than you'd get in a standard supermarket (unless you buy from their luxury ranges)

My mum and dad both swear by Lidl (Glasgow). Every time we visit them their fridge is stacked with lots of huge packets/cartons/bags of interesting continental stuff I've never seen before.
I'll need to drive to a less than salubrious area of Luton to get to my local though. Very tempted.

I didn't know there was a Lidl in Luton. Theres'a Netto in Houghton regis, a Lidl In Letchworth, and a Netto in Hitchin. Is it new? We left almost a year ago.

Damn it I want to go to a Lidl now, but just checked and my nearest one is 4 miles away and with no car that isn't going to happen. Back to going to get ripped off my the only supermarket near me, bloomin Sainsburys.

Thanks to spacemonkey, Tinker, Princesspeahead, Janh, Jasper and Ghengis for the real good laugh I have just had reading this thread after a crappy morning.

Jasper and Ghengis are you south westers? the supermarkets you mention and their relative distances make you sound local to me (North Bristol)?

pie, with savings like that it might be worth getting a taxi!

I'm addicted to Lidl and Aldi, and hate it if I miss my weekly shop in at least one of them. Like spacemonkey I did an on-line comparisson with Tesco, and my £28.00 at Aldi would have been £46.00 at Tesco. The money I save on food does get squandered on the "specials", but to date all have been excellent quality. The best being a three-wheeler push chair, bought for £80 back in the days when they all seemed to be around £250-350 (I've been an addict for a long time), and just a few weeks ago a digital camera for £79. However, if you want these "specials" you need to be there at opening time on the morning they are delivered, and be prepared to negotiate a stampede of some fairly interesting characters.
Now to make my life complete I just need to find a handy Netto...

Mjhen I am in the south west of Scotland and spoiled for choice - I have one Lidl near work, one near home, one near My mum's.
Miggy, you are right about the breast meat chicken nuggets. I always make extra to make sure there are leftovers as my children wolf them down so heartily.

Taken your advice and I've been to Lidl £21.18.

Returned home joined the sad club and put the whole lot on tesco.com - £31.78!!!!!!!!!!!

However the tenner i "saved" I spent on 2 X swimming trunks - £1.98 and a pair of zip off trousers for ds - £4.99.

Couple of hitches

• forgot £1 coin for trolley
• forgot reins to tie in wriggling tot
• fogot carrier bags so had to buy 2 - 18p.

So quite impressed. I only hope I'm still impressed after I've consumed the marble cake and Prosecco as recommended by mumsnetters.

watch this space.

mummysurfer, tried the cake yet?

or the prosecco?

okay I'll confess my ignorance...what's prosecco?

it's an italian sparkly wine, lovely stuff

can't believe I have gone 40 years without
a) knowing that
b) seeing it in lidl

I'm going tomorrow

Am sneaking off to Lidl on Sunday when DP at golf - sure will not save anything because DD (3yrs) is an avid shopper and loves to sling things in the trolley!!

Will surprise DP with lots of foreign stuff - he is pseudo Italian and think this may impress him (what I mean is he looks italian, speaks italian and eats mostly italian food, fact that he was born and brought up in Bromley means nothing to him!!!(he has spent part of every year for the last 10 in Italy though so not as much of a nutter as he sounds.)

Do they do other stuff at this lidl place - clothes toiletries etc...

Boe, there are a few clothes but they tend to be a bit manky - polyester tops for ladies etc! Some nice kids' things occasionally, as Tinker mentioned she got a pair of embroidered jeans for her DD and I got a brilliant waterproof jacket for my DS a bit ago, they only go up to about 140 height though (or maybe 152, not sure).

Other Things vary from week to week, it's worth going up and down all the aisles with Thing bins just to see what's there. (Did you check out spacemonkey's link? The LIDL site has details of this week's Things, starting from Thurs, and there are always extras.)

Toiletries very good and very cheap (some crap and even cheaper, eg a humungous bottle of bright blue bubble bath for about 35p which my 18-yr-old DD insisted on trying once!) - shampoo, shower cream, body spray etc and things like cotton buds. Haven't tried toothpaste or razors or anything like that. (There are 2 kinds of shower cream in an orange bottle with a hanger, the one for sensitive skin is lovely, the one for normal skin smells really naff.) Tissues good and cheap, the ones in the black/grey/orange box pop up. Lovely coloured/patterned paper napkins. Loo rolls, pack of 9 with kitten on, very good quality, c £2.50.

Oh, batteries good value too - £1.59 I think for the standard packs. They keep them at the checkouts.

Have fun!

OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - have to go visit sister this afternoon - she is poorly - may do a bit of a sneaky and try and pop in here on the way home - Boss (is on hols) and his deputy has just told me I should go home now!!!

Not going to though - have few bits and yesterdays mumsnet to catch up on!!

Spotted a Lidl on the way to work this morning and sat on the bus grinning, how sad is that?

(note to self: get out more)

Boe - where's your nearest Lidl?

Yes treid the wine and the cake. Both very impressive. Only problem was opening the wine!
Ought I to have just poppped it off? it seemed to be to far in for that. The cork seemed to be really hard, struggled but mamaged (with help)

That was FULL of mis-types!
Sorry.

Reverting to the original topic - I checked all my shopping bills this month and am delighted to report that average expenditure per week is down to a fantastic £114. This is mostly due to a "healthy eating" drive (dh has been told he has to reduce his cholestorel levels) so no more choccies, crisps, cheeses.