Aldi/ASDA - Saving tip

[kal]

Well I bit the bullet and tried my weekly shop at Aldi tonight - have to say yes it is cheaper, but I did have to go round the shop 3 or 4 times to try and get everything.
I had a list of stuff that I normally get from Tesco and tried to get the same sort of stuff.
I do not like the checkout either - but learnt from last time when they piled it all ontop of me - and so this time took my own bags and had them ready in the trolley to put back in!
I find it really odd though that in amongs the butter etc, you turn round and find a clothes rail...very bizarre! They even had wheel clapms for sale...not something I would normally put in my trolley!
I think it takes some getting used to, but you cannot deny that it is a lot cheaper - although their veg section was terrible I thought...there was hardly anything there.
I did manage to get my little girl 2 tops and a skirt for a total of £4!!!!
k.

[Rockin Diner]

I find Lidl and Aldi good for some things but not others. Both are good for basics like pasta rice and tinned stuff, yogs, butter and spread, jam, peanut butter stuff like that. Fruit juice is good, also the apple & blackcurrant from Aldi - the kids think its better than Robinson's. Lidl's burgers are good and some of their BBQ range too, and the frozen paella - kids just love it. Chocolate bars, they have equivalent to all the big names like mars bars, snickers etc. and their continental chocolate is just yum. You can't get everything but like one of the other posts said, you can save an awful lot by just getting the basic equivalents there and then topping up in another supermarket. I find chicken and other meat is usually cheaper and better from Sainsbury's or co-op.
My husband loves the odds & sods in Lidl. Nuts & bolts, masonry pain that sort of thing.

[Rockin Diner]

masonry paint that is, not pain!!

[Rockin Diner]

Ladies
Back to previous posts about 2 pair of knickers costing the equivalent of 2 chickens. And clothes in general ... today I went to work in a lovely skirt from Next - Brand new still with tags on from charity shop about £4. Went shopping last week and got Principles linen trousers, hardly worn, brand new Per Una top, brand new Maine T shirt and brand new Next top all for about £4 each from charity shop. Went into work and someone admired the trousers - oh, last years summer stuff, just dragged it all out from under the bed says I ... nose grew like Pinocchio though. What the hell though. I hate to think how much money I have wasted over the years buying clothes that I have never worn. And then what do you do with them - take them to the Charity shop for someone to snap up your £40 trousers for a mere fiver. Who's the mug??

[SharonOR]

Hi ray - nice to know I'm not the "Only IVA in the Village!"

[rayb]

Hi Sharon,

I would not be surprised if there were loads of us in "the village" lol. Whereabouts in Croydon are you from??

[moretolife]

did a wee shop at lidl for the first to test the water ...so to speak....and found it good ...may do some shopping there in future...but hard to get out of the asda habit..

[Viki.W]

I buy all the extra virgin olive oil from aldi, we did a taste test of oil from every supermarket and the cash and carry and aldi's was the nicest and cheapest. I DID NOT know that all supermarkets had pretty much the same stuff, just in different packaging.

[SharonOR]

Ray we live near 5 ways. Had to move there (thank God for good friends) from Carshalton after landlady kicked us out after 3 years. We used to live in Citiscape near Centrale when it was first built. Where are you?

[Lisa2009]

Our local Asda are having a bit of a change around. We couldnt find half the treats we usually buy but still came away with a good week worth of shopping and saved about 20 quid in the process.
Kids havent even noticed theres not as many treats.

[cat 1]

when I'd left college around 25 years ago!!!! I worked at a famous jam factory.They made jam for everybody even then.All we seemed to do was have different packaging machines.Don't know if the product was any different but judging by the spead product labels changed and there was no let up with the jam coming through I would say not.
What a horrible memory of work I've just conjured up...very hot and smelly place.Hope my kids do well enough accademically not to have to do factory work! Cat