Lidle experience

Amatheya81

Since finding this board I've been doing my best to find ways of doing things cheaply. This week I though, "I know, instead of shopping in Tesco I'll try Lidle" I thought this would save me a packet as I'd tried it before and thought it was cheaper but I was shocked at how expensive it is now!

Last week I managed to do my weeks shopping at Tesco for £7, leaving £3 of my budget to get extras during the week. This week my shopping cost £16 in Lidle and I'm going to have to go to town to get lots of bits that I couldn't get. I accept the £5 was spent on supplying my baking cuoboard as I intend to start making pies and muffins this weekend but still all I bought othere than that was potatoes, crisps, cerial, wafer thin ham, milk, one bag of frozen veg, and a bar of chocolate! Conssidering I could have done my shopping for free on my Tesco vouchers I came out of the shop feeling very miffed indeed!

Just wondered if anyone else has had the same experience with this supposedly cheap store and where everyone else finds cheapest to shop.

davetrousers

You shouldn't use Tesco vouchers to pay for shopping, exchange them for 4x their face value for rewards!

thriftlady_2

davetrousers wrote: »

You shouldn't use Tesco vouchers to pay for shopping, exchange them for 4x their face value for rewards!

You should use your Tesco vouchers which ever way you please. I never use them for rewards as I don't want any of the rewards on offer. Free food and drink though is another matter.

yummyhoney

i buy my basics in lidl and head to dunnes usually for reduced meat,,then off to tesco for my bread flour,,in total i spend about 70€,,which is a big drop for me,,before i joined here i used to spend 120€ in just dunnes,,i find it hard not to stop and look at the special offers in lidl as there only special offers if you need them,,thats new to me also:)

PasturesNew

You can never shop in one shop and expect your shopping to be cheaper.

You have to have full price awareness of the items you personally buy, then buy those items at the cheapest shop. You also need to factor in the cost of getting to each shop, so I'll pay more in one shop if the cost of getting the 1-2 items from a cheaper shop costs more in petrol than the saving.

Item for item, did you actually save in Lidl?

maryb

Lidl seems to go in cycles, I think they up their prices until they see trade falling off then they retreat a bit until the next time. However I find the quality is much nicer than Tesco's value even when the price is the same. I had some Tescos value orange juice and tinned tomatoes, same price as Lidl's but so thin and watery.

Some things are fantastic value but in general the difference is pennies and unless the quality is much better (as with my example of orange juice and tinned tomatoes)you would make that difference up on the Tesco Clubcard points. There is a whole thread about what's good and what's not in Lidls, it's worth checking out.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=110684&highlight=lidls

I now go to Lidl's once a month to stock up on what's good and cheap and the rest I get in Tesco

charliee_3

i always end up spending a fortune when i got to aldi or lidl as i cant resist the things that seem really cheap like the jars of sun-dried tomatoes and the bratwurst, etc.. not necessary but nice... by the time ive bought a load of those and some wine and some bargain household thing they always have i always end up spending 90 quid on nothing... hmmmm

peasantboy

charliee wrote: »

i always end up spending a fortune when i got to aldi or lidl as i cant resist the things that seem really cheap like the jars of sun-dried tomatoes and the bratwurst, etc.. not necessary but nice... by the time ive bought a load of those and some wine and some bargain household thing they always have i always end up spending 90 quid on nothing... hmmmm

Perhaps it's just my taste but both Aldi and Lidl sell amazing chocolate !

Queen_of_NO_MATTER_WHAT

p for The only way I have made my weekly food shopping cheaper by using aldi and lidl is firstly to look on the various stores websites to see what special offers are on freesh fruit and veg and then make list, and then trudge (quite happy) round the various supermarkets, this week I went to aldi for potatoes 59p for 2.5kg , cucumbers 29p each, apples 29p for 6, plums 49p each, savoy cabbage 29p, in Lidl I picked up cherry tomatoes for 50p per pack, spinach 2 for £1.50, plus there are always certain things i pick up from lidl like tomato puree and microwave rice (hubby wants it and likes it :rolleyes:) anyway you get the drift, I went to morrisons for some meat because their rump steak adn lamb joints are on offer, and whatever I had left to get I picked up from asda...it does mean visiting at least 4 or 5 different places but it means I can do my shopping within our budget and if possible put a few quid in the holiday jar

viv0147

I love shopping around, and when I see a bargain I stock up. I also use the site (mad about bargains) and hotukdeals and of course Martins. At the moment my stocks are really good and the freezer is full, so now I cant shop for to much but what it does mean when I see a bargain providing I have no need to freeze it I can buy even more lol.

OrkneyStar

thriftlady wrote: »

You should use your Tesco vouchers which ever way you please. I never use them for rewards as I don't want any of the rewards on offer. Free food and drink though is another matter.

My thoughts exactly thriftlady :T.
I am not interested in the rewards either but free shopping well thats another matter (I am keeping my last lot- a whole £9!- for Christmas treats nearer the time!).
ETA, I tend to shop in Tesco, Lidl and the Coop, along with smaller local shops (that is all we have up here). I do stock up on certain things from Asda, Sainsbugs etc when on the mainland but yet to visit Aldi, Netto, Wilkinsons etc. Shopping around is fine if it fits in with your schedule...I tend to do a big shop in either Lidl or Tesco and stock up with small bits from the local Coop/local shop....todays big shop cost £25 from Tesco, and we will spend perhaps another £10 in local shops for any small bits me need. I tend to stock up on certain things at certain times and so tbh our weekly shop will be tin heavy one week, juice heavy another etc....I try not to get too much at once due to back problems.
Also when the main shop seems cheaper it is easier to throw in more luxuries, which is perhaps where the bill can creep up in Lidl, eg buy an extra bar of choccie 'cos lettuce was only 29p....but if lettuce was only say 50p cheaper and choccie cost £1 you can see how it could add up!