Can you do a full monthly shop and Aldi and Lidl

littlechezza

We need to reduce our food budget, I always put £250 in our budget but would guess it's more £300 which is quite a lot for 2 adults and 2 children.
Friends keep saying to go to Aldi and I do like it in there but fnd the odd thing on my list that they don't sell.
Does anybody think I could do a monthly shop including all booze, cleaning stuff etc., for under £250.
The only things I'm quite picky abut are milk which I like organic, free range eggs and free range chicken.

absfabs

Can't advice you on the budget, sure someone else will.

I still go to the big supermarkets in between, but just for specific items such as decent coffee, nice meat, 0%Greek Yoghurt, plain Fromage Frais, soya milk (Lidl's is absolutely awful, but Aldi often has better stuff), fresh fish, wholemeal breadflour and of course cat food! Cat won't eat the cheap stuff!

I think both Lidl and Aldi do free range eggs.

geordie_joe

littlechezza wrote: »

Does anybody think I could do a monthly shop including all booze, cleaning stuff etc., for under £250.

To be honest, only you can answer that, as only you know what you buy each month.

littlechezza wrote: »

Friends keep saying to go to Aldi and I do like it in there but fnd the odd thing on my list that they don't sell.

You've answered the question your self. You can't do a full monthly shop at aldi (at any price) because they don't sell some of the items you buy each month.

If I were you I would make a list of everything you buy each month, then mark everything that can be bought at Aldi cheaper. Then get those items from Aldi and the rest from other shops. Or consider changing the items Aldi don't sell for things they do sell.

BitterAndTwisted

absfabs wrote: »

I still go to the big supermarkets in between, but just for specific items such as decent coffee,

Have you tried the Bellarom ground coffee from Lidl? I think it's really good and at £2.49 for 500 grammes it's the cheapest I've found anywhere. The ground coffee from Aldi at £1.29 for 250 grammes is very good, too. The one thing I would trust the Germans to sell of good quality is coffee, they are a very fussy nation when it comes to coffee. Well, that and cooked meats, cakes, biscuits and chocolate and the list goes on and on......

Lidl have a special Mexican-food promotion on at the moment and are selling 1 KILO of coffee-beans for £5.99. I haven't tried them yet but that's a really good price

bcl999

But the Bellarom is £1 cheaper (£4.98 for 2x500g) and it saves the palaver of grinding.

absfabs

I did try some of their instant coffee in the past and wasn't impressed. I like the dark strong kind of coffees, (eg. Carte Noire, Nescafe Original) and hate the gold-blend types IYKWIM...

Haven't tried the ground coffee, would usually go for the 4 or 5 rated ones at Sainsbury's, the dark and intense blends. Not so keen on the 3s, only buy this for decaf as it doesn't come any stronger.

Will give the bellarom a go, thanks for the hint!

sarah1972

littlechezza wrote: »

We need to reduce our food budget, I always put £250 in our budget but would guess it's more £300 which is quite a lot for 2 adults and 2 children.
Friends keep saying to go to Aldi and I do like it in there but fnd the odd thing on my list that they don't sell.
Does anybody think I could do a monthly shop including all booze, cleaning stuff etc., for under £250.
The only things I'm quite picky abut are milk which I like organic, free range eggs and free range chicken.

£300 for 2 adults and 2 children is doing things cheaply already, I spend £400 a month for 2 of us.

KimYeovil

sarah1972 wrote: »

£300 for 2 adults and 2 children is doing things cheaply already, I spend £400 a month for 2 of us.

I think you are a little confused about who is doing something cheaply and who is being extravagant.

KimYeovil

littlechezza wrote: »

Can you do a full monthly shop and Aldi and Lidl
[...]
Friends keep saying to go to Aldi and I do like it in there but fnd the odd thing on my list that they don't sell.

One can. You can but you may not want to. Seems a very strange question. What items do you miss?

Optimisticpair

littlechezza wrote: »

Does anybody think I could do a monthly shop including all booze, cleaning stuff etc., for under £250.
The only things I'm quite picky abut are milk which I like organic, free range eggs and free range chicken.

The art of reducing shopping bills is a four part job I find. Some of these you may already do. Firstly finding less costly brands that you like so you could shop at Lidl and Aldi for most of it.

Secondly, because it is usually the more expensive part of a meal, making meat go further, by portion control, adding more vegetables or pulses, eating a vegetarian meal more often and batch cooking by making meals from scratch and freezing portions rather than buying ready made.

Thirdly altering the menu so as not to waste leftovers ie making soup with a chicken carcase and choosing cheaper cuts of meat and turning them into something scrumptious. I find if you plan what you will buy there is less temptation to impulse buy.

Fourthly I reduced the number of cleaning products to the minimum and use less of them. I use cheaper, more eco friendly "old fashioned" products like Stardrops, white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, washing soda etc.

Just one or two stop shopping where it is cheaper reduces the bill and that may be as far as you wish to go with being a Money-saving Expert but bargains are in buying in bulk, from ethnic stores for such as rice and the reduced price goods sections of the usual higher priced supermarkets too.

So the answer is no you probably won't find everything at the right price in one or two stores but by coming up with a strategy that suits your circumstances you could make substantial weekly savings.

littlechezza

KimYeovil wrote: »

One can. You can but you may not want to. Seems a very strange question. What items do you miss?

I think we could do it, the problem I have is when I've seen a recipe I like and try and get something unusual, can't even think of any examples at the moment but if I stuck to the basics suc as jacket potatoes, sausage and mash etc., then can't see it being an issue, I like to but wheat free pasta but I'm sure popping to one of the main supermarkets for this won't cause a problem.