Lidl

Lalaladybird

Does anyone get all their shopping from Lidl? I try to because we really need to cut costs but I only end up getting about 1/3rd of our weekly shop from there (£50) and then have to get a delivery from Asda (£100/week). We are a family of 5 with one in nappies and requiring baby food etc and one with a dairy intolerance so this pushes up the weekly shop a lot.

We are no longer making ends meet so I have to do something and was wondering if just using lidl for everything would keep my costs down.

alleycat`

Honestly we've tried to buy everything we need from Lidl and Aldi and find we come up short.
Due to the size and nature of the shops they don't have everything we'd like to have.

Even so, as a family of three, we don't spend anywhere near that amount between an Aldi/Lidl shop + Asda or Morrisons.

My advice would be to look at everything you are buying, work out what you really need and what are "luxuries".

Also look at whether or not buying "bulking" foods will save you money.
Lentils and the like will stretch out "meat" meals and save you cash.

Boring as it is, make a menu for the week, buy for that menu and stick to it? Go to the shops with the list in mind, see if that helps?

Tiddlywinks

I did a bit of an experiment for my student nephew about a year ago and compared Lidl with Morrisons - Morrisons was actually cheaper on their own brand basics... plus we tried some of them and they are not bad at all.

Have you visited the MSE Old Style Money Saving board? People on there are great at giving advice on how to make the most of a food budget:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

ETA - do you have any family or friends who can share BOGOF deals with you? This can really help to reduce prices as you only pay half the normal price.

andy.m_2

We are a family of 4, 1 in nappies and 2 that are wheat intolerant.

Our shopping is £70 per week with every fourth shop only costing £50 as we run down the cupboards.

You spend a lot.

Meadows

I do shop there from time to time but could not do all my shopping there.
1) I don't find them that cheap (on certain items).
2) the quality of their Fruit & Vegetables leave a lot to be desired.
3) they do not always carry the same things.

This goes for Aldi as well, these are okay to pick up certain products, shop for offers and food you might not find elsewhere.

raq

hi there

We have done an aldi shop for the last 2 months. We spend 70,00 on a friday and then about 40 in asda for stock from asda.

it is difficult but you will do it. I carry a basket round asda with me so am not tempted.

We are also a family of 5. We realised months ago we could not continue to spend £160 every week on food

Good luck

narabanekeater

Do you struggle a lot with the dairy free child? I have 2 that are dairy and soya allergic which is a nightmare. Ive found thinking out the box so to speak and being creative really helps with those 2. What nappies are you using? would bulk buying save anything? is it baby food jars?

z.n

Hi. I struggle to keep our costs down too especially as I live miles from the major supermarkets.

I am currently doing tesco click and collect as it is only £2 and spend about 2 hours looking at every item online to ensure I am getting the cheapest price. I go first to the special offers page. Then I work round that rather than having an idea what I will cook before I begin. I think the key to saving money is to spend time and give it full attention.

I have also experimented with own brand and cheaper versions of things so I know where we can compromise and where we can't. Tesco is convenient for me- no doubt you could do the same with ASDA eg DH can't cope without heinz ketchup-so if a special offer comes along i will buy 6 bottles which will last a good while. This process took a while as I didn't want to get stuck with a load of food we didn't like- so I did it bit by bit.

I buy essentials in bulk when the offer is good and freeze as necessary. I use a farm shop for eggs and veg (sack of potatoes or half a sack in summer) which works out loads cheaper. I try hard not to buy too much so it doesn't go to waste. I also use a butcher when I want decent meat.

I bulk cook so we can have reheated 'ready meals' later in the week-sometimes this means there are three separate meals one night but it seems to work-much less waste. I also freeze bits. A small portion might go in the freezer labelled lunch for one-larger is a 'x4.' eg A whole chicken will do about 11-12 meals for the same meat price as 4 meals of chicken pieces. You could do this for the little ones - just puree the baby food and freeze in an ice cube tray. I did this for mine and it does work- and smells better than the jars.

I limit purchases of fruit. The kids have the odd sweet, and crisps, both of which I believe include vitamin C. So we have the odd piece of fruit but I use loads of veg-they are generally cheaper and I think they have a better vitamin/mineral load per penny spent. Fruit juice is also limited- it goes too fast.

I bulk up meat using beans-kidney, aduki or whatever. I find the basics versions of the beans are just as good to extend chilli, shepherds pie etc. Slow cook cheaper cuts of meat (brisket is lovely) and make bulky soups-they fill you up really well. Get in the routine of getting stuff out of the freezer in the morning so you save time in the evening.

You might need to re-educate some members of the family- but gradually change your menus to accommodate a cheaper shop. They will adjust. Don't feel you have to do the full on dinner every day- scrambled eggs and toast for tea is fine.

I have bulk bought washing powder from ebay and it it fine-I just use the 'proper' stuff every so often to perk clothes up a bit.

Alcohol purchases are limited so it is a treat rather than everyday.

Years ago I thought nothing of spending £220 on a trolley of lovely stuff for two. These days I aim sub £100 for 4 including £20-22 pw on quality cat and dog food. I know I could spend much less if I had to ( probably halve it) but this is a level we are happy with and live very comfortably on-no one feels they are missing out on anything and I am satisfied the animals are eating very well. It was sub £85 before Christmas but we are having trouble adjusting from the Christmas excesses (and prices keep rising).

Hope some of this helps.

valk_scot

I do a lot more of my shopping in Lidl than I used to and I always say that if I was only allowed to go to one supermarket, Lidl would be my choice because it's much better for the quality of actual ingredient type food. However it still doesn't have everything I need...wholemeal bread flour being the top one!

But I have made a point of trying out the Lidl version for every regular item on my shopping list. Sometimes this has been very sucessful, like their muesli is fantastic and cost half the price of Tesco's. Jaffa cakes on the other hand...no Lidl jaffa cake will ever beat the Tesco Value ones. Might be worth trying this exercise out on a few more of your regular items?

As for how much you spend per week, it's a lot for five tbh. Does that include nappies, baby food and milk substitutes as well as cleaning and laundry materials and basic toiletries? Packed lunchs? It's sometimes best to split the budget up a bit to see exactly where the money is going. Spending a lot on nappies for example because you order the same every week on the Asda tab, rather than shop around for the best buys. Always buying the same washing powder irrespective of cost or offers, or automatically adding on 36 packs of crisps and six packs of biscuits for a nominal 10 packed lunches a week. Etc. You need to know where you're spending the money before you can start saving it.

Lalaladybird

Thank you for all the replies so far :j

I get all the nappies from lidl and I do buy jars of baby food which costs about £12 a week but I make homemade as much as time allows. Baby wipes about £4 a week, I get spartprice washing powder and asda non bio for the baby's stuff, I don't use fabric softener, the total amount is for all the food and groceries, no alcohol and I don't think many luxuries just some biscuits. We seem to spend a fortune on milk every week! Our weekly menu is something like this....

Breakfasts - porridge with chopped nuts and maple syrup OR weetabix OR bran flakes

Lunches - packed lunch includes cheese sandwich, crisps, yogurt, fruit and a piece of banana bread, if we're at home it is soup or beans on toast for example

Dinners are roast chicken, potatoes and veg one night, next night might be chicken and mushroom risotto (to use up chicken), next night cottage pie and veg, next night salmon and noodles, next night kievs and rice, next nigh a pasta bake that sort of thing

Snacks and drinks ... dilute juice, tea, coffee, milkshake. Biscuits, fruit, crackers etc

This all costs us about £150 a week and I don't think there is much waste at the end of the week. Does anything in that list jump out as expensive/luxurious to anyone? If I am missing any obvious savings I could make that someone can spot from that description it would be really helpful xx

narabanekeater

I should have said if you ever want to chat about the dairy free due message me and indeed the money saving with the little ones. I have 3 children 2 like I said with allergies. I realise that formula is £10 a tub and then nappies as you mentioned one of yours is in nappies I bet theres £20 a week easily. I spend £8 a week on normal cows milk as well. I have to buy special bread as well for my 2 with allergies so theres £3 a week. It really does soon add up especailly with allergies to consider