Creating a Store Cupboard to see me through a lean patch

Katiehound

wonder if yours would like Bircher muesli?
Got the recipe off this forum.
Can't remember the proportions but essentially a grated apple (skin on) soaked in apple juice with rolled oats  overnight. I add sultanas & a few walnuts prior to soaking. One L apple will make 4 servings.
Serve with yogurt & maybe some fresh fruit. Has to be cheaper than sugary cereals and is a filler too. (I hate porridge but this is delicious)

bouicca21

Boxing Day supermarket trawl can be useful.  

Spendless

Katiehound said:

It is absolutely an Aldi gift card.
I assume they are available at all their stores.
I don't shop in Asda. Aldi is in town (unlike Asda, Tesco. Sains etc)
You can top up with any amount you want.
The staff told me that some people top the card up during the year to use for their Christmas spend.

The one proviso is that you have to use the manned till   rather than the self scan check out when you use it.

Thank you. I've never noticed them. I went there today before reading your reply. Do you have to ask for the initial one at the tills? AFAIK all the Aldis here have manned tills, never seen a self serve.  They would be a great idea for me. I have a similar idea for Sainsburys that's a parent, student one, so I top it for DD to spend whilst she's away, you can't top that up at a self serve only somewhere manned but you can spend at any till.    

Spendless

What about toiletries, shower gel, bubble bath hand/bar soap, deodorant, feminine hygiene products if anyone uses them, make up remover, OTC medication? Just trying to think of everything my YA DD throws at me each time she's home, with a 'do we have....'   

Katiehound

The Aldi gift cards are on a display at the end of the aisle near the tills- maybe near where they have birthday cards? but I couldn't see them so asked a member of staff!!

2 of the checkouts were replaced by 6? 7? 8? self scan tills some months ago. Very much quicker IF they are all working!!

joedenise

It might be worth downloading the Too Good To Go app.  If you have a Morrisons near you they usually do good bags for £3.09.  You have to be quick to get them though.  They go on about 15 minutes after the store closes for pick up the following evening.  Our local Morrisons are mainly fruit and veg with perhaps a loaf of bread and pack of fruit buns.

London_1

I got myself a Chase account last year that I called my coffee  cup account, and put odd left over bits of cash into it from my bank account . Then I found that I was occasionally using it for odd bits of shopping ,you know if you nip into Savers, or a small shop and spend less than a fiver. I just checked it and since last June I have had in cash rewards around £10.00 some months its perhaps only under a pound and another month as when I bought a new tv I got 1.1% cash back for using my Chase card All I did was transfer the cash from my normal bank account to my Chase account and paid for it with the card..

 I have just paid for my holiday house the same way having popped my holiday money into the Chase savings account this month Actually this morning I had £6.74 interest dropped into the account which is a nice little earner for a couple of months interest.

I used to use my John Lewis card as a debit card ,and pay it off straight away as soon as I came into my online account but the rewards seem to be getting less and less and the cash from the Chase account is handy as every little helps. its over three years since I've actually been to John Lewis in Bluewater and I have £95 in vouchers to spend there, At some point I daresay I will use it up, possible when on holiday next month as there is a Waitrose on the IoW so may use the vouchers in their food hall.

But as I said to my grandson yesterday I have every know loyalty card I can find, but am loyal to no one in particular I go with the best deals I can find to save a bit here and there works for me.  

I always try to search for the best deals I can when it comes to food shopping and have four of the big supermarkets sites on my laptop and check each one before I shop for the best price possible if Tesco's or Sainsburys  are price matching Aldis then I go with them for the loyalty points Streetching every pound until it squeaks is what we all have to do these days OK I am retired so I have the time and the inclination to shop around which helps plus I live fairly close to Sainsbury's, Tescos, Aldis and Lidls the last of which is opposite an Asdas. Morrisons is too far to bother with petrol wise but on a Tuesday when I would normally shop after my free coffee in Dobbies I can do a circuit and save quite a bit on my shopping  I also pass the library so the books get changed as well 
At the mount though I am just eating down what I have in stock so saving that way .But making every shilling do the work of two or three if you can will help. Olio is good if you have any near you I don't where I live and any saving would be gone by the time I drove 3-4 miles to pick stuff up . no community larders either near me ,but shuffling the supermarkets around does often save a bit at times ,plus the loyalty points help a good deal 

Onwards and upwards this CoL crisis may go on for awhile yet but I have lived through a good few boom and busts and you will as well 

JackieO xx

Floss

Katiehound said:

The Aldi gift cards are on a display at the end of the aisle near the tills- maybe near where they have birthday cards? but I couldn't see them so asked a member of staff!!

2 of the checkouts were replaced by 6? 7? 8? self scan tills some months ago. Very much quicker IF they are all working!!

Not all Aldi stores are the same layout or stock everything - I can go to any one of 6 depending which way I come home from work, they are all different sizes & only 2 have self scan checkouts.

Katiehound

Floss said:

Katiehound said:

The Aldi gift cards are on a display at the end of the aisle near the tills- maybe near where they have birthday cards? but I couldn't see them so asked a member of staff!!

2 of the checkouts were replaced by 6? 7? 8? self scan tills some months ago. Very much quicker IF they are all working!!

Not all Aldi stores are the same layout or stock everything - I can go to any one of 6 depending which way I come home from work, they are all different sizes & only 2 have self scan checkouts.

No, I wouldn't expect them to be!
However I would assume that they all stock the gift cards. I would also assume that they are displayed somewhere near the till.

Nor do I expect that they all have self scan tills:  these were a new addition quite recently. Makes quite a difference, if working: last week half of them were out of action......

Pixie_Cosmo

Good luck, loads of great ideas here. My sixpenn'orth. Sorry if I'm repeating what others have already suggested. Treats, and bottles of gin/spirits and mixers if you partake. I get my favourites on offer, and tbh a nice cocktail on a Friday is very pleasant. Tin foil and wrap if you use them, or wax wraps. Bin bags, candles, some nice lotions and bathing products if your faves are on offer. Nice cheese if they have a good date on them, and crackers, chutneys, jams. Nibbles.