I love doing my food shop at Aldi. I would gladly take on the job of president of the Aldi fan club!
I can see why the discounters have got the big supermarkets running scared. I have shopped at my local one since it opened 4 years ago. To begin with it was very quiet; the car park was empty. People took a while to catch on. Then the recession hit and folk started to actively look at ways to save money. Now the car park is usually full, and I try to avoid going at the weekend as you can’t even get in unless you are there on the dot of 8 am.
People might think I am short of money
I have heard all kinds of comments about Aldi that really quite annoy me. A Facebook friend suggested that only chavs and the great unwashed shopped there, but went a bit quiet when I told him that I rarely noticed this when I went in to do my weekly shop. I have since seen him in there!! A colleague’s wife said she wouldn’t be see dead in there in case people thought she was short of money.
In my experience it is frequented by all sections of society and I have often seen brand new BMWs and Jaguars parked next to the old bangers like mine. Most sensible people enjoy a bargain and are happy to join the Aldi fan club!
For those who are on a low income, and for people who need to budget like myself, shops like Aldi and Lidl are an absolute Godsend. Yes, you have to change the way you shop and they may not sell absolutely everything you want. I have to go elsewhere for the Lactofree products I use and my gluten free flour. However, I find now that I plan my meals around what I know is likely to be in stock.
Small but beautiful
I really enjoy the smallness of the stores and that I can get round and stick to my list in a very short time span. I’m not distracted by clothes and household goods that I can’t afford and aren’t on my shopping list. I still manage to find some nice treats for us all – the chocolate and alcohol is excellent! The quality generally is brilliant; you just don’t have such a huge choice.
If you haven’t tried doing your main shop at a discount supermarket, then I urge you to. I estimate that I save around £30 a week by doing so. Not to be sniffed at!
If you aren’t fortunate enough to have one locally then try the Value and Basics brands. If you read her blog you will see that a Girl called Jack practically lived on Sainsbury’s Basics and it doesn’t seem to have done her any harm. However, if you try my favourite store, I can guarantee you will be applying to join the Aldi fan club…
Jackie Appleton says
Well said!!! My centiments exactly.
Morgan says
I love Aldi too. I am too far from one to shop weekly but go once a month usually for a stock-up. They have some fantastic products. I am very much looking forward to one opening a bit closer to us later this year. Great post – very wise words!
frugalinsuffolksimple@gmail.com says
The rich are rich because they are clever with money, that probably includes wise shopping! Wish we had an Aldi or Lidl closer than 25 miles away
gillianrance says
Lidl opened in my town recently which I was delighted about, previously I could only shop there if I was visiting family in the next town. What I like is that all of their products are cheaper so you feel confident you’re getting value for money. Asda and Sainsburys are now price-cutting to try and compete but still, I see many of their products are more expensive than I can get elsewhere. What profit they don’t make on one item they’ll just make on another over-priced item. I don’t trust them at all! What I want is a supermarket that offers the cheapest prices across the board. Then I’ll give them a bit of loyalty 🙂
Jane says
Just like to say the staff in Aldi are a lot more polite and helpful than Waitrose!
Cheryl says
I live in the USA and love my Aldi. My sisters refuse to shop there, one because she said her store smelled funny and one because she had to bag her own groceries. Funny thing is she bags her groceries at the regular store to help the cashier. I buy alot of their produce and have never had a problem with the taste or value there. Cheryl
Barbara says
Aldi is finally coming to South Australia this year – unfortunately they’re not
opening any shops in the supposedly posh area I live in. We always drive to
Melbourne at Christmas to visit family and do the Aldi run on the way there
and back!
Rebecca says
This is a great post. I actually work at Aldi and they are a very good company to work for too 🙂 The only way is up for the discount stores!
Julia says
Only Sainsburys in my area too (not even Tescos!) so it’s the orange and white label for me!
I filled in a questionnaire a year ago from Lidl who were looking into whether there’d be interest in them opening up a store near to my main Sainburys!! Of course I said yes, but have heard no more since! 🙁
Claire says
I love aldi! I work at sainsburys but hardly any of the staff in my department do their main shop there. We are fortunate with an aldi and lidl in our town. We also have farm foods and Iceland which I don’t tend to use but I know they are popular. One of my favourite buys in aldi are the spices at 49p in sainsburys they start at a £1. We use a lot of these so it works out a good saving over the year
Bryan says
Completely agree, Aldi and Lidl have better quality products at lower prices for people with more sense than money, and when comparing the cars on the car parks, the people at Aldi seem to have more money then the lazy people that trap up at Tesco etc.
I recently got some Sainsbury’s vouchers and was astonished at I estimate 30-50% higher prices for inferior products and probably 50% higher for a comparable quality product.
It was not easy to find anything at Sainsbury’s worth buying when I know the Aldi prices
I would rather use Aldi and in-dependants for top quality compared to eating my time in the Tesco’s, Asda’s and Sainsbury’s
That said I find Morrison’s the best of the big ones
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Yes, agree about Morrisons. They do great reductions too!