We’re a bit strapped at the moment so I have started shopping around for cheaper food. Now I know this goes against all my principles but I’m afraid that ideals go awry when saving money is a priority.
That being said I am still looking for good quality products and so we have returned our custom from Tesco/Aldi to our wonderful farm shop for our eggs and Sunday joints – and bacon when I just can’t resist.
Aldi, though, has won me over. I’d like to commend the following for their cheapness and quality:
- Lacura night cream and daytime moisturiser at £1.99 a pot
- Lacura hand cream with Urea – sounds disgusting but it’s really good and I’ve been using it on my body too. My elbows are now as soft as the buttocks of a baby! £1.99
- Hummus – you can really taste the tahini in it. 65p for 200g
- Maris Piper chunky oven chips. £1.69 for 1.5 Kg
- Quixo sage and onion stuffing and gravy granuals
- Sweet Harvest tinned tomatoes – very tomatoey, not watery at all
- Fresh fruit and veg – cheaper for similar quality
- Bramwells tomato ketchup. 69p for 563g
- Bramwells light mayonnaise. 75p for 500ml
- Bramwells mayonnaise. 79p 500ml
- Moser Roth chocolate. £1.09 100g
- Austin’s Classic Summer Punch (fake Pimms). £5.99 for 75cl (£8 per litre against about £15 per litre for Pimms).
The main aim of Aldi seems to be to get you through the checkout as quickly as possible so don’t go there if you want a long gossip with the till person. While friendly, tellers seem to be targeted with getting as many customers through as they can.
This is how it works:
- You fill your trolley
- You join a checkout queue
- You pile your purchases haphazardly onto the very long conveyor belt
- You position your empty trolley the other side of the teller who flings your shopping at you as quickly – or quicker than you can get it back into that trolley.
- A few items before the end he/she enquires, ‘Cash or card?’ So that you are ready to pay with as little delay as possible.
- You wheel your refilled trolley to a nearby shelf and sort into your own bags (or you can pay for theirs) at your leisure.
I think this could be quite stressful for the elderly or clumsy but I have to say that now I have got used to it I find I have reduced my door to door shopping time by about half an hour.
Thumbs up to Aldi