Tips for reducing my weekly shopping costs?

deanpark said:
Balderdash - I'm not imagining it. Dunnes etc don't have to open/close/open/ close checkouts because they're staffed adequately unlike Lidl.
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I'm sure it likely varies from region to region with better local management fostering a better environment and happier staff. Back in my previous home I passed Lidl, SuperValu and a Dunnes on my way home from work. Lidl was consistently the quickest in terms of getting through the checkouts, followed by SuperValu and then Dunnes, where every now and then the staff would stop for a chat before even acknowledging I was standing there waiting for service. I found the staff in Lidl were generally a lot less grumpy than the other two.
 
I find the Lidl staff to be very friendly. They always say hello to every customer. They are also very fast. Even the customers in Lidl are extra friendly. I can't count the number of times that customers in front of me in the queue with large amounts of groceries wave me through to the top of the line as I usually have just a few items in my arms. Fast in fast out it's a very good place to shop.
 
I was in Dunnes and a woman was spending €41. The cashier told the woman to go off and spend another €9 so she could then avail of the €10 off a €50 spend. The rest of us were gobsmacked that we had to stand there while this customer went off to do her second shop. We could move but the guy with his groceries already out on the belt could not.
It really should be up to the customer to have done the tot before approaching the cashier.
 
They usually have a bunch of stuff at the checkout for this reason... if short a few euros buy a soft drink, snacks, mints, gum or killeen bags.
Should have just made it up from that.
 
Funny how we think differently. I view that as something really nice and helpful by the cashier and would be happy to wait a few minutes for this,
 
I was in Dunnes before Christmas and the customer at the checkout had their card rejected. The checkout operator agreed to let the person return home to get an alternative card. They said they lived close by. This was at a peak shopping time and every checkout was open with long queues. Everyone on the queue was left standing and fuming.
 
This happened me in Lidl and the staff were very quick and efficient. My transaction was postponed, I moved my groceries to the back of the shop, no delay to the customers behind me. When I returned, my transaction was "saved" in the till and she was able to bring it back up and process the transaction with no hassle. Very efficient and no delays for anyone else in the queue.
 
I spend about €30 a week for one person in Aldi. That feeds me for the week but I only have fish or meat once or twice a week. Meal planning is a game changer though I think.
 
I was in Lidl last week. There were 3 tills open. The person in front of me in the queue was returning a defective product for refund. The checkout operator couldn't manage to process the refund so had to get one of the others to help. She couldn't do it either and summoned the third to come to the first till. By the time the customer got their refund, all 3 checkouts were stalled.

Lidl is great but the absence of customer service desks and self-service checkouts is unfortunate.
 
T McGibney said:
Lidl is great but the absence of customer service desks and self-service checkouts is unfortunate.
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They have 6 of them (Self Service tills) in my local Lidl store in Dublin. Only take cards which is an advantage as they tend not to be as busy as the tills. They regularly seem to break down though so wouldn't be unusual to have 2 or 3 closed at any given time.
 
Before Christmas I bought quite a number of items in Lidl late at night and paid for them by credit card. I checked my receipt after paying and found that I had been charged twice for one item. I went back to the checkout operator but had to wait as there were a few customers in the queue. There were at least 5 or 6 of them who paid by card and when asked they refused a receipt even though they had a number of items. I see quite a lot of people doing this in many stores which seems to have come about since Covid and so many card payments.

I explained to the guy serving that I had been overcharged and showed him just the item. He gave me a cash refund from the till without checking the receipt which I thought was rather strange. It definitely pays to check your receipt.

Another odd thing that seems to happen a lot in both Aldi and Lidl is when you return something which has been paid for by card that they give you a cash refund which places like Dunnes and Tesco would never do.
 
It might be because they have the Lidl App and don't need a paper receipt as all you shopping is recorded on the App once you scan it at the till
 
Cervelo said:
It might be because they have the Lidl App and don't need a paper receipt as all you shopping is recorded on the App once you scan it at the till
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That's why I generally decline Lidl receipts - I get them on the app.
But they print them out anyway which is a bit of a waste.
 
After packing the shopping in the car, checked the receipt on the LIDL app as the bill seemed a little higher than usual. I was charged for 33 pineapples instead of 1. Went back to the same member of staff, he recalled the receipt on the till, fixed and gave a cash refund. Receipt on the app was also updated.
 
Thought you were going to say that he gave you the missing 32 pineapples...
 
We used to only shop in Lidl for our big shop, then supervalu for mid week milk and the odd few bits. Found we were now spending ~€75 a week in Lidl Vs what used to be ~€50 a week in early 2021 or before.

Moved to doing our big shop in Dunnes but being strict on the vouchers. We either spend just over €50 for €10 off or €75 to use the €5 and €10 vouchers to bring it to €60 (usually 2-3 euro over €60). We've always used a shopping list, but now I keep a mental or phone calculator track of our spend.
We still do a rare Lidl shop for things they do good which are over priced in Dunnes (toilet paper, kitchen paper, ice creams, pasta etc).

The quality of our shop has gone up, but the price is pretty similar. €10 more a month by my expense tracking app. Given the inflation that's happened in the last 6 months since we switched that €10 a month difference is probably negligible.

SAV€R app is also decent enough for finding deals in shops.
 
I have shopped online with Tesco for many year and I find it really convenient as well as a money saver. I use their delivery saver package which means I pay €3 for delivery on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I find shopping online means I can easily keep track of spending and I don't forget anything, because I just add something into the 'online basket' if I notice it is missing from the cupboard. The Tesco site also allows you to order products from cheapest to dearest and compare price per gram or ml easily. I like some of their own brand products which are very good value - particularly frozen veg - but I notice that they are often not in stock in recent months.

My other tip is the BBC Good Food website. They have super recipes and have a great section on cooking on a budget, tips for using up leftovers and cooking for the freezer - https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/feature/budget
 
When I was broke I could do the weeks shop for one adult and three children for €60 in Lidl. That involved lots of chicken thighs, special offers and mince.
Now I'm not broke I shop in Dunnes and spend around €120 a week after vouchers. I never buy any processed food or ready made sauces.
Thirsty said:
It's the same with free range chicken / organic veg - I don't think the taste or health benefit is any better. But I'm prepared to buy them to support that element of food production.
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Free Range meat farming is the least environmentally friendly. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint reduce your meat intake and if you do buy it buy intensively farmed meat.
ATC110 said:
"Organic" could be classified as greenwashing and is of debatable value.
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Yep.
 
I must be an outlier amongst you frugal lot.
At least 100 a week in lidl,50 in dunnes,6 to the eggman,30 in the butcher and various irregular amounts in Aldi,super valu ,Asia market and little Italy.
I'd say on average 200 a week for 2 adults and 2 teenagers.
 
Oh I can spend €60-€100 in the fishmongers and I take a trip to Costless in Tallaght every few weeks for spices, medjool dates and whatever else takes my fancy. I've also been known to take a trip to The Brown Pig and spend just as much as in the fishmongers, but on a normal week, when I don't lose the run of myself, I shop as above. What others spend on takeaway I spend on nice ingredients.
 
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