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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]About once a year I go through the "I'm spending too much on groceries" and try to shop around and check out different supermarkets, including Lidl and Aldis.

Here's the reality: switching to Lidl or whatever from Whole Foods for the *same basket of goods* will not save you very much money. You will save something, but I doubt it's going to be more than 10-15% altogether. Maybe it's worth it to you, but maybe not. For me it wasn't because I also don't really need to save the differential.

What I discovered is that you save money by changing what you eat completely. Don't get the nicer cheeses at $10-12 a block but the cheap ones at $3.50 a block. Get cheap coffee, not imported ones. Eat lots of casseroles made with rice/beans/pasta, and eat the leftovers the next night. Don't buy steaks but have sausages. That's where the savings add up, not going to Lidl to pay $1 less on a specific item. In short, it's more about being smart with what you cook and eat, not being smart in where you shop. [/quote]

Completely disagree. Take milk, its usually at least $2 less a gallon at Aldi or Lidl than at most stores. We got through 2 gallons a week. In a year, that’s $104+ savings in a year. Multiply that onward: pasta, produce, cheese, eggs, etc. produce is significantly cheaper at aldi and lidl.

It does seem like people are adverse to those stores (or aren’t). If you are - fine but you’re kidding yourself if you think you’re not saving quite a bit at those stores. [/quote]

I have poured over the prices at Aldis/Lidls versus WF. The former are unquestionably cheaper. But if you are spending $200 at WF, you may save $40 by going to Aldi/Lidl. And the quality won't be the same either. Aldi's yoghurt may be 69 cents versus 1.50 at Whole Foods but the latter is definitely better tasting. It's up to you to decide whether $40 is worth the tradeoffs. If you're consuming a lot of produce, Aldi's produce isn't necessarily much cheaper than WF.

But you can also save more money by changing what you cook and eat to what you can find regularly at Aldis/Lidl. And this is why there's so much disparity with people's experiences shopping for groceries because it really comes down to what they are buying and eating rather than the store in question. [/quote]

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