For those unfamiliar with my blog I am a stay at home/homemakery type of person. Consequently despite feeling ‘busy’ most of the time. I am in this wonderful position of being in control of how time is spent.
Today I took full advantage of nap time and instead of cleaning the kitchen and changing the beds (like I was ‘supposed to’… you know, that phantom schedule that keeps you in check even though a.) you invented it and b.) you can change it any time you want) I decided to compare my supermarket shopping.
Advertising for the bigger supermarkets plaster the junk TV I seem to encounter and it really makes me wonder whether they are any cheaper than each other. This morning I did the weekly shop at Lidl. Nothing spectacular included, just the usual mixture of fresh produce, a couple of freezer items and processed junk to keep my toddler entertained while I am catching up on chores. 😉 I didn’t stick to a budget; just put in everything on the list and added a few things I saw/wanted (treats, I suppose you would call them).
I spent a grand total of £56.68, £2.98 of which was some vegetable seed packs, ready to go in the garden when we’ve planned what and where to put it all (To maximise space and avoid all dog poop. That’s another story). Lidl is supposed to be the ‘budget’ supermarket where everything is cheaper, so no matter how much you spend it should always be less than other leading supermarkets. I decided to put this to the test and fill up online baskets from Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s to compare. You can’t buy seeds from the grocery department so after deducting this the comparison prices are as follows:
Lidl: £53.66
Asda: £62.12
Tesco: £65.23
Sainsbury’s £67.55
I didn’t ‘half my shop’ or anything but you can see the savings could (potentially) be pretty cool. Which helps a lot as my daughters have decided they really like ballet; so I am going to pay for their classes/uniform etc soon.
Some notes which you may (or may not) find useful on comparing the shops:
I substituted unavailable items (items that Lidl had that other stores didn’t at regular prices) with the finest/extra special versions. To compensate for the obvious price difference I switched other items in the basket to the value/budget versions.
I didn’t include offers which would have left me with more food but would ultimately cost me more. Although offers make it cheaper per item, it keeps the cost down by only buying one of something, doesn’t it!? Not to mention that in some cases I was trying to compare a box of six with a box of four…
I consistently added the lowest price item between the choice of two almost identical products. I don’t mean branded for unbranded; I just mean if one pack of chocolate chip cookies cost 98p and the other cost 78p, I would put in the 78p pack to try and keep things consistent.
One item on my original Lidl receipt was titled ‘original’ and cost £1.49… I have no idea what this was, so I couldn’t compare it & I suppose this should be deducted from the comparison shops too.
To get a better understanding of how much of a saving you could actually make you would need to keep comparing your shops for a long time, but I thought this was interesting enough (and time consuming enough!) to last me like, forever. So thank you, you’re welcome, come back again soon.
Financially; times are tough for everyone right now; but if you can find/donate to your local food bank they would be really grateful. Seriously even one or two extra tins of protein a week could make a real difference in someone’s life.
Loves,
Hannah xx
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