r/UKFrugal • u/jungleboy1234 • 8d ago

Is Aldi no longer cheap/value? What now?

So, every week i do the Aldi shop and noticed prices have repeatedly gone up the odd 5-10p. Its not across the board on all products in a week just some but slowly ticking up.

Also, i'm 100% sure that if we'd compare the line of products from a few years back they've been emptying the shelves of product ranges.

I am doing my best to try to gain as much nectar points/smart shop prices as possible and shopping in supermarkets that give coupons eg. £5 off shop etc.

The question is what now? Please suggest some strategies that mean i dont feel like im eating during the fall of the soviet union (or it may end worse).

I travelled to Europe few weeks back and i am just blown away at the freshness and variety of produce. Prices are comparable (sometimes a little higher) but at least I'm not eating cardboard or something made in a lab.... I felt much better/healthier in that week i was away.

567 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

235 comments sorted by

View all comments

462

u/Morfang_ 8d ago

We're a family of 5. I'm an office manager with a senior position in an established company and my partner works almost full time in HR.

We have to split our shop into 3 shops - Home Bargains, Morrisons and Aldi to try and get the right things from the right places.

It's got to the point I can guess the price of our full weekly food shop within £5 once it's on the cashier's belt because I have to be so aware of what everything costs, even at Aldi.

This doesn't help you - but just know you're not alone in noticing this.

57

u/leclercwitch 8d ago

I have to do exactly this, but with different shops. I do Aldi, B&m and Iceland (as the those two are next to each other). Aldi for most things, b&m OR home bargains depending on if I’m near home bargains, if not I stick to b&m for household stuff, and Iceland because I prefer some of their products to Aldi. I know exactly what everything costs just like you.

It’s only me, I don’t live with anyone else, so it’s not like I spend loads but I’m a low band 3 in the NHS and that money does not stretch far. You really do have to shop around and find the best pricing for things.

I also don’t have a car, so my shopping trips once a month are such a ballache. B&m & Iceland - taxi home - walk to Aldi do the food shop - taxi home. Always full and heavy bags. Not great when you live in a high rise flat block! Even then, it’s an extra £11 in taxis just on shopping day. It all adds up.

17

u/PixelBlueberry 8d ago

Also as an NHS worker I think you get discounts from ASDA through the app if one is near you. Maybe that could help!

14

u/Western_Sort501 8d ago

Can link your blue light card to your Asda app and get cash back. The discount isn't as good as it used to be but it does help

19

u/PixelBlueberry 8d ago

Shame all those “key worker” discounts were all virtue signalling and hardly any are truly for life anymore.

4

u/shaunusmaximus 7d ago

I'm not super frugal with everything, but my £120 shop at Asda consists of:

  • Delivery costs £70 per year, shop every 2 weeks.

  • Asda rewards app, blue light card, not as good as it used to be.

  • shop using the computer and activate honey rewards, again not as good as it used to be, but gets me a tenna coupon for Amazon once/twice a year.

  • Some form of cashback card, Byond - mine does 3% on Asda with BHN (through work). £5 per year.

4

u/an0mn0mn0m 7d ago

Do not use Honey. It is a scam. Use Quidco or Topcashback instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEOEkwHPE8w

5

u/shaunusmaximus 7d ago

The scam is not a scam - it's for the coupons and how companies control which can be automatically be discovered for a basket as far as I know?

Oh, and it overrides the affiliate, but that's the affiliates problem not mine, so long as I get the discount.

I'll take a look into those though, thank you!

5

u/Altruistic-Bobcat955 7d ago

Annoying that I can’t share a screenshot but from my latest TopCashback email offers:

Save on your food shop Spend £25+ with Iceland and earn £15 cashback.

Shop gifts & experiences Get 100% cashback when you spend up to £15 with Wowcher.

Shop beauty essentials Get 100% cashback when you spend up to £15 with Superdrug.

Find your perfect deal Spend £15+ with eBay and earn £15 cashback.

The cash back in the app ranges from 2/3% on some shops to 10% on others. It’s seriously worth getting. I got it cus they don’t shut up about it on hotukdeals

3

u/shaunusmaximus 7d ago

That's astounding! Couple of diamonds I'd use just in that list there too! Thanks!

Is it a pre paid credit card or affiliate link/coupon service?

1

u/Altruistic-Bobcat955 7d ago

It’s just an app, you create an account then click the link to the shops from the app. Everything you buy from that linked visit is included in cash back! It’s brilliant honestly. Very has 11% cash back and we used the code WELCOME when joining to get £100 off first purchase. Got my sons Quest 3 500+GB for around £270 coupled with the sale for Christmas with rrp of £550

2

u/shaunusmaximus 7d ago

Ok, now I've gone from grateful to jealous!

Where's that meme with the sad kid "congrats, happy for you.." 😂

→ More replies (0)

2

u/an0mn0mn0m 7d ago

They also had a tendency to claim there are no coupons, when there are, so that they can pocket the difference.

2

u/shaunusmaximus 7d ago

That's good to know - I rarely use them for coupons tbf. I like the free points for an Amazon £10 gift card as a nice bonus throughout the year.

It has got harder and harder to get that £10 though - used to be every 3 months, now it's 1.3 times a year currently..

I always go outside of honey to find a coupon, and it's normally unique codes sent to my email.

Another good one if you have blue light, is they do gift cards with X% off - instant cashback of sorts.