Great Discovery!

My wife is a hardened Sainsbury's shopper but even she would have to agree that Sainsbury's prices have been going up and up. We don't have endless money to spend, so for the last 3 weeks we've tried Aldi. There are obvious pro's and con's. It's totally no frills and no nonsense - what you see is what you get. Unrecognisable brands, a minimum of displays, quick checkout (no credit cards and you have to pack your goods on a shelf away from the till). But the big payback is the bottom line on our bill - it's just over half our usual spend. OK, we haven't been able to complete a full shop and need to finish off at Sainsbury's - maybe an extra £12-£15 a time. We've found some of Aldi's food items a bit sub-standard - fruit, crisps, "mature" cheddar, pasta sauce - but the majority of stuff is fine, for example cooked meats, eggs, fish cakes, ice cream, chocolate bars. It's not a great shopping experience, you go in, you come out, that's it. They keep the operation lean and mean - no petrol station, no café, minimum staff - but we reckon we'll have a nice chunk of money towards our holiday later this year. Sorry Sainsbury's, looks like we've voted with our feet!