I switched to Lidl for groceries three months ago and since then it’s hard to shop anywhere else. Prior Lidl, my main shopping was done with Amazon fresh and I picked up additional items from Rewe. To be fair, Amazon fresh served me well for the period of my life when I struggled with physical store visits and I needed the ease of online shopping. The downside is I spent a lot of money on groceries I didn’t need yet, didn’t preserve properly and ended up discarding some. Rewe on the other hand was just overwhelming for me to shop in. Too many options in my face and they are good at changing product locations which added to my overwhelm.
Lidl is a popular discounter with limited selection that are low priced. These are advantages that work for me as I don’t have to deal with product overwhelm and get to save money at the same time. Since I switched to Lidl, I have averaged a €30 weekly grocery spend. This spend covers fruits, pantry staples I’m out of (rice, oil, flour), a lot of chicken and most of what I need for the week. I kick myself for not starting this earlier but what’s important is that I have started and I’m capturing the benefits now and for the future. I expect my spend value to increase soon as I deplete the food overstock I have.
Though Lidl is already low priced, I am able to save more by using the Lidl plus app. The app offers deeper coupon discounts to members and I also meal plan based on what I like that is discounted. The biggest advantage is Lidl’s opening times which is one hour earlier than other grocery stores. This enables me go in early, shop and still have the full day available to use as I want. I’m an early riser so this works well for me. I have also developed a routine around shopping which makes it fun for me.
I’ve discovered I like gamifying and it helps me achieve more so I log my shopping routine into my task app. I enjoy the basic action of checking off the tasks even though they are regular weekly tasks. My shopping routine is now less stress as I check the Lidl coupons available on Friday evening, shop my pantry and meal plan based on the two for the next one week.