So just how much CAN you save by swapping supermarkets? Two families changed from Morrison’s and Tesco to Aldi – with surprising results

By Stephanie Linning For Mailonline

Published: 04:35 EDT, 2 July 2018 | Updated: 11:05 EDT, 4 July 2018

Most of us have heard the buzz around budget supermarkets, but just how much can you save by shopping at one?

To answer this question two families - the Evans, from Birmingham, and the Bookers, from Glasgow - who usually shop at Morrison's and Tesco, respectively, tried picking up some of their regular shopping items at Aldi instead.

For four weeks in the lead up to summer, the families noted how much they spent at Aldi and compared it to the amount they would have spent picking up comparable items in their regular supermarket.

The Booker family: Parents Faye and Mark Booker with their children, Nathan, nine, Reuben, six, and Miriam, 16 months. The family, from Glasgow, usually shop at Tesco

The Booker family: Parents Faye and Mark Booker with their children, Nathan, nine, Reuben, six, and Miriam, 16 months. The family, from Glasgow, usually shop at Tesco

The Evans family: Parents Christian, 28, and Marilyn, 27, with their children, 15-month-old Oliver and three-month-old Billie. The family usually shop at Morrison's

The Evans family: Parents Christian, 28, and Marilyn, 27, with their children, 15-month-old Oliver and three-month-old Billie. The family usually shop at Morrison's

Despite having very different shopping lists, both families found they saved money by swapping to Aldi. In fact both sets of price-conscious parents put away so much that they were able to splash out on presents for their children. The Evans family bought a swing for their toddlers while the Bookers' saved up enough to take the entire family to a safari park.

And they weren't just impressed by the prices. Both families commented on the quality and freshness of goods available in store, with Aldi's Super 6 - a weekly selection of fruit and veg, that is available at especially amazing prices - proving a particular hit.

The families were also surprised by the range available in store, from the retailer's own brand alcohol to its Mamia baby range and Specialbuys items like garden furniture or DIY tools.

Scroll down to find out exactly what two real-life families thought about shopping at Aldi - and exactly how much they saved... 

The Evans family

Christian Evans, a busy father of two, tried picking up some of his regular shopping items at Aldi, rather than Morrison's

Christian Evans, a busy father of two, tried picking up some of his regular shopping items at Aldi, rather than Morrison's

Christian Evans, 28, and his partner Marilyn, 27, live in Birmingham with their 15-month-old son, Oliver, and three-month-old daughter, Billie. Family life is particularly hectic for the busy parents as they are currently renovating their home.

Christian, a sports fan and self-confessed ‘foodie’, hoped that he would be able to stretch his budget further if he picked up some of his regular shopping items at Aldi, rather than Morrison's.

The father-of-two said he was impressed by the beef mince - a staple in many family pasta dishes - saying it tasted delicious and was better value than Morrison's.

He said: 'The fresh meat was perfect, it was brilliant.'

He also found it easy to make sure the family got their five-a-day, saying: 'I am really impressed with the fruit and veg from Aldi.' 

Christian, self-confessed ‘foodie’, was impressed with both the fresh meat and the fruit and veg at Aldi 

Christian, self-confessed ‘foodie’, was impressed with both the fresh meat and the fruit and veg at Aldi 

The father-of-two said he was impressed by the beef mince - a staple in many family pasta dishes - saying it tasted delicious and was better value than Morrison's

Recipe: The Evans family's Spag Bol

Serves: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

500g Lean Minced Beef

1 tbsp Rapeseed Oil

1 Carrot (cubed)

1 Onion (diced)

2 Celery Stalks (diced)

2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)

1 Beef Stock Cube 

2x 400g Cans Chopped Tomatoes

1 tbsp Tomato Purée

1 tsp Dried Oregano

5g Fresh Basil

500g Spaghetti

Parmesan to serve

Method: 

  1. In a large frying pan heat the oil and add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic.
  2. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion has started to soften then add the minced beef and cook until browned.
  3. Add the tinned tomatoes along with the purée, stock cube, oregano and basil.
  4. Bring to the boil then leave to simmer for 30 minutes until thickened.
  5. 10 minutes before the sauce is ready cook the spaghetti in boiling water (about 9 minutes cooking time).
  6. Mix the spaghetti with the sauce and serve with fresh parmesan.
This family favourite takes just 40 minutes to cook from scratch at home

This family favourite takes just 40 minutes to cook from scratch at home

And with two children under two, Christian was particularly grateful for Aldi’s celebrated Mamia baby range, which they turned to for nappies and baby wipes. 

But Christian didn’t forget about himself in the supermarket and picked up a four-pack of Aldi’s Sainte Etienne lager.

Over the course of the month the family made a saving of £137.28 - or more than £30 a week - enough to treat Oliver and Billie to a new garden swing just in time for summer.

Christian is so impressed he is planning on recommending Aldi to others. 

He said: 'The amount of money we’ve saved already... I can’t wait to start recommending it to people that I know.' 

The Evans family 4-week savings

 

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Monthly List - (shopped in Wk 4 - WC 23.04.18)  

Total

Aldi

 £56.68

£57.09

£57.24

£56.97

£8.76

 

£236.74

Morrison's 

£86.54

£86.37 

£86.37

£85.67

£29.07

 

£374,02

Saving

£29.86

£29.28

£29.13 

£28.70

£20.31

 

£137.28 

To verify how much the Evans family saved each week click here.

Based on those of the Evans family’s regular shopping items available at Aldi and comparable goods at Morrison's. Weekly price checks carried out at morrisons.com from 02.04.18 - 29.04.18. Pro-rata Morrison's price used considering size. Of the Evans family’s regular shopping items 14 items were not available at Aldi. Please click here for the Evans family’s weekly purchases and here for their monthly purchases.

 

The Booker family

Mother-of-three Faye Booker was impressed by Aldi's range of fresh fruit and veg

Mother-of-three Faye Booker was impressed by Aldi's range of fresh fruit and veg

Primary school teacher Faye, 36, and Mark Booker, 36, live in Glasgow with their three children, Nathan, nine, Reuben, six, and Miriam, 16 months. With three children under 10, life is non-stop for the Bookers, who spend their afternoons and weekends shuttling between football coaching, Cubs and Beavers and park runs.

The mother-of-three hoped swapping to Aldi would make the next shopping trip more enjoyable - and more affordable

The mother-of-three hoped swapping to Aldi would make the next shopping trip more enjoyable - and more affordable

To keep the family fuelled, Faye likes to cook from scratch and favours fresh ingredients. However she found shopping at her usual supermarket, Tesco, somewhat stressful with three children in tow. 

The mother-of-three hoped swapping to Aldi would make the next shopping trip more enjoyable - and more affordable. 

Mrs Booker was happy to find that Aldi's selection of fresh produce more than met her own high expectations.

She said: 'I've been more than happy with the quality of the fruit and veg actually and our trolley is pretty much half fruit and veg... we do like to cook everything from scratch so I do need it to be nice and fresh.'

And it wasn’t just essential items that she was able to cross off.

'I've been really happy to see things like quinoa and cous cous and, like, the mixed rices and things like that,' she said. 

Recipe: The Bookers' chilli nachos with homemade mango salsa

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients for Chilli Nachos:

250g Lean Minced Beef

1 Small Onion

1 tsp Rapeseed Oil

2 tsp Cajun Spice

1 tsp Paprika

400g Kidney Beans (drained)

400g Chopped Tomatoes

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

 1 bag of Salted Tortilla Chips

150g Grated Mozzarella

Ingredients for Mango Salsa:

200g Fresh Mango

1 Small Red Onion

5g Fresh Coriander

1 Red Chilli

1 tbsp Olive Oil

½ Lime (juiced)

Pinch of salt and pepper 

Method: 

  1. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes.
  2. Next add the mince and cook until browned.
  3. Add the cajun spice and the paprika and cook for a few more minutes then add the cans of chopped tomatoes and kidney beans and simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Stir all the ingredients for the mango salsa together.
  5. To serve pour the chilli over the nachos and sprinkle over the cheese then bake for 5 minutes at 200C/180 fan/Gas mark 6 until the cheese has melted.
  6. Serve with the mango salsa on top of the nachos.
The fresh mango salsa perfectly compliments the tasty chilli nachos, pictured

The fresh mango salsa perfectly compliments the tasty chilli nachos, pictured

'Every time you turn the corner there’s something new.'

She added: 'There’s not been a thing I’ve had that I’ve not been happy with.'

However, as many parents know, shopping at even the most well-stocked supermarkets can become a chore if it's not set-up in a family-friendly way. 

Mrs Booker was relieved to find this was not the case with her local Aldi store - and the positive experience started from as soon as she parked her car.  

She said: 'Aldi's car park is perfect, the mother and child spaces are right by the door and I always get one. Then it's just a case of going straight inside. [It's also] just a nice size, a nice layout.'

 'The staff in Aldi have just been so lovely, no matter which store I go to.'  

The Booker family's 4-week savings

 

Week 1

Week 2 

Week 3 

Week 4 

Monthly List - (shopped in Wk 4 - WC 23.04.18) 

Total

Aldi 

£43.94

£45.65

£43.76

£43.27  

£20.67

 

£197.29

Tesco

£62.56

£63.94

£61.95

£67.47  

£39.55  

 

£295.47

Saving 

£18.62

£18.29 

£18.19  

£24.20 

£18.88 

 

£98.18 


To verify how much the Booker family saved each week click here. Based on those of the Booker family’s regular shopping items available at Aldi and comparable goods at Tesco. Weekly price checks carried out at tesco.com from 02.04.18 - 29.04.18. Pro-rata Tesco price used considering size. Of the Booker family’s regular shopping items 9 items were not available at Aldi. Please click here for the Booker family’s weekly purchases and here for their monthly purchases.

 

So just how much CAN you save by swapping supermarkets?

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