In preparation (and to ward off evil spirits) I've been gorging on frugal living videos on YouTube. My favourite by far is Tania, 68, living on her UK state pension for a year and saving her civil service pension to re-build her emergency fund.
Tania is a marvel, full of tips and hacks, ideas for saving money and, more than anything, an upbeat personality who is fun to watch. Dipping into her back catalogue I came across Saving money with loyalty cards. This was a run-through of Tania's favourites - Asda, LiDL and Boots - and how she is using them to outwit the cost of living crisis.
Like me, Tania's thrilled when she's got enough points on her Boots loyalty card to get her purchases without parting with any cash. I love it! I shop Boots when I can but I must admit I haven't paid proper attention to all the additional benefits of the loyalty card and I usually forget my vouchers that arrive through the post.
Tania had a good wheeze which was to reduce her spending to her projected pension income for the final two years she was working (publishing a blog called Frugal in Essex) and managed to save £25,000. I would say I was a modest spender, rather than a frugal one, with a balance between convenience and saving money, but I wondered whether, with a few changes, I could build a few more savings for treats and travelling.
I've used Asda for years mainly for household shopping like toilet tissue and laundry liquid, heavy items which I don't want to pick and lug about. I usually purchase every three or four months, buying just up to the minimum threshold for delivery and choosing the cheapest time slot.
But Tania tells me there are benefits to having a loyalty card, not least of which the points for shopping turn into pounds in your cashpot. Like the Boots card, there are other benefits, including the Christmas Club Savings Card where you can earn bonuses for how much you save by 5pm on Sunday 9 November 2025. The top value is £15 on £280 or over savings - about £60 a month. I can't work out:
- is this a good deal?
- do I want £295 worth of goods from Asda?
You can spend it through the following year, so I suppose it would be good to know I had paid for my shopping for the year in advance. There's also the Christmas Saver Cashpot and already I'm out of my depth!
A week ago, Tania posted about the £1.50 LiDL Too Good to Waste Box. This video is a treat just for Tania, as she packs filming in between coming back from walking her dog on the beach and setting off for aqua-aerobics! Anyway, she had managed to get a £1.50 box with 5kgs of fruit and vegetables - still good to eat but beyond their very best.
I was passing LiDL's on Saturday on my way back from the dry cleaners and, given Tania's enthusiasm, I thought I would pop in and see what all the fuss was about. I have shopped at LiDL and Aldi once or twice in the past, just to see what they were like. They never been quite convenient for me, although midday on Saturday there was plenty of room to park and the store was busy but not packed.
I'd downloaded the app and activated everything that I could, but I wasn't quite sure what would happen. I was impressed with the fruit and vegetables, though. It was fun looking at all the nice deli things and continental bakery items and, of course, I got caught in the Middle of LiDL looking at inflatable beds to use on the back seat of your car and other things I never knew existed.
I did pick up some aqua shoes for £4.99 - very pleased as Sports Direct has them at £14.99 - and a garden bag and two terracotta gnome water reservoirs for houseplants when I'm away. With all three, it was partly price and partly convenience that I'd not got to traipse to the Range or B&Q.
Anyway, my exploratory trip didn't cost too much and I found out how to use the loyalty app at the checkout and ended up with free avocados as a result - that was a nice LiDL surprise!
My sister shops at Lidl a lot and says you can get free spins after every purchase with different offers. She got a £10 off a £10 purchase the other day!!
I like Morrisons yellow labels best but you need to get the timing right on when they put out the offers, they get snapped up very quick. If I'm there at the right time, I can pick up some good bargains especially seafood as I notice Brits don't eat seafood much.
Boots tend to be a lot more expensive than others, I don't shop there often now unless I come across special offers. They used to have the best loyalty reward worth 4%, not sure if it's changed now.
Can't argue with that!
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this one's for you Shani!
Follow this man's channel and watch all videos!
This is Jez from Grimsby
I think I've met him! 😂
a legend
Lidl is one of the best supermarkets to shop at around here. Yep, it has all sort of discounts, points, offers, special deals and promos, etc. It also matters that it's kind of small and easier to shop there than into a hypermarket. And you can find almost everything you need over there. I know people who shop exclusively from Lidl, as a supermarket.
Yes, that's one of the things I like.
great store to get some good deals! : )
!BBH
!UNI
Lidl is my closest supermarket, so I walk there every other day. They are so good and nothing like they were 20 years ago or whenever they arrived here.
The app is good and always giving away free stuff.
Surprised you don't visit the middle aisle sections as they often have yarn deals!
Loyalty points are a must if you are a saver, not to mention cash back cards etc etc.
Previously I had most stuff delivered from small independent shops - groceries from Leicester Wholefood Coop, dairy from the milkman (retired, now), a weekly fruit and veg box from an organic farm and the occasional meat delivery, also from an organic, free range farm about four miles away. The big heavy boring stuff came now and then from Asda and I topped up from the little co-op down the road.
In another story entirely, the little co-op was raided last week and the pedestal ATM thrown through the front window! Someone must have got a bit frustrated with the supply issues since the hack.
The co-op also does Deliveroo deliveries and through the winter when I wasn't well that was very helpful. I think it also worked out costing less money, in spite of the charges, because I only bought what I needed and didn't come back with any nice extras 😂.
I think livinguktaiwan had said about LiDL cheap vegetables at Christmas, but the shop is just a bit further, requires a bit more planning than the short and very nice walk to the co-op. I found out about the raid because it was a beautiful evening and I fancied a stroll and the co-op was about the right distance for that.
It's about planning and organising really - it's dead easy in the car, and I think the bus stops outside it, too. I liked the atmosphere in there, not too large but plenty to look at, and not the deathly cold of the chiller shelves in most stores. Asda and Tesco always feel a bit grim and Sainsbury's is like a ballroom!
What is LiDL like for yellow stickers?
When we lived in Edinburgh we had a greengrocer beside us and wood get fruit and veg boxes, seasonal and wonky things. I laugh how the supermarkets called it wonky, I called it natural, just because Brussels said things should be a perfect shape, life does not work that way!
I don't if you have McQueens dairies down there or only a Scottish thing, but I get our milk from them twice a week delivered between 2am and 6am it is great.
We can get groceries through Just Eat now for Asda, Sainsbury's Tesco and I think Morrisons.
The Lidl I goto is not big, but has everything you need more or less. The choice they have now is pretty cool. Brands are there as well as their labels.
The yellow labels are pretty cool. I tend to be a let's see what there is and I will make a dish as opposed to a recipe cook that needs this that and the fluffing other! So I go to the yellow sections. Generally it is 30% sometimes 50%. They have salad packets and spinach discounted most days. Which makes our smoothies even cheaper.
Yes I think Aldi as well as Lidl did the 9p veg. Good thing with Lidl is they also do about 5 picks of the week for veg that are discounted.
Oh yes bread products you will often find discounted too.
Hmmm, it's clear I need to sort myself out!
hehe yeah big savings over a year with all these things.
I think the sweet treat and the free items of fruit or vegetables is a great idea - it's that element of delight. I wasn't sure how they worked so I hadn't picked up my sweet treat (not that that is a bad thing - Tania gets things like apple turnovers, cuts them in half and freezes for puddings).
Yeah i think i missed the first couple of months using the app not getting the sweet. Then as I go every other day I soon figured out what to do etc.
I watched her last video and had a look at her channerl, and yes I do Olio too!
😍
Store cards are brilliant for both parties.
That's a savings on the Aqua shoes!
Here, some cards build up points for cash-backs, and others offer a discount at the till. I think the latter gives more of a saving in the long run, although it's nice when you have to pay and have enough cashback points to reduce the final bill substantially!
I've become lazy, 90% of the time I order online, pay a small monthly fee for 'free deliveries' - actually, is free considering how often I order, plus a saving for
petrol and parking costs as well! Plus, I'm not tempted to pick up unnecessary treats when standing in the queue.
Have a great week @shanibeer <3
This was my downfall - a loaf of bread was costing £30!
ou, too, @lizelle 😍
The store will definitely be a place to get goods things.
😍
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