My Best Budget Buys

Now anyone who knows me will know I just love a bargain. Why pay more is my motto? Have never really understood the lure of expensive designer clothes, for example, although funnily enough I will splash out on fine food, wine and accommodation from time to time. There are some things in life which matter too much to skimp on.
So as well as being a charity shop devotee, freecycler, car booter and sad coupon collector, I have also started to shop smart in recent months in a bid to beat the recession and stop being ripped off by retailers.
I became a Lidl addict some years back now, - back in the days when the only other customers were a few lost looking pensioners ambling through the aisles. These days you have to fight them off!
Slowly but surely I have managed to convert many of my Sainsbury loving friends to the delights of Lidl. Great fruit and veg at great prices, stock up on juices, tomato pasata, part-baked rolls, jars of pesto and anti pasti, all sorts of pasta and not bad for the booze either - they have a very reasonable Bordeaux which has become my house wine. They sell great kids socks too!
Have flirted with Aldi but find them a little on the pricey side. Netto worth the occasional visit but rather an unpleasant shopping experience all round and tend to avoid in favour of Lidl.
Elswhere does everyone realise how much supermarkets are ripping us off for milk? And don't even think of going into your local petrol station to pick some up.
My local Esso garage recently charged me £2.09 for 2 litres. Most supermarkets charge in the region of £1.50. My local Cool Trader in Stockport (somewhat scary frozen food retailer that throws up some surprising bargains and delights every now and then) charges £2 for two (ie four litres). You do the maths!
Even better I discovered that our enterprising local convenience store Raja Bros also does two for £2 - guess who's getting my milk business these days.
It's the same for bread. Now I would always choose Warburtons who make the best bread in the universe, especially their Seeded Batch which is second to none but if times are tight, Morrisons has a great deal on Rathbones at the moment which stacks up pretty good. And their in-store baked jumbo bags of bread rolls are fantastic for lunch boxes - I make them up in batches for the freezer.
Finally no blog about bargain hunting would be complete without a mention of my best shop ever, the fantastic Home Bargains where I can be found pottering most Saturday afternoons hunting out everything from presents for kids' birthday parties to cheap LED light bulbs to great brand name toiletries to cut price cartons of juices for the kids lunchboxes.
I'm a discount diva and proud of it!