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France is getting a bit pricey?


milkeybar kid
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[quote user="Scooby"]As I said - where we live the Lidl stores (like their Danish equivalent, Netto) are located in the poorest areas of the city.
[/quote]

I second that, I have both a Lidl and Netto 500m from my place and an Aldi a further 500m stagger.

You cant get more down market than that [:P]

It is relatively sane shopping at these places at lunch time although there are usually a few liquid dieters in there, the worst is just before closing time when they are loading up with extra strength lager and pastis to see them through the evening, it quite often kicks off.

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I though you lived somewhere nice Chancer. Does this mean houses are cheap to buy if they are near Lidl. [:P]

Our nearest Lidl doesn't even have houses near it so I am not sure how that works.

People who eat Jelly Babies by eating their head first tend to have violent tendencies.

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[quote user="Scooby"]  As already intimated, I find you arrogant and obnoxious and have no interest in exchanging views with you - either on the forum or by pm.  [/quote]

Blimey, that's a bit personal, isn't it?

Why don't you just not reply to any of her posts?  No need to let all your feelings hang out like that!  Goodness, let's just preserve a semblance of civility on open Forum, shall we?

In my day (yes, I know that makes me sound ancient), we were never brought up to making rude remarks like those.  You could think what you liked but you didn't say it in such a loud, common fashion, dear me..........[:$]

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[quote user="Quillan"]

I though you lived somewhere nice Chancer. Does this mean houses are cheap to buy if they are near Lidl. [:P]

[/quote]

To your first statement

No, not at all nice except for investment purposes, the area is very run down and as for the people living in the vicinity, well words fail me.

When I meet people in the metropole and they ask where I live I give them the name of the nearest town which usually results in looks of sympathy or disbelief as it has a terrible reputation, if only they knew that the people from that town look down on the inhabitants of my village [:-))]

As to the question.

Yes, very cheap although I think in the case of our village the arrival of Lidl and Netto and the rocade that seperates us from the town actually increased property values.

I should explain that my village is a canton and banlieu of this town, apart from the fairly recent rocade there is no actual seperation.

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[quote user="sweet 17"]

Why don't you just not reply to any of her posts?  No need to let all your feelings hang out like that!  Goodness, let's just preserve a semblance of civility on open Forum, shall we?

In my day (yes, I know that makes me sound ancient), we were never brought up to making rude remarks like those.  You could think what you liked but you didn't say it in such a loud, common fashion, dear me..........[:$]

[/quote]

I've ignored and deleted her pm's, made subtle suggestions that I find her posts offensive, even reported her to the mods to no avail.  So maybe a blunt and public statement will work??

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Well Chancer I think I will ask Lidl to open in Quillan then, with a bit of luck it will increase the value of our houses. [;-)]

I get the feeling after re-reading the thread that your social standing is reflected not by newspapers but by the supermarket you use. This has left me somewhat confused as I use about 7 different ones and therefore don't know where my proper place is in society. [;-)] Made me think about the old John Cleese, Ronny Barker and Ronny Corbet sketch, "I look down on him because.......", remember the one?

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[quote user="Quillan"]

Watch what goes on at checkouts, why does it take so long. Normally its because food in France is so expensive people save the discount tickets from newspapers and buy the majority of products that have offers. They also do multiple shops going from one supermarket to the other for the best deals. The quality is also cr@p, we have to use two supermarkets because whilst one is cheaper for drinks, meat and tinned food the veg is so bad we have to go to another to by it (we don't have a greengrocer in the village anymore). On the way home we then visit the bread shop cause all the supermarkets produce bread thats like sawdust and looks like its been kicked round the shop for half the day. [/quote]

Aint that the truth Q!

Since being on my permanent economy drive I now have to shop at at least 4 different shops.

Lidl and Aldi for the bulk of things but you have to memorise or write down the prices in each one, IMHO my local ones operate a cartel as products are either exactly the same price or vary by 50% (beurre à tatiner for example) but sometimes these differentials flip indicating some concerted action and which can catch you out. This is also how both stores can produce publicity showing a basket of their products being 30% cheaper than the other.

For meat/fish I wait until there is a good promo in Intermarché or Super-U and even then there are a lot of deliberate errors in their leaflets, I buy in bulk and freeze, I never buy any other things in these stores other than eau de javel at €1.05 for 5 litres and the last bidon was so weak that I could drink it.

Finally for bread the boulanger has lost my custom to Simply Market as they bake their own, reasonable by comparison, baguettes on the premises and sell them for 33cts (was 29cts till recently) eaten the same day or the next if frozen they are acceptable, not as good as the boulangers but a million times better than the industrial long life stuff sold elsewhere.

On the subject of cheap food in the UK supermarkets I am not convinced of late, in either Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys it is almost impossible to buy anything that isnt sold on an "any two/three for £5" etc basis, if you buy just one the price is ridiculous (just look at the price per kg to see) nd ven buying the two often isnt much cheaper nearly all of the branded equivalents are no longer stocked so one cannot make a comparison but sometimes in a completely different place you will find single packs of the product much cheaper per kg than the "any two for£?" ones.

I should actually shop in Lidl in the UK (there arent any Aldis or Nettos near me) but like many others I am drawn to the big three by the cheap (by French standards) electromenagerie, clothing and household items, I think that I get shafte on the food bought there.

Finally I cannot understand why I can buy really tasty chicken breasts at Lidl or even the branded ones (forgot name) in Intermarché for around €5.50 per kg yet a tiny whoe chicken where most of the mass is of bone and gristle costs €4.69 per kg or even much more

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[quote user="Chancer"]

 I never buy any other things in these stores other than eau de javel at €1.05 for 5 litres and the last bidon was so weak that I could drink it.

[/quote]

Oh, Chancer, I know that we all have to make economies in these times but do you reckon that meths might be cheaper than Javel and might even taste a mite nicer?[:D]

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We shop at a variety of places in the UK.  Our meat we buy in bulk from the abattoir and then split it for freezing.  We also have meat and poultry from my brother-in-law's farm. Fish (and also chicken breasts and cheese) we buy from the wholesale fish merchants (15kg packs usually but frozen individually / loose / interleaved).  Our nearest supermarket is Morrisons so I shop there for some things (tend to buy 2 for 3 deals etc when things are on offer).  Bread, cakes, biscuits, pies, pasta, jams, chutneys, soups  etc we make ourselves with flour / dried fruits etc from Morrisons as they have a good selection.  We occasionally use Sainsbury's if I need something unusual - e.g. star anise for bottled fruits.  Fruit: apples (cookers and eaters), pears, plums, damsons, gooseberries, cherries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, strawberries, raspberries, tayberries, rhubarb etc, we grow ourselves.  The first thing we did when we bought the house 20+ years ago was plant an orchard / fruit garden.  Likewise we grow herbs, some vegetables and salad / tomatoes / cucumber in summer.   We also trade fruit and vegetables with my parents (my dad is a keen gardener.)  We used to keep chickens but they are too much work now so we get our eggs from a friend at work who keeps hens or from my brother-in-law's farm (duck and hen eggs).  Where possible I will try and buy organic, fair trade or local produce - we buy very little pre-processed food.  We have an Aldi a couple of miles away which we also use as we like the European foods they stock - German sausage, Italian hams etc.

In France we shop at the local markets and the nearby Intermarche.  We also use the big supermarkets in town (E Leclerc and Carrefour) - but less frequently as they are quite a drive away.  As I mentioned before we have tended to eat mainly vegetarian meals / salads over recent months due to the relative price of meat in France.

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I am being forced to save money at moment as my wife has decided we need to eat weight-watchers meals padded out with green veggies .. They are £1 a meal at Iceland ...also the Iceland fish pie and other fish ones are a £1 a time ....If you are in the UK please buy them then with a bit of luck they will run out and I will get some real fodder !

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[quote user="Frederick"]I am being forced to save money at moment as my wife has decided we need to eat weight-watchers meals padded out with green veggies .. They are £1 a meal at Iceland ...also the Iceland fish pie and other fish ones are a £1 a time ....If you are in the UK please buy them then with a bit of luck they will run out and I will get some real fodder ![/quote]

[:D][:D]

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[quote user="Chancer"]

Finally I cannot understand why I can buy really tasty chicken breasts at Lidl or even the branded ones (forgot name) in Intermarché for around €5.50 per kg yet a tiny whoe chicken where most of the mass is of bone and gristle costs €4.69 per kg or even much more

[/quote]

Funny enough our local Champion used to do really naff chicken breasts. Recently they have increased the size by about 50% and its just been renamed Carrefour Market. Now Carrefours chicken breasts are much bigger and quite juicy and actually have taste. They are so big that we can get away with one between two. Mind you we pay about 5.50 for two on average where as you can get a pack of 6 in Sainsbury's for the same price.

We also buy the cheap chickens and get two meals each out of them. Bit of Garlic, mixed herbs and some seasoning and they are great.

Also like you we buy in bulk on special offers. I have one full height freezer rammed with pork chops and joints for which we paid 2.35 Euros a kg instead of 8 something.

Unfortunately the veg has not changed much so we still have to go to ED. What does interest me is unlike the price fixing in your area we have the opposite. There is a difference of about 1 Euro between the price per kg of Tom's (as an example) and the cheaper ones at ED's are better, keep longer and have more taste.

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[quote user="Scooby"][quote user="sweet 17"]

Why don't you just not reply to any of her posts?  No need to let all your feelings hang out like that!  Goodness, let's just preserve a semblance of civility on open Forum, shall we?

In my day (yes, I know that makes me sound ancient), we were never brought up to making rude remarks like those.  You could think what you liked but you didn't say it in such a loud, common fashion, dear me..........[:$]

[/quote]

I've ignored and deleted her pm's, made subtle suggestions that I find her posts offensive, even reported her to the mods to no avail.  So maybe a blunt and public statement will work??
[/quote]

Just to be absolutely clear on this Scooby (you probably know what a stickler I can be when it comes to being economical with the actualité), I do keep my PMs and so I can say - with absolute certainty that I have only ever sent you one.  This was to ask you, in polite terms, not to attack me personally on the public forum and to suggest, should you feel the need to have a go at me,  you do so via PM.  The only other PM between us was initiated by you.  I'm sure you have a vague memory of what you said and of how I replied.  If not, I am quite willing to let you have a copy.

 I am not really sure what you imagine making a "blunt and public statement" will achieve.  It appears from your post that you think that insulting me will intimidate me into - what?  Keeping quiet!?![:D][:D][:D]

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[quote user="buelligan"][quote user="Scooby"][quote user="sweet 17"]

Why don't you just not reply to any of her posts?  No need to let all your feelings hang out like that!  Goodness, let's just preserve a semblance of civility on open Forum, shall we?

In my day (yes, I know that makes me sound ancient), we were never brought up to making rude remarks like those.  You could think what you liked but you didn't say it in such a loud, common fashion, dear me..........[:$]

[/quote]

I've ignored and deleted her pm's, made subtle suggestions that I find her posts offensive, even reported her to the mods to no avail.  So maybe a blunt and public statement will work??

[/quote]

Just to be absolutely clear on this Scooby (you probably know what a stickler I can be when it comes to being economical with the actualité), I do keep my PMs and so I can say - with absolute certainty that I have only ever sent you one.  This was to ask you, in polite terms, not to attack me personally on the public forum and to suggest, should you feel the need to have a go at me,  you do so via PM.  The only other PM between us was initiated by you.  I'm sure you have a vague memory of what you said and of how I replied.  If not, I am quite willing to let you have a copy.

 I am not really sure what you imagine making a "blunt and public statement" will achieve.  It appears from your post that you think that insulting me will intimidate me into - what?  Keeping quiet!?![:D][:D][:D]

[/quote]

Are you two going to argue for ever, come on ladies time to concentrate on the matter in hand, how to conserve our pennies in the face of global financial belt tightening? Also Scooby I promise if I get offered any more mint cake I'll not let it escape again.

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".....how to conserve our pennies in the face of global financial belt tightening?"

Step 1 is to limit your purchases to that which you need. And this is an excellent time of year to start - by not participating in the annual waste of time and money known as Xmas. Leave it to those with even less money than sense.

John
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Our way of economising this Xmas will include sending online Amazon gift vouchers to our grandchildren in the UK & a hamper for each family from one of the online supermarkets with nothing specific for the adults. This will save us quite a bit on postage & a lot of hassel about decisions :-))

Mrs Postie
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