The holidays are here which means money is flying out of my bank account and into the voracious jaws of the grocery giants. So much for a food budget, eh?
BUT, I’ve come across some finds and some deals lately which have me pretty stoked. This is what I get excited about when I’m not traveling. Sad, I know.
First, Kaufland! I saw the storefront on one of my many training runs around town, but I thought it was a home improvement store. A friend recently mentioned it, and I found out it was a big box store like Real.
(If you want to know all the ins and outs of your city streets, train for a marathon. I know where everything is now!)
A few Saturdays ago, I hopped on my bike and cruised past the hospital, cemetery, and the warehouse district to Kaufland. Pleasant route, right?
My Kaufland haul. Not pictured - tahini!! And the turkey lunch meat at the bottom, well, you can get that at Aldi or Lidl - oops!
It’s two levels (!) with one of those neat-o grocery cart escalators. Boy was I shocked at what I found at Kaufland! I could not believe my eyes at all the products I didn’t think existed in German grocery stores (at least not in my small-ish city). I’ll definitely be adding a Kaufland trip into my grocery store rotation.
Second, the Lidl warehouse sale! This is a CRAZY sporting event. Basically, every once in a while the Lidl warehouse will post a sign on the front of the building announcing the next sale (about every 2-3 months or so).
The sales are Friday and Saturday starting at 8am, and the items are overstocks from all of Lidl’s “special” sales (dry goods and non-food items such as furniture, clothing, office supplies, kitchen supplies, electronics, etc.). I never know what they will have, but I’m always bound to find something interesting (and cheap).
The best things sell out FAST, so I decided I would go this time at 8am on Friday. I know these sales are nutty, but I was not expecting gobs of people trying to shove their way in the front door. I was there at 8am, and by the time I got in the front door, all of the “best” things were gone (area rugs, laundry drying racks, Coca Cola, ha!).
Screech went with me, and trying to maneuver a pram was more than frustrating. People pushed me with their carts, and I tripped up other shoppers more than I want to remember. At least Mr. Screech was content to sit and shove cheerios in his face in the midst of the madness.
My Lidl warehouse sale (food) haul!
I ended up with a cart (pram) full of Mexican food! I am not sure what the fajita and burrito seasoning will taste like, but I purchased the kits for less than the tortillas themselves cost. I also scored five boxes of taco shells for half price, and ten bags of whole-grain spaghetti for 30 cents each. I found a few other miscellaneous items like a canvas print for the wall, socks for Doc Sci, a luggage strap, and plastic party forks.
Even though I can’t coupon in Germany, I can take advantage of every-once-in-a-while deals and use that money to pay full price for other (rare) things I enjoy.
What deals have you found lately? Have you ever been to a Lidl warehouse sale?
Thrifty Travel Mama 
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