New Blog, Perfect for the Recession

[Fergal]

If you're not from Ireland you will need a little background info to understand the concept of this site. Lidl is a major German supermarket group who have opened a large number of stores throughout Ireland in the last year or two. They are much cheaper than the already established Irish supermarkets.

Their entry in the Irish market is well timed because the Irish market is experiencing an economic slowdown. Hence, consumers are looking for new ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop.

The blog in question is Lidl Treats (http://www.lidltreats.com/). The concept behind the site is that it documents one couple's efforts to live for a week on €50 worth of food purchased from Lidl. It seems like an excellent idea with perfect timing.

Lidl Treats (http://www.lidltreats.com/)' slogan is "Eat Like a Prince, Pay Like a Pauper" and it does just that by showing you what foods you can buy cheaply and how you can prepare them to create enjoyable and healthy meals at a low cost.

What's your opinion of the blog?

Have you any suggestions for improving or promoting it?

[Nazreen]

Did you guys see their last blog entry - "I WANT STEAK" ? Hahaha. I guess that this is another hurdle that they have overcome for their €50 per week challenge.

I think that their blog is quite okay as it is. The layout is nice and they're actually putting the recipes and actual cost for preparing the meals. I'm glad that they're really doing the challenge in saving money because as everyone knows, saving money is one of those things that are easier said than done.

To be honest, I think that their blog is an ingenious idea because it also acts a notebook in tracking down their expenses and also tracking down their progress in saving money.

[bojomojo]

About the advertising, use the slogan first : "Eat Like a Prince, Pay Like a Pauper", it is catchy!

You should also push in that its healthy, tho I cant seem to find protiens in the food, but hey with €50, I dont wanna be so greedy :D.

The following words will be coming from a SEO guy and a webmaster promoting a site, not from the normal guy me :)
So you should work on SEO, it is the best friend to these kinds of websites, it is alot more important than advertising if you always want fresh visitors. SE driven traffic is the best targetted traffic, not just a hit or two.

Secondly, needless to say, advertise on forums regarding food, and I am saying "forums", also all Irish forums, even if the subject seems not that interesting to them it will actually make a big fuss.

And last, if you are ready to spend a little, advertising in the Lidl markets ;) I dont know if its allowed but where I live people and companies can place their ads either hanging from the wall or stands or something like that.

Also being vague about the link will get you more traffic, imagine some one with a link in the sig. saying "Eat Like a Prince, Pay Like a Pauper", just that, tempting isnt it?

Now, what I think about the blog:
The layout is Simply good, the kind of layout people who needs easy info goes too, I wouldnt recommend going with a fancy shining template just yet.

The pictures seems real homemade to add some creditability to the text.

A new table should be added containing quick links for "Day1 - 2 - 3 ... etc"

The "about us" block needs to be greatly improved, you should have in mind that reader want to go through something to understand it, not read it throughly, you should make it obvious that it guides through on how to pay less and eat good ;), even if the blog is having something else, but you should catch the eyes first.

of course in all that add some Irish taste so that you get the traffic you want to target, not just nonsense hits.

[Fergal]

Just to clarify, in case there is any confusion, I don't own the blog and I don't have any affiliation to it.

Thanks for the excellent suggestions and thoughtful posts. I will contact the blog owners, with a link to this thread, when there are some more replies.

[bojomojo]

oh I am absolutely sorry, I thought you saying:


What's your opinion of the blog?

Have you any suggestions for improving or promoting it?


That made me think you own it.

[magician661]

the blog is simple,attractive,very well organiszed.And the idea is very good.But i think instead of a couple it should be focusing on full family

[bojomojo]

a Full family will take alot more than 50 :)
Its concentrating on how to make Fairly good 3 meals daily for a week for 50, that means 21 meals for only €50, and that is the catchy thing, having a full family will be harder and costing more + it will be a bigger challenge to make kids follow these instructions :D

[Fergal]

They are currently doing a one week challenge for 2 people. Perhaps they will run other challenges on the blog once this one is complete.

One couple eating for €50 for one week is quite an achievement in Ireland. A meal out in a nice restaurant could easily cost more than €50 per person.

[snoop1990]

Hey,
I am from Germany so I know a bit about Lidl and I guess the most important fact is that lidl was bought from a swiss holding company which also owns Kaufland and Handelshof, two more successful supermarkets in Germany. So it is not only Lidl behind all these it is this holding company that is what makes lidl even more powerful. Therefore I guess they would be able to rush the market with extremely cheap products for about a year or two to get a strong position in Ireland as well. Just my thoughts.

Regards Snoop1990

[bojomojo]

Do "Kaufland and Handelshof" also provide such cheap resources??
Its actually a great move for such supermarkets, but it makes me think, how can they get the stuff to be that cheap??

I dont knoe Lidl but as snoop is saying its from a big commpany, so i think its trusted, but i still cant find a solution to "how they get it to be that cheap" question.

[Nazreen]

If I might ask, how is Lidl able to sell groceries and other merchandise at a much lower price that other Irish supermarkets. Is it selling merchandise that are of a lesser quality than the other supermarkets that they're able to sell them at a lesser price?

[Fergal]

I've shopped at Lidl myself and their quality is good. They keep their costs down in other ways. For example their stores would not be as modern or as nicely fitted out in terms of interior design as their competitors. They pack them high and sell them cheap.

The fact that they are part of such a huge supermarket group would provide them with huge buying power, thus allowing them to source products cheaper than their Irish competitors.

The Irish companies were probably also running on high profit margins, because they didn't have strong price competition. Now that Lidl has entered the market they are also reducing their prices.

[bojomojo]

Oh, that is a good point.
But still, i always think the look of aplace determines its quality. But you are saying they are of a good quality.

Its a brave move from them to do that, but it seems its paid of.

[snoop1990]

Kaufland and Handelshof are not that cheap but also supermarkets, they sell higher quality and have more assortment. But I also have no idea how they get it that cheap.

[Tesa]

Excellent idea not only for business but on a humanitarian level. I stongly believe that it can be done. If you factor out going out to eat, take the time to prepare a menu, shop around for the right prices, in this case Lidl, it can be done. It all boils done to will power and a concentrated effort. We do need to overcome the high rise in the cost of food and still eat wisely.

[Nazreen]

Aside from saving money, it should also be stressed that cooking your own food is healthier. You will have the assurance that the utensils and ingredients that you are using are clean. I've also read somewhere that some food stalls and restaurants reuse their cooking oil more than 3 times. This is especially true for those cooking deep-fried foods like fries.

In Singapore, we also have a shop that sells cheaper groceries. The aisles are smaller than that of other supermarkets and it's very difficult to walk inside because it's usually packed with people. It's also difficult to ask help or even locate their customer service staff. I guess that's the trade off, with cheaper prices you also get less convenience.

[Nazreen]

Here's a story I've just read from Reader's Digest. The Hochman family has just become a model family for frugality. Just read about how they saved on plumbing repairs.


On a website called thriftyfun.com, thousands of users posted tip after penny-saving tip on conserving cash. There wasn't a crisis on earth, it seemed, that couldn't be averted with some combination of baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and a certain dishwashing liquid. I squirted a shot of Dawn in a kettle of boiling water, poured it into the shower, and the goop slrrrrged down the drain. Materials used: 10 cents. The look on Ruth's face after I actually fixed something: priceless.

And this one about saving on newspapers is quite hilarious.


Woo! Oh, and I read and returned the neighbor's newspaper before he woke up. Total spent today: $0. This is going to be fun, fun, fun!"

[Kay]

On a website called thriftyfun.com, thousands of users posted tip after penny-saving tip on conserving cash. There wasn't a crisis on earth, it seemed, that couldn't be averted with some combination of baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and a certain dishwashing liquid. I squirted a shot of Dawn in a kettle of boiling water, poured it into the shower, and the goop slrrrrged down the drain. Materials used: 10 cents. The look on Ruth's face after I actually fixed something: priceless.


Reason for the look? Cost of new kettle: $20. :rolleyes: :D

Wonder how much it'll cost him in hospital bills when the neighbor catches him too...:D Actually, I use baking soda and vinegar all the time for stuff like that too! It does work. Dawn's even used by most of the animal shelters as a pet flea shampoo even though it's just a washing up liquid for dishes. No one knows why but it works where other ones don't and is much cheaper than the regular doggy shampoo.

[Nazreen]

I bet he didn't factor in the risks involved in reading the neighbor's newspaper. :)

I didn't know that you're quite a handyman Kay. That was the first time I've heard of the use of baking soda and vinegar for plumbing purposes. My husband didn't know it either.

By the way, I forgot to add the link to the Reader's digest article (http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/hochman-family-cuts-spending/article99718.html). Enjoy! :)

[scifi]

Lidl Treats & "Eat Like a Prince, Pay Like a Pauper"--- Well a great blog for both supermarket & it's customers.. A blog with innovative marketing efforts targeting at customers in a new way so as to be mutually beneficial ...Customers get new ideas to fight economic slowdown with it's products & in turn supermarket is also getting it's required sale of the product in these times of recession too!!

As it goes necessity is the mother of invention..rightly said!!!!

[Kay]

I didn't know that you're quite a handyman Kay. That was the first time I've heard of the use of baking soda and vinegar for plumbing purposes. My husband didn't know it either.

By the way, I forgot to add the link to the Reader's digest article (http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/hochman-family-cuts-spending/article99718.html). Enjoy! :)

LOL, Nazreen you should know by now I'm a mine of useless information. :D And 1) having your bath not draining at eleven o'clock on a Saturday night and 2) being too cheap to pay a call out fee for a plumber over the weekend - well, that tends to bring out the Googler in you. Works like a charm! I do it regularly because my hair's long and clogs it faster.

Thanks for the link!

[Nazreen]

I should be more like you then Kay, too cheap (or too frugal would have been a better word) and be more of a googler handyman. :) I guess necessity is a good motivator in making us find ways to save money and also to help us realize what we really need and what we don't.

I have been to Lidl Treats site (http://www.lidltreats.com/) again and I see that they've added more recipes yet again. It would have been good if these didn't use wine and pork though because we can't eat these.

I also need to highlight the website that was mentioned in the reader's digest article - ThriftyFun.com (http://www.thriftyfun.com/). I'd have to say that this is a very good site and I will spending a lot of time going through their articles to also cut down on our spending. :)

[Fergal]

ThriftyFun has some great tips. Please share any you particularly like, with us Nazreen. I like - Store Cords In Toilet Paper Rolls (http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf76246569.tip.html).

[chuckmanley83]

I saw a segment on one of the morning shows where 2 mothers displayed a day's worth of food for the whole family for under $20. It was pretty impressive.

[Fergal]

If you cut things down to the bare essentials, it is surprising how far you can stretch a low budget. Most of us buy things we think we need, but that we could easily live without.

[Nazreen]

ThriftyFun has some great tips. Please share any you particularly like, with us Nazreen. I like - Store Cords In Toilet Paper Rolls (http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf76246569.tip.html).

I was actually searching from ThriftyFun's site on DIY decorating of the house and on buying furnitures. I liked the post on Saving Money on Furniture (http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf84913176.tip.html). From that post, I was able to know of another site Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/) where people can get stuff for free from people who are throwing or giving away their stuff. I've just joined the Sg Freecycle group. :)


I saw a segment on one of the morning shows where 2 mothers displayed a day's worth of food for the whole family for under $20. It was pretty impressive.

May I know which show you're referring to Chuckmanley83? If you do your own cooking and limit eating outside, you'll really save a lot of money.