'I used the Lidl Plus app to save on my £57.93 shop and won't be giving up my Tesco Clubcard'

Budget retailer Lidl is known for its affordable prices but let's face it, as the cost of living crisis hits hard can most people afford, well anything? So, using the Lidl Plus app, which offers discounts on various products as well as rewards and special offers, seems a good way forward.

Currently, Tesco offers discounted Clubcard prices to its members and other chains, like Morrisons, also offer points for card holders which can be used against the price of shopping. So, having never tried the Lidl Plus app, I downloaded it to my iPhone and headed to my nearest store to give it a go.

Once registered for Lidl Plus you get discount coupons, special offers and draws each time you scan your digital card at the till and the app stores all your digital receipts in one place. Each day the app offers discounts on a number of products for a limited time before the coupons expire and new items replace them.

READ MORE: Tesco is making a major change to what it pays supermarket staff from July

To get started I had to download the app and register my details, which was straightforward and not too time consuming. Then you activate each coupon by clicking on the blue 'Activate' button. On the day in question there appeared to be discounts on five food groups - tinned fish, chocolate, fruit and veg, crackers and crispbreads and the bakery.

As I arrived at the Lidl store in Prestwich I immediately approached an employee who was stacking fruit and veg and asked him to talk me through exactly how I should be using the app. He was very friendly and happy to show me, explaining there was a full list of products under the individual headings and that each product had a code that could be matched with the label.

That sounded great in