Almost no longer visit Lithuanian stores, spend up to 500 euros per month in Poland: families share their discoveries

 "As the prices of food products in Lithuania do not decrease, and after Poland extended the concession, Lithuanians continue to go shopping to their neighbors. Some residents from all over Lithuania come here every month and hardly visit Lithuanian stores anymore.

    Spends up to 400 euros

     Here is a family of 4 living in Merkinė, going to Seinai and Suwalki for shopping every month or two. For the first three years, the family went to Poland every month, because in Seinai the daughter had to visit a dental clinic for braces. In Lithuania, the family almost doesn't go shopping anymore, when the products run out, they only go to the store for baguettes and vegetables.

 

     Julia (name changed) shared her discoveries in Poland with Delfi. She calculates that the family spends 100-400 euros during one shopping trip, sometimes more, because the family has also bought building materials more than once.

 

     "I didn't calculate how much we save exactly, but it's really quite a lot. There are two children in our family, the youngest is 5 months old. We save a lot on diapers and wipes alone. Also for dairy products, for example, 200 g of butter in Poland cost 1.02 EUR, and in Lithuania such prices have not existed for a long time. A snack for children is 0.28 EUR, and in Lithuania it is about 0.60 EUR. Milk in Poland costs about 0.71 EUR. Also, chicken prices are significantly lower than in Lithuania," the woman says.

 

     From Merkina to Seinai - about 80 km. The woman estimates that such a trip requires about 15 liters of fuel.

 

     "The same fuel is also about 15 cents cheaper in Poland, it doesn't seem like much, but filling a full tank saves money. Also, not only food, but also other goods are cheaper: laundry softener, powder, garbage bags, toilet cleaning wipes and many others," says Julija.

 

     The last time Julia and her family visited Seinai last weekend and spent about 400 euros - they left with a full cart. They visited the milk base, the small market, "Biedronka" and clothing and household goods stores "Sinsay" and "Tedi".

 

     "We try to always go on weekdays, then there are definitely less people. Of course, if you want meat in the Suwalki small market, you have to go early in the morning, because it's gone after that. 

 

I don't follow discounts very much, sometimes I look at the promotions offered by "Biedrionka" before driving, but they are still there, like for example, when you buy two, you get 50% off the third product.

 

     And to drive before holidays or on weekends, you need to be patient, because you would have to stand in line at the milk base, and not only at it. We usually pay in cash, I've been going to Poland for shopping for many years, but I still don't know what's the best way to pay - by card, zlotys or euros," says Julija.

 

     He spends about 500 euros every month

 

     Milda (name changed) from Kaišiadoriai district also goes to Poland for shopping every month. Each time, including fuel, a family of 5 spends about 500 euros.

 

     "We are a family of 5: 2 adults and 3 children, and we also have a cat. We go to Poland practically every month, sometimes every second month, but lately every month, because we run out of products that are consumed faster: milk, smoked meat products, all kinds of delicacies for children, etc.  

 

We have a separate freezer, so we always buy meat. 

 

The purchased food is enough for a month or more," says the woman.

 

     "I remember my husband and I went to Maxima, spent 40 euros and took everything back in our hands. Then my husband and I decided to go to Poland the next day, even though we had absolutely no plans to go that month. Just going to the store in Lithuania, you spend at least 40 euros, and you don't even bring home anything normal, so why not go to Poland?" she adds.

 

     Milda calculates that the family manages to save about 200 euros per month, and maybe more: "When everything is at home, you need to go to the shops less, and when you go less, you spend less. We buy only fruits, vegetables, bread and sour cream in Lithuania, because we consume these products most likely, and we buy everything else - from meat to household chemicals - in Poland."

     The woman says that after refueling in Poland and buying diapers for the children, the whole trip is already paying off.

 

     "Not including other products. Now the prices in Poland have really risen, but not so much that it is not worth driving. We definitely don't buy one unit at a time, we buy a lot of things in packages. In Poland, the quantities of products are usually larger and cheaper. Here are some examples: 30 grams of "Bepanthen" ointment for a child costs about 6 euros here, while in Poland we bought 100 grams for 8 euros. Medicines and vitamins are much cheaper. The last time we bought a 200-gram packet of butter for 0.8 EUR each," says the interviewer.

 

     She adds that, usually, stores have certain quantities of products that can be purchased with a discount card, but if you have several cards, the problem is solved.

 

     "For example, butter with the same discount card can be bought 3 units, meat - 5 kg, it happens that milk and 12 units can be bought, and, let's say, buy 5 - get 1 free. It's the same with smoked products," says Milda about the discounts.

 

     Most of the time, the family goes to Suwalki. Main stores such as Biedronka and Kaufland are visited here, and the market is always visited.

 

     "For the first time, maybe 8 years ago, we went shopping on a Saturday, then it was also the last time, because there were so many people everywhere. 

 

Now we always go on weekdays, it's best to go on Tuesday or Thursday because then there are new promotions. 

 

"Most of the time, we pay with Revoliut, because they don't charge any fees on weekdays, and the exchange rate is better," the woman notes.

 

     She calculates that the trip costs about 30 euros, because she has to drive about 300 kilometers in total. "We buy a couple of packs of diapers, and fill up as much fuel as we can in Poland, and the trip has already paid for itself," smiles Milda.

 

     Going to Poland from Zarasai

 

     It turns out that there are also such residents who are determined to travel 600 kilometers to Poland. Karolina has already traveled from Zarasai to Suwalki several times. It is true that the purpose is to visit the water park, but the woman assures that the family of 4 will definitely go to Poland again.

 

     "We went to the water park for fun and at the same time did a little shopping. We spent about 250 euros, enough for our family for a month. We were in Suwalki: "Piko" bases, pharmacy, "Biedronka" and "Kaufland".

 

     We bought meat, smoked products, dairy products, household and hygiene products, vitamins. We plan to go again, because it is cheaper there than in Lithuania. For example, we bought two packages of children's vitamins and saved about 20 euros," Karolina notes."