'Lead us not into temptation': Mum faces moral dilemma after ALDI discovery

"I convinced myself that someone was watching me and now I'm going to jail or worse… banned from ALDI."

With the cost of living leaving us all feeling the pinch these days, an ALDI customer has sparked a hilarious debate online after facing a moral dilemma while shopping at the budget retailer. 

The mum, posting to the ALDI Aisle of Shame Facebook group, shared a photo of an abandoned discount sticker roll sitting in the meat fridge on top of a packet of brisket.

"And lead us not into temptation..." the mum captioned her post, implying she was wrestling with the idea of sneakily using it to mark down other items and buy them.

"Hard to do when you find this on a shelf!!!" she added alongside the photo of the roll which contained hundreds, if not thousands of 50% off stickers. 

Despite the tempting possibility on offer, the mum revealed that she ended up returning it to a store employee.

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Image: Facebook

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"They should have rewarded you"

The post quickly racked up over 5.3k likes and over 400 comments.

Some applauded her honesty, with one group member saying, "Good things will come to you because of that."

Others agreed they probably would have done the same as the mum. "My anxiety and paranoid OCD wouldn't have allowed me to do it either," admitted one commenter. "I would totally convince myself that someone was watching me, and now I'm going to jail or worse… banned from ALDI," joked another. 

Someone else said, "They should have at least given you a sticker for being honest," while another agreed, "They should have definitely rewarded you somehow."

An ex-supermarket employee also chimed in with their perspective: "I'm sure the employee that left them is grateful you turned it in and probably will get a little pep talk about it. I worked grocery retail for 43 years, I saw a lot and caught a few. Thanks for being honest!"

However, another said they would have nabbed a few stickers to take home "for those really hard times."

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The Kidspot team's answers

Curious to see what the Kidspot team would have done in this scenario, I took to the group chat in search of answers (and promising a judgement-free zone!)

"I'd be tempted but too scared to actually do it in case they got me on camera," Leah said.

And Joel wrote: "Either ignore it or let a staff member know they've left it there if someone's within earshot."

Meanwhile, Jordanna said she would leave it but also "I'm too nervous to talk to people that I wouldn't tell the staff either, so I'm not sure that makes me a good Samaritan either."

Then Ally provided this fresh, budget-fashion take: "I'd definitely wear it as a bangle first, then either put it back or take it to a staff member."

What would you do? Tell us in the poll above. 

Originally published as 'Lead us not into temptation': Mum faces moral dilemma after ALDI discovery