Have you ever been to Aldi before? I went for the first time last weekend and was really pleasantly surprised! I don’t know why but in my mind I had a picture of a dirty store and unfriendly workers being there. The Aldi closest to my place is a little bit sketch, so when I went for the first time I made the hubs come with me just to get a feel for what it was like.
As soon as I walked through the door, I knew I was wrong. It was clean, the prices were LOW, and the staff even walked me to the items I couldn’t find on my own. The first item I saw that astounded me were the nuts. I bought some cashews last week for $2.99 I believe and this week I bought pistachios for $5.99 for a big bag! I couldn’t get over it! There were all different kinds of nuts for cheaper than I’d ever seen before.
When I went for the first time last week, I asked the lady who works there about Aldi brand products. She told me that if you buy an off brand/Aldi brand product there and don’t like it, you can return it for a refund PLUS that amount back to buy a replacement item! That is almost unheard of. After buying, nuts, sandwich bags, paper bowls, lean ground beef, canned tomatoes, vinegar and a few other things last week, I decided to go back for more this week!
This week I got Greek yogurt for $.85, baby carrots for $.49, minced garlic for $1.99, bathroom tissue for $.99, and HONEY GOAT CHEESE for $1.69!!!! Can you believe how cheap that is? I spent $16 for all the groceries I purchased including goat cheese, carrots, garlic, bathroom tissue, yogurt, and a few other staples.
Here’s a few things you need to know about shopping at Aldi before you go:
- Aldi cuts their prices so low by being very minimalistic. The same person stocking the shelves is also the one ringing your up at the cash register and answering questions about where items are.
- There are NOT 14 different kinds of granola to choose from. Just 1 or 2 of each product type which actually makes it simpler to shop. Some items are name brand like French’s mustard or Jiffy cornbread, but others are not. There are no fancy shelves, just organized boxes of items.
- They will not have every kind of item you may need. They get seasonal items in, like baking supplies right now, but you may not find them at other times of the year. I was hoping to get balsamic vinegar and soy sauce today, however they said these items are only in at certain times of the year.
- Bring your own grocery bags and bag your own items. There are no bags provided and no baggers, another way to cut down on expenses. If you are desperate, you can grab an empty box from some of their products to put your groceries in. I’ve resorted to this MANY a time!
- Bring a quarter with you. If you want a grocery basket, you insert a quarter into a feeder that releases a cart. When you put your cart back up, you get the quarter back. This forces you to put up your own grocery shopping cart instead of their employees having to do so.
Sign up for my email list to get my FREE Clean Eating Pantry Staples List that I shop first at Aldi and then fill in with other stores as needed. I love their organic all natural sweet potato and vegetable chips, nuts, produce, almond butter, honey, and many other items that would be double the price at other retailers. It’s hard to find healthy food especially as cheap as it is at Aldi.
I will now be trying to go to Aldi before my regular shopping trip to get the basics and/or snacks and then doing the rest of my shopping at Publix. I shop at Publix based on what’s on sale and try to keep my budget around $50 a week for groceries. Have you shopped at Aldi before? What do you love to buy there?
Photo Credit: Mike Mozart
I’ve been shopping at Aldi for the last 5 years. I love it! I get in and out quickly because I don’t have to stand there trying to choose between 10 different brands of everything. I know exactly what I need and exactly where it is. I meal plan for my family to help stay in our budget, and I try to choose from seasonal items. I get most everything I need there, then I go right next door to Walmart to pick up things I can’t get like baby food and diapers.
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That’s awesome, Vickie! Glad I’m getting in on your secret now. 😉 Better late than never!
I actually buy their diapers and they work great. They are only 4.99 a package compared to the regular $8 or $9 for brand name or generic at other stores. I do put my little guy in Pampers Baby Dry at night because those are twelve hour diapers but that’s only one a day. The savings at ALDI is great and I actually can let go of the “stress” I get from feeling bad that I don’t coupon or scour ads each week. I have no time to do that and this forces us to eat healthier because I’m just not buying all the convenience foods that go along with couponing. Plus, even with the kids in tow I can still get a weeks worth of groceries in 30 minutes. Amazing! Sometimes I stand in line at the checkout for 30 minutes at the big box stores. ALDI is a tantrum-avoider for both the kids and mama!
I love Aldi, despite being skeptical myself at first. I love bagging my own groceries too, I’m a bit OCD when it comes to that anyway. Even though the selections are limited and I have to visit a larger grocery for some items (especially speciality sheep’s milk cheese since I have a cow’s milk allergy), I enjoy shopping at Aldi. It’s funny you should mention the super low cost of nuts as I have been making a homemade mix of sorts with pecans, cashews, peanuts, walnuts, and raisins. My husband loves granola-type snacks and for less than $20 I can fill TWO gallon-size bags. Sometimes I even “splurge” and add chocolate M&M candies. The produce is spectacular. During peak season, avocados are ALWAYS cheaper and I also get grapes, mangoes, and fresh pineapple. I’ve been a life-long lover of Prego spaghetti sauce, but the traditional sauce at Aldi is almost $3 cheaper PER JAR and Husband-approved too. That’s a double win for me! Pantry and freezer staples (i.e. the crab cakes are DIVINE) are also on my shopping list. Sorry for such a novel of a comment, but Aldi really is GREAT. I encourage people to give it a try and remind them about the grocery bags and cart situation!
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Nicole, are you kidding me? I love it! This is SUCH great info and makes me excited to try their spaghetti sauce. Thanks so much for sharing!
Don’t forget the moisterizer…..the CoQ10 day and night creams were rated top-notch by one of the fashion magazines. $3.99 I believe !! The “cream of” soups are less than half the price of the name brand and taste great in those casseroles. And the chocolate bars are German and delicious. I always bag at my car to be able to sort refrigerator, pantry, freezer, and counter items. (So much easier to put away at home.) Love shopping at Aldi’s
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Linda, what a great tip! I hadn’t heard that about the moisturizers, how amazing! I love learning about some great beauty products at a good deal. And, mmmm chocolate, yes please!
I have been shopping at Aldi for 9 years. I LOVE Aldi! They have great produce prices. My tip is kind of hot and miss…but toward the end of a season you can score some pretty cheap goodies. For example right before thanksgiving they marked pumpkin spice waffles were marked down .59 a box. 🙂
My husband and I also love Aldi. We have been shopping there for some time, first we were skeptical as well and only bought a few things to try. We have since cut our grocery bill more than half. You gotta get use to only getting seasonal things during the season. I bake alot so when they get there yeast packets in I stock up to last until next year. You can not beat there prices on alot of things like milk and produce. We are always amazed when we get home how much we got for very little money. They are a life saver with our economy the way it is.
I love aldi! I buy carrots, the big jar of salsa (1.69!), and whatever produce they have on sale! I’ve also heard really great things about their brand of wine called “Winking Owl” (2.99!).