The word “Aldi” is an amalgamation of the brothers’ family name with the word “discount.” In the early 1960s, the brothers split the business.
(Source: Better Management)
Since I’ve had some emails about Aldi shopping, I asked my favorite Aldi’s expert, who is also a dear friend, to write something up on them to help ya’ll out on shopping at Aldis! I’ve been there once and I was a little overwhelmed on what to buy and how to check out! Deanna, Carrots Should Take like Cheetos, gives you all the lowdown!
I’ll admit it – I adore Aldi. It’s my favorite place to shop. It’s a bargain shopper’s paradise. No coupons, no frills. Just great prices.
So advice on shopping at Aldi. Basically, if you’re lucky enough to have several within reasonable driving distance of home, work, school, etc – go to ALL of them at least once. There are 3 Aldis next to places I go anyway. And all three have different prices on the staples. Canned goods, pasta, flour, sugar, rice, milk, and eggs, to be exact. For some reason, Aldi stores change those prices based on the local chain stores. I will not buy these items at 2 of the locations, only the one, since it is a full 10 cents cheaper there. Yet all the other prices are the same.
Unless you can get the great deals and coupons together at other stores, Aldi is FAR cheaper for cereal – and their cereal is made in the same factories as the big name brands. Just a different box.
Eggs are most often cheapest at an Aldi, as well – unless your local grocery store is advertising 99 cents or lower, stick to Aldi.
Their soda pop is also far cheaper – but it tastes just like (or better, in my family’s opinion) Coke and Pepsi brands. 55 cents for a 2-liter, $4.69 a case.
There are weekly deals at Aldi as well – name-brand items, limited quantity items, etc. They’ll have clothing, food, appliances, even furniture and toys. Once again – it’s a good idea to be familiar with all the Aldis nearby. One of my 3 is always overstocked on their Special Purchases, and they are the place to go 2 weeks after the ad expires to get the items at clearance prices.
The basic advice about Aldi is – start with the staples. Flour, sugar, coffee, baking spray, cereal, canned foods, macaroni and cheese mix, milk, eggs, half and half – these are the items I do not buy anywhere else, unless I’ve found a killer, amazing, once-a-year kind of deal. Often, their American Cheese (exactly like Kraft Deluxe) is about half the price of Kraft. Their hot dogs, bagged salad, rolls, and bread are often cheapest as well. Potato chips and snack foods are FOR SURE cheaper. I’ve never, ever had chips that taste this good, cost only 99 cents a bag. EVER.
Their frozen foods are very good. The ice cream novelties are fabulous and a fraction of the price. The hamburgers they have pre-made are better than the boxed at the store. I’ve gotten rave reviews at parties for the Bratwurst and sausage.
So basically, they have “generic” or “their brand” products that taste as good or better than the name brands carried at the regular grocery stores – but cheaper. They also have a double back guarantee – they’ll refund your money and give you another product if you’re not 100% satisfied. I’ve NEVER had to call them on this, and my husband always swore up and down he hated all generic items.
We do laugh about the brand names they’ve given their products, but that is just an added bonus. Stop by an Aldi – you’ll be glad you did! Oh, but don’t forget a quarter (you use it to “rent” a cart, but get it back after you put it away) and your own bags or boxes (you bag your own stuff). Those are just 2 more things that help save the money!
Related Links:
- Aldi’s Official Website (Store Locator, hours, Special Purchase Ads, etc.)
- Aldi Wins Converts (No Frills grocery shopping)
- Aldi Wiki
- Aldi Song (In German)
- Aldi the European Powerhouse (Old article but still interesting!)
hello and thanks for the reminder. I keep forgetting that there is an Aldi not too far from me. Do they just not take coupons at all? I really like my coupons. Do they have any Gluten Free options other than straigt up fruits, veggies and meat?
Thanks again.
NTBW
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I love the Fit n Active brand. The egg substitute is wayyy cheaper than Egg Beaters and is just the same. I also buy their frozen fryer whole chickens and bake them… I end up with at least 3 meals from it and its usually less than $4 for 5lbs! I agree, its best for staples. I usually stop there before the grocery store, and then pick up anything I still need after. I can have a cart full for under $50 without coupons! Amazing!
I can’t wait for Aldi to come to Texas. We’ll get our 1st one in early 2010!
Hello. Thanks for the great detailed posts. I wasn’t that impressed with the one I went to except for some of the frozen items. It seems like there are a lot of frozen things and unfortunately, my freezer is not that big. Some of the already made frozen dinner meals were so inexpensive that I got them just hoping they would fit. I lucked out! They also had Tiramasu (not as good as mine) but way cheaper! A great last minute way to get my husband when he said “Hey, let’s have Tiramasu for desert..” He snickered and I said, “OK.” : )
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I first shopped at Aldi’s about 25 years ago as a young newlywed with little money, but as time went on and our income increased we slowly stopped going, and as some of you mentioned there was no produce and alot of the items were okay to get by on if you had to. However, after loosing our jobs in the last year we began shopping at Aldi’s again and it’s unbelievable the amount of new and gourmet items that they now carry. My other worry was that back then they didn’t carry low fat or the so called healthy diet foods that you get at all your other supermarkets. Not to worry, they now carry their Fit&Active brand which is really good especially the Carmel rice cakes that cost a lot more at regular stores and even at Wal-Mart than they do at Aldi’s. Same taste, different bags.
And as for the produce, all the ones in our area have lots of produce so
check each store, you’re bound to find one that carries more than the other.
Happy Shopping!
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I first shop at Aldis , then our local drug store Marcs they have fabulous bargains on brand names, and what I can’t get at those two then I go to the chain store. I have two Aldis near me and I didn’t realize about the prices being different. I’m going to check it out. Thanks for the tip.
I have been shopping at Aldi for a couple of years now; it’s quite a drive for me, too, but it consistently saves me 1/3 on my grocery bill. At least! Living on one income (and even that is cut by 50% due to a partial layoff this summer), and having two teenagers that can easily go through 3 gallons of milk and 2 dozen eggs in a week, staples are a big deal to me. In general, if it ain’t sold at Aldi, we don’t eat it. There are a couple of exceptions, but in general I only go to a chain grocery store once every two weeks.
With grocery prices climbing I have gone back to shopping at Aldi which is definitely a bit of a drive for me. Even with the cost of gas added into the equation, I am still coming out ahead. A couple of weeks ago I paid $0.79 for eggs which were larger then our local stores extra large. Milk is more then $1.00 less per gallon, and even though bananas are no longer $0.25 per lb. they are still much cheaper then other stores. I just wish they carried more in the way of fresh produce and frozen vegetables.
Thanks for the reminder to shop at Aldi! I always forget about it. It’s out of the way, so I don’t remember it. I will have to make a trip there again soon! Thanks again.