The single greatest thing about Aldi is the amount of money you save. Their prices will beat any of the big chain grocery stores. Here's how to shop at Aldi.
1. Do not go to Aldi with the expectation of finding everything on your list. It's just not that kind of store - it's small and therefore doesn't stock anything and everything.
2. Get over your brand loyalty. Happy Farms is Aldi's generic brand and it's just as good as the traditional brands. In fact, sometimes I think it's even better than big brand names. They will carry some brand name stuff, but it changes all the time. The last time I shopped, they had all of the General Mills Cheerio varieties.
3. Shop every aisle. Even if I know exactly what I need, I still go up and down every aisle because you just never know what you will find.
4. Produce can be hit or miss. Sometimes their produce is great. Other times, it doesn't look as good. It just depends on what you are buying. I've bought apples, spinach, strawberries, avocados and tomatoes - all of which have been great. I've heard the citrus fruits often aren't that great, but I'm not an orange person so I've never paid attention.
5. You can't beat their dairy prices. Whether it's milk, cheese, eggs, butter, sour cream, ice cream, coffee creamer, etc - it's all super cheap.
6. The meat selection is awesome. Not only can you find any cut or type of meat, again, the price will blow you away. A full rack of ribs is $2.99/lb! At Thanksgiving I kicked myself over and over because they had turkeys for 1.49/pound!
7. The Bakery is full of items made fresh that day. We are lucky that ours has a bakery - other stores do not. They have fresh breads, donuts, croissants, etc. and they all taste delicious.
8. The random isles are full of great buys. There are two random isles in the middle of the store that have a bunch of miscellaneous items. Dish towels, copper-plated pans, children's toys - I even saw an air hockey table one time. Again, super random things, but all at a super-low price.
9. Buy reusable bags and keep them in your trunk. I bought a pack of three off Amazon and keep them in my trunk at all times.
10. Shop during an off-peak time. If you are going to Aldi for the first tie, go early in the morning before anyone is there. Take your time to look at everything. I went on a Sunday morning right when they opened at 8am and there were maybe two other people shopping.
11. The have a great wine and beer section. They have a random selection, but I've bought several bottles of wine for $9.99 or less.
The last time I shopped at Aldi, I had a full cart of items and walked away having only spent $60. I can tell you if I had shopped at Harris Teeter or Giant, it would have cost me well over $100. Here are some of the items I bought:
- Milk $2.29
- Thomas' English Muffins $2.39
- Honey Wheat bread $1.49
- Flour tortillas (medium size) $0.99
- Soft spread cream cheese $1.49
- Apple Juice $1.49
- Bag of Gala Apples $2.99
- Dozen large eggs $1.69
I also snapped some pictures while I was there - spices are $0.99!
So check it out and let me know how it goes. Again, you just never know what you will find!
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