Disclosure: I am participating in a sponsored brand ambassadorship with ALDI I’m a regular & satisfied customer, all opinions stated are 100% my own.
When fiancé and I started planning our life together, he was still learning my frugal ways (some of which like using libraries and thrift stores) he hadn’t really explored. One great frugal place that he introduced me to was ALDI. For the first few shopping trips, he’d go shopping solo and come back with a big grin on his face- he got some good deals and some splurges too and couldn’t wait to share them with me. Eventually, I wanted to see what he meant that he “always got a good deal at ALDI” and had to tag along for his ALDI trips- needless to say, it didn’t take long to get it.
Most of you, my awesome readers, have told me time and time again that you want to learn to save money on food but the idea of extreme couponing doesn’t appeal to you- in fact, coupons at all (beyond quick ones you can find for a one-time purchase on a phone app or on a deal site) just doesn’t appeal to you.
I totally feel you, coupons frustrate me, especially because the discounted items aren’t items I would buy without a coupon (such as high-fragrance cleaners,processed foods and snacks that I probably don’t need!) I skip the coupons to buy groceries most of the time and opt instead for discount grocers like ALDI.
I’m not the only one who loves to shop ALDI for discounts- one of my fave bloggers, Andrea from SavingsLifestyle vlogged about it too!
We got a decent size of fresh parmesan cheese (I hate the fake kind..blech) for $1.99, A giant bag of kale for our juicer or stir fry and one of my faves- avocados for 69 cents a piece.
Here’s the thing- I love avocados, but getting ahold of good ones is problematic for me. I grew up in California where you could get a giant bag for $5 off the side of the road, or heck, we had a tree out back that would produce sporadically. When I moved to the midwest, seeing avocados for $1 or more per avocado, well, I cried inside. Years of being spoiled with plentiful homegrown produce were gone.
This though, is why I love ALDI- I can splurge on things like avocados, canned soup and fresh ingredients for less than traditional grocers. I get my staples at a competitive price, and then I can supplement with some goodies that I LOVE, like a variety of cheeses, avocados, berries and fiancés fave- bacon wrapped filets.
There is one thing I will say about ALDI- it’s not “glam.” Many of the brands are ALDI store brands, and the display cases are bare bones, with a limited variety of processed products. They have a growing number of natural and organic brands to choose from- still with competitive prices.
While most of us know that when it comes to fashion and beauty, if you skip the name brand or fancy packaging, you can get a better deal, but I would argue that the same applies to food. Many typical grocers play up the “experience” of shopping so you’ll stick around and overspend, additionally, the more expensive products are usually the ones with the nicest packaging, not necessarily the best food. I can still find the variety of produce and supplementals I need, (they had like five kinds of lettuce and even more salad mixes) but with prices that make you realize you’re not simply paying for the brand name.
For us, that’s over 2 weeks of groceries- breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We eat lots of salads, fresh juice, roast chicken with rice and beans and make soups that really stretch the dollar…and if all else fails, grilled cheesies or a quick pasta dish with a side of frozen veggies is a quick and frugal meal. We are on a tight budget to save for our wedding and food was one of our biggest spending categories previously. Now when I leave the grocer, I smile knowing that even with a few extras (ice cream and caramel rice cakes…and olives…don’t ask me why those three things are my faves) I’m not going to weep at the register!
While I was in graduate school, I struggled to find a way to afford fresh produce and thought that the only places were my local bodega and Target. I wish I had tried ALDI sooner- it’s a good supplement for staples you don’t really care about the brand label but still want to have on hand. I’ve found for things like rice, beans, sugar, flour, crackers, cereal and condiments you can find some competitive pricing.
If you have picky eaters in the house (like kiddos who insist that they have name brand Fruity Pebbles), moving the “bargain brand” to a pretty resealable container means nobody’s the wiser and you’ll still save money. I store all of my baking supplies in pretty gasket containers to show them off- it’s a win-win!
My husband and I love Aldi! I love Avocados too, and at our Aldi they range from 49 cents to 99 cents…. But a much better deal then other grocery stores. I also love seeing random flavors of Naked Juice there and stock up when we can! Have you used the Ibotta app or Shopkicks? Those are two of my favorites to get things back for purchases you have to make!
I adore Aldi! It’s so much easier to eat healthy when you shop there, I find; the “real” food is more plentiful amidst the processed stuff. I like most of their Lacura-brand personal-care products, too. Their day and night creams are SO cheap and would win my vote in a blind contest against any expensive facial moisturizer I’ve ever tried.
I don’t have an Aldi near me now, but I used to. I didn’t usually shop there, but my new frugal self would most certainly try! I’d kill for some cheap and good avocados, yum!
$75 for two weeks is impressive! I really need to step up my game. For starters, almost every meal I’ve made at home has been vegetarian. Thankfully, they’ve been totally yummy without meat 🙂
We love Aldi too! We try to buy as much as possible from them! On my last trip I had 7 of their reusable bags overflowing and it was only $140 including meats. Definitely helps us save on our grocery bill for sure!
I’m excited about Aldi’s plans to expand to California. This is an article from the LA Times in December: https://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/20/business/la-fi-mo-aldi-grocery-expansion-20131220
I’ve never been to Aldi, but we have several in my area, and many of my friends swear by them. This encourages me to peek into one. 🙂
We have Aldi too: I love it. Rather different from the other supermarkets though, in more ways than one. Is USA Aldi like UK Aldi, where they don’t bag up for you, or like you bagging up at the checkout? The first time I did an Aldi shop, I was rather taken aback at the speed and ferocity at which the checkout chap hurled my loose items back into the cart; if I had looked around, I would have realised that the deal here is that post-payment, you scuttle off with your cart and pack your bags yourself, by the doors. They just want to move those queues as quickly as possible – I like that.
I’ve never shopped at Aldi but I probably should! Looks like they have good deals. I am a bargain shopper and couponer so I care a lot about grocery store sales 🙂
Thanks for the mention! Your Aldi looks amazing too!! $75 to eat for 2 weeks is pretty amazing. Just one of the many reasons I love Aldi!
When I was a stay-at-home mom, I shopped at Aldi all the time. When I went back to work, I returned to the regular grocery stores, more for convenience than anything else. I hadn’t been in a few years, but when my husband wanted to switch jobs and take some time off work, I went back. I was amazed at all the new natural and organic offerings they had! I fell in love with Aldi again!
Some of my favs:
Organic spinach
Specialty cheeses
Organic chicken broth
Bagged snacks (I think their Sun Chips version is better than the original!)
Nuts and trail mix
Marinated pork loin
Baking supplies
Hummus and pre-made guacamole and fresh salsa (and the multigrain chips!)
Two things to remember: bring a quarter for the cart (you get it back) and your own shopping bags, or you can buy shopping bags there or pick up a box while you’re shopping (a la Sam’s Club).
Another nice thing is it’s pretty quick. It’s small, you don’t have to compare brands, and the check out lines are usually pretty quick. When my daughter was young, I used to bring her toy shopping cart, and we’d shop together. Good memories. 🙂
My husband and I also love Aldi. While I had heard about it from a co-worker, we really learned about Aldi through those in our Financial Peace class. Thankfully, they just opened one 15 minutes from home, so it’s easier to stop there. I spend LESS every trip than I think I will, which I can’t say about any other store!
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Yeah, Aldi is really a great store.