Aldi?

[ceeveg]

Many questions

What can you expect when you go to Aldi?
Do they accept coupons?
What should I know before my first visit?
Can I purchase all of my week's groceries there?
Are there enough items that I can cook mostly from scratch, or are there more pre-made items?

[LilyGrace]

Aldi's doesn't take coupons. Most of their products are house brands so it wouldn't work well anyway.
I would suggest bringing your own bags, otherwise you're charged for them. You're allowed to use the boxes from the shelves, though, if you forget.

Bring a quarter - it's a deposit for the cart. You get it back at the end.

They have a mixture of premade foods and basic ingredients, along with some knicknacks. The stores are pretty small but it is possible to buy everything there except perhaps fresh meat - they use the same meat packing techniques as Walmart and I prefer butcher cut instead.

I'd say go and scope it out before you plan a major purchase. The first time I went I got milk only while I wandered around the small aisles. The second time a bit more, and then I was hooked.

[angelcollector1]

The people on this board usually rave about Aldi. I am in FL and they just came to the area in September. I was far from impressed. They have good prices on eggs, milk and butter. Their meats were terrible and not any cheaper than in the regular grocery store. They have a lot of processed foods, some of their canned items tasted very second rate to even the generic store brands for the local stores we have here which include Albertson's, Publix and Sweetbay/Hannaford. I have only been twice, because I found it wasn't anything that would make it worth my while to shop there regularly when the regular stores or Walgreens can have sales on the stuff I"d buy cheap at Aldi without having to go out of my way to get there and their hours were not helpful at all- they open at 9am and close at 8pm, and on the weekends they close at 6pm.

[EFmom]

I like Aldi's, but it's not one stop shopping for us. The things the pps said are true, bring your own bags, no coupons, no credit cards or checks, quarter for the cart. They might take some debit cards--I don't do debit cards, so I'm not sure.

I like to go once in a while to stock up on staples like dried beans (their 2lb bags are cheaper than a 1lb bag in my supermarket) canned tomatoes and fruit, rice, pasta, etc. I have a friend who works for them, and their stuff is made by the same factories, on the same lines as other national brands, just labelled differently. I buy some produce there, but not meat generally. Cheese, milk, eggs and yogurt are generally cheaper than my other grocery stores. Their coffee is good and their chocolate is to die for.

Like all grocery shopping, one place doesn't have the best price on everything, and Aldi's is no exception. My other grocery stores have sales that sometimes beat Aldi's prices. It's all about having a "price book," whether that's on paper or in your head. But I can walk out of Aldi's with a moderately full cart for about $60, which is much better than I can with other stores.

[Leisha]

Since we've moved I don't have an Aldi nearby but we used to live right near one and I used to get quite a lot of stuff there.

(I'm just assuming the assortment is basically the same over there than over here, but I don't know that for sure of course!)

Thinks I used to get there:
Milk, eggs, butter, cheese, yoghurt, pasta, rice, canned tomatos, tomato paste, canned peas, fresh vegetables (carrots, broccoli, zuchini, ... most of their stuff is fine, I found, also fruit), frozen stuff: fries, croquettes, pita meat, croissants and pains-au-chocolat (yummy), frozen veggies too; biscuits, salt, sugar, pepper, other spices, toilet paper, tissues, kitchen roll (paper towels), kitchen sponges... there's probably more.

I agree with PP to go and have a look, see what they have and what the prices are like compared to other shops you go etc.

Some things are just as good as in other shops, and cheaper. Some things are cheaper but really not as tasty. You kind of have to try things out...

[greenluv]

I used them a lot last summer but only for produce.

[enkmom]

I am sometimes surprised at what they DON'T carry - cornstarch and cornmeal for example.

Talk to one of the managers/employees and find out what day produce is delivered. The prices and quality can't be beat if you buy the produce fresh, but sometimes it sits an entire week. Pineapples are 99cents (2.99 at HyVee), and berries are always an incredible bargain. On the other hand, I have never bought a bag of potatoes that didn't have one spoiled one in the batch, so I buy my potatoes elsewhere.

I don't think the cheese tastes very good, and the flavors of the yogurts are very limited. Butter, eggs and milk are the best prices in my town.

The wine and beer I have purchased have been good.

You have to unload the groceries onto the belt yourself and be ready to pay and zip off to bag up your groceries yourself. The line moves VERY quickly, and some of the Aldi regulars get a little huffy when the line slows down. Make sure your method of payment (cash, Debit or EBT card) is out and ready. Watch the line for a minute before you get in and you will see how it works. Also, I have never seen more than 2 of the checklines open at any given time, but the lines move quickly and you won't be waiting long.

[talk de jour]

The dairy products are all soooo cheap. They also have great prices on seasonal produce, canned goods, and Random Stuff like cookies and crackers. Also, they have house brand Nutella which ain't half bad.

[BetsyS]

I agree that their cheese isn't all that great (the plain cheddar). We also don't buy our meat there. The butter, milk, and eggs, though, are great prices.

They have good "extras" for us. Artichoke hearts, marischino cherries, cocoa powder (this is really good, better than some name brands), nuts, olives. Good beer and wine. Stuff like that.

We also like their saltine crackers, sometimes their produce, their frozen berries, frozen vegetables (they have good haricot verts sometimes), frozen fish.

I don't do all my shopping there, but I frequent them once a month or so.

[mnnice]

I'm not a big Aldi's fan (in my particular retail grocery market and with my shopping habits there are just better choices), but especially this time of year the grapefruit are a good deal. They are cheaper than I can get anywhere else and generally really taste good.