Aldi's

[jamesong55]

Just wondering are they a good deal or not. I've never been in one before but I work at wal mart and a lot of stuff they are doing has my dh pissed to say the least and wants me to quit shopping there. I live in a very small community with 2 grocery stores( owned by the same person) within a 30 mile radius. Needless to say everything is SO EXPENSIVE I need to find some where else. There is a Aldi's and a sav a lot about 35 miles away and we go there at least biweekly I normally shop weekly but it wouldn't be any problem to do it bi.

Just wondering everyones take on Aldi or savalot

Thanks
Tina

[CariOfOz]

I'm a big aldi fan A lot of their products are priced well below the standard name brands and most are really good. They (aldi) claim that their products will be at least as good (or better) than the name brand and on most things, I believe it. I don't know if they do it on the US aldi site? but here in Aus they have a shopping list feature, where you browse their categories and choose items you need to buy and it makes a list and gives you the exact price all total. If they do, maybe run a sample weeks shopping thrhough that and see what it would cost you there? The only downside is the product names aren't as easily recognized.

[Teenytoona]

Aldi's is one of my usual grocery stores. Nearly all of what they offer is their own brand. I have no idea if their produce is local, so I don't usually buy that there, but canned goods, frozen things, other variety of boxed things that my kids cannot live without, it's pretty good for. Oh, and their pasta sauces do not have HFCS, which is a major bonus.

[jamesong55]

These are the kind of things I am looking for

Thanks

[GardenStream]

I lived in Germany for a few years and fell in love with Aldi there.

Aldi will contact the leading national brand and contract with them to make their private label items. In general they are as good as the name brand items. I've found a couple of things which I don't like, but not many. I believe they also use local dairies as well. I know someone working in a local dairy and they also make the "Friendly Farms" brand for our Aldi stores.

I even have a spreadsheet that lists all of Aldi's prices/unit that I can take with me when shopping at other stores. I very rarely find things that are cheaper than Aldi (Wal-Mart included). I was shocked to see that most of the time sale prices are more expensive that everyday prices at Aldi.

[sewaneecook]

Another Aldi shopper here too! They don't have many organics (although they sometimes do), but you can't beat the prices. It may be a local thing, but I've found all of the produce to be superior to Walmart and our other local chain grocery store, except for bananas (are very green and don't ripen very well), onions (tend to have a few rotten ones in the bag), and white potatoes (go bad within just a few days). It's definitely worth a look if you haven't been.

[cappuccinosmom]

Their prices are the best in our area.

They're great for basics.

Some things I can't get, or are only seasonal (things like yeast for baking). And I have a preference on a few things for certain brands, which I go to WalMart for.

But overall, they are great. Things we get from there:
most baking goods (flour, sugar, salt, bp, b.soda...)
dairy
some meats
frozen fish
oats and cereal
spaghetti sauce
pepperoni
pasta and rice (only white, though)
produce
frozen vegetables
frozen fruit

[PGTlatte]

Their prices are really good. Their produce is not organic, but it is always fresh. They are an easy quick stop for basics. Some of their boxed foods have long ingredient lists I don't care for so I avoid those and just buy basic ingredients to cook with.

[rachieface]

LOVE Aldi. Soooo much cheaper than the average grocers. I don't always like their meat, so I usually get that at Costco. I doubt you'll regret checking it out and seeing how much you save. If you have Trader Joe's nearby, I'd also recommend that...they're owned by the same company as Aldi's and are also pretty cheap, but they carry organics!

[PGTlatte]

Take a quarter with you to Aldi - you need to insert a quarter to unlock a cart ! Take your own bags too...they charge for bags. I actually push the whole cart of loose groceries to the van after I pay and only bag it all as it goes into the van, because I don't like taking bags into the store.

You get the quarter back when you replace your cart.

[jamesong55]

Thanks for the replies. I think Sunday when we get back from camping I'm taking a road trip. Unfortunately there's not a trader joes around here.

Thanks
Tina

[Olma]

Make sure they are open on Sundays, the one where I used to live wasn't.

[BetsyS]

I shopped there today for the first time in a long time. The prices are great, the store is small, and it's easy to get in and out (a bonus at this point in my life). I'll be making it a regular stop in my rotation.

[bluebunny]

I'm an Aldi convert. I used to not think too much of Aldi but I have tried lots of their products and most are as good or better than the national brand counterpart. Also, Aldi has a satisfaction guarantee on their products; if you aren't satisfied you get your money back.

Like others have said, they don't have many organic products but they do use local, when possible. Their prices on baking supplies and snacks (including organic tortilla chips) cannot be beat!

I think I might make an Aldi run today!

[happysmileylady]

One poster mentioned taking a quarter. There are a few other "special things" to keep in mind when shopping at Aldi. They do not take credit cards. They can take debit cards (at least mine can) and they accept cash. I am not sure about checks or not. Also they do not accept coupons. Which probably doesn't matter because there aren't coupons out for most of the stuff they carry, since it's not brand name. And, they don't bag. You can bring your own or pay for the bags they have, which is actually a surprisingly large range of paper, plastic, reusuable etc.

I utilize a large mixture of stores to get the best price and Aldi is often in that rotation. Just make sure you scan all your local store sales before you go, because sometimes a sale price on say eggs or milk or whatever will beat the Aldi price. Eggs at Aldi here are $0.99, but occasionally Kroger will have a sale for them for just $0.88.

[enkmom]

I am a fan with a few reservations. I never buy meat there. I have never bought a bag of potatoes there that at least one of them wasn't rotten. If you can find out which days the produce is delivered and buy it then, the produce is fresh and excellent. If you buy it after it has been in the store a few days, you had better eat it fast - I think it gets handled too much and bruises/goes bad quicker.

The basics are excellent. The cheese is fine if it is going to be melted into something, but not so tasty eaten off the block. We think the peanut butter is too sweet, but I know others who say Aldi peanut butter is their favorite. I have had good luck with all of the frozen products I have tried. There is absolutely no cheaper place to buy chips. I know that the favorite local caterer in my town uses Aldi angel food cake loaves as the basis for their signature dessert.

[CherryBomb]

Love Aldi's!

[mattemma04]

I really like shopping at Aldi's. I think they do have good prices,and the food is quite decent. Shop there for a week on and off.Compare the grocery bills and the food quality.

[GardenStream]

Originally Posted by jamesong55

Thanks for the replies. I think Sunday when we get back from camping I'm taking a road trip. Unfortunately there's not a trader joes around here.

Did you make it to Aldi today? What did you think?

I'm heading there tomorrow for some of the silicone mats

[jamesong55]

Yeah I went today. I was really happy with the prices. I will definitely be making it part of if not my main stop from now on.

Thanks for all the replies!