I finally went to Aldi!
I know...I am embarrassed that it's taken me this long! Most frugal people worth their salt(and who have an Aldi in their area) shop there regularly. For a long while, though, the only one in the area has been quite out of the way for me, so I wasn't very motivated about checking it out. However, an Aldi has recently opened up right across the street from my regular grocery store! Several friends have recently raved about their prices, so that was the final kick that I needed to go check it out. I feel mostly positive about my shopping experience, and I think I'll be going back.
A couple of things about Aldi are very different from a regular grocery store.
- You have to insert a quarter into the cart to release it from the corral. This is to reduce cart theft and eliminate the need for an employee to round up the carts. Your quarter is returned to you once you put the cart back into the corral.
- There's no music. I went when there were only a handful of other shoppers, and it was SO quiet in there. It was a little weird, but I'm happy to go without music if it means lower prices.
- There are hardly any employees in the store. When I went, the sole employee I saw was the cashier.
- They don't accept checks or credit cards, which means you can only pay by debit, cash, or EBT.
- They don't provide bags. You can bring your own, or buy their bags.
- They carry very few name brands. Most everything is from their own private label brand.
- The store is a LOT smaller than normal grocery store. This is because they carry a limited number of products and there's usually only one brand available.
- They don't have shelves like a regular grocery store...instead things are arranged in stacks, Costco style:
I thought most of the prices were good, with a few exceptions. Milk, at $3 a gallon, was a very good bargain. Butter is sold for $1.99, the same price Costco charges for their multipacks. A 12 ounce can of OJ concentrate was only $1.19(that usually costs around $2 at a regular store). Bananas and most other produce were priced pretty cheaply as well.
The one thing I probably won't buy there is any sort of meat. Chicken breasts were around $2.50 a pound, and while that's not a terrible price, I can usually get chicken breasts on sale for $1.99/pound or less. So, I feel quite confident that I can consistently beat Aldi's meat prices by shopping the front page sales of my regular grocery stores.
Overall, though, I was quite impressed. The location I went to was very clean and neat, and everything was well-organized. And I appreciate a lot of things about Aldi's business ideas...I like the idea of reducing trash by not offering bags, I like that they have doors and lids on the freezers to save energy, and I like the idea of reducing "fluff" sort of costs(like coffee cafes and music and wood floors) in order to offer lower prices.
I'm particularly impressed by the idea of stocking only the fastest-selling items in order to prevent food spoilage. Since regular grocery stores stock so many items, some of them are slower to sell than others, which means that there's more chance that they'll spoil or go out of date. I know that grocery stores tend to waste mammoth amounts of food, so I think it's great that the Aldi stores are trying to be different.
So, what about you? Do you shop at Aldi's? What things have you found to be good buys?
Grocery shopping at Aldi is great practice for grocery shopping overseas where quarter carts are the norm, there is rarely music, they never provide bags (free of charge), and packaging is difficult to read (it is less marketed and more informational). 🙂
I've heard really good things about Aldi. One of my work colleagues used to have Aldi bread for breakfast and it's exactly like those that you get at cafes. Thick and oh so yummy!! The profits those cafes make. Tsk! I've been meaning to get to Aldi for a while now but haven't had a chance yet...
You know, I almost think that Aldi started overseas...maybe Jill can correct me if I'm wrong on that.
I like that things are less marketed. Marketing is expensive, and of course, we end up paying for it in the form of more expensive groceries.
Hi!
Aldi has been in business here in Germany (this is where they are located) for I think over 30 years now.
It is so funny to read how you experience the shopping at aldi for the first time. All our discounters are like Aldi, of course we also have "regular" supermarkets with all the things (music, marketing etc) that make them more expensive).
By the way - the thing that you have to insert a quarter into a shopping cart to use it is the only way we do it in almost every supermarket over here for the last I guess 15 years. This is just the way it is...and it results in no shopping carts that run around alone in parking lots anymore!
Love your blog!
Katja
Aldi's was actually started in Germany.
Aldi's is very typical of any bargain store over here. There are more stores opening that have more of an American style to them, but generally, if you want cheap groceries, you can go to a store like Aldi's.
Here in Germany there is absolutely NO such thing as free grocery bags (you bring your own reusable ones, bring one of the wheeled grocery bags to take on your walk home, or pay depending on the size of the bag you need). You have to put in a Euro coin to get a grocery cart. You also must bag your own groceries, thus saving even more costs by necessitating less personnel!
Grocery shopping overseas may seem strange at first, but if you've shopped at Aldi's or a similar-style store, you pretty much can see how it goes! 🙂
Man oh man, I've been reading a few blogs recently on how to reduce your grocery bill and frugal living and all that, but unfortunately they're all based in the States. Here in New Zealand there are no such options - just standard supermarkets (some slightly cheaper than others and where you pack your own groceries. There is one chain called Bin Inn where you buy bulk foods but it's easy to be tricked into thinking it's cheaper there when in fact it isn't on most things. But a big difference is that we don't get regular coupons! Occasionally a certain brand will give away coupons with a product, but for the most part we just have to deal with the prices the supermarket sets. And taking into account that grocery prices have risen about 35% over the last year, I'm starting to feel it in my budget!!
By the way, I enjoy reading your blog - keep up the good work!
I shop at ALDI for almost all my basic supplies. I read somewhere they also own Trader Joes :). ALDI does not have an extensive inventory, but they do the basics very well and I've noticed in the year that I've been shopping there, they carry "seasonal" items (specific baking staples). With very few exceptions, I've been really pleased with the products I've gotten there. I stop at the ALDI first, then go to the regular supermarket afterwards.
I will say the European Chocolate bars they sell at the check out line are great. Excellent value and not that expensive, I gave some as Holiday gifts last year. Yummy
Katja and Emily, thanks for the info. I was sure I remembered it being started over in Europe somewhere! lol
Franci(and Katja!), I always love to hear that people are benefiting from my blog...thanks for visiting and commenting.
BBB, I will look for the chocolate. lol
Reading your blog has inspired me to be less wasteful. Every time I clean the fridge and have to throw something away I think of you.
We've had Aldi stores here in Chicago for at least 20 years. Lately they seem to be popping up everywhere. There are seven stores within a 15-minute car ride from where we live.
Even though the prices have inched up over the last year or so, they still beat the big chain stores. The canned evaporated milk has gone from .49 cents to .69 cents, but it still beats Carnation canned milk at $1.99 a can.
The dairy products have gone up significantly. Eggs went from .89 cents a dozen to $1.29, milk from $1.99 to close to $3.00, cheese from $1.69 for either a 12 or 16-ounce bag up to $2.89.
I don't know if they have the exact same merchandise everywhere, but they run specials here. Last year when digital frames were $100, they had them for $69. Recently they had the 8 gig SD memory card for $12.99. And if the items don't sell after a couple of weeks they mark them down and you can find some really good buys (I found a box of 50 daffodils for .99 cents).
You can sign up at their site to get an advance mailing of the "sale paper" via e-mail.
Forgive me for the long comment, but anything that saves money gets me going.
Love your blog!!!
I am an Aldi lover. I started going when one opened near us in 2002 or so. (Before my second child came along.)
Often I take my own "green bags" and if I need to I spend the 5 cents on paper bags. I then use the paper bags to deposit my paper recycling for the curb. (coupon clipping leftovers)
I totally agree with you about Aldi's meats.
Throughout the years I've also found killer deals on things other than food. I bought fleece like blankets one year for $5 each. I donated them to my church who gave them to the homeless during the holidays.
There are so many other little items that I could be here for a long time. Overall I've never had a bad or terrible experience there.
I have shopped at Aldi for many years in Scotland and enjoyed the experience.
However, since becoming a Zero Waste enthusiast my range of purchases here is more limited. Home containers and unpackaged are the 2 main strands of this trend.
Lidl their German rival has also started here more recently. They are slightly better in that they sell Zero Waste chocolate, a rarity in the UK.
The first time a co worker told me about Aldi'S was to bring your own bags.I said bag my own groceries? This was a few years ago, and I am hooked. Clean stores and products that stack up on the name brands.I started with canned products,then worked up to the frozen food aisle. I have never had a problem with any merchandise to this day. I usually stop for even a few items any time I pass an Aldi's store wherever I am at.