“I will gladly trade aesthetics for a lower price”
Same here! Milk prices are amazing. Produce prices also very good. Here are this week’s produce specials:
Organic bananas - 98 cents per 2 pound bunch
organic baby spinach - $1.99 per 5 oz. package
Honeycrisp apples - $2.49 per 2 lb bag
Pears - 99 cents per 28 oz package
Large pumpkins $2.99 each
Red Grapes - $1.98 per 2 pound package
mandarins - $2.79 per 3 lb bag
Prices also usually good on things like lemons, lime, avocados, berries, potatoes, onions, organic baby carrots.
At Thanksgiving and Christmas I make out like a bandit by buying potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots there - these items are always on sale at holiday time
Also good for cheese (especially goat cheese in several flavors), crackers (lots of varieties at holidays), various types of chips and snacks…
And CHOCOLATE. real European chocolate, not the American crap with added paraffin and other junk. At VERY good prices.
I am a huge fan of Aldi’s and wish there was one much closer to me. most of their labels are identical to the brand items-the only difference is the packaging (hence the fantastic Aldi’s brand hellmans!). we have pretty much liked everything I’ve gotten there. the produce is always pretty fresh, but i shop in a busy one so i suspect its just due to high turnover-no different than a grocery store.
if you shop their regularly you’ll see that each month sort of has a theme–it might be German month or Asian month or Mexican month and they will have products other than their staples that fit that theme accordingly.
the true reason that it works for me is that I have shiny things syndrome. i can easily walk out of a store that has a gourmet cheese department with 8 kinds of pricey cheeses that i didn’t know i needed until i was standing in front of it. typically in Aldi’s–there is one or two choices–if you need say, mayo…well, there is a jar of mayo–not 342 flavors of like spicy chipotle mayo and organic olive oil mayo…its just mayo. since i have cruddy impulse control their concept really helps me keep things in check.
but yes, i do sometimes get tripped up by the stuff aisle…who knew you needed a plunger or a rose bush when you thought you were running in for milk!
In my first visit to Aldi, I inadvertently caused a scene. I had parked about three isles from the store entrance and as I saw a woman just finish unloading her cart. So I thought I was doing her a favor by taking the cart saving her the trip to the stand. It turns out at our Aldi, you have to pay a quarter to get a cart that is returned when you take it back to give an incentive for customers not to just abandon it next to their car. I had never heard of this concept and when the lady asked for a quarter, I thought she was joking, just smiled, and proceeded with the cart making her quite upset. Fortunately some kind third party intervened and explained to me the etiquette of Aldi cart acquisitions and I settled my dues with apologies.
As to the store itself, I don’t go there often, but I sometimes buy some of their seasonal goods and European chocolates.
We have one but i rarely go. My husband will go if they’d have something on sale that we need. Usually if I’m shopping its after a day at work and i’m tired and want a one stop shop. The couple of times I’ve gone to aldis I have had to go somewhere else after to finish my shopping.
We have food allergies in my family, and so I am used to having to shop at multiple stores. I don’t ever walk into Aldi’s thinking I am buying a week’s worth of groceries. I usually go there with a list of 4-5 items, plus whatever else jumps into my cart!
I love Aldi. ( I don’t care about style/atmosphere or who the other shoppers are. I have a big family and only care about cheap prices.) Just be aware of the “cart system” (bring a quarter–you get it back when you put your cart back), bring your own bags (or pay for those you need/grab boxes in store), be prepared to bag your own groceries (they don’t bag them for you), and don’t forget your cash or debit card because they don’t take credit.
Interesting about the cart/quarter thing. They do this at supermarkets in Switzerland and France, and probably other European countries too. Of course it is a whole Euro or Swiss Franc, I think, not just a quarter.
This makes me curious: how many of you use the self-checkout lanes at the grocery store? I almost always do, no matter how many items I have, unless I have coupons.
I never do self check out. I pay enough for my groceries I shouldn’t have to do my own check out and bagging. Now if I got a discount for doing it myself I would feel differently. My market has also started asking if you need assistance with carrying it to your car even if it’s only one wee item. I only did that happen once when my back went into spazm while I was shopping and could barely move.
No self check out at Aldi, but their check out is fast!
As I posted upstream, I am a huge fan. My daughter lives near a brand new Aldi which is actually a larger footprint than the older stores. The aisles are wider and longer…and the store is a tad larger. It is spacious, but still the best prices around. She does the vast majority of her shopping there…and has also picked up some household items in their “stuff” section.
The check-out clerks at the grocery stores I go to are very fast, but it seems that whenever I go to the store, few of the lanes are staffed and so the ones that are have longish lines.
I moved a year ago and don’t have Aldi where I live now, but I used to love shopping there. Not a store to get everything on your list, but there were several items I purchased there on a weekly basis. Their prices were great, and I felt the quality was good. I miss it!
Our Aldi has an increasing variety of organic produce in sizes our family can finish…spinach, arugula, baby kale, spring greens, grape tomatoes, carrots, red/yellow bell peppers and mini cucumbers the last time I went. Organic milk as well. I could not do all my shopping there but their produce is wonderful where I am and much better for our 2 person household vs Costco. They had some raw nut mixes that my husband enjoyed. It is always different which is kind of fun…I am lucky as mine is less than 2 miles away so stopping in is easy.
And they are so fast at check out. All the Aldi brand products have bar codes on multiple sides so the cashiers don’t have to search…The staff members at my Aldi are so nice and seem happy. I hope they are treated well by corporate.
We shop there all the time. Milk, eggs, cheese, bread, sugar, flour, etc. all cheaper than the other nearby stores. We are very lucky we have two close to our home and one close to my work.
I always self check out unless I have a huge bag of something like bird food and even then if I see an employee ready with a scanner, I’ll do self check out. I whip out my re-useable bags and I can be done faster than it takes most cashiers to do the transaction.