Tuesday, January 12, 2010

ALDI 101

Have you been to ALDI? If not, you might be missing out on a BIG money-saving secret! I've been shopping ALDI for YEARS! We use ALDI prices as a reference point for many grocery items. If a sale price with coupon at another store is less than the ALDI price, we buy it. If not, we'll wait and get it at ALDI. We fill in and meet all of our shopping needs at low prices this way!

Here are some of the things that you might like to know about ALDI stores:
  1. ALDI Select Brands
    "ALDI partners with the best suppliers in the country—often the same ones that produce national brands." Most ALDI products aren't name brand, but they're just as good. Don't worry about giving them a try - you have nothing to lose because of the guarantee they place on their products.

  2. ALDI Double Guarantee
    "If you’re not satisfied for any reason, simply return the unused portion (or even the empty package) with the receipt to the store. We’ll refund your money AND give you a replacement product." They offer it and you should take advantage of it!

  3. Grocery Selections
    You may wonder what ALDI has to offer. Their products include the basics: fresh meat, fresh produce, dairy, prepackaged deli items, frozen foods, baked goods, pantry items, snacks, sweets, household products, health and beauty, beverages, wine and beer.

  4. Warehouse Style Aisles
    Yes, you'll see pallets of items with boxes stacked high, similar to Sam's Club or Costco on a smaller scale. Items stay in stock this way!

  5. Special Buys
    You may see national brands or other items in your ALDI store at low prices. These are special purchases, available while supplies last. They include seasonal items: toys in time for Christmas, holiday candy, and more! You can view each week's
    special buys (even one week ahead of time!) on the ALDI website.

  6. Bring Bags
    If you forget, you can pay a small amount for a paper ($0.06) or plastic ($0.10) ALDI bag. They also have insulated bags that you can purchase ($0.99). And if you forget a bag, you can always grab an empty box for free (yes, they let you take them)!

  7. A Quarter for Your Cart
    It sounds strange until you realize what's really going on - it's just a deposit system to guarantee that your cart gets returned. It cuts down on your cost (they don't need to hire someone to put your cart back) and possible damage to vehicles in the parking lot. Return your cart and the quarter pops back out. We keep an "ALDI quarter" in the car to make sure we're prepared - but you can also ask the cashier for change.

  8. No Credit Cards?! No Coupons?!
    Yes, it's true. ALDI cuts costs by eliminating both credit and coupons. You can pay with cash, food stamps, or pin-based debit cards.

  9. Bag Your Own Groceries
    "When it’s your turn at the register, push your cart around to the end of the lane, to easily load your groceries right back into your cart. With no baggers to pay, we can run each checkout with one employee instead of two. You not only save—you control the weight and content of each bag."


  10. Few Employees
    Any time you're shopping at ALDI, you might only notice one or two employees in the store - yet another way they manage to keep prices low for you! The checkout line moves quickly because of their efficient bar coding and scanners. The store workers are always hard at work, and everything usually runs very smoothly!

Products that we regularly buy at Aldi, approved by our family:
Fresh Ground Turkey ($2.49 for 20 oz for 93/7% meat - better than sale prices at other stores)
Turkey Ham
Milk (always a sale price, around $1.99) and Soymilk
Eggs
Butter and Margarine
Y
ogurt
P
ancake Syrup
Cereal
Instant Oatmeal
Baking products (sugar, flour, baking soda, canola oil, etc)
Honey
Graham crackers (both cinnamon and honey are great!)
Animal crackers (taste a little like the old McDonaldland Cookies!)
Flour Tortillas
White Long-grain rice
Tomato Sauce and Paste
Macaroni and Cheese
Produce (bananas for $0.39/lb!)
Hamburger Buns and Bread
Plastic Wrap

Products recommended by other readers:
Store-brand Cheerios with dried fruit
Frozen sausage patties
All the canned tomato products
Chicken/Beef broth
Frozen lemon pepper fish

Do you have favorite ALDI items? Please share!

Do you still have questions about shopping ALDI? Leave a comment and ask away!


12 comments:

  1. The Turkey loin roll comes marinated in several different marinades is out of this world. So moist and Delicious.
    The bagged Sauer Kraut is the Best I've ever tasted.
    Oh and the German & Belgium chocolates are to die for. What a great Christmas basket they will make with a bottle of their imported wine for the person who has everything.
    It's worth the trip believe me, I do all my shopping there, they have just what you need and not all the riff raff of 50 different items of the same kind to choose from.

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  2. the honey baked spiral ham & precooked ribs are good also. we used to shop there all the time & gonna start again. we only stopped because they don't always everything you need, and we needed a one stop shop for alittle while.

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  3. I shop Aldi regularly as well. I think their flavored creamer and spaghetti sauce rivals national brands, but I've been very disappointed in their fresh meats.

    I think the way they package the meat is very misleading. I usually find a nice, big, thick cut of pork chop on top with EXTREMELY thin cuts underneath. It's happened to me too many times to not think it's done purposely.

    I'm not a fan of their coffee either. It tastes like cardboard.

    Other than those two things, we've been very happy with baking goods, canned goods and most dairy items too.

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  4. We love the fat-free refried beans and flour tortillas!

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  5. Personally, we have never had anything "bad" at Aldi. It tastes just as good as name brand. As a past employee of Aldi, I have only good things to say.

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  6. I've had several great things from Aldi.

    Their cheese danish is really good. My boys really enjoyed their cinnamon rolls, too.

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  7. I love Aldi's! It got me through last winter before I learned about the smart shopping/couponing. I just posted about it today on my blog too in fact!

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  8. I love Aldi's. The only thing that we have had there that we didn't care for and threw away (before we realized we could have taken it back) was their cheese curls.

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  9. The large cinnamon rolls (in the tube) are really good, and in the past they've had some really good deals on frozen salmon. These are individually wrapped in the bag and are pretty good.

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  10. Ok nothing to do with Aldi but I miss the old McDonaldland cookies - even asked for them one day and the young guy at the register looked at me like I was crazy

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  11. I shop there just the way you do. Items I purchase there often are:

    Corn Tortillas (We're a gluten-free house)
    Fit and Active Italian Dressing
    Fit and Active Rice cakes (snack size)
    Raisin Bran (for me)
    Eggs
    Milk
    Butter
    OJ
    Yogurt
    Salsa (their brand is cheap and tastes great)
    Fruit Snacks
    Baked goods
    Snack size apple sauce
    Oh and the dried fruit or yogurt covered raisins are a deal.

    I agree the ground turkey is a great price. I also purchase the turkey loin pre-marinated. I am picky with other meats and get them from other stores. I also don't buy many veggies there. I've had too many moldy onions or grainy apples. Joe Randazzo's is a good subsitute for that.

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  12. I have had great luck with the baking supplies. I stock up for the holidays.

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