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For the love of Aldi

October 12th, 2015 at 11:12 am



I've been an Aldi convert for years. This wasn't always the case though.

My first trip into Aldi turned me right off the place for years:

Walk in, grab a trolley... oh wait, I can’t. I don't have a dollar. Walk to the nearest Coles. Pinch a trolley and proceed to backtrack 300 metres to Aldi doing the Aldi ‘Walk of shame’.
Wander up and down 4 aisles. Is this what it’s like in communist Cuba? There is only one kind of toothpaste!
No music playing.
Store staff rushing around like crazy.
Why on earth do they have mountain bikes and welding equipment for sale in the middle of the store?
A trolley load of groceries. Do I have bags? Do I want to buy bags?
The cashier scans through items with blurring speed.
Looking dumbfounded. Everyone starring. Whoops. I’m meant to load the groceries myself.
Where are the bags?
Sigh.

I left feeling a bit lighter. It might have been the reduced ego or it could have been light headedness caused by the dizzying pace at which the cashier whipped through my groceries. Either way I made a decision never to return to that horrid place.

Aussie’s spend 17% of their income on groceries. I’ve spoken to a few people who say it continues to be their greatest expense with bills averaging $300-$400 per family. I can categorically, unequivocally, indisputably guarantee, or at least almost guarantee, that you will save a minimum of $100 off your average shopping bill. When visiting my local IGA I can carry home $100 in groceries! Don’t snub the savings. $100 a week can turn into nearly $2 million over a period of years invested!

Anyway, long story short, years passed and I accumulated more and more kids (or giant tape worms in human disguise) who proceed to eat me out of house and home. My wallet was suffering a monstrous hit. I sucked up my pride, returned to Aldi with a dollar in my pocket and a determined look that was prepared to take on Aldi’s scanner of the year!

My family of 6 spends has a budget of $160 per week. The only way to hit budget on this modest amount is to buy copious amounts of food from Costco and eat corndogs for the entire week, turn our backyard into a giant veggie patch, or shop at Aldi.

I’ve included a photo from a recent shop that amounted to just $135. You get a lot of bang for your buck at Aldi.

If you’re an Aldi hater, here’s a few tips:
• Bring a dollar.
• Bring your headphones and race up and down the music-free aisles listening to all your favourites.
• Learn to appreciate the minimal aisles. Understand that while you may not get that special coffee brand you are accustomed to, you can quite easily complete your shop in 20 minutes!
• If you have a typical grocery list that you tend to follow, photograph your local Aldi’s layout so you can create your meal plan shopping list aisle by aisle. Most Aldi’s have the same layout so they are easy to follow.
• Beat the cashier by placing everything immediately back in the trolley, cart it back to the car, and then transport it from car to the bench in a box.

Aldi has some fantastic products. You may find that they don’t stock your favourite brand but don’t assume that a lower price always is indicative of a lower quality product. The savings can be huge over a year and I find the time saving in doing a 20 minute grocery shop while listening to my choice of music can make me easily shrug the mainstream supermarkets.

My added two cents: If you shop at Aldi to save, don’t buy the middle aisle stuff unless you absolutely need it. There is some really cool stuff but it is only of value if you need it immediately, not 3 months, 3 years or 3 decades in the future.

8 Responses to “For the love of Aldi”

  1. VS_ozgirl Says:
    1444646888

    Aldi helped us out when we were in a bind earlier in the year/late last year. For two people our spending was $170 per week from Coles/Safeway. With Aldi, some Coles (eg things you can't get from Aldi, or a couple of brand things) and fruit from the fruit and veg store, shopping was $100 per week. Now we are back at Coles but we do spend less now than previously. Last week was $125 for example. I do more bulk buying of things too now, and am constantly comparing the best price per weight compared to best price (it counts sometimes).

  2. Miz Pat Says:
    1444659661

    They are opening 3 in my area. What is the dollar for - using a shopping cart?

  3. Butterscotch Says:
    1444660148

    So it is not just me! My husband and I went into a local Aldi a year or so ago and thought it ws so sketchy! I was just telling him the other day that people on SA are always going to Aldi so maybe the one near us was maybe just strange. Seriously though, when we went in it felt like a mafia cover - was this really a store?!?!?! Where was everything? Nothing made sense - it was like a grocery store on Mars!

  4. rob62521 Says:
    1444662343

    It takes a quarter here in the Midwest to borrow a shopping cart and we get it back. Maybe it is more expensive where Matt lives.

    Aldi is basically bare bones. I agree-- I don't buy the nonfood stuff like lawn ornaments, Christmas stuff, or household stuff. I guess that is the way they supplement their profit margin. But, my mom shopped at Aldi for years and we have continued the tradition. I don't mind no frills. We use reusable bags for all our grocery shopping so taking bags has become a habit. And sometimes fewer choices is a blessing. I was at Walgreens Saturday trying to buy a tube of toothpaste and there must be 10-15 different types in just one brand. Yikes!

  5. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1444672761

    The first Aldi I went to, 25 years ago, was stinky. The other customers were rude, and the lines were long! Not a place I wanted to be. Now I go to 2 different Aldi and I would be sorry not to be able to go there any more. 99 cents for a pineapple. 59 cents for 8 ounces of mushrooms. 69 cents carrots. Last week, 25 cents for 10.5 ounces of shelled sunflower seeds. Those are specials, of course, but still!....I have read great reviews of their Lacura cosmetics, but I have not bought any.

  6. BudgetBrilliance Says:
    1444693754

    We recently had 2 weeks away where the only grocery stores were Coles and Woolworths. The cost of that fortnight's grocery bills were nearly $400 a week. We were, however, a little more liberal in the snack department than usual however.

    MizPat, the $1 is for the shopping trolley. It forces you to return it or forfeit the dollar. Even that has inflated since I was child. I remember returning everyone's abandoned trolleys for a 20 cent profit.

    I've found the staff and clientele there to be quite friendly. In fact, there are numerous occasions where I have seen people allow those with one or two items to jump the queue. The limited brands is a turn off for some but I like the time saving factor that reduces indecision.

  7. LuckyRobin Says:
    1444715633

    We don't have Aldi's where I live, but I have heard they are quite similar to Trader Joe's as regards to food products. Which makes sense since they are owned by members of the same family. I like TJ's a lot, so I'm sure if we had an Aldi's I'd like it, too.

  8. pjmama Says:
    1444738335

    I've been shopping at Aldi since I was a kid - my mom would take us along, and as an adult I realized just why she did. You really do save so much!! I would say that in the last few years in particular, too, that they've really stepped up their game with organic and specialty products. I've seen more and more imported food (it's a German company) that really has widened the offerings and made it even better as a go-to store.

    That being said, there are some Aldi stores that do feel quite sketchy. I think 5-10 years ago they were put solely and primarily in low-income neighborhoods (not that this means they're sketchy, but I can understand why people would have that perception). I've seen many more built since, and for the most part you find the same products everywhere you go. Definitely worth it!!

    Also, in the states you only need a quarter to use a cart, not a dollar Smile

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