Today, I’m giving a HUGE shout out to Aldi. I love this store. Where else can you feed a family of 3 for about $40 a week? No where. At least not in this small town.
Now, I understand the doubtful and confused looks. Aldi doesn’t really seem like the type of place you would go grocery shopping on a weekly basis. Most of the time you see people coming out with carts FULL of stuff. Frozen pizzas, blocks of cheese, boxes of crackers, pasta and cereal, gallons of milk, the occasional coffee table and computer. It seems like the type of place you go to just to stock up. But, let me tell you, Aldi can be your weekly grocery store, for the most part.
Aldi does have some strange practices. You have to pay for your shopping cart. Kind of. You must remember to bring a quarter, that’s the only way to free the cart. No worries, you get the quarter back when you return it. It’s just their way to making sure that the parking lot stays free from unwanted carts. And it helps keep their costs down, which is passed onto their customers. That’s you!
You also have to bring your own shopping bags. Which, if you really think about it, makes a lot of sense. Did you know that if you bring your own grocery bags to most grocery stores, they will knock off 5¢ per bag from your bill? I bet you didn’t know that. Aldi has a similar way of doing business, only it’s the opposite. They won’t reduce your bill if you bring your own bags, but they will charge you to buy bags. If you need them. You can purchase plastic or paper bags. Or the ever popular reusable bags. So if you run out of the house and forget your bags (you are using reusable bags, right?) you can either buy new bags, or just do what so many of Aldi’s customers do. Grab an empty box from the shelves and use it store your groceries until you get home. And yes, I’ve had to do this on more than one occasion.
What about the selection, you ask? Well, it’s true that they don’t carry as much variety as a normal grocery store. And there will be occasions when you’ll have to make a second stop to pick up those few ingredients you have to have. But, in my humble opinion, that second trip is well worth it. The amount of money you save at Aldi well makes up for the hassel of the second trip.
Finally, the most important question. What about the quality of food? It’s the same, if not better, than anything you would get at the big name stores, Wal Mart included. The only thing I advise, is check the fruit closely. I once purchased some strawberries, and when I got them home realized that they were all mush. Technically, that’s my fault since I didn’t open the container before I purchased it. I just glanced at them, thought they looked OK and plopped them in my cart. But, truth be told, I’ve had the same problem at the other grocery stores in town (ahem, Wal Mart).
So what did I get for my $41 this week? I’ve listed everything below. You’ll probably agree, that’s a lot of food. You may notice that some of the items are repeated. That’s just because I happened to buy more than one this time. You may also notice that I didn’t purchase any meat this time. We have plenty in the freezer, so we didn’t need any this week. But on the weeks that we do need chicken or ground turkey, the total is around the same $40 mark. And this week I only had to make stop at Wal Mart for one extra item, Chipotle Chiles in Adobo Sauce.
Shredded Cheddar (4 cups)
Mexican Shredded Cheese (3 cups) – yes, we eat a lot of cheese, we’re in Wisconsin after all
Graham Crackers
Milk
Cooking Spray
Bananas
Granny Smith Apples
Light Sour Cream – to help balance out all of the cheese
Pretzels
Baking Powder
Eggs
Colby – yup, more cheese
Graham Cracker Pie Crust
Frozen Corn (16 oz)
String Cheese
Mandarin Oranges
Mandarin Oranges
Elbow Macaroni
Granola Bars
Chicken Broth
Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies (14.5 oz can)
Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies (14.5 oz can)
Turkey Lunch Meat
Whipped Topping
Reduced Fat Wheat Crackers (just like Wheat Thins)
Salsa
Fruit and Veggie Juice (just like V8 Splash)
Tomato Sauce (8 oz can)
Tomato Sauce (8 oz can)
Black Beans (15 oz can)
Black Beans (15 oz can)
Black Beans (15 oz can)
Tomato Paste
So, if you are lucky enough to have an Aldi in town, give it a try. It’s perfect for a family on a budget. Or for the family that just doesn’t want to spend all of their hard earned money on food. We started shopping at Aldi long before we were a one income family, and haven’t looked back since.
Although I must admit, you will meet all sorts of interesting, and friendly, people shopping there. 
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, that’s a bit more than I got at Whole Paycheck (*ahem*, Whole Foods) for $40 this Sunday. But it’s the only place we can find black soybeans, and Margot really wanted butternut squash stew!!!
Well done; I’m jealous
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@Mike, if we had a Whole Foods, I’d probably blow our life savings on food.
I usually keep our bill to $40 at a “regular” grocery, but it does take heavy couponing. I am excited that we’re going to be much closer to an Aldi’s in Chattanooga, and a nicer one at that!
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@Vanderbilt Wife, I’m a couponer too, when I have to make the trip to someplace other than Aldi. I love those $1 off Cinabon bar coupons from Coupons.com!
You know, I pass by an Aldi almost every day and wondered if it was worth a trip. I will definitely stop in and see what they’ve got.
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@amber, It’s totally worth it. Just be prepare for the interesting people. They have all been nice so far, but, well, interesting.
My eye was drawn to the 5 cents off for reusable bags. I think I’m jealous we only get 3 cents taken off hehe.
@Alison, 3¢ is better than nothing!
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