Another Aldi Shopping Post

About six years ago, I finally gave Aldi a try.  It had been in an area about a year at that point and I'd heard loads about it from other bloggers who had stores in their areas.  I decided that I had to at least try it out.  I went into the store and purchased a few items and most were to our taste.  I couldn't beat the prices because at that time they were THE least expensive option on many items.  They were also very limited on what they carried and many more items were considered seasonal than they are now.  It was hit or miss with some basic food items at that time, like yeast and baking powder.  I shopped at Aldi for about 60% of my groceries but out of necessity continued to shop at other stores, too.



After about a year and a half of visiting the store, we made the decision to do the bulk of all our shopping at Aldi.  We'd avoided buying meats there though I now happily will purchase the meat available.  In fact, I'd say we now spend roughly 95% of our total food budget at Aldi, but that is due to change and I'll explain why in a few moments.  But first...

Here's what I've liked best about Aldi  over these years:

Their bag and shopping cart policy.   People had never heard of a store that required you to bring your own bags or to rent a shopping cart but here's what I do like about it.   It's made me much more conscious of the need to use my own reusable shopping bags.  I'd been trying to get into the habit of it, but Aldi's policy insured it became a habit and one I wholly embrace.  In fact, I often carry my bags into other stores with me now, not just grocery stores but into Target or a department store or antique store.  On the rare occasions when I've come out of a store with a handful of plastic bags I've regretted my failure to be prepared when I walked in.   While all my bags are clearly purchased at a grocery store, most stores now offer their own branded and non-branded options for purchase and there's really no reason why I shouldn't have suitable bags that I could use in non-grocery stores as well as groceries.

About that rental policy on the carts: I don't think I've ever encountered a wonky cart at Aldi.  Because the shopping carts are returned (where you're immediately refunded that quarter it 'cost' to rent it), they are not prone to being hit by a car or taken for lark rides, etc., so they are always in good working condition.   Is there anything more frustrating than a cart with a wonky or frozen wheel?  And I'll say for our own personal experience that we only pay for a cart about half the time.  Often enough there is some sweet person just waiting on us to come claim their cart with one proviso:  Pass it on.  So we do!

The refund and replacement policy.  If any item is not to your liking or perchance spoils before a 'sell by' date, or you have produce that simply doesn't stay fresh for some reason, you can return it without question or hassle.  You will receive your money back and you may replace the item at no cost to you, as you desire.  Lately, the clerks simply ring up the item and put the cash refund amount on an Aldi gift card rather than give out cash, but both spend equally well.

Meat Markdowns:  Though they are hard to come by, Aldi does mark down meats as they near the sell by date.  Hard to come by because with an average $2-$3 off per package those packets are quickly sold.  Aldi doesn't play around when it comes to marking down meat.  I've gotten some incredibly good buys on markdowns but I cannot visit the store daily nor even weekly so I am sure I miss out on a great deal of very good buys.  Following Christmas 2018, Beef standing rib roasts were going for $3.99  a pound...I snatched one up.  The case area where they had these was full. I returned two days later and not a one was in sight...So if you are in Aldi and see markdown or coupons on meat packaging best get it while you're there or forget about it.

Our Aldi expanded in 2018 and we sorely missed the store during the four month renovation process.  Bess and I both bewailed the store closing and while we trekked to Macon occasionally we do not find that store as well stocked as 'our' store in Warner Robins.  Expansion however, changed a few things.  For one thing, some items that had been seasonal ones (like baking powder and yeast for example) became routine stock.

They do still carry seasonal based items like their Winternacht cookies and candies which appear only at Christmas time.  They do a few other items on a more or less cyclical basis so you might find German or Italian or Mexican or Oriental specialties on a more frequent basis, and a few they now carry as standard stock, but all of them are not always permanently in store.  They carry a wide range of Gluten free and organic products now, as well as their own line of organic baby foods, diapers and wipes which are high quality and not badly priced.

But not all changes were improvements. There's a double household aisle that has lots of lovely and impulse spending worthy items on them.   Prices on produce and meat increased  and while they are still one of the better stores for purchases overall if I watch sales at other stores there's a good chance I'm going to find a slightly better price on some items than I will at Aldi.

For example, I  recently purchased coconut oil at Aldi for $3.99 only to find it at Publix for $2.99.  Publix offered up boneless skinless chicken breasts as a Buy One Get One Free purchase, that was carrageenan free  for $2.84/pound rather than Aldi's $3.99 per pound price.   And on another occasion I found paper plates at Target were 8c each compare to the 10c each price we were paying at Aldi.

So there are areas where you may well find a better price at another grocery and for this reason I am now once again tracking prices across several stores to insure I am getting equally good products at the lowest pricing.   The bulk of my shopping is still being done at Aldi but I'd say we've decreased back to 85%-90% of our grocery budget (including paper goods) 

All in all, Aldi still has the better prices on most items but Frugal Girl did an item by item comparison on her blog and found Walmart actually had the consistently lowest price on the items she wanted to purchase that week.

I continue to favor Aldi for the bulk of my shopping for several reasons.  I like the limited stock and the smaller size of the store.  I don't find it nearly as overwhelming to make a spending choice as the larger stores with their hundreds of options.  Honestly I don't buy a whole lot of brand name items anyway and I've found most of the Aldi items are really good.  I like that rotation of their stock is high and therefore often far fresher than at other stores.  I like that in shopping at the store, if I find an item on my list is not available I'm more prone to check whether I truly need it or merely wanted it and will then gauge whether I think it's worthwhile to go to another store to purchase that item or if I shall wait for it to be in stock again at Aldi.  I do consistently save money and get more for my dollars spent at Aldi. 

But with a budget to mind,  I have begun to keep a price list of items I can buy for less most often at other stores so that I can fully maximize my food dollars.  Because in the end, it's not store loyalty that matters but how far I can stretch my budget to cover all our needs and some of our wants, I won't make Aldi my 100% store just yet.