ALDI: worth a special trip?

[lrjohnson]

I am visiting Atlanta in January. Is it worth making a stop at ALDI?
I just heard about ALDI a couple of weeks ago. I live in Northern California, and we have no such thing. We have WinCo-great prices, and the Canned Foods Grocery Outlet. Near me there is no Walmart, and I don't shop at Walmart anyway. I go to Sacramento on business sometimes in a car and stop at Trader Joe's, which for me is excellent for lower cost luxury items (marinated mushrooms, dry cereal, etc.) but not so much the day to day.

I've heard ALDI is shockingly cheap. I don't mind warehouse/no service/etc.-I am super excited about low prices. I'm even thinking about packing less to fly over to make sure I can bring some non-perishables back without cost.

Should I make an ALDI's trip?

[shengmei]

Sounds like fun!!!

Even if you don't end up saving money, it should be a fun and rewarding trip.

Don't forget to stock up on their store brand!!!

[pyotr]

ALDI is great and is where we do all our grocery shopping (except for some fresh fruits/vegetables). However, I wouldn't go out of your way to visit one. It's a pretty utilitarian little store and not anything spectacular. You'll be sorely disappointed if you go to a lot of trouble to visit one - I don't think many people would get all that excited about Whole Wheat Bread for 69cents.

[katwoman]

I have to agree. If it weren't for the fact that it's literally 4 blocks from my house, I wouldn't go out of my way for a shopping trip.

It's great for those who don't want to coupon and stockpile, though.

That said, they do have cooked frozen mussels on sale this week for $2.49, 16 oz.

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by pyotr

- I don't think many people would get all that excited about Whole Wheat Bread for 69cents.

At the rate my kids eat bread I am!!!

But your right I wouldn't go that far out of my way to find one, we do shop there, but it is only 10 minutes past DHs work. And most of the stuff we get is perishable.

[Bluezy]

What is ALDI?

[PrincessPerky]

A cheap store with nothing really brand name. no fancy shelving, you pay for bags and use a quarter to get a cart (you get it back when you put the cart back) no ads, makes the prices cheap.

http://www.aldifoods.com/

[Bluezy]

Thanks hun! ALDI sounds like the Sav-A Lots in Florida.

[abecedarian]

The thing with Aldi's or Sam's, or anyplace else is to know your prices on stuff you would ordinarily buy. Not all items are going to be such a wonderful bargain at any of these stores. And it is best to go without small children or demanding older ones. And don't forget your calculator and cash or debit card. My dentist went to Aldi's on my recommendation and had a full cartload she couldn't buy since all she had was her checkbook..

[PRICEPLUS]

Spoke to a buddy of mine who lives not far from one. He said it was okay but not something he would go out of his way to go to!

[JBinKC]

Aldi is privately held international German company known as a "box" store a no frills non branded retailer of food of decent quality with some exceptions. The stores are generally small and the produce is not refrigerated so quality in some cases are suspect there if the produce doesn't move quickly. Compared to other stores the prices on average are about half or more of retail. Unless you have the patience to coupon with stores that double or triple them and usually coupons are for things that you really don't need.

Aldis is exactly like a Sav-a-lot as both store competes head to head in my area. Aldi I would say has slightly lower prices though.

The other negatives with the store is the limited selection but the lines has been expanding rapidly and the long lines at checkout as the company really skimps on the number of employees per store as they multitask by stocking, cleaning, and perform as checker and you can only use cash, a debit card or food stamps (no credit cards accepted).

If you can overcome these negatives and realize you will probably have to shop at other stores for some items Aldis will save you some money off of your food bill.

[cercis]

I've never been in one. DH went into one when it came to OKC. He said they didn't have anything we buy - no organics, no real whole grains, all the pasta, bread, etc was refined grains (we don't buy regular wheat bread, even "whole wheat bread" is largely refined flour). There was little fresh produce and the prices on that weren't that great.

There aren't any near here.

[lrjohnson]

Thanks for everyone's answers. I ended up not going. I loved the Atlanta area, but the traffic was incredible, so the idea of a trip for grocery shopping through that madness wasn't appealing. But I probably would go at least bomonthly to it (or Sav-a-Lots or equivalent) if one was near me.

[Ima saver]

We have a sav a lot, but I went in once and left, not appealing at all.

[shelbylovesmelby]

I wouldn't shop @ Aldi's if the grocery store chains did double/triple couponing here. But they don't. SO I get what I can from everywhere @ the best price. I've got 3 grocery stores & a wal-mart within a mile so there's plenty to choose from.

[Ima saver]

We don't get double coupons either. Since I don't get the paper, I have very few coupons. But I do very little cooking, so I don't need to buy much except junk food, cleaning stuff and paper products.

[flash]

I'm originally from N. Cal, and I know what you mean. For groceries, though, not worth the trip.

Now, if you are in PA/DE area, the outlet shopping with no taxes is worth bringing an empty suit case along. My sister flies from Cal. four times a year, and always packs an extra bag just for the discounts. She has outlets near her home, but nothing like the PA outlets.

[acezz4e_tish]

i have to say yes! you can take your own bags too and the cost of almost everything is less there. those lil bags of meat, four for a dollar vs 67 cents each. one of those baggies makes two sandwiches for daves lunches at work. they have thier own brands for everything.

[frugalfarmwife]

I'm a huge Aldis fan, the majority of our meals are home cooked so not big on prepackaged foods anyways. The savings to us is substansial compared to other groceries. I also already have all of our beef/veggies so am mainly buying pastas, soups, staples (flour, oil, sugar) and snacks like chips, ice cream, etc.

I'm also not a fussy name brand shopper, in fact I'm one that laughs at advertising and how they tend to hypnotize so much of society

kj

[acezz4e_tish]

i havent yet tried thier cheese loaf. leland brand name i think, has anyone else had it yet? is it like velvetta? its 1.00 a loaf cheaper, but i havent tried it not knowing if it will melt well.