New to Aldi's

[Homebody]

I have been MIA due to impending birth of my first grandchild and here I am in North Carolina with a 12 day old granddaughter.

I found the closest Aldi's is in Kingston, which is about 40 miles away. I am considering a day trip there to check it out, plus it is next to New Bern which is an old town that would be nice to see.

My question is what is on your Aldi's shopping list? My daughter and SIL have several grocery stores around including Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly (I love that name!), Walmart and the PX, BX or whatever you call the store on base.

I am trying to give the kids their "space" with the new baby so I have a few day trips planned, this being one of them.

Yes I am pathetic. A grocery store trip is an outing to my DH and I. The first thing he wanted to do when we got to the South for the first time was to go to a grocery store....

Anyway any hints or suggestions? Thanks a lot.

PS I will add to my blog and post a picture at some point of my very sweet, beautiful granddaughter.

[mom-from-missouri]

This is what I get there--your shopping trip will probably depend on if you are buying it to leave with the kids, or taking it with you and how much trunk room you have.

When I go, I take a cooler and a couple laundry baskets. You either have to buy your own bags or take your own. Laundry baskets work for me. Also, they only take cash or debit. NO CHECKS and only a few around here take credit cards.

Frozen Juices
Frozen fried chicken (better than KFC according to my family)
canned items I buy by the case
soup I buy by the case
crackers
sugar/flour/salt/nuts
cereal & energy bars
fig neutons
pasta
mushrooms
ice cream
yogurt
butter
banannas
potatoes
they have good frozen salsberry steak and lasganna
their frozen shrimp is good
cereal
oatmeal

Wen my kids were i school I sometimes bought their frozen tv dinners for their lunches. At that time they were 69 cents each and they just microwaved them at school. Now I keep some in the freezer for me as a quick lunch to grab if I get a call to sub teach.

I have a daughter with skin allergies. Mary Kay breaks her out, avon breaks her out, but the cheap soaps and shampoos from Aldi do not....

[Homebody]

Thanks Mom From Missouri. I should say, yes it is for the kids/me. I live in California and am not really sure yet when I am going home, not for at least 2 more weeks.

I am lucky in that I can work here since my work (medical transcription) is done over the internet.

[penny-pinchers-usa]

Three words: WE LOVE ALDI's!

You will find all the basics and then some, mostly with brands specifically made and distributed for them. They have some nationally-known brands, but not a lot and not consistently. Just about everything is of similar taste/quality as brands found in a larger grocery store, i.e. Piggly Wiggly (love the name too!) and significantly lower cost. Even if they are 40 miles away, I think it would be worth the gas going, if you plan on stocking up.

Check out my blog on Aldis for more info. Thanks!

[hmsmomof6]

I love Aldi's I am a recent shopper there as one only just recently opened here where I live. Usually we spend around $130 a week in grocery's this sometimes happens between several stores.We hve had to do major shopping every 2weeks instead beacuse I got laid off. Last week we did the major shopping at Aldi's for the first time we spent only $87 there and it was our 2 week trip! WooHoo! We did have to stop into another store for about 5 items but we saved big at Aldi's

[Ben Macdui]

Obviously the situation seems to be different in the US, but in the UK Aldis and Lidls in the UK that I have been to have been awful, with not very nice food at prices not significantly cheaper than the big supermarkets' own brands.

[segmond]

I went to Aldi today, and spend $15 for food for the week, i am a single man with no dependants, well a cat. lol

[My English Castle]

I just heard from a student who brought cookies to class today--those soft frosted seasonal sugar cookies that seem to be everywhere lately. She said she priced a dozen at Wal-mart for almost $6, but Aldi's had the same cookies, same brand for $2

[rob62521]

We buy a lot of our fresh fruits at Aldi's. Plus, their frozen whole chickens are reasonable -- and a decent size. I roast one and we get a couple of different meals off of it. I like the extra virgin olive oil and the canola oil -- both are far more reasonable.

Our Aldis only take cash and debit cards...no checks or credit cards. We use those reusable grocery bags, but before that, we just took paper sacks with us.

Our store also charges you a quarter to rent a cart, but you get it back when you return the cart back to the area where they are stored.

[jamiefic]

I haven't gone for awhile because I haven't looked into where one is since we've moved, but after reading this thread, I'll make sure to look it up and start going again!