Mad at Aldis shoppers

[PrincessPerky]

Ok every once in awhile you see a post on how people save, and shopping at Aldis comes up, so I assume it is the cheapest grocery store in their area, well NO it is a store run with all sorts of non gimicks to save loot!

You pay to get the shopping cart out (get quarter back when you return cart)

You pay if you want bags!

No real shelves or fancy stuff, apparently.

Not open 24/7, so no paying people for hardly used hours

Food sometimes half the cost of store brands at other stores

Among other things, (acually I have never been in one, but DH has.)

Anyway all I had to do was go to Aldifoods.com and put in our area to find one, is not to far and well worth the savings.

(BTW I am kidding about being mad at anyone who shops there, just mad it took me this long to find out Aldis is more than a cheap store)

[CRFSaver]

The company is actually a German company I believe, very big in Europe. The family that owns it is quite excentric from my understanding. You should google some news stories on them. Might give you some entertainment.

[Tree0164]

We have no Aldis in my area and I get jealous of hearing all the great deals.

We have a Save a lot around here. Not in the best area so I don't head there too often. They have a great canned good section so I usually stock up on those.

[pennywise]

Ladies, use your price book to compare your Aldi's to sales. Sometimes a sale with a coupon beats Aldi's. Aldi's selections are growing and I am becoming more satisfied.

[34saving]

So Aldis doesn't take coupons? (We just got one here but it's several miles further than all of the other grocery stores, so I haven't been there yet.)

[pennywise]

Aldi's does not take coupons or credit cards. The frills are eliminated to keep the costs down. Aldi's has done an excellent job of this. They take cash or debit card or food stamps. You use a quarter to get your cart and get it back when you return it. You recycle your grocery bags or pay 10 cents each. Try the experience and notice, but use your price book and stick to your grocery plan.

[Max'sMommy]

We tried ours once, and personally we were completely unimpressed, get much better deals at our regualr stores- but have heard that others make out well, and soi have many of you on here! So I am glad to see that!

[cicy33]

We have two here and I personally don't use them alot. The lines are seriously long. I mean like 10 people long. and of course they all have super full carts. I do like them for the fresh fruit and veggies, better than anyone else here. Some of the frozen stuff is okay. But I don't like their canned veggies, or soups. I have actually been line there before for over a 1/2 hour. I just don't like that. and I don't have the kind of time to wait.

[PrincessPerky]

DH keeps going right when they open up, no lines , but I hate lines myself.

[mom-from-missouri]

Our aldi's does take debit and credit cards, or cash. No checks, No coupons. You sack your own groceries (bring your own bags)--actually, I take a clothes basket that fits perfectically in the bottom of the grocery cart and its sturdier than a bag. It is a no frills store. They don't carry everything, and somethings just certain times of the year (they do carry name brand toys around christmas time) But, they carry enough that you could only use it and be fine.
They pay their employees very very well. A friend of mine works here. They are open 9-7 in my area, closed on Sundays. She always gets either Sat/Sun off, or Sun/Mon off--always gets her 2 days off together (20 years where I work and I still don't get that, and have to work weekends!). She has better insurance than my company, and with them, family comes first. She was given time off for a sick child without question, and had 2 more weeks maternity time (paid) than I do. She started out making more money the first year, than her husband -who had 5 years seniority where he was at and has a degree. They are non-union, but have better benefits than I do in my union job.
Don't go when the food stamps come out (1-5th of the month)--its the busiest time.

[marglo]

I've always been a bit jealous too as we don't have any Aldi's in my area. But since I buy mostly organic foods these days and they are usually cheaper at the non-conventional stores I likely wouldn't get much use of it anyway.

[ScottO]

One of the biggest ways that the Aldis stores save money is by limiting the selection of items. If you want a frozen pizza, Aldis will have one brand. If you want chocolate chip cookies, you can select from a single brand. The store looks for the best deal on just a single brand. Many times the brand will be European.

I don't go to Aldis much any more since the last time was a costly lesson. I stocked up on some frozen lasuanua dinners and a couple of other "deals". But when we cooked them at home they were horrible tasting. Even my dog wouldn't touch it.

It's a great store chain... just stick to brands you know and like. If you do experiment on unknown brands, do it in a limited fashion.

As for the bags, you can buy them once and reuse them.

[nickie33]

i dont like aldis at all we have one here and i avoid it, i use coupons for almost everything i buy so there for when i shop at the other local food chains i save more and get a better product my grocery bill is smaller then it would be at aldis or save a lot meijers and marshs triples coupons once a month so its better for me to go there and use coupons and get most products free or next to free

[Tightwad Kitty]

Aldi has been here for few years now! What we have found is the grocery store chains that are near an Aldi store are cheaper across board than their stores more than 10 km away.

What I do here is make a list and shop at Aldi if I am in that area, when what I can not get at Aldi, I buy at a supermarket near by. I do get Aldi best buys of the next week, which are mostly non-grocery lines via email. So I can price check their specials without visiting the store. But you need to act quickly as these lines are while stock last only!

[markio26]

we use aldi's for fresh fruit and veggies in the summer time.

[Tree0164]

Wow I have never heard anything negative about Aldi's until now.

I think that is good that other supermarkets in the area are lowering prices.

[mom-from-missouri]

I hit the jackpot at Aldis 2 nights ago. They guy was putting out cereal, and had cut several boxes. The cereal bags were still intact. He just finished marking them down from 15 cents to 50 cents a box (were 2 and 3 dollars a box). I grabbed up everyone of them--same thing with some crackers.

[frugalfarmwife]

I love Aldis and do all our shopping there, I supplement it with home grown beef and veggies and cook from scratch so I rarely need anything that they don't carry. Helps me keep the food bill way down.

I also grab a few banana boxes there to carry my groceries and then have GREAT boxes for shipping larger things sold on ebay

kj

[shelbylovesmelby]

I can actually walk to Aldi's from my house. They are usually cheaper than the other stores in the area. YOu just have to watch your sales & coupons & see what's the better deal.

Me & dh joke about Aldi's EXPRESS LANE since we are so close we run in here & there for something we need beyond the big stock up trips

[mom-from-missouri]

Originally Posted by frugalfarmwife

I also grab a few banana boxes there to carry my groceries and then have GREAT boxes for shipping larger things sold on ebay

kj

Ours keeps the banana boxes. I have tried to grab them a couple times, but the clerk takes them back at the checkout. What I do now, is take a rectanble clothes basket. It fits under the cart while I shop, then when I check out, I put the basket inside the new cart on the top part. I put the heavy stuff on the belt first, so when the clerk dumps them in the basket, they are in the correct order. This system works very well.