Does Shopping at Aldi Save Money?

Aldi supermarkets have been popping up all over the nation. Initially, when Aldi came around, the company claimed to allow customers to save 42 percent on their grocery purchases. When people heard this, they began to pay attention to the new Germany-based company. Many people even began to shop there. However, how much money is shopping at Aldi really saving you?

There are usually many places you can compare prices in your area. Whether it be the local grocery store vs. Walmart or fresh produce from the farmer’s market vs. grocery store prices, you are constantly comparing. Well, if an Aldi has made an appearance in your area, it may be worth take to comparing prices once again.

Aldi Saves People Money Because…

Aldi does things like make you put a quarter in the shopping cart to make it move and buy recyclable shopping bags to cut down on costs of running the business. The company claims that this is a way of keeping cost own for the company and prices low for the customers. It seemingly works.

Another way the company has been saving people money is that (until very recently) Aldi didn’t accept any type of credit cards. Customers were only permitted to use debit cards, cash, EBT or checks at Aldi. This caused a lot of people to cut down the use of their credit cards which, in the long run, saves you money.

Aldi Caters to People Who Budget

The company seemingly began to gain popularity when television’s giant family, the Duggars, shopped there. Of course, when you are looking to make cuts in your budget (which the Duggars did quite a bit), groceries are one of the first places to slim down.

Is Aldi Really Cheaper?

If you are looking to cut your grocery budget down a bit, you may have stumbled across Aldi. However, you may be wondering, is Aldi really that much cheaper? The answer? Well, it depends.

Obviously, if you have to drive far out of your way to go to Aldi and are spending money in gas to go, you aren’t truly saving. Another potential way that Aldi would not save you money is if you are a couponer. Aldi does not accept any kind of coupons. This is because they only carry store brand items for the most part. The name brand items they carry are already marked down so much that they are unable to accept coupons (and still profit).

However, if you aren’t an extreme couponer and you have an Aldi near you, you should take advantage of their store. When you compare Aldi prices to prices at Walmart, you will see quite a bit of difference.

If you are buying name brand items at Walmart and you switch to Aldi and Aldi-brand items, you will save about 40 percent of your regular grocery bill. For example, if you spend $100 a week for your family on groceries (and buy the same items at Aldi), you will only spend $60 at Aldi. If you have already switched to store brand items at Walmart, you will still save money at Aldi (just a bit less). You will still save 20 percent. So, in the same example, you would only spend $80 instead of $100 each week by shopping at Aldi.

Of course, there will be events and sales that make prices at other stores cheaper than Aldi. If you come across a great deal or a better price, you should always make strides to save money. The best thing you can do is make a list and compare ads for each store (even if it means stopping at more than one store while grocery shopping).

Photo: Flickr: Mike Mozart