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Aldi Hours and Holiday Schedule 2019

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aldi hours and holiday schedule
Are you planning a grocery shopping trip to Aldi? Make sure it’s open first. Check here for everything you should know about shopping at this grocery store, as well as the Aldi hours and holiday schedule before heading out.

Saving Money at Aldi Stores

Aldi is a grocery store known for amazing everyday prices. Smart shoppers who rely on Aldi can save a bundle, with some reporting cost reductions of up to 42 percent. Aldi offers great prices by using a non-standard business model. Not only do you have to insert a quarter to get a cart (though you get it back once you return it), but you’ll also need to bring your own bags. Plus, Aldi stores aren’t open 24/7, so you need to make sure your local store is open before making a trip.

Aldi Store Hours

Originally a German store, Aldi has made its way into numerous countries. Along with the United States, you can also find Aldi stores in Great Britain, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Portugal. Additionally, many people don’t realize that Aldi is actually run by the same company as Trader Joe’s.

Aldi hours are typically the same as the standard hours of operation for many grocery chains. While each location may vary their schedule, the typical hours for opening and closing serve as a good baseline for planning purposes.

The standard Aldi hours are Monday through Sunday:

Monday: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Wednesday: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Saturday: 8:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

If you are near an Aldi in a big city, you may find that they are open longer each day. However, some small-town Aldi stores open later and close earlier. For example, a small town location may operate from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm instead of 8:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Aldi Holiday Schedule 2019

Along with Christmas, Aldi locations also close for a few other holidays during the year. However, they are open on many too. Here is an overview of the Aldi Holiday Schedule for 2019:

January 1 (Tuesday): Aldi is closed on New Year’s Day
January 21 (Monday): Aldi is open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
February 14 (Thursday): Aldi is open on Valentine’s Day
February 18 (Monday): Aldi is open on Presidents’ Day
March 17 (Sunday): Aldi is open on St. Patrick’s Day
April 19 (Friday): Aldi is open on Good Friday
April 20 (Saturday): Aldi is open on Easter Saturday
April 21 (Sunday): Aldi is closed on Easter Sunday
April 22 (Monday): Aldi is open on Easter Monday
May 12 (Sunday): Aldi is open on Mother’s Day
May 27 (Monday): Aldi is open on, but with limited hours, on Memorial Day
June 16 (Sunday): Aldi is open on Father’s Day
July 4 (Thursday): Aldi is open, but with limited hours, on Independence Day
September 2 (Monday): Aldi is open, but with limited hours, on Labor Day
October 14 (Monday): Aldi is open on Columbus Day
October 31 (Thursday): Aldi is open on Halloween
November 11 (Monday): Aldi is open on Veteran’s Day
November 28 (Thursday): Aldi is closed on Thanksgiving Day
December 24 (Tuesday): Aldi is open, but with limited hours, on Christmas Eve
December 25 (Wednesday): Aldi is closed on Christmas Day
December 31 (Tuesday): Aldi is open, but with limited hours, on New Year’s Eve
January 1 (Wednesday): Aldi is closed on New Year’s Day 2020

On any days where Aldi has limited hours, you’ll need to check your local store to confirm when they are open. You can use Aldi’s store locator to check each location’s hours of operation or contact your store by phone and request the information.

Many grocery stores deviate from their usual operating hours around Christmas and Aldi is no different. On Christmas Eve, many Aldi locations close early, giving their staff a chance to be home with their families.

If you need to shop at Aldi on Tuesday, December 24, 2019, make sure to check with your local store before you make a trip. Each location may have slightly different holiday hours on Christmas Eve, so it is wise to contact your Aldi and confirm they will be open.

On Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, 2019, all Aldi stores are closed. You cannot shop at any Aldi on Christmas Day, regardless of whether you are in a big city or small town.

Preparing for a Trip to Aldi

If you’ve never been to an Aldi before, but want to experience the cost-savings to make the holidays more affordable, you do need to prepare in advance. Along with a shopping list, you’ll need to have a quarter with you. The shopping carts at Aldi need a quarter to unlock them, making them movable. When you return the cart at the end of your trip, you get your quarter back.

What You Need

The quarter is actually a way that Aldi controls some of their overhead costs, even though they don’t keep the quarters. Getting the coin back encourages shoppers to put away their carts. This ensures that employees don’t have to retrieve the carts, allowing Aldi to keep their staffing costs down and to pass the savings on to shoppers.

Additionally, it is usually best to bring your own reusable shopping bags. Aldi does not provide bags or boxes to carry your purchases for free. If you do not bring your own, you’ll have to pay for bags at Aldi. Again, this helps each store keep its operating expenses low, giving the ability to offer big savings to you.

Use the Aldi Mobile App

The Aldi mobile app is also handy. Not only can you use it to find your closest store, check hours of operation, and a place to make and store a shopping list, it also makes viewing the weekly sales flyer a breeze. You can see it all in the app, ensuring you don’t miss out on a great deal when you shop.

Do you shop at Aldi? Share your experience in the comments below.

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If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started.

Photo: Flickr/Mike Mozart

Amazon Announces Whole Foods Price Cuts: Is It Cheap Enough?

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Whole Foods price cuts

Starting tomorrow Amazon will begin a series of Whole Foods price cuts. According to Amazon, the price cuts will help customers save an average of 20 percent on their grocery bill. The main focus of the pricing changes will be in the produce department.

What the Whole Foods Price Cuts Mean

Since acquiring Whole Foods in July 2017, Amazon has hoped to convert more Prime members into Whole Foods shoppers. The last major price cut the grocer made was in November 2017. However, it has been offering perks to Prime customers. For instance, Amazon Prime members can get an extra 10 percent off discounted items.

The latest string of price cuts is an effort to continue building the Prime-Whole Foods partnership. With time, the more in-store experiences are able to go hand-in-hand with Prime, the more the companies will be able to better target its audience.

Additionally, the company plans to offer more discounted prices on seasonal produce. CEO John Mackey said these are just the first of many price cuts customers can expect to see.

How Amazon and Whole Foods Are Working Together

Last year, Amazon Prime subscriptions surpassed 100 million. Members have become accustomed to things like free two-day shipping on most items, streaming for music, TV, and movies, as well as free two-hour delivery in some cities in the United States.

The grocer also plans to continue building on its offers for Prime members, including exclusive deals. Whole Foods is also making changes to drive online sales up. In April, it plans to offer $10 off a $20 purchase when they try Prime online (free for 30 days).

Amazon Prime members will also qualify for two-hour delivery at Whole Foods. If you’d prefer to pick it up, some locations allow for pick-up within 30 minutes of placing your order. Not to mention, you can use Alexa to view the latest Whole Foods price cuts and add items to your cart.

Is Shopping Online For Groceries The Way to Go?

Whole Foods is quite a bit more expensive than, say, Aldi. However, Amazon and Whole Foods are offering plenty of deals to make the switch worth it.

“When Whole Foods Market joined the Amazon family, we set out to make healthy and organic food more accessible. Over the last year, we’ve been working together tirelessly to pass on savings to customers,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer. “Every time a customer walks into a Whole Foods Market, they expect and trust industry-leading quality standards across aisles. And now they will experience that same Whole Foods Market quality with even more savings across departments.”

Pricing Changes and Deals

Starting tomorrow through the end of April, Whole Foods customers who try Prime will get $10 off a purchase of $20 or more in-store. You can try Prime for free for 30 days, meaning you get a free $10 worth of groceries just for signing up. See the full details on Amazon.

Here are a few other exclusive deals and perks being offered by the two companies.

  • Amazon Prime members who shop at Whole Foods receive an extra 10 percent off select items in-store.
  • Prime members receive up to 20 exclusive weekly deals at Whole Foods.
  • Through Prime Now, you can get two-hour delivery on groceries from Whole Foods. This is available in 60 cities in the U.S. with more to come this year. Two-hour delivery is free if you spend $35 or more.
  • Pickup is available for Prime members as well (in as little as 30 minutes).
  • You can pick up more than just groceries at Whole Foods too! Some grocers are equipped with Amazon Lockers which allow Prime members to ship items directly to the local store for pick up. Members can also send returns through their local Whole Foods.
  • Shopping is a little easier for Prime members too. You can learn about weekly deals and add items to your cart with Alexa.
  • Last, but not least, Amazon Rewards Visa cardmembers with eligible Prime membership get 5 percent cash back at Whole Foods. Cardmembers without an eligible membership get 3 percent back.

All in all, any time you make a change to something that may impact your finances, you need to do your research. Be sure to compare prices and take a good look at your budget before switching grocers or providers for anything.

Readers, have you used Amazon to order groceries? What was your experience?

Photo: Mike Mozart

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3 Ways to Use a Rotisserie Chicken for Dinner

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rotisserie chicken

There are tons of ways to use a rotisserie chicken to make an amazing dinner. If you want to make the most of your rotisserie chicken, here are three ways to do just that.

Ways to Use a Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie chicken is available at nearly every major grocery store. They are often incredibly convenient dinner options since they are precooked. Plus, they are surprisingly affordable, allowing you to stretch your food budget. But, did you realize that a rotisserie chicken is also an incredibly flexible meal option?

1. As a Main Course

Serving a rotisserie chicken as the main course is often one of the easiest ways to use a rotisserie chicken. With a little carving and some simple sides, you can have a meal ready in no time flat.

Since most rotisserie chickens feature simple seasoning, they tend to be crowd pleasers. Plus, they can pair with nearly any side, ranging from salads to mashed potatoes to steamed veggies.

Unless you have a very large family, leftovers are common. Luckily, any extra chicken and the bones can help you create more amazing meals, ensuring you get the most out of every rotisserie chicken you buy.

2. As the Base for a Soup

After you remove the majority of the meat from a rotisserie chicken, you can use the bones to create an amazing chicken stock. Simply add water, onions, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper, and boil the bones. You can do this on a stove top or in a crockpot on high for several hours. However, if you have a pressure cooker or Instapot, making stock is much faster.

Once you have the broth ready, use cheesecloth to remove the bones, onions, celery, and anything else you added for flavor. Then, take your soup base and add veggies, leftover chicken, noodles, or anything else you would like.

After all of the veggies are cooked, you have an amazing homemade soup, all thanks to that simple rotisserie chicken. This alone can be dinner. However, you can also make rolls or a side salad if you want to make the meal even more filling.

3. For a Chicken Pot Pie

Making a chicken pot pie at home is usually a multistep process. First, you have to cook the chicken. Then, you gather the veggies, make gravy or broth, create a crust, add everything, and bake.

If you use a rotisserie chicken, you can skip the first step. This potentially saves you a ton of time, particularly if you use gravy from a mix or jar and frozen or refrigerated crust. If you decide to use simple, frozen vegetables instead of fresh – like frozen peas and carrots – your prep time is even smaller.

Now, the baking time is usually close to an hour, as you do have to make sure the crust cooks through completely. However, this part is very hands-off, so you do not have to keep an eye on it until you get close to the finishing time.

4. Chicken Salad

Need a quick sandwich, but all you have is rotisserie chicken. No problem. Start by peeling the skin off your chicken and then place the chicken in your blender. Blend the chicken for about 2 minutes (2 more if it’s not fine enough). Dump the rotisserie chicken into your bowl. Add mayonnaise, relish, salt and pepper. Mix well. Presto, you have a great chicken salad.

Rotisserie Chickens Are Good for Your Budget

Ultimately, all of the ways to use a rotisserie chicken listed above can be great for dinner. Plus, if you get a large rotisserie chicken, have a small family, or both, you could feasibly make all three meals from a single chicken, giving you dinner options for several days. If you need to stretch your food budget, this is particularly beneficial. After all, few food items can be used for three different meals.

You don’t even have to use all of the leftover chicken or stock at once. After making soup, you could freeze some for future use. Similarly, the chicken pieces could also be stored in a freezer for up to four months when placed in a zip-top freezer bag (with as much air removed as possible) or when vacuum sealed.

What are some other ways to use a rotisserie chicken? Share them in the comments below.

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If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started.

Your Diet Drinks Are Increasing Your Risk of Stroke

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Diet drinks

Exchanging diet drinks for high-sugar soda seems like a no-brainer, especially if you’re dieting. Why waste the calories (and ingest all that additional sugar) for no reason? Health officials have been wary of diet soda and other similar beverages for some time. Now, new research has shown women who drink a lot of diet beverages have an increased risk of stroke.

Avoid Having Two or More Diet Drinks a Day

For the purposes of the study, researchers defined “a lot” of diet drinks as two or more per day. Women who claimed to drink at least two artificially sweetened beverages per day were found to be 31 percent more likely to have an ischemic stroke. For African American women and women who are obese, those chances double.

An ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke and is typically caused by a blood clot. The chances of individuals having this type of stroke more than doubled if they consumed high levels of diet drinks.

The findings were derived from health data from over 12 years and included more than 81,000 women, ages 50+. Researchers compared the health status of women who drank two diet sodas or fruit drinks a day to individuals who drank those types of beverages once a week (or not at all).

What they found is the high consumption of diet drinks came with increased health risks, not just an increased risk of stroke. Women who consumed high numbers of diet beverages were shown to have a 29 percent higher risk of heart disease. Researchers also found they are 16 percent more likely to die earlier than others.

Diet Drink Alternatives

Although the study did not specify which artificial sweeteners the drinks contained, it is safe to say you should probably avoid them altogether. The American Heart Association suggests that the best no-calorie drink you can consume is water (plain, flavored, or carbonated). As long as it is unsweetened, it is the best choice for a diet drink.

Because all of the participants involved were 50+, it is unclear as to whether the findings would apply to everyone. However, regardless of your age, it is probably a good idea to steer clear of artificial sweeteners.

Readers, how often do you consume diet drinks? Are you concerned about these findings?

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How Many Slices Does a Costco Pizza Have?

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How many slices does a costco pizza have

Costco pizza is extremely popular among members and non-members. In fact, many travel to Costco just to buy a slice or a whole pie. Like everything else at Costco, you may find your pizza a little bit larger than normal. How many slices does a Costco pizza have?

How Many Slices Does a Costco Pizza Have?

A typical pizza that you order from say, Papa John’s or Pizza Hut has eight slices. This is fairly standard across the board. However, Costco slices a few more pieces for you and the family, while keeping the price low ($9.99). In truth, there are three answers to the question, “How many slices does a Costco pizza have?”

  1. Eight large slices. You can request they cut your pizza into eight, large slices of pizza. You may find these slices a bit too big to handle though because Costco pies are quite large.
  2. Standard Costco cut (12). Employees are asked to cut each pie into 12 slices if the customer does not specify otherwise.
  3. Double-cut (16). If you’d like even more slices of pizza out of your Costco pie, ask the employee assisting you to get it double cut. Then, you will have 16 slices of pizza.

Costco Pizza Quality

Despite the pizza being cut into more slices, you still get a decent slice of pizza. You may even find you can feed more people swinging through the Costco food court than grabbing one to bake at home yourself (even though they are the same size).

Where quality and taste are concerned – Costco manages to make a frugal, cheap meal one of the tastiest you’ll have all week. As mentioned in the video above, they don’t skimp on toppings either. Whether you want cheese, pepperoni, or another combination, it will have the perfect amount of everything in every bite.

Ordering Costco Pizza

As mentioned above, you can order a Costco pizza through the store’s food court window. You can nab a cheesy, delicious pizza a few other ways too.

  1. Take-n-bake. Costco also provides its pizza unbaked for you to take home and make yourself. This is a good option if you’d like to add some additional toppings at home.
  2. Order at checkout. If you’re at Costco shopping, you can stop at the food court and order your pizza before you do your shopping or you can add it to your total at checkout. The order will go over to the food court, and you can pack up the car while your pizza is prepared.
  3. Call ahead and order. Costco also allows people to call the food court ahead of time and order a pizza. All you have to do is leave your name and whether you’d like pepperoni or cheese.

When it comes down to it, Costco pizza is a great low-cost (and low-maintenance) meal to include in your family’s weekly meal plan. At $9.99 for 12 slices, you can’t beat it!

Readers, do you enjoy Costco’s pizza? 

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The Odds of Winning the Albertsons Monopoly Game 2019

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Albertsons Monopoly Odds

Albertsons Monopoly is back for its 11th year. The contest, which involves collecting Monopoly game pieces from various Albertsons-owned stores, has been something that has created a bit of a stir in recent years. You collect game pieces and, if you are lucky, you will get the right pieces and win the grand prize of $1 million.

Until May 7, you will have the option to gain Monopoly game pieces when you shop at an Albertsons-owned store. The overall goal of the game is to match a set of properties on a Monopoly game board to win a specific prize. Prizes range from free groceries or merchandise to $1 million.

Practically 2,300 stores across the United States will be offering game pieces to its customers. This year is the first year Safeway shoppers will be eligible to play. ACME, United Supermarkets, Star Market, Safeway, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Pavilions, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, and several smaller, local stores are all offering the Monopoly game pieces and a chance to win $1 million to its customers.

The contest in which people win millions of dollars has been a highly-anticipated event each year since it started 11 years ago. Since Albertsons is continually growing, the contest is continually growing as well. This year, the prizes are bigger as last year and the probability of winning is much higher than in previous years.

Albertsons Monopoly Odds of Winning

Now that you’ve read a bit about the contest, you may be thinking about trying your hand at winning. What are the odds of winning Albertsons Monopoly and taking home one of the $1 million grand prizes?

To win the grand prize of $1 million you need to find two of the hardest to find game pieces. Chances of finding one of these rare game pieces are now 1 in 404 million. So, that means (on the first try) your odds of getting both of the pieces necessary to win $1 million are more than two trillion to one, which aren’t greats odds.

However, it isn’t impossible to win. Additionally, like last year, Albertsons is offering six prizes valued at $1 million. Of course, there are the three $1 million cash prizes but the grocer is also offering three $1 million vacation home prizes as well. If these prizes go unclaimed, Albertsons then performs a second chance drawing for a shopper to get their $1 million.

Increasing Your Odds of Winning Albertsons Monopoly

As stated above, you’ll need to collect rare game pieces to win the grand prize. It isn’t very likely you’ll find one yourself. You are more likely to encounter “rare” games pieces through online trading. Some people trade game pieces to give themselves a better chance of winning one of the prizes (even if it is not the grand prize). It isn’t usually very hard to find someone willing to get rid of a “semi-rare” pieces that may complete a winning set for someone else.

That is only to win the $1 million cash prize or vacation home though. If you are okay claiming a smaller cash price, there are plenty of other rewards to be had. However, there are fewer of these opportunities this year. There will only be 67 million tickets available for free grocery products with values between $0.59 and $14.99 (compared to 112 million tickets last year).

In all reality, if you win anything from the Albertsons Monopoly game, it will likely be one of their smaller prizes, like gift cards, free grocery items, and other small cash prizes. You don’t pay to play though, so you’ve really got nothing to lose. Aside from buying your regular groceries, Albertsons Monopoly costs absolutely nothing for those who play. From now until May 7, when you purchase your groceries at an Albertsons grocer, you will get game pieces.

If you’re looking for a place to safely trade Albertsons Monopoly game pieces, head on over to the Saving Advice forums. 

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