Aldi, The Grocer Changing the Game

LET ME HELP YOU MAKE YOUR GROCERIES CHEAPER! I want to shout it from the roof tops because this store has helped so many people reduce their grocery budgets and I wish everyone knew about it! As a mom I am always looking to save money anywhere I can, and groceries can be a huge expense.

I first fell in love with the grocery store Aldi when I was in college. Living on a tight grocery budget and trying to eat things that are good for me don’t always go hand in hand. This reached a new level when my husband and I moved to the DC area and we were living off just my income because his business was just getting started. Suddenly a cheap grocery bill became a necessity. We lived off of $60 a week for two people for 3 meals a day. We even went as low as $30 a week for two months when things got really tight.

Things are better now but I still don’t want to over pay! Due to the pandemic I typically shop about every 2.5 weeks (or when the cheese sticks run out) and it usually costs us about $230 for a family of 4. So about $23 per person per week.

Here is a random sampling of common groceries people might buy. I have compared Aldi and Giant, and you can see the huge difference!

Grocery Items	Giant	Aldi
Eggs	$      1.99	$      1.29
Honey wheat bread	$      3.49	$      0.95
1% Milk (Gallon)	$      3.69	$      1.89
Mustard	$      2.19	$      0.55
Mango (Each)	$      0.77	$      0.39
6 pack of Bagels	$      2.49	$      2.39
Chicken breast	1.99/lb	1.69/lb
Flavored coffee creamer	$      3.99	$      1.69
Asparagus	$      4.39	$      2.19
Strawberries 16oz	$      4.99	$      2.45
Honey cheerios (Family Size)	$      3.50	$      2.45
Coffee (30.6oz)	$      8.49	$      4.19

Aldi cuts their prices by doing several things you won’t see at other stores:

1. They charge you for bags. I believe its 10 cents per bag, but its easier to just bring reusable bags, or use one of the cardboard boxes if your only grabbing a few things.
2. You have to rent your cart. You put a quarter in to release your cart, and get that quarter back when you return it. Its amazing to watch a person, who clearly can afford to spare 25 cents, march all the way across the parking lot just to get their quarter back!…You know who you are… By doing this Aldi doesn’t have to pay someone to retrieve carts.
3. All of the food comes in a cardboard box, and they just throw the box on the shelf and rip off the top. No time to stop and stock!
4. Every Aldi food item has several bar codes for faster ringing. When you check out the cashier is being timed, and they have to keep their times down. This keeps even the longest lines short lived. (Check your items. I have a box of cereal with 6 barcodes!)
5. There are not a lot of choices! You need mustard? There it is, one option. Sometimes there is an organic or kid friendly option, and if you are lucky you might find two sizes. (Bonus: I don’t have to worry about sending my husband to the store for ketchup and worry he will come home with the wrong kind!)
6. Most stores only have a few people working at them (usually 7), and everyone seems to do everything.
7. Most produce is sold either by the bag or each. This makes it easy because you don’t have to guess how much or wait for the checker to weigh everything.

Switching to Aldi does mean having to change your mindset on food a little bit. I promise it will be worth it!!! Very rarely does Aldi carry the name brand unless it is part of their weekly special buys. If you have kids or a husband who is partial to a specific brand, it may take some convincing to give it up. Many people I know squeezed Aldi ketchup into a Heinz ketchup bottle for a few months to prove their point. And guess what?! Their spouse and kids never noticed a difference!

Some other things you need to know:

1. There are different product lines for dietary needs. Aldi has a variety of lines for people who are looking for gluten free (Live G Free), no hormone (Never Any!), organic and Non-GMO (Simply Nature), and vegan or vegetarian (Earth Grown).
2. Aldi has organic produce! This is a common misconception I hear from friends, “I can’t shop at Aldi, I only eat organic produce.” Bonus: Guess what?! It usually is the same price for organic produce at Aldi as it is for regular produce at any other grocery store!
3. You can buy beer and wine. In states that allow beer and wine sales at the grocer, Aldi has their own selection. It varies from low end (think Aldi’s version of Trader Joe’s 2 buck chuck) to mid range in price. But don’t let price fool you! I have paid $6.99 for wines that rivaled $30 wines I have purchased from other places. (In the future I will do a piece just for Aldi wines)
4. National brands are sometimes repacked as Aldi brand. Aldi will never tell you when they do this. Between you and me, I am almost positive that Burmans Ketchup (Aldi brand) is Heintz ketchup repackaged.

Where’s the Ranch?

If all of this sounds like it is too good to be true, don’t just take it from me. They have their own nerd group! Aldi has created it’s own cult following and you can join us on TheAldiNerd.com Community Facebook page. There you can find hundreds of testimonials a day from a group that is 1.4 million members strong. (Hint: You may be asked by a Nerd “Where’s the ranch?” and the answer is “Where the deer and the antelope play.”)

Feel free to drop your favorite thing about shopping at Aldi in the comments section. I would love to know what other nerds think!