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An Aldi opened open fairly recently by me - I went for the first time and didn't like it - it looked like some old warehouse/discount place (and it was new!) - couldn't figure out the shopping cart thing but I'd planned on looking at only a couple things.... produce didn't look good overall, what was okay looking was the same price as regular grocery stores.... maybe it's my area but I don't get the appeal. When I was leaving, a women came in trying to figure out the shopping cart - there is some kind of coiled, springy thing around them - but no clue how to separate them.......... she walked out.
Oh, wow, mizzourah, I had no idea Aldis was so much cheaper. We have one of those in the town I just moved to, but I haven't checked it out. I've never lived near enough to an Aldis to shop at one before, but will make it a point to check it out very soon. My experience has always been that all the grocery stores are basically the same cost overall (including WalMart, no matter how much people argue it's cheaper), but those are some pretty huge price differences you're talking about.
An Aldi opened open fairly recently by me - I went for the first time and didn't like it - it looked like some old warehouse/discount place (and it was new!) - couldn't figure out the shopping cart thing but I'd planned on looking at only a couple things.... produce didn't look good overall, what was okay looking was the same price as regular grocery stores.... maybe it's my area but I don't get the appeal. When I was leaving, a women came in trying to figure out the shopping cart - there is some kind of coiled, springy thing around them - but no clue how to separate them.......... she walked out.
You put a quarter in a slot and pull the key out, then when you are done with the cart you put it back and get your quarter back. I know it seems like rocket science but it's really not. It's definitely no frills though. But I don't care about that, I'm in and I'm out. I worked at a grocery store for 8 years, so they are all the same to me. My wife worked at Publix for 8 years and loves Aldi's.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dandelion Garden
Oh, wow, mizzourah, I had no idea Aldis was so much cheaper. We have one of those in the town I just moved to, but I haven't checked it out. I've never lived near enough to an Aldis to shop at one before, but will make it a point to check it out very soon. My experience has always been that all the grocery stores are basically the same cost overall (including WalMart, no matter how much people argue it's cheaper), but those are some pretty huge price differences you're talking about.
Yeah fresh is usually considerably cheaper at Aldi's, so your produce and dairy. I've found meat is about on par with Walmart. They also have a pretty good refrigerated 16 inch pizza that's usually $5.99, but often you can find it for $4.99. When Digiorno's are $6-7 for a 12 inch that's a huge difference for supermarket pizza.
When my wife told me what the lady said, she was telling me she was in her late 60s, so I just thought she was delusional, a gallon of milk for a dollar...BS. But she was right. Now I've been to others and the prices differ, but the other one had milk at $1.59/gallon. Nowhere near as cheap, but still better than anywhere else. The best part is that the nearby Walmart neighborhood market competes on all the prices and I typically like the shopping experience a little more (mostly more room in the aisles), so I can just shop there now and get my milk, eggs, and produce at Aldi's prices.
Last edited by mizzourah2006; 04-14-2017 at 07:31 PM..
We spend as much on groceries for four people as the mortgage on a five-bedroom house.
SNAP benefits are based on 30% of a recipient's income. While many exceed it these days, the old rule of thumb is to keep housing expense to 30% of your income as well. A rough equivalence between these two budget categories would not be surprising.
SNAP benefits are based on 30% of a recipient's income. While many exceed it these days, the old rule of thumb is to keep housing expense to 30% of your income as well. A rough equivalence between these two budget categories would not be surprising.
On an average month when you count all money spent at the grocery store and in restaurants we fall well below the thrifty plan for a family of 3. So this includes toilet paper, shampoo, tooth paste, detergents, etc. I guess that's one benefit of needing to watch my weight since I was in HS. I see food as a means to an end instead of something that needs to be enjoyed. We have our cheat meals once or twice a week and usually eat something tasty for dinner but lunches for me are always grilled chicken breast and a side of some sort. Snacks are a protein shake and a piece of peanut butter bread or almonds.
On an average month when you count all money spent at the grocery store and in restaurants we fall well below the thrifty plan for a family of 3. So this includes toilet paper, shampoo, tooth paste, detergents, etc. I guess that's one benefit of needing to watch my weight since I was in HS. I see food as a means to an end instead of something that needs to be enjoyed. We have our cheat meals once or twice a week and usually eat something tasty for dinner but lunches for me are always grilled chicken breast and a side of some sort. Snacks are a protein shake and a piece of peanut butter bread or almonds.
if you look at cost per serving,,,,you can eat very thrifty and healthy if you buy right at the grocery stores,,
you can buy protein for .99lb chicken parts and 1.69lb boneless chicken breasts...
you can buy boneless pork chops for 1.99lb
and burger for 2.99 lb along with some steaks and roasts.. also for 2.99lb
and buy veggies on sale
and pasta is cheap!!! and bread is cheap as are homemade sandwiches
and eggs are cheap!
how much is a dozen medium eggs 1.29??
so for 3-4 eggs for scrambled eggs its less than 50 cents????
I took my son out to eat last sunday and they had 8.99 burgers up to 14.99 "gourmet" burgers
3.00 for a diet pepsi mostly ice,,,,,
ridiculous!! (but I guess I was the fool paying for it)
my son is 24 and a pharmacist, he can buy anything he wants..
he still chooses to be thrifty...he hasn't fallen for the organic falsehoods at 3x the costs, and
he prides himself on finding values and cooking them into very good dishes
maybe this is the balance of treating yourself once in a while at a restaurant
if you look at cost per serving,,,,you can eat very thrifty and healthy if you buy right at the grocery stores,,
you can buy protein for .99lb chicken parts and 1.69lb boneless chicken breasts...
you can buy boneless pork chops for 1.99lb
and burger for 2.99 lb along with some steaks and roasts.. also for 2.99lb
and buy veggies on sale
and pasta is cheap!!! and bread is cheap as are homemade sandwiches
and eggs are cheap!
how much is a dozen medium eggs 1.29??
so for 3-4 eggs for scrambled eggs its less than 50 cents????
I took my son out to eat last sunday and they had 8.99 burgers up to 14.99 "gourmet" burgers
3.00 for a diet pepsi mostly ice,,,,,
ridiculous!! (but I guess I was the fool paying for it)
my son is 24 and a pharmacist, he can buy anything he wants..
he still chooses to be thrifty...he hasn't fallen for the organic falsehoods at 3x the costs, and
he prides himself on finding values and cooking them into very good dishes
maybe this is the balance of treating yourself once in a while at a restaurant
Yup, when we do steaks we almost always get the discounted steak that is getting ready to be thrown out. We usually cook it day of or the next day anyway. You can get great deals on t bones, porter houses, rib eyes, strip steaks, etc. There isn't a reason we have to do that, our HH income is north of $150k/yr in a low cost of living area, but why spend more than you need to just to say you shop at the nice grocer in town. I'd prefer to max out all of our tax advantaged retirement vehicles.
Even at $150,000 per year, there is a tendency for the value of time to outpace the value of money. But as you note, personal preferences can vary widely.
In any event however, food prices are not "out of control." They have in fact been in a period of relative stability relative to their own history.
Food is getting over price. Currently i work in a food retail business and i see cost vs retails. Typical margin on food, is 30-40% above cost. Health and Beauty stuff has a mark up around %50-%75, meat is around %60 depending how good the butcher can cut it, produce is %25-35%. We have vendors that will lock in prices on packages such as chips gives the retailer a %30 margin. Those 2 for dollar chips you see at walmart, cost them around 5-10 cents a bag. When cost goes up, so does retail that is normal, but when they start charging extras like shipping, that is were we have to eat it. We dont like having to eat shipping fees because the vendor is too cheap to eat it. Lucky my boss/owner will drop a vendor if they start charging shipping fees, even if the product does sell, it just eats up his bottom dollar that can be use to pay us. But to the point of this nearly 10 year old thread, cost will always go up in food due to lot of conditions. #1 is greed of the producer, #2 Greed of the retailer, than rest is mother nature.
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