Opinions about Aldi Food Stores (Grant: coupons, buy, organic)

[hey teach]

If you have shopped there, what do you think? I've heard some good and some bad. It is kind of out of my way, so I'm trying to decide if I should try it.

[E Limestone Dude]

I'm a huge fan. Granted, there is an Aldi on my way home, and I don't mind stopping at Publix or Walmart to get the things I couldn't get at Aldi.

Aldi is my go-to spot for staples like milk, bread, cheese, can goods, eggs, aluminum foil, garbage bags, chips, cereal, and some fruit/veggies.

What sold me on Aldi, is I can leave the store with a bunch of groceries for $30. I was spending nearly $100 a week at Walmart for my small family.

I say give it a shot. Don't forget to bring a quarter for the cart, and some shopping bags.

[Seth Parker]

I need to go back. The first time I went, I wasn't impressed, but I wasn't really shopping for anything in particular either. We normally spend $200+/week at Walmart (basics) and Publix or Sams (meat, fruit, & veggies). Way too much.

[asitshouldbe]

I shop at Aldi every week, you can't beat the prices, they don't have everything I need but all of the other stores I need are within a mile.

[bmrisko]

We shop at Aldi for some things...mainly milk, eggs and produce when they have weekly specials. Some examples are milk for $2.29 (this price fluctuates a lot), eggs for $.69 (again, the price fluctuates) and various produce for a lot cheaper that Publix or Kroger, such as $0.99 tri-color peppers, tomatoes, onions, pineapple and potatoes...all usually at least 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the other grocery stores. Most other items we can get for cheaper at "normal" grocery stores after coupons.

[RocketCityMama]

I shop there every week for groceries, there are a few things I still go to walmart for, but the majority of it is purchased at Aldis. Our food bill has gone down, a lot. I went one week and shopped walmart for 1 week of groceries instead of Aldis and I spent nearly double.

I used to coupon and shop almost exclusively at Publix or Kroger and CVS, but honestly it got much harder to get coupons, never in the papers we would buy, and often the store was out of whatever it was by the time I could go shop. I spent way to much time trying to get it all worked out, so I gave it up even after almost 2 yrs of saving pretty well.

[Wandering_Missourian]

Aldi's is awesome! For cheap people like me who are too lazy to clip coupons... it is exactly what the Doctor ordered. Bring a quarter for the cart, and buy the big cloth Aldi bags if you end up becoming a regular customer.... they are the only properly-sized/genuinely useful cloth bags I have ever bought (Aldi's doesn't supply bags... paper bags are $0.10 and plastic are $0.40 if I remember right). It will take you a few months to figure out what is good and what isn't.

Interesting note.... Aldi's carries a Red Bull clone called "Red Thunder". It is dirt-cheap and has the same exact ingredients as Red Bull and I swear tastes EXACTLY the same.

Since Aldi's is German-owned (Albrecht family).... you will notice a lot of things don't have high fructose corn syrup when they would at Wal-Mart/Kroger at a similar price point (best example being bread..... the bread at Aldi's is cheap and has no HFCS). That was what made us big fans right away..... we didn't have to spend as much time determining what junk was being put into our food compared to most American grocery stores.

[Ladeebug59]

I am a HUGE Aldi's Fan! I have never had a product that I didn't like....honestly! I always get the same things there: garbage bags, Laundry detergent, grated cheese, canned Soups & Raviolis, OJ, PB, cereal, English Muffins, etc.... Sure I have seen the prices climb in the past few years but that is happenng everywhere you shop. I am a loyal customer and will remain one always. Except for a small amount of items, I can shop there for nearly everything!

[pennquaker09]

I know that a lot of people love Aldi, but I don't think I could ever get into it. We're a strictly organic house.

[elephant08]

This is a great thread; I've often wondered myself about Aldi's... But, really you have to pay to use carts, bags? Odd. Don't harp on me about the quarter. I want my stuff for FREE (hehehehe, I kid). I want to venture in there one day. I often wonder about what's its like, too. Have a good day all