My New Favorite Store.... Aldi

I was turned onto Aldi by one of my friends, Sarah who writes Frugal Five. We were talking about grocery shopping and she told me about this new store that moved into the area about 45 minutes from where we live. I hadn't and when I heard how much she saved, I knew I HAD to go.

This last trip was wonderful and I want to tell you about! I was able to buy two large family packs of chicken, two racks of ribs, one large pork tenderloin, cereal, two bags of baked veggie chips, a box of crackers, a package of peppers, two packages of mushrooms, a package of tomatoes, a pack of strawberries, a bag of pears, two yogurts, and 8 baby food pouches (there may have been a few more items but I can't remember them) all for under $95.00!


With the items in my pantry, this should keep us feed with breakfast, lunch and dinner for two weeks. We may need to do a very small trip for milk, eggs, some more fresh fruit (Little Bean loves his fresh fruit) and formula. But the big ticket items are purchased and if they aren't prepped, they will be tomorrow.


If you've never been to Aldi there are some things you should know. Aldi is a very unique shopping experience because you have to use a quarter to get your cart, bring your own bags and then bag your own items. Even though it's a tiny bit of extra work for me, I'll do it for the savings anytime and honestly, its not really that much work. Besides, how many times have you been in a grocery store and the cashier throws/tosses your apples/bananas/peaches/tomatoes into that little side basket or sets something heavy on top of them. Maybe it's the control freak in me, but I'd rather bag it myself instead of let someone else mishandle my food.


 Another thing to know about Aldi before shopping there is they do NOT accept coupons. This was a huge shock for me, I love my coupons and enjoy being able to see the amount saved on the bottom of a receipt. Even though I love my coupons, I will not deny how much I save going to Aldi. Besides, I can still use my coupons on things like formula, diapers, etc.


I am so grateful that I have been able to find a store where I can get items in larger quantities cheaper. If you haven't been able to check Aldi out and you have one near you, I highly recommend it. If you don't have an Aldi near you, check to see if you have a discount supermarket near you. It takes a little getting used to, but I can't say enough good things about how much I've saved.