Calling all Aldi's shoppers!

[CCL]

I alway buy the frozen precooked shrimp and frozen uncooked chicken tenderloins. Milk is always $1.69 per gallon here. Other stores, $2.89 or so. I like their Greek yogurt. All of their chocolate bars I have tried have been really good. They usually have the best fruit in town, blackberries, raspberries, and watermelon are great.

[Sam_2.0]

Another few things I remembered after my trip there yesterday:

Fish oils, ibuprofen, and kids gummy vitamins
Baby wipes and diapers, hand soap
Clorox wipes, windex, ziplocs, trash bags, napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, kleenex.

[The Captain]

Well shoot, I don't know if it's a regional thing or what but the Aldi's by my new house didn't have my caramel ice cream topping or potstickers!!!



Folks - I'm curious - please let me know if your store has them.

[WholeLottaNothin]

You get diapers there, Sam? Hmmmm

[Peace77]

Jul 13, 2015 9:16:45 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Well shoot, I don't know if it's a regional thing or what but the Aldi's by my new house didn't have my caramel ice cream topping or potstickers!!!



Folks - I'm curious - please let me know if your store has them.

Sometimes they have things that are "specials".  If you see something different, buy as much as you can because there's a chance that you'll never see it again.
Some "specials" are center aisle items, some are frozen and some are imported Christmas items.

I would ask the manager.

[Martivir]

I tend to stick to Price Rite but I should start going to Aldi again. I have two within a couple of miles of me. One in the not so desirable spot and other in the "good" section of town. I'm right on the edge of the official burbs' and the city. Haven't been in years but used to go there all the time when I was in college because I could pop to one quickly between classes and stock up and snacks and drinks to keep in my car. They used to be the only place my ex could find his beloved strawberry creme soda( yuk ) and I could get a week's worth of school meals for under twenty bucks. I was there from 8am to 9pm four days a week and on Friday we were there till 5.

[Sam_2.0]

I have, yes. They really are fine. I was nervous to try them, but they do have their money back guarantee. This last time I got diapers at Walmart when I made a big order, but if J outgrows them like I think he will I won't hesitate to pick up a pack at Aldi ;

[The Captain]

Ok, got something new to add to the list.

Gummy bears.  Yep - the Aldi brand is the best of several I've tried recently.

Not the healthiest of snacks, but just letting you know.

(Don't judge - it's quarter end close)

[alabamagal]

The thing I don't like about Aldi is that they don't always stock the same thing. 2 weeks ago I got their brand of banana nut crunch cereal and it was as good as Post brand and a lot cheaper. So this week I went to Aldi last and they didn't have it?

[MJ2.0]

I like their sea salt pita chips... DS likes them too. They also have decent guacamole.

[Sam_2.0]

Jul 13, 2015 19:27:25 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

The thing I don't like about Aldi is that they don't always stock the same thing. 2 weeks ago I got their brand of banana nut crunch cereal and it was as good as Post brand and a lot cheaper. So this week I went to Aldi last and they didn't have it?

They have their core items and then special items. If its not selling well at that store they dont restock. We just got more of that cereal of ours. Maybe ask your manager to order it?

[andi9899]

Jul 8, 2015 22:06:24 GMT -5 Peace Of Mind said:

I highly recommend their chocolate butter cookies.  They are to die for IMO!   I've never been to Aldi's yet but she said that's where she got them (the lady that brought them to a party).  That's all I know about but it's really all you need to know for good mental health.     I think these are it:

 

I got some of these today. I told Thing 2 to try them because they apparently are like crack. She inhaled the whole box and now Thing 1 doesn't get to try them because she is at work.

[sarcasticgirl]

Jul 9, 2015 15:05:52 GMT -5 WholeLottaNothin said:

I got these dark chocolate caramel sea salt candies. OMG! I would go back again and again just for those!

My coworker brought some of those in to the office about a month ago. They were very good- better than the TJs version that doesn't have sea salt. Not as good as the whole foods version... But aldi had them for about $2 and whole foods runs about $8.

I have only gone to aldi once, but I would go again for a few packaged items.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards

[WholeLottaNothin]

Jul 19, 2015 17:07:37 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Jul 8, 2015 22:06:24 GMT -5 Peace Of Mind said:

I highly recommend their chocolate butter cookies.  They are to die for IMO!   I've never been to Aldi's yet but she said that's where she got them (the lady that brought them to a party).  That's all I know about but it's really all you need to know for good mental health.     I think these are it:

 

I got some of these today. I told Thing 2 to try them because they apparently are like crack. She inhaled the whole box and now Thing 1 doesn't get to try them because she is at work.

I got a box of those last week when I went. I hid them so I don't have to share lol.

[Peace77]

Jul 20, 2015 18:56:01 GMT -5 WholeLottaNothin said:

Jul 19, 2015 17:07:37 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

I got some of these today. I told Thing 2 to try them because they apparently are like crack. She inhaled the whole box and now Thing 1 doesn't get to try them because she is at work.

I got a box of those last week when I went. I hid them so I don't have to share lol.

Good plan!!

[WholeLottaNothin]

And I want to thank you all for being so helpful. I have liked most of the stuff I have bought so far. And it's kind of fun trying new things, especially when it doesn't cost me a lot if we end up not liking it.

[trippypea]

If you like BBQ potato chips, they have a brand called Clancy's that is $1.39 a bag and they are just as good (or better) than the name brands. My daughter loves trail mix, and they have a big bag for $4.89, lots of different varieties. Wegman's sells a similar size bag for $12.99! I find that eggs, milk, butter, cream cheese, and sour cream are always cheaper at Aldi than any other store. The baking supplies are also cheaper, and it is a great place to get your flour, sugar, spices, etc.

They typically have cheaper produce, but I do find it goes bad faster. Though I bought tomatoes at Giant last week and by the next morning one of them was already rotting, so even the bigger stores are like that. I always buy fruit there, like strawberries and bananas, because they are much cheaper. They had pints of strawberries and blueberries a couple weeks ago for 99 cents, and they were great!

Condiments are also a good deal at Aldi, like BBQ sauce, mustard, salad dressing, etc. We tend to go through a lot of bottled water and they have the cheapest prices around, AND it tastes good (some off brands don't)...

[singlemomky]

I shop at Aldi and I also follow the blog and FB page of "I Am That Lady" who does Aldi meals plans and has lots of budget-friendly & time saving posts.  Here is her list of 30 must buy items from Aldi.

Aldi Items

[WholeLottaNothin]

Thanks!

[chiver78]

so in exploring the area around my new office, I discovered an Aldi. I've seen them while travelling, but I'm pretty sure this is the only one within about 3h of my house. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, what should I expect? I know y'all over here in SS rave about them as a place to find awesome food savings compared to some of the options near me....but I've never set foot in one.

sent from my electronic distraction

[busymom]

You won't recognize any of the brand names of the foods sold there. I've found some good items, & some not-so-good items. The prices are excellent, though.  I can personally recommend a lot of their baking mixes.

[saveinla]

There was a thread recently about Aldi and all the items there - ymam.proboards.com/thread/45977/calling-all-aldis-shoppers

[chiver78]

ooh, thanks. I'll merge this thread into that one when I get to a 'puter.

sent from my electronic distraction

[Blonde Granny]

Our nearest one is in a part of town I don't even like to drive through, let alone get out of the car.

The first thing you'll notice is that you will need 1 quarter to put into the shopping cart to release it from the others. Our store is dingy looking on the inside and doesn't lead me to believe that it's cleaned on a regular basis.  I just get the feeling that whatever I'm buying are products that are below the standards set by most regular generics.

There is also something about credit card/debit card use, but that  may have changed, I've just never been back again to find out.

[chiver78]

bumping this thread because I merged a new one I started last night over in Smart Spending. I read through the original answers, and will absolutely be making a list before I go. thank you!

[Sam_2.0]

Aug 5, 2015 7:15:56 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

Our nearest one is in a part of town I don't even like to drive through, let alone get out of the car.

The first thing you'll notice is that you will need 1 quarter to put into the shopping cart to release it from the others. Our store is dingy looking on the inside and doesn't lead me to believe that it's cleaned on a regular basis.  I just get the feeling that whatever I'm buying are products that are below the standards set by most regular generics.

There is also something about credit card/debit card use, but that  may have changed, I've just never been back again to find out.

Sorry yours isn't so great Ive never had a problem with the quality of the foods there. In fact, we like most of their stuff better than the name brands.

They don't take credit cards. They only take debit/EBT/cash.

As for the quarter, I took one and painted it with nail polish and keep it in my wallet. That way I won't forget it. I am about to punch a hole in it and put it on my keyring so I can't lose it

[chiver78]

this thing about the quarter...do you get it back when you return the cart or something?

[Sam_2.0]

Yes. The carts have locks on them. You put in a quarter to release the lock, and when you return it and re-lock it, the quarter pops back out. It's just to make sure people return the carts. They don't have cart corrals or pay the employees to fetch carts around the parking lot. One way they streamline and save money.

[chiver78]

interesting. all the places I've seen pay carts (airports, etc) it's been a fee for the cart. is each cart locked up individually? how would you get your same quarter back?

[The Captain]

FWIW the Aldi's in my area are spotless.

Also, like many "generic" items, their stuff is frequently made by the same company/plant that makes the national brands.

For example, the Brownberry 100 calorie sandwich thins that cost almost three bucks at my Jewel?  The Aldi "brand" is less than two bucks, looks identical, tastes identical, and has identical ingredient and nutrition information.  Only the label is different.  You decide.

I used to work for a company that had a nutrition division.  It takes a decent about of time, cost and effort to get package labeling approved for retail sale.  Now knowing this, and how much it costs to tool a plant to produce something, what makes more sense?

1.  Aldi build everything from scratch?, or

2.  Aldi gets it's goods from the same companies that make other national brands using their manufacturing plants/excess capacity?

I love trying to figure out which national brand makes certain generic brands.  It's kind of a game in our house - we do taste tests and comparisons every now and then.

I'm not the only one with this "hobby"...

lifehacker.com/stop-wasting-money-buy-the-identical-cheaper-versions-1481925774