Aldi's just opened nearby nearby - what do YOU buy there??

[Vernie822]

I love Aldi. I find that I save so much there in comparison to our local Wegmans or Giant Eagle. Sometimes I go every week, sometimes it's every 2. I do buy my meat there, I have never noticed that it's "bad" quality per se, but the steak could be better. I have bought their chicken tenderloins and they have a little more.. well.. tenderloin, I guess, than I'd like!? Hard to explain, but the ones I've purchased elsewhere are just chicken and sometimes these have.. additional parts?! Lol..

Anyhow, here are some items I particularly like from Aldi.
Blue corn tortilla chips (so good)
Raw nuts, salted nuts, etc. (they have a really nice selection)
Sea salt and cracked black pepper kettle chips
Cereal (we're not big cereal eaters, but their selection is right in line with name brand stuff)
Eggs (Uhhh ours had them for .49/doz last week!)
Fresh salsa
Hummus - They occasionally have special flavors, my favorite is when they have the Spinach/Artichoke.. it's amazing!
Cheese (their Laughing cow-esque cheese is really good, and they always have some fun cheeses like cranberry goat cheese, havarti, etc)
'Never Any' deli meat, I really like the ham
Organic coffee K Cups (seriously they're like $6!)
Bacon
Simply Nature anything! This is their new organic line and it's fantastic.
Produce - When I first started shopping at Aldi 3 years ago their produce selection was not that great. I find now that its just as good if not better than our name brand supermarket stuff.
Canned goods - I seriously grab so many cans of beans, diced tomatoes, etc in the winter time, you can make a batch of chili for like < $10
Broth - Their organic broth is so cheap and is great to have on hand.

I'm probably forgetting lots of things, but needless to say I love Aldi. I have a few coworkers who rag on me for shopping there and think its "gross", but I'm saving money, especially on things like canned goods and produce.

I don't really buy much household stuff, I find that's really not great in quality. I'll spend a little more and buy Target Up&Up brand for things like paper towels and trash bags. I do buy things like paper plates, plastic silverware, etc. when I need it.

They're also really great for holiday fun items like cookie mixes, summer time treats, etc. I got a really neat 12 pack of K Cups around the holidays. It had various Christmas flavors like sugar cookie, roasted chestnut, etc!

 

[mrsabbott]

I buy nearly everything there. Eggs, milk, cheese, butter and dairy products, fresh fruits and veggies, bread, canned goods, gluten free items, nuts, organic snacks for the kids, hummus, guacamole, grass fed beef and salmon for Hubs, condiments, sauces... Their take and bake pizza is pretty good too.

I don't like their yoghurt or almond milk. But most of our shopping is done there and it saves me lots of money!

 

[heath92681]

We buy regularly - almond milk, organic yogurt tubs, fruit pouches for the kids, frozen organic blueberries and strawberries, jars of applesauce, organic cheese slices, blocks of cheese to shred, salad greens, gluten free granola. They've had so many "limited time" items lately that have been so great, I hope they bring them back permanently - quinoa chips, organic hummus, and barbecue sauce in particular. Mostly all of their "Simply Nature" items have been great.

 

[Txshadow]

Being the sneaky mom, I save name brand boxes and put Aldi brand replacements inside. For example Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, Aldi's is exactly the same but cost $2 less a box! Hubby and kids turn their noses up at off brands but they haven't noticed the swaps.

 

[klacey1]

Our store has white, red and sweet potatoes! The only things I didn't like were the organic chicken broth (I swear it was just water!) and the chocolate covered blueberries which weren't real chocolate.

Hmmmm maybe the potatoes are just gone for the day by the time I go (usually in the evening)?! I'll be able to go close to opening tomorrow morning and hopefully they'll have some then!

 

[Eureka]

I just went for the first time today, mainly to see what we might want to try. I found that many items I can get cheaper when I buy name brand items at Target or Giant with a sale and/or coupon (for example the rice mixes like rice a roni). I got Aldi brand Swiss cake rolls and peanut butter crackers to see if my brand-name-snack-food-snobby children will eat them, lol. They had Pepperidge Farm goldfish for $1.85 (normally $1.99-2.39 without a sale where I shop) and I was planning on getting some this week anyway, so grabbed a couple bags. I noticed that many of the chips and pretzels were cheaper but also smaller bags than what I get at BJ's so I am not sure the unit price is much different.

I did buy eggs (.79/dozen!) and hamburger rolls (.69) because they were way cheaper than my normal store brands, and also picked up honey and dried cherries at half of what I'd pay elsewhere. I passed on the milk because it's about what I get it for at BJ's. Splurged on a jar of fancy olives for DH, which also were probably $1 cheaper than at Target. All in all, I spent $15; half on things that I know should be fine and half on "experiments" to see what we like.

We've been cutting back on chips, frozen food and stuff like that, and have to be more careful because I recently became unemployed, so I wanted to check it out. Don't think I'll go out of my way (it's not right near my house) that often, but was glad I went.

 

[chanliteheart]

I buy as much as I can there. Ours doesn't have large produce or meat sections either but what they carry is good. The boneless skinless chicken is cheaper than the warehouse club. And the price on organic items is surprisingly good.

Coupons: Not sure how many locations do this or if it's limited since this location is fairly new. Our Aldi gives a $5 off your next $30 minimum purchase. You need to ask at the register. I try to get as close to $30 as a can to maximize the percentage saved. I go once a week and buy just over $30 worth of stuff. Worth checking to see if the Aldi near you does it too. I'll be so sad if this is temporary. I've been getting my groceries at close to 18% off and using my CC with a 5% grocery bonus right now. Sweeeet.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I don't know if the coupon thing is all the time. It's worth looking into, though, for people with an Aldi's nearby.

Back when I lived in New England, and Aldi's opened up ~20 minutes away (and directly on a weekly route I took). They offered the $5 off $30 as a "Grand Opening" coupon. A year later, one opened up 5 minutes away (Yay!). I got occasional mailers with Aldi's coupons--like a postcard thing. My biggest problem with the 5-minutes-away Aldi's was, I'd shop so often, I would rarely get to $30--especially since, at the time, I would only use cash there. So, I'd have to hold off on going, so I could spend enough to use the coupon. They might have also offered a $10 off $50 or $75. You could use both coupons on separate trips.

 

[Storminion]

Powdered sugar and butter by the case. My wife does lots of baking and she makes her own frosting. She says the Aldi powdered sugar beats the "name brand" stuff easy. We also buy lots of their organic stuff.