Aldis

[pixiedustfairy]

I've never been to Aldis before. I have several $5 off $20 coupons so I thought I might make a few trips. Any opinions on the best things to buy there?

 

[Lisa0620]

You may be able to get these things cheaper using coupons at a regular store, etc., I'm not a super deal shopper that way, but I know their prices are reliably cheap so I buy:

snack nuts, baking nuts, m&m's, fruit strips, pringles, tortillas, refried beans, cooking spray, real maple syrup (when they have it), coffee filters, paper towel, toilet paper, tin foil, plastic wrap, plastic bags, pasta, spaghetti sauce, cheese, cheese sticks, feta, hummus, fruit, vegetables, frozen blueberries, texas toast.

I don't buy: meat or fish, flour (bleached), apple sauce (HFCS), ketchup (HFCS).

 

[bearloch]

I shop there on and off! I have seen name brand items at a lower price but I have also gotten there brand and never hd a promblem! nuts, fruit snacks are good as well as cookies have also gotten fish there and ice cream and both were good! also chips and graham cracters.

 

[Patience]

One just opened near my place of work so I have been popping in there every now and then lately, mostly for hummus. It is really good and very inexpensive. I also have purchased and been happy with the maple syrup, fresh mozarella cheese (only $2.99 for a ball of it, I use it to make caprese salad), and veggie chips. Someone on another thread mentioned that they have pumpkin spice cream cheese right now and a cranberry/sweet potato salsa that sounds interesting so I am going to stop in next week after work and look for those things. Aldi's is owned by the same company as Trader Joe's and I think the hummus is exactly the same as Trader Joe's. I love Trader Joe's but I have to drive 30 minutes to get to one.

 

[albarellic]

Their produce is much cheaper than our local grocery stores. We save about $25-$30 a week by buying most of our produce there.

 

[FINFAN]

produce and dairy are generally always cheaper. As far as coupons, do you mean for name brand products? As Aldi carry off name stuff for the most part. The produce I picked up a few days ago is really good, apples, strawberries, pears and avacados. I also like their chicken brand,(Kirkwood) if you research it it receives high markings but DO check experation dates as you would any store.
This article was helpful for me


http://momadvice.com/blog/2011/10/behind-the-scenes-with-aldi-supermarket
do a search or Kirkwood products or Aldi in general for couponing etc.

I would say it's worth trying once, for sure.

I also picked up our pumpkins there this week, $2.20 each and they are HUGE!

 

[North of Mouse]

I've never been to Aldis before. I have several $5 off $20 coupons so I thought I might make a few trips. Any opinions on the best things to buy there?

I can do better at our local grocery stores with coupons and sales for most grocery items, but I do buy some of their produce (onions squash, carrots, mushrooms, pineapples, blueberries).

I also like their chocolate covered pretzels (yummy). They're much cheaper than the leading brand, also they haven't been seasonal there, so I can get my fix all year

I tried their milk once - got a bad gallon, so will not be buying it again. Get all my cheeses, etc. cheaper with double Q's elsewhere.

Not to say a lot of their snacks, meats, groceries aren't good, but I just get better deals elsewhere for the majority of their items.

Saw their seasonal salsa but they look watered down, didn't appeal to me.

 

[ceecee]

Produce is usually a lot less and bagged salads. They have Pumpkin Spice Cream cheese that I love and that has been the only reason I have been in the last year....Memorial Day they had nice hanging baskets for $5.99. I hate our Aldis because the line takes an hour to get though and I don't buy much. Some people buy more than we eat in a month and those are the ones I always seem to get behind.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

I love Aldi! The one close to me is fairly new and always very clean. There are some weird things you have to deal with at Aldi - paying a quarter for a cart, having to bag your own groceries and bring your own bags, can't pay with a credit card (only cash or debit), occasional longer lines to check out (fewer employees to keep prices down).

If you keep those things in mind when you go, it's not bad. The prices are certainly WAY cheaper than my grocery store or Walmart, and I find it to be quicker to get in and out of since the store is so small. Because the store is so small, there are a lot of things they don't have. Less variety. So I can't buy everything I need there, but I can get a lot of it. For instance, produce is WAY cheaper and normally good quality, but not as good of a selection of items as the store, and sometimes they are packaged in larger quantities (i.e., you have to buy a package of 3 zucchini, not just 1 zucchini).

There are some things I can sometimes get cheaper (or for the same price, like canned goods) at the grocery store with sales and coupons.

I also buy most of my meat at Aldi because it's so much cheaper. (Usually ground turkey, 90/10 ground beef and chicken breasts) The quality is good.

We didn't love the ice cream or the bagged salad (bagged spinach was fine though). I use a ton of the canned goods (beans, diced tomatoes, etc.) when I cook and they are all great.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

They have four different varieties of 11" frozen pizzas which are pretty decent. They are only $1.99 each.

 

[MaggieBailey]

We love Aldi! I make my list, then go to Aldi - then if there are things I can't get there I head to WalMart. We are not "brand" people at all; except paper towels mayo, lol. I love their produce prices, on occasion its not great (new stuff comes in every Wednesday) and sometimes it wasn't great as the week went on...
Every once in awhile things are cheaper at WalMart - but for the most part, not at all! I love that they carry almond milk now, they have Keifer brand yogurt - which is so good for you and we love! They have frozen boneless skinless chicken breast which we eat all the time; also their frozen raw shrimp are good too.
I don't care for the ice cream treats (the "skinny cow" but not kind, haha) but that's really all I can think of that I don't like. The nice thing is they have a double money back guarantee if you don't like a product and return it.

 

[Avonlady1001]

Not sure if all Aldi's are the same, but I went in there not knowing they only accept cash or debit & that you have to bring your own bags. LOL Luckily I wasn't buying much...but it would've been nice to know in advance.

 

[brennicksmom]

I give two thumbs up on their fresh fruits and vegies. The green beans are always delicious. The fruit snacks are great. Milk is priced great-better than Sam's or Costco. We get their brand of Gatorade-my kids say it tastes exactly the same. The premade pizza crusts are good too. They have tubs of freshly grated parmasian cheese that is good. The only thing I swore to never get there again is lunch meat. I needed something quick and I think starving was a better choice! I just bought their coffee and I have to admit it is good too. My husband is a Foldgers drinker and could not tell the difference.

 

[snowy76]

Not sure if all Aldi's are the same, but I went in there not knowing they only accept cash or debit & that you have to bring your own bags. LOL Luckily I wasn't buying much...but it would've been nice to know in advance.

Yep, part of the way they reduce their overhead, and keep the prices low. Same for the quarters in the carts, and keeping a lot of their stock in their shipping boxes.

Aldi is always our first stop for grocery - the staples, snacks, canned goods - then we head to Wegman's for specialty items, coldcuts, fresh bakery etc. It's crazy how a full cart at Aldi is often the same or less than a half-full cart at Wegs!

A heads up to people who buy ham for the holidays - Aldi's spiral sliced ham is reeeeeallly good and really inexpensive. Also check their special buys each week - sometimes they have national brands for a limited time.

 

[jessica52877]

I find that I buy most of our junk from aldi's, potato chips, tortilla chips, etc. DS also loves their fruit snacks and slim jim things. Produce and milk is also always cheaper. There isn't one near us so I don't hit one often and after I buy those few things I am always out of $. I don't carry much cash at all.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

It's really not a bad place. The quality if their stuff seems good. Their "big" pizzas (comparable to the Walmart deli pizza) are really really good. I grabbed one of those last year around Christmas, because I was in the store and it looked good, it was a big hit.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

I give two thumbs up on their fresh fruits and vegies. The green beans are always delicious. The fruit snacks are great. Milk is priced great-better than Sam's or Costco. We get their brand of Gatorade-my kids say it tastes exactly the same. The premade pizza crusts are good too. They have tubs of freshly grated parmasian cheese that is good. The only thing I swore to never get there again is lunch meat. I needed something quick and I think starving was a better choice! I just bought their coffee and I have to admit it is good too. My husband is a Foldgers drinker and could not tell the difference.

Oh yeah! I forgot about lunch meat. I got some last week from Aldi and we didn't think it was very good. I'm not a big lunch meat eater but my husband likes a sandwich sometimes.

Also I got a carton of grape tomatoes that weren't so hot, but I've gotten them in the past and they were fine, so I'm chalking it up to a bad batch.

We can usually get our coffee (we drink Eight O'Clock) cheaper at Publix when it's Buy One Get one Free with coupons.

 

[hsmamato2]

where do you get aldi's coupons? OP?

 

[threecrazykids]

where do you get aldi's coupons? OP?

I was going to ask the exact same thing...it's one of their known "things"...they don't accept nor produce coupons. I know they don't accept coupons on the name brand stuff they sell as overstock, but I've asked the manager of my store before if they ever have "Aldi coupons" and he said never.

We have had several in our area open in the last few years and I have NEVER seen a coupon for Aldi's. Maybe this is a new thing????

 

[pixiedustfairy]

OP here.Thanks everyone for your help. I am actually writing my grocery list and popped back in here. The coupons I have are on the circular on the front. They are for $5 off a $20 purchase/only excludes alcohol. Maybe they just have them in my area because there is a lot of competition. I've noticed them the past few weeks so I thought I would give the store a try this week. Will be heading out shortly. Wish me luck.