Disappointed with ALDI, coupons and grocery shopping in general

[Kycha]

some soy or almond milk, etc. (although we do make our own almond milk at times.)

How do you make your own almond milk?

 

[hsmamato2]

I went through a few months when I stopped shopping Aldi... I had been going all the time, then noticed price increase on many things....enough difference that our grocery store or CVS had cheaper milk.... So I started couponing and going to the grocery store instead..... I did email Aldi- b/c I noticed our town was MUCH more expensive than nearby towns for prices....Milk prices-1.99 nearby,3.49 in my hometown WTH?!?
I let them know I had stopped shopping there,and the reasons. It just wasn't worth stopping if I had to worry about those things.... Lo and behold, 2 weeks later,our milk prices dropped by about 1.00 and the other prices,while higher than a year ago, are holding steady,so I'm going there again!
Like my kids love the fake 'doritos' ,they were .99 a bag,now 1.29. Still over 2.00 less per bag than the name brand....and the way they disappear when opened,I'm glad to be saving!
Plus so many of the fruit and veggie prices are so cheap,I'm sticking with the best bargains. And Aldi showed me they were listening,which earns my loyalty!
Plus, those frozen fudge bars for 2.99, are SO good.....and low cal!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Here's a link with photos and everything:

http://www.choosingraw.com/raw-101-homemade-almond-milk/

It's pretty simple: basically you soak the almonds in water, add more water and sweetener and flavourings as desired, blend it all up, and strain it.

Teresa

 

[ChrizJen]

OP, I definitely see where you're coming from.
We're feeling the pinch too. We've been couponing avidly for about 4 months now, and I think we're finally getting the hang of it. But we're to the point, as others have said, that we have no toiletry needs whatsoever. We're so stocked on everything that when we do see a deal on TP, deodorant, soap, etc, it has to be absolutely FREE or we won't do it. And even then, it all goes in the "donate" stack. We've set up a box in our pantry for just that.

Now on to food. We've got a fairly good stockpile of staples that we can make work for dinners and lunches. So most of the "make a list and shop" type shopping we do is for fresh food (meat, produce, dairy). By shopping at Aldi's, we're able to make it on $80 or less a week for our family of 3. That's including lots of fresh fruit, bread, cheese, and milk. Not too shabby!

I understand it's tough all over, and couponing/saving money is hard to do sometimes. At times it feels like a I've got second part time job on the side. But it works, and I won't stop. I've seen the results, and when I think about all of the money I used to spend on all of these things that I now get for free or super cheap, I probably won't ever go back to the old "shop when you need something" way.