Shopping at Aldi

We have some friends who say that shopping at Aldi is “overwhelming.” This confuses me, because I find Aldi makes shopping less overwhelming, due to a lack of decision overload. (They don’t sell a zillion different options for each type of food.) The only thing I can figure is that they find it weird, making it hard to adjust to, so — in case that’s you, too — maybe an introduction from someone more familiar will help.

What to Expect

The biggest key to getting the most out of shopping at Aldi is to know what to expect. Their goal is not to be your ultimate source of everything. That means you may not find everything you want there. What they are excellent at is offering a streamlined selection of basics at great prices. They do this in several specific ways:

They cut down on labor costs by not paying someone to bag your groceries. Like at Costco or Sam’s Club. You’ll need to bag your own. You can bring your own bags, or you can buy theirs for a few cents. (This also helps cut down on the costs of more bags than necessary.)
They cut down on labor costs by not having to chase down shopping carts. There’s a unique corral system in use that’s similar to the strollers at the mall. You pop in a quarter to “free” a cart from the corral. When you’re done, return it, and you’ll get your quarter back. (Added bonus: no carts banging into your car in the parking lot.)
They streamline costs by streamlining inventory. You won’t find five different flavors in each of sixteen different brands of jelly. You’ll find two or three different flavors, all one brand (just as an example). This also makes it pretty quick and easy to get through the store because you don’t have to wade through aisle after aisle after aisle of gajillions of options. Just grab what you need and move on.

Limitations

Aldi doesn’t carry everything. That’s okay. You can stock up on basics there, and save money so you can spend more on special items elsewhere — either products where you’re brand-loyal (for instance, we only buy Cottonelle toilet paper), or maybe for meat purchased from a local farm, etc.

Our Favorites

Aldi has been experimenting lately with organics — they seem to be cycling products in and out to see what does well, in this category. So we often pick up organic items that I may not list here because they aren’t consistently options. But some of the things we routinely buy at Aldi include:

corn chips
black olives
chocolate chips
basic spices (They have a limited selection, and bulk spices are often an even better deal.)
baking supplies (sugar, brown sugar, etc.)
butter
cream cheese
cheese
eggs
yogurt (I understand our local store now even has organic yogurt for a good price.)
oats
canned salmon
canned tuna
canned beans
tomato sauce
canned tomatoes
canned vegetables
apple juice
produce
frozen salmon fillets
frozen burritos (not health food, but cheaper than eating out on one of those “last minute dinner” nights)
frozen vegetables (especially the “petite” green beans)
frozen juice concentrate
frozen fruit
wine (We don’t drink it, so I can only assume it’s decent for drinking; I only buy it to cook with, personally.)

Need More Help?

If you want to really make it easy, check out Carrie Willard’s Slash Your Grocery Budget and Eat a Whole Foods Diet with Aldi. She’s even made the menu for you and tells you exactly what to buy! It can’t get any easier than that (short of someone else doing the actual shopping for you)! You can grab it at Amazon.