A Beginner's Guide to Aldi
If you have known me for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about Aldi at least once.
I try not to be too overzealous in proclaiming my exclusivity to Aldi, but it’s there, and it’s true. I shop almost 100% at Aldi for my groceries (as well as most of my household needs, and some killer giftables too!), so I wanted to share my most honed-in tips on how to successfully shop at Aldi and save major $$$!
In 2008, I had heard whispers of a friend’s mom shopping at this weird grocery place that didn’t have any name brands and you had to put a quarter in the cart to use it. I had passed by it a few times and wouldn’t have even been able to tell you what it was - a discount store? An international grocery? It was in a somewhat rough-looking shopping center, and I thought the quarter-for-a-cart was to prevent cart theft! That was Raleigh’s first Aldi, and I was fine shopping not there, thankyouverymuch! I was single, living paycheck to paycheck, and had a steady diet of rice and beans on tortilla chips, but I wasn’t brave enough to try this confusing grocery experience.
When John and I got married, we were both working, but our goal was to live on only one salary, and put the other in savings. We had the teensiest budget for groceries, so I decided to do a little research on this grocery store that apparently saved my friend’s mom around $100 in groceries per week. I would be willing to learn if it would make our food budget work, and if the food was actually good enough to entice us to eat in more than we ate out.
So if you’re new to the whole thing,
Aldi originated in Germany and has been around there since 1946, eventually expanding all over Europe and bringing it to America in the 70’s. The idea was to minimize as much overhead cost as possible (as this was right after WWII) to be able to provide affordable but still high-quality grocery items to customers. They still accomplish this in many ways, the most notable being that there are no (or very few) name-brand items. They also function with significantly less employees per location. Items are put right on the shelf in their bulk packaging straight from transit, so fewer people are needed to restock through the day. Because customers put in a quarter to unlock their cart, they return the cart to get their quarter back (yes, you get it back!!), so employees don’t need to retrieve buggies from the parking lot. Most of their employees are full-timers, so you will likely see the same people every time you go.
Preparation is Everything
What do you need to make your Aldi experience as seamless as possible?
A quarter
You’ll get it back! The carts are all locked together outside, and you’ll put your quarter in to unlock your cart. When you’re done, you’ll lock your cart back and your quarter will pop out. I keep a place in my car for my sacred Aldi quarter so I’m never without!
Reusable Shopping Bags
It takes a little extra planning, but I just keep them all packed up inside one bag in my pantry, and grab them on my grocery shopping day. They do have paper and plastic bags available at the register at a small cost per bag. I recommend having at least one cooler-like grocery bag, for your freezer and fridge items, like this one.
Your Shopping List
I definitely lean on my shopping list for my Aldi runs! Because everything is in bulk, it’s easy to pass over items or forget all together. We’ve used this “All Out Of” list for years and we love it!
Time
Especially if you’re accustomed to more traditional grocery store layouts, you’ll not want to rush your first trips at Aldi. It can be a little disorienting shopping from bulk and getting used to the layout of everything.
Be prepared to read labels
Because the majority of the items are Aldi-brand, you’ll want to scan the labels a bit to figure out what’s organic, what’s non-GMO, free-range, gluten-free, etc. But all of those kinds of items are available at Aldi!
For a real good time, go down the “Aldi Finds” aisle
This is where I look for brand-name items on the cheap, household items that are SO cute and affordable, tons of seasonal items, and giftables. They change it every week, though you will see leftovers from week to week. But be sure to grab what you like when you see it as these items are not regularly restocked! I’ve scored everything from beautiful home decor items, to brand-name specialty food items, to nice pots and pans and other kitchen items, garden and yard items, car organizational items, cute children’s clothes (for many-a niece and nephew gift!), Anthro-like candles, hoodies and yoga pants and cute shoes. If you’re pressed for time, just skim or skip this aisle all-together, because you’ll want to peruse for a while!
My Favorite Items
Listen, I’m a little crunchy and I love organic, small-batch, craft, artisan, keto, whole30 - you name it - food choices. I have cracked the code in continuing these loves and saving major moolah! Here are the items I love the most at Aldi, that are super tasty and high-quality, and fit into my lifestyle!
Nuts & Nut butters
I save SO much money buying nuts and nut butters here. For nuts - they have salted, unsalted, bulk, not-bulk, flavored, mixed - and all so reasonably priced I won’t buy nuts anywhere else. We regularly get cashews, almonds, walnuts, and pistachios here. They also have delicious and wonderfully-priced Almond Butter and Cashew Butter!
Free-range chicken eggs
You’ll have to look around the milk to find these eggs, as they’re not as visible as the regular white eggs, but they are there and I save a ton of money buying my free-range eggs from Aldi!
Fancy Cheeses
THE CHEESE IS AS GOOD AS WHOLE FOODS AND TRADER JOE’S!!! And much less expensive! I just want to shout it from the rooftops because, well, I love good cheese and I love a good deal! Because Aldi is based from Europe, you’ll have access to fancy European brand cheese that is de-lish. We especially love the Kerrygold Skellig cheese, and the Farmhouse Cheddar.
High-quality Charcuterie Meats
For those of you who love a good deli meat or charcuterie board (or are on Keto), you will not be disappointed with the assortment of high-quality deli meats they have available here, and all so reasonably priced!
Fair-trade, Organic, Single-origin Coffee
You’ll have to peek around the other options, but there are two fair-trade, organic options that we buy regularly and save around $8-$10 a bag comparatively to other brands! YES PLEASE!
Produce
They have organic and non-organic, bulk and individual, and everything is great! Especially avacados, which are significantly less here than anywhere else!
Wine & Beer
They’re typically Aldi-brand, and those are delicious, but they also have specialty craft beers and wine-of-the-month specialty wines that are cheaper than anywhere else!
Chocolate (good chocolate!)
They have good chocolate at Aldi! Also a benefit of it being a European-based company. We regularly purchase the 85% chocolate bar, and the dark chocolate with nuts!
Home decor & giftable items
I have purchased adorable throw pillows, Anthro-like candles for myself and others, and they have $.99 cards for all occasions! They often offer larger items like shelves, rugs, and desks that are cute and very inexpensive!
Children’s snacks & items
Squeezy-pouches, baby wipes, cute faux grass drying racks, and clothing - you’ll want to scour the options if you have little ones! I buy the squeezy applesauce pouches for myself and have scored more than one niece and nephew gift here, like the cutest sparkly red slip-on shoes!
We do shop for all of our meat at Aldi as well, and although it’s not exactly what you’d find at Whole Foods, there are plenty of grass-fed, more high-quality options for meat. We get salmon, ground beef, ground turkey, chicken breasts, fresh chicken wings, steak, and whole chicken regularly!
Be prepared for the quickest checkout ever
There are at least 5 barcodes on each item in Aldi, so the checkout is remarkably quicker than at other grocery stores. Just a quick note on checkout etiquette at Aldi:
You have to put your items on the conveyor belt unloaded - no putting bags or boxes filled with items up there! They’ll let you know if you forget.
Also, an unspoken rule/helpful tip is to lay down all your tall items, like olive oil, milk, and wine, so they don’t topple over on (or off) the long belt.
The cashier will load your items into the cart of the person who was just before you in line, so you’ll take that cart and the cashier will take your old cart to load for the next person. Personally, I like to stand in front of my cart when I’m in line. It is easier to unload all my items onto the belt. From there I’ll pay, then quickly take the new cart while pulling my old cart into place for the cashier to load for the next person. Even though you have a new cart, you’ll still get your quarter back when you put it back in the cart dolly.
Try it more than once
It can be intimidating, but do try it again if you didn’t have a great first experience. Try a different time or day if it was especially busy when you went (I love going in the evenings, when everything is restocked and it’s a bit less crowded) and ask which day they do a major restock to get the best options. If you love high-quality and shockingly amazing prices, you’ll want to try more than once to get into your Aldi groove!
