Things I Love Thursday - My Love Of Aldi

I'm sure many frugal homemakers trying to make ends meet have raved about their love of Aldi, the discount grocery store chain. Well, I am a very recent convert to the ways of Aldi and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that store!

I live in the Twin Cities and new Aldi stores seem to have been popping up (finally!) within a 10-mile radius of me, so I decided to give the store a try one day on one of my Sunday afternoon "mom day out by herself." I even researched the store a little online before I went and had my trusty quarter ready to go in my pocket for the shopping cart (although I forgot to bring my own shopping bags and ended up paying about 20 cents extra for the bags...lesson learned for this newbie!)

I am not an extremely brand-loyal shopper. When I'm at Target or Walmart, I almost always buy the store brand of most items, ranging from shaving cream to cereal. Because of this, Aldi is a good fit for me for most of my grocery shopping. Aldi's prices (and quality) on items like cereal, orange juice, cheese, and canned vegetables cannot be beat! I've also found some great deals on produce, too. Last weekend, I found a very yummy Dole pineapple for $1.69...$2 cheaper than at Target. And it was excellent quality! I also found a 5-lb. bag of Braeburn apples for $1.39 - again, a nearly unheard-of price at competing stores.

The downside is that Aldi carries very little, if any, organic produce. I am not one of those all-organic, all-the-time moms. I really don't care if my boxed cereal or honey is organic. However, when possible (although it is soooo expensive), I try to buy organic fruit and vegetables, which Aldi doesn't seem to carry at the stories I visit. (Although with great deals like the pineapple and apples last week, sometimes I throw my organic preference out the window and go for the cheap!).

I also will only buy milk that is hormone-free and organic, free range eggs. Again, Aldi doesn't seem to offer these options. At my local Aldi, the bread also all has corn syrup as an ingredient. Bummer. So I don't buy my bread, milk and egg staples at Aldi.

Despite that, however, I still manage to leave with a cart overflowing with groceries and the price has never been above $85. Unbeatable! While I am a coupon lover, I also love the fact that I don't have to mess around with coupons there. The prices are what they are - period. I don't visit Aldi every week - more like every month or so. I call this my big "stock up" trip for things like pasta (Aldi has the BEST whole wheat pasta!), canned goods, and cereal.

I know I'm about the millionth mom to rant and rave about Aldi, but I wanted to get my two cents in. I LOVE Aldi!

Please check out The Diaper Diaries for more "Things I Love Thursday"!