Life is but a dream. : Shopping at Aldi's

Good morning!

I’m off to swim lessons for Molly, my oldest daughter. My younger one doesn’t love to swim yet, hopefully next year! Before swimming, we took a little detour to Aldi’s. Now, there’s a lot I don’t buy at Aldi’s. And I wouldn’t say I go there regularly at all. But, when I see the flyers come in, I’m tempted. I used to think going there would be gross (what can I say, I’m a snob). Something about discount food just creeped me out. But, they carry more and more organic items, and I’ve gone enough times now to have tried some of their products, and they’re pretty darn good! There’s still plenty I don’t buy there- any of the super cheap-y stuff, regular meat, most of their regular dairy… just can’t do it.

Here are some of the items I bought this morning:

Almond milk: $2.29

Organic arugula: $2.49

Trying out these apple straws…. I could see my little man Andrew loving these.: $1.99

non-organic Bananas were only 39 cents per pound!!!

Non-organic asparagus (I remember finding a chart on which produce was safest to buy, didn’t have it with me so I just took a chance. Love asparagus roasted with olive oil): $3.29

I shall find that chart, and I shall post it to this blog. It was super helpful!

Aldi’s version of organic Pirate Booty (I am super excited to try these out- soooo much cheaper than regular Pirate Booty and all of my kids love that expensive stuff!): $1.99

(ps the kids LOVED them.)

Non-organic strawberries- I know that’s a huge no-no, but Molly really wanted them, and they were at least small, not those “grown in Chernobyl for optimum unnaturally huge size!” ones. $2.69

Here's my receipt:

(I'll have to remember to rotate my pictures in iPhoto first...)

There’s tons of buying guides you can find from bloggers on Pinterest that have great tips for buying at Aldi’s, and price comparisons with places like Walmart. I cannot handle Walmart by and large… I just can’t do that store anymore. It’s just too much. But seriously, just go on pinterest and search “Aldi’s,” and you’ll find tons of tips and buying guides.

Here’s what I have found with shopping at Aldi’s, in a nutshell:

· They only take cash or debit cards (or food stamps, etc.)
· They do not bag anything
· You should remember to bring your own bags because otherwise you have to pay for them, although they are super cheap and the plastic bags they sell are large and “deluxe,” so it’s not really a problem. Alternatively, you don’t have to bag your groceries…. But that will be regretful when you get home lol
· Lots of great organic choices
· I only buy organic meat there…. The giant tootsie-roll ground beef creeps me out, that’s just me.
· Great for snack foods, chips, etc.
· Hours are limited- I think they close at 8pm most days!
· Biggest problem for me- since I won’t/can’t “buy it all” at Aldi’s, that means I have to make a second stop at my usual Hannaford (I despise Price Chopper). This is all find and good during the summer and weeks off from school, but during the regular school year when I’m working, I don’t see being able to stop there AND going to another store. Too much time. But, I do enjoy being able to go when I can!

Over the years, I’ve tried couponing and various methods of saving money on grocery shopping. I can tell you one thing’s for certain- saving money on groceries is a time consuming job. I will dabble here and there, but other than just spending a few minutes here and there printing coupons or pre-planning on the Target cartwheel app, it’s usually not worth my time. I’m fortunate that I can get away with that. When I do have some extra time, I try to squeeze it in! More money for the fun stuff that way!!!

((((((( the next day )))))))))

Here's some random pictures of us at North Star Orchards. Another store I love shopping in, even if it means extra work for me, since it means more stops. I restocked on that weird yogurt I love, bought some other produce like local sweet corn, and of course we picked some blueberries!