My husband and I are trying to "conserve" our money right now and are cutting back on every possible thing that we can. The main thing we are cutting back on is eating out, followed by not purchasing unnecessary items (books, CDs, etc.) and only getting the essentials when grocery shopping.
I have discovered a little jewel here in Louisville (not a major discovery as I am sure everyone has heard of this place, but a great discovery for me!):
Aldi. This store is my new best friend. I love it! I was a little skeptical at first just because they carry hardly any name-brand items. However, I used to shop at Save-A-Lot and they do not carry name brands either. So...I ventured over to this little market today to purchase our groceries.
As I pulled into the "shopping-cart-free" parking lot (large but still a hop, skip, and jump away from the front door), I noticed several elderly men and women making their way into the grocery store. This is promising....I thought. I ventured over to the corral area where the shopping cars were. You must pay a quarter in order to get your shopping cart. Now some people would put up a fuss over this, but I think it is kind of fun! You insert your quarter, unlatch your buggy from the chain, and take your buggy. I proceeded into the store only to discover that I had gone into the "out" door (unlike Walmart and other stores, these doors only open one way). I turned my buggy around and went in the correct door.
I was immediately greeted by rows and stacks of boxed items, canned items, and candy. It was overwhelming! Especially since I am the kind of shopper that has to go down every aisle to make sure I do not miss a bargain. :) They have everything you can think of from spices to baby diapers to even crockpots! Plus, they have awesome produce, cheeses, and meats.
I won't make you go through my entire shopping trip with me, but I do want to show you some of the bargains I picked up along the way. You will not believe the deals I got! Here is a glimpse of what was in my cart yesterday:
$1.50 for these grapes!!
Oh.my.goodness! These cookies are so soft and chewy -- wayyyyy better
than the Keebler Soft Batch ones (and for only $1.99). Seriously!! Check them out for yourself:
Yummmmmmm!!!
And these....well...have you ever had those Pepperidge Farm Pirouette wafers? These are quite similar - rich, chocolatey, delicate. Oh.My. For only $2.49!
And last but not least:
This bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil was a great deal for $3.99. I have put off buying a new bottle forever just because I refused to pay $6 or $7 dollars for a tiny bottle.
This one is 16.5 oz of goodness!
So there you have it. I save a BUNCH of money by going to Aldi. Oh there is one other thing I forgot to mention. There are no baggers so you have to bag your own groceries. You can either bring in your own bags or purchase some from the cashier for 5 or 10 cents each. The good things is that there is a shelf the length of an entire wall where you can push your buggy to and take your time bagging your groceries. How neat!
I hope you will take Aldi into consideration the next time you want to save some money on your groceries. Or if you just need a bouquet of flowers to brighten up your dinner table (yep they have those too!)!
Now I do confess, I had to go to Walmart to get some other things on my list that Aldi did not have: hairspray, pop, cheese, etc. There are some things that you just cannot mess with when it comes to name-brand (Pepsi, Borden cheese). :)
