Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Do you like to save money?

I do. I do a lot.

How do I feed my family of five? Aldi. Plain and simple. If it weren't for Aldi, I'd starve. I like a coupon as much as the next person. I do still shop at major chains, for sales, with coupons in hand, and walk out saving 60-80% because I only buy what I walked in for. They really don't like me at my local grocery stores b/c they pay me to shop there. Doesn't make them THAT happy.

Okay, so what happens when you can't live off mayonaise and shampoo and you actually have to buy FOOD and lots of it to feed your families???

Aldi.

If you've never heard of Aldi, please visit www.aldi.com to check them out. They're not your normal grocery store. There aren't 18 brands of something you get to choose from. You want toothepaste, you buy toothepaste. You want ketchup, you get ketchup. They keep about 2500 items on hand at all times, held in palates, easy to grab, easy to load, easy to store. They don't advertise. Well, I take that back...between infomercials at 3:00 a.m. you'll catch an ad for Aldi. They also carry special items seasonally that you can purchase for a limited time.

What does all of this mean to YOU, the consumer? Unbelievable savings that don't require you to clip coupons, shop ads and travel to 5 different stores to go grocery shopping AND save money. Can you do ALL your shopping at Aldi? No...I can't lie there. They don't have fresh herbs. They don't have exotic cheeses, etc. BUT, you can do MOST of your shopping there - if not all - MOST of the time.

What I hope to do with this blog is to break the stereotype of the discount grocery store.

If you don't have an Aldi close enough for you to shop, consider purchasing store brands rather than national brands, and see for yourself that they can be delicious, and more economical. Often, store brands are made by the national brands, just packaged for the store. You pay less and get the same thing without even knowing it. Ahhh, the big lie: that you need to buy the higher priced national brand to get the same taste and quality. OFTEN, you can have a great coupon, and the item's on sale BUT the store brand is still cheaper. It happens. It happens a lot.

Okay...so...doors are open. Be on the lookout for great, economical recipes. I'll try to share the cost savings when possible.

2 comments:

  1. I agree whole-heartedly! When I first started shopping at Aldi (4 years ago and no kids), I was a little timid because I didn't see any "brands" I was familiar with. Over time and 2 kids later here I am totally in love with Aldi! I must say someone should do a project and compare grocery stores, buying all the same ingredients and just see how much they save with buying at Aldi. It cut my grocery bill in half. Thanks for the blog! Well-done!

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  2. I stumbled upon your blog earlier today when I searched on Bing for a Hot Roast Beef Sandwich recipe. I was looking for something simple to make, yet easy on my wallet. So I made your recipe that you posted and it was delicious! I did add a packet of brown gravy mix to give a suttle richness to the dish. Still amazing! I'll definitely be making it again. After making the meal, I came back to your blog to look at your other recipes and I'm honestly blown away! Everything looks so delicious and easy to make. I, too, enjoy cutting my grocery bill in half by getting a lot of it at Aldi or by purchasing store brand items for the things that I can't get at Aldi. Thank you for posting all of these recipes, I look forward to seeing more recipes of yours!

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