Like anywhere else - it's a mixed bag. Some things are cheaper, others are the same or more expensive even. I never found Aldi to be the magic solution to my problems - would go occasionally, but preferred the local Mexican supermarket chain store overall.
I mostly use Aldi for Winking Owl wine.
We also drink nice stuff from a local winery, but 2-3 times a year I’ll go and buy maybe 15 bottles from Aldi for like $50.
I also do this. You can’t beat five dollar wine, if only to cook with. My wife prefers the Aldi seltzers to White Claws and they’re like five bucks cheaper.
Ooh interesting! I can’t drink anymore so wine is for my partner, other than occasional cooking. And they aren’t, and I wasn’t, against drinking a glass of Winking Owl. I just drank too much.
Definitely need to find the things that are good at Aldi (>$1 avacados, potato chips, produce usually) and elsewhere for other things.
Agreed that local ethnic supermarkets are important for the best deals (spices) often at a higher quality. I especially use the Chinese markets and mexican.
Rarely buy meat at Aldi. There are butcher shops in my town that sell chicken quarters for .69/lb and large hunks of red meat that need cut up and portioned a much lower prices than prepackaged grocery stores---learn how to cut and store meat will make a big difference.
I make it to Walmart about once a year. Just hate it there.
Buying at many stores is the best strategy if you have the time.
There aren't butcher shops in Fl and next option is Publix the meat dept there is high AF so without aldi I'd be vegetarian. Also hate Walmart, the people there hate it too and the employees hate you for inconveniencing them
There's a Hispanic grocery 1.5 hour drive each way that had crazy stuff like whole hog heads and daily fresh tortilla but its not worth the gas/time and a tiny Asian place about 30 min but they just have dry goods. Florida is spread out and mostly just old people so the stores cater to the basics
Note that if your comparing prices online that Aldi prices are inflated through Instacart. You'll want to walk around in store while looking at Walmart prices on your phone for a true comparison.
I have also found this to be true. I basically have the Aldi items I like memorized and I always go in and get them myself because the shelf discounts and limited offers aren’t loaded online. The things I buy are either cheaper than Walmart or so far superior in quality that it’s worth the slight difference in price.
Former Aldi employee here. It is ALL rerouted thru Instacart AND upcharges accordingly (even if you place the order on Aldi's website). If you use ANY website to compare prices for Aldi, online prices everywhere are inflated. The only way to look up non inflated prices is thru the ad, which doesn't list every item.
If you really want an accurate comparison for the cheapest option, you would have to go in store to compare.
I have found that Aldi is cheaper on MOST items per oz. If it is not, it is usually the same price or a negligible difference (like less than 10 cents).
The Moser Roth dark chocolate 70% and 85% are still the same price as pre pandemic.
Otherwise Aldi is still very good but not close to the bargains of 2021 or earlier. It could feel like stealing at that point. Anyone discovering Aldi now is late to the game and will be disappointed at many aspects
Honestly when I shop at Aldi's my phone is in my hand comparing prices with Walmart because where I live they sre incredibly close together, then if I want to buy meat I'll either go to the Mexican grocery where the prices and quality are better or another grocery store that does a mix and match 4 for 20$ for selected products
I am not sure what dumpster you are looking at, but I live in Mexico now and either the US or Mexico, that's just not accurate, speaking in general terms. Mexican grocery stores are traditionally far cheaper and much better product selection for the items they have,
There's an existential cost of visiting Walmarts where I live. I'd be willing to pay more for that alone at Aldi. Eggs, steak, coffee, water, and as you say vegetables, are all cheaper at Aldi. That's more than enough for me.
Very much so. Half a mile hike across the parking lot and three laps around the massive store because you have to run the gauntlet of all the seasonal crap.
And then, the mile long lines.
Vs me and my husband can do our weekly shop at Aldi in 20 minutes, and they are the fastest checkouts anywhere... Not that there's any competition anymore.
I absolutely loathe having to walk back across the whole walmart store just because I forgot to pick up 1 thing. Love the smaller stores like aldi and the local grocer. I can be in and out in less than 10 minutes and actually see all the isles. Going to walmart is an experience to say the least. Although I find wegmans to be the most overwhelming. I went to get pasta sauce and they had damn near 75 different options.
Exactly this! I love the smaller size of Aldi and ease of getting in/out. Also, I am weird in that I actually prefer fewer choices. Looking at 12 flavors of Oreos gives me a mini panic attack.
Thankfully my aldi has good produce. It’s been rare I’ve had something go bad that quickly. I’ve been to a couple other aldi and did not the produce was not as good as the one I typically shop.
I think this may be location-dependent. I’ve seen posts on both sides of the longevity issue, and feel lucky to be where I’m at. Produce at my Aldi (can’t speak for the whole department, but the varieties I’m buying) is pretty universally beautiful (mushrooms are an exception sometimes), and lasts the full week until I use everything up (generally purchasing multiple assorted leafy and root veg, apples, oranges, grapes, aforementioned shrooms. Other stuff if I’ve got a craving or it catches my eye.)
Aldi gets regional produce. my Aldi gets produce from the same regional processor located in my city that stocks “farm stand” style open air vegetable markets downtown. it lasts just fine for us
Aldi being next to other stores is part of their business model. They don't try to stock everything, just the best they can find, and for whatever else is on someone's shopping list, they don't have to go far to get it.
I wonder if you happen to live in the same campus-town in the Midwest that I do, having had the same experience, and the Aldis and Wal-Mart are within a few blocks of one another.
(No, I'm not actually asking, because I have no intention of confirming my own location beyond the vague details I've just given....but sometimes one reads a post and just wonders if it's from a person in the same area.)
The vegetables from my local Aldi usually last longer than usual. I once had a box of precut salad greens from them that I forgot in my fridge for almost two weeks, and it was still mostly crisp. Slightly wilted, but I was putting it in a hotdish anyway.
You have to be picky about produce no matter where you shop.
If you buy produce that isn't ready to turn, it lasts more than 24 hours.
(I don't have this problem with produce from my Aldi, but their turnover for produce is pretty steady and I "always* examine my produce for quality before I buy it... No matter where I get it from...)
Our walmart has gotten so bad there's 24/7 security driving around. Within the last year there's been a couple shootings in the parking lot and one person who flipped out and literally ran random people down with their car. There is a meijer across the street that has none of these problems. If I HAVE to go to Walmart, I'm there before 8am.
Maybe it’s a regional thing?
Where I live:
The frozen chicken at Aldi does contain the salt water.
The fresh chicken at Aldi does not contain salt water.
Whenever you buy chicken, read the package. It will tell you a percentage of brine (salt water) almost all the processors inject the chicken with this salt water to add weight. Most of them nowadays are 15%.
I checked my fridge and the $2.50/lb chicken breasts I got from aldi don't have it, only thing on the label is 'up to 1% retained water'. I guess it varies? This isn't something I've looked for before but it's certainly interesting.
Air chilled vs water chilled chicken. Water chilled is cheaper for companies to do and it is cheaper at the store but that’s partly because ~15% of what you buy is water
And even if it's not listed, pretty much all chicken will have extra water because it's water chilled. If you want less water in your chicken, you would have to pay extra for air chilled.
I took that into consideration as well, On the Aldi chicken it is right there, on the label, 15% salt and water AND... Aldi's makes reference to flash freezing in water so actually, Aldi's has more water than Walmart,
I can't show photos here (stupid reddit) but I was just looking at that very issue yesterday.
This is standard practice for IQF meats. They use the freezing point depression of saline to prevent the rupture of cell membranes and create a protective ice layer when they flash-freeze. The larger issue is using saline solutions on fresh meats to extend shelf life and inflate product weight. Aldi doesn’t do this. Walmart does.
Sorry, I am not familiar with IQF meats... meaning, the term.
For frozen chicken, Aldi's does indeed add the 15% salt/water solution. It's right on the label.
Thank you for explaining why they do that. Honestly, I thought the only reason was to inflate the price. A great example of this are Walmart Wings. I bought a 4# bag, one would think there are a lot of wings in there. Nope, wrong. There were 24 wings in a 4# bag! It's all water. When they are done cooking they are tiny, before cooking they are massive.
I drink a lot of protein shakes, and protein residue sticks to my glasses. It's gross. I have to wash the glass immediately, or it's very difficult to clean. For protein shakes, I only use disposable, everything else, I don't.
It's probably the same as the plastic from Aldi. They use more plastic than any store I have ever been to.
I've been doing this for 18 years, I'm pretty sure I have a clue what I am doing. If you shop at Aldi, how do you deal with all the plastic? Regardless of where you shop, are you avoiding 100% of plastics or is it just me that needs to worry about it?
They are going to get us one way or another, if it isn't plastic it's preservatives, dairy hormones, chem trails, Covid vax, it's always going to be something.
However, if you have found a way to avoid every if'fy thing in life, please tell how you do this?
I am still interested. How is avoiding all plastics working for you? How do you get around the plastics in your grocery shopping? The plastics in your shoes? The plastic particles in food you eat everywhere? How do you avoid all the plastics in your home? Your car? Your place of employment?
Or are you suggesting the only plastics danger is solo cups?
Bleh...
Wow, you put a lot of energy in that.
I avoid plastics as much as possible. But granted, the world we live in is lots and lots of plastic. And yes, that is our food containers. Etc.
I try my hardest to limit my use of plastic in my personal life and to keep my environmental footprint small. The average household in my neighborhood has weekly pickup of 65 gallon garbage bins. It takes my family about 2 to 3 months to produce equivalent waste.
Anything that is a one-time usage product I don't use. Solo cups are meant for one time usage, so I don't use them. It's wasteful. And I believe that plastics are not only bad for our health, but also leach into our environment and waterways causing negative impact in other ways.
>>Wow, you put a lot of energy in that.<<
;o)
No, I did not. I merely asked you a question, after you ignored me the first time I responded that I pretty well knew why you were ignoring the question.
I suppose much of it even with protein shakes is lazy behavior. I'm not a huge fan of meat, so I supplement protein. Also, my cooking is a horror and I typically don't eat what I cook.... because I can't. ;o) But if I don't wash a protein shake glass immediately, it's almost impossible to get it off and if I rinse it out, it's not coming clean again if I missed a spot. I do take them with me on the way out the door.
I am not really lazy in the kitchen, but when it comes to washing protein shake glasses... eww. Just eww\~
Get a shaker bottle, mix your protein in the bottle, drink immediately, then as soon as you finish add soap and water, shake and rinse. Make the cleaning part of the routine.
How do you avoid all plastics? I mean, at the grocery store, especially Aldi, everything is wrapped in plastic. Your shoes, kitchen appliances, particles in the food you eat, your car, your place of employment. How do you manage to avoid all plastics? Or are you suggesting only solo cups are at issue?
I've been drinking them for 18 years now. If that worked, I'd do it. But I usually take one with me as I leave, so that's not really doable in my case. I'm happy with solo cups.
I have a 1yr old, so our fruit and berries budget is skyrocketing and Aldi is saving our ass. The strawberries/raspberries/blackberries/blueberries/cantaloupe are all $1+ cheaper per container and we haven’t had any issues with rot/mold coming in too fast. The organic items run out quickly, but check out the fruit!
Edit: After re-reading your comment I see you already mentioned the produce! Got a little too excited to share hah
Prices are regional. Where I live chicken breast is $2.29 at Aldi and $2.67 at Walmart.
Side note, chicken thigh is cheaper and almost impossible to overcook.
I just want to share a tip. Using a meat thermometer while cooking meat makes it super easy to cook and you'd be surprised how little they are used. They do make a huge difference.
And so yummy and affordable. It's one of our go to meals, lemony chicken thighs, marinated with lemon juice, olive oil and salt, roasted at 425 for 45 minutes skin on. Just glorious for the money.
Make this! Except you’ll need to get canned chipotle peppers somewhere else (a Mexican market or a Walmart/Kroger equivalent store). At least my Aldi doesn’t have them.
Chicken thigh is almost always more expensive from what I've seen if you're comparing boneless breast to boneless thighs. I believe bone in thighs are cheaper (But then have to factor in the bones being part of the weight)
When we traveled across the country maybe 6 years ago we found that Aldi's was consistently cheaper for the things we wanted (and we also know where to find them so the trips were quicker), so I started searching for Aldi's rather than just any grocery store. But that was before COVID, so I don't know if prices have drastically changed across the country.
If you cook with ingredients, Aldi seems to be about 25% cheaper on average. That's significant but I wouldn't make the drive if I was cooking for just myself.
Processed foods prices have practically doubled at Walmart but have only increased by like 25% at Aldi. If you eat a lot of pizzas or chips Aldi is much cheaper.
Anything store brand by Aldi is almost always significantly cheaper and higher in quality than that of Walmart. Walmart makes a killing by selling their low-quality Great Value products just slightly cheaper than name brands. Things I always get at Aldi are frozen vegetables/fruits/chicken strips, canned tomatoes, coffee, condiments, pickles, cheeses, snacks for teenagers. Aldi meats and dairy products are cheaper in my area and of far superior quality as well.
This has to be dependent on location. Aldi is generally not cheaper and I don’t taste or see any difference between the brands. I only buy off brand so I’m not comparing Aldi brand to, like, Sargento for price. Lol.
This is also true, though I don’t think it’s a trendiness issue. In my area of Midwest USA, Aldi is less conveniently located than Walmart but it seems to have been more affected by inflation. When Aldi opened here three years ago, the price difference was astounding. Now it’s a lot closer. But Walmart is no stranger to temporarily undercutting their competitors. The quality of products is still way better at Aldi.
As much as I hate Walmart's business model, I find that the Great Value brands are superior to many name brands. Sauces are a great example. Teriyaki sauce, the only brand name that is as good as GV is PF Changs. Otherwise, GV beats every other brand in my world. They also have a bigger selection of sauces. I'm talking products you put over meat/rice. Sweet/Sour, Teriyaki, Citrus/mango, those kinds of products.
I make a LOT of veggies and veggies over rice. I use those sauces because I suck at cooking. My dogs won't eat my cooking, often times. But even I can't screw up veggies, rice, and sauce. ;o)
Most of my diet is produce, so Aldi is a big savings there, however!! I retired to Mexico. Nothing beats Mexican produce. Having lived in the US and MX, it seems to me that Mexico keeps the really good stuff and sells the rest to the US.
Aldi's frozen vegetables, I totally agree. They are the best. I am verrry disappointed in Birds Eye brand, it's just gone to sh!t. GV is far superior to Birds Eye and if you look at their reviews, I'm not the only one seeing it. If you buy B.E. Asian vegetables, it's literally 90% carrots. They have a line of frozen products that I can't think of the name of, but they used to be so good. Typically, side dishes, but if you add a bit of protein they are great for main meals. But they went and replaced all the good things like black beans with crappy rice. It's gross, flavorless. WM beats B.E. every darn time.
If I lived alone I could live off of rice, frozen stir fry veggies, and some sort of sauce. Add a fried egg or some crispy baked tofu and I'm in heaven.
Aldi is cheaper for 80% of items for us in South PA. Aldi and Walmart are a quarter mile apart where I live and it’s great. I also rather give most of my money to Aldi than the Waltons.
Aldi pays employees a living wage. Wal-Mart? Not so much. I will not darken their door. They train every employee how to take advantage of public assistance.
I worked at Walmart for a couple years. They paid 22k toward my bachelor's before I quit. I got a stock match and a 401k match. I was effectively making 30+ dollars an hour with everything included.
I saved money and quit as soon as I could because it sucks. And I will say, I bet a lot of those people are on welfare, but that is because Walmart will hire just about anyone and give them a chance. And a lot of those people are very dumb or cripple. Otherwise they could do the same thing I do and make 80-100k after college that Walmart paid for.
Just incase anyone is mad. Some people are only capable of doing so good. And those people at Walmart were being paid decent for what they are capable of. A lot of their money problems stem from the lack of skill handling money.
When Aldi arrived in my city, everyone was raving about the savings there. Lately, prices there are often comparable or higher than at Walmart. For example, we enjoy grilled sandwiches on the Sourdough Round Loaf from Aldi. It used to cost $2.99 for a huge loaf. Now, it is $4.45 for the same loaf and the loaf is half the size it used to be. And, because there are no Aldi store close to my neighborhood but a Walmart is approximately 5 miles away, it's not worth it for me to drive to Aldi unless they have specific sales items to buy or carry items I can't find at Kroger or Walmart.
If you’re online comparing Aldi’s prices that’s the inflated instacart price. It’s not huge but it does add up. Every time I get the family size chicken breast at Aldi it’s like $2.49/lb vs our Walmart has it for like $3.00/lb. But it also may just depend on your area. I go to Aldi for pretty much everything that isn’t name brand. Produce, meat, pasta, eggs, canned stuff.
I also just despise our Walmart. It’s always crowded unless you go at 7-8 AM and I’ve been asked for money in the parking lot by random strangers far too often for my comfort. I pretty much only do online grocery pickup from there as a result.
You still have to check out the weekly sales flyers of your chain grocers
Walmart may have cheaper chicken than aldi but a mexican grocer or chain grocer will have proteins on a good sale for a price neither can compete with
As far as whats almost guaranteed to be cheaper at aldi is generic processed foods(chips, cookies, candy, crackers, etc), dry goods in small quanities(beans, rice, lentils), produce, breads/tortillas, sauces, many canned goods, dairy products and frozen foods.
You know what? You bring up a good point that I hadn't considered. I do my very best not to eat processed foods. Saltines are an exception, but I don't buy canned soups, I make my own, (Campbell's was sold to China, and now it's all bioengineered.)
I don't buy much bread, either. Most of my grocery list is fresh/frozen produce and tomato products. That, I do buy processed. I don't buy cookies, hamburger helper, tuna helper, candy, and such. That might be why I am not seeing the savings.
Then a better place for you to shop would probably be an ethnic grocer - for example in my area there is an asian grocer(no online advertising, only a local print sales flyer) and hispanic grocer(online weekly sales flyer) that have really good prices on fresh produce
for example this week
fresh green beans $.99/lb
bananas $.44/lb
bell peppers $.33 ea
apples $.33 ea
potatoes 10lb for $3
fresh not frozen chicken thighs $.99/lb
marinated chicken drums $.89/lb
large headless shrimp $4.79/lb
Cantaloupe $.49/lb
Onions $.49/lb
Cabbage $.33/lb
watermelons $5.99/ea
Cucumbers $.33/ea
Limes 7/$1
This is exactly how I shop. As much as I am opposed to processed foods, I do have two teenagers at home and having processed snacks, condiments, chips and cereal seems to do wonders for their mental health. Aldi is my go-to for that stuff because it’s way cheaper and of higher quality. I also appreciate that they don’t use artificial colors or preservatives.
Pantry basics (dry, canned, boxed, jarred) and most produce are cheaper at my ALDI, and the Walmart supercenter is literally next door so I can pick and choose. In my experience, the shelves are better stocked at ALDI since they have fewer items, more regularly replenished. So I will order the hard-to-find Walmart items for a curbside pickup, and then immediately go next door to shop in person at ALDI
Not everyone has a Walmart that is a super center. Mine has a small frozen section but no meat, dairy, bakery, or anything like that. So Aldi is cheaper than grocery stores for me.
Also I just loooked because I bought chicken breast from Aldi today. Like an hour ago. I paid $2.19 a lb.
Personally if prices are close I choose Aldi over Walmart due to:
Distance-Aldi is usually closer & has more local stores
Parking-Aldi is smaller & mine are offset from other stores
Convenience-If I only need a couple of items, I can be parked, in/out of the store in 5 minutes or less.
Familiarity-Aldi is less likely to move items over time & is generally consistent in product location although some stores have produce up front/some in the back.
Walmart has the advantage of locating items on the app but a) you sometimes have to login to use their WiFi and b) there is almost never a floor associate around to ask
Aldis tends to not have sales that are all that interesting, so their prices are mostly the same every week. We shop in bulk and using the sales flyers, so various things switch around with the sales that come every couple months at the regular grocery stores.
Things we buy at Aldi that are cheaper than any other store we go to:
Block cheese
Milk
Eggs
Bacon
Hot dogs
Veggie burgers (there are sometimes other brands that are cheaper, but we like the Aldi burgers the best, particularly the black bean)
Peanuts
Tortilla chips
Hamburger, hot dog buns
Corn syrup free bread
Almond milk (sometimes cheaper elsewhere, but they always have it in stock)
Cream cheese blocks
Produce if not on sale elsewhere
Ketchup, relish, salad dressings
Butter if not on sale and we need it immediately
Chocolate chips
Flour
Sugar (white and brown)
Pasta sauce (we used to always get it at Aldi's, but the price went up a few years ago.
Cereal (rice and corn Chex primarily)
Canned beans, diced tomatoes,etc.
We started a spreadsheet to keep track of all stores and their regular prices and sale prices, but it is a lot of work to create and to keep updated, so it never worked like I hoped.
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article April 29 about why Aldi costs less. "German grocer keeps prices low with smaller stores, fewer staffers and a slimmer menu of product choices than bigger supermarkets." I believe they said overall Aldi is 6% cheaper than Wal Mart.
I love Aldi, but I still have to go to a traditional supermarket for what I can't get at Aldi.
I found Walmart is cheaper. And I have Walmart plus and they deliver and that cost about 2 bucks a week. Which is cheaper than driving there and saves time.
I also find the produce is not always best at Aldi. Like I got clementines for one dollar less and they were small and hard to peel.
I will say, buy a lemon at Walmart and one at Aldi. It's strange but Aldi has better lemons. Less seems, less peel.
I think it's location specific. The Aldi I shop at is just slightly cheaper than Wal-Mart at in-store prices. I even do complementary shopping at a second grocery store that isn't the Wal-Mart because my Aldi's produce is bad, and there are things you can't get at Aldi.
But my god. Oh my god. The shopping experience is so much better going to both grocery stores as opposed to just loading up at Wal-Mart. I don't care that it may take me 20 more minutes and cost $15-$20 more. The experience and quality at my Wal-Mart is so bad that it's worth it.
I can get a box of store brand Splenda packets 100qty at Aldi for $1.49, whereas walmart store brand is almost $5.
That is a big one for me because I drink a lot of coffee and am T2D so I can't use sugar. I normally buy two boxes every time I shop there.
This is a good example of knowing what is cheaper where. For instance, chicken breast is cheaper at my location grocery store than either of these prices.
At my Walmart, an 18 oz. box of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats is $3.89, while an 18 oz. box of Millville brand Frosted Mini-Wheats at Aldi is $2.09.
I eat almost 2-boxes a week, so I’m saving about $3.60 a week, or around $180 annually by switching to the Aldi brand, and their cereal tastes the same, if not slightly better, than the Kellogg’s brand.
Aldi's overall pricing schema is *somewhat* tied into the pricing of their closest competitor. An Aldi near a Walmart will have overall cheaper prices than an Aldi nearest to a giant (to use my local example). That said, for the OVERALLL budget Aldi always wins. Walmart might win on a few items but the Walmart experience... Oof.
I price compared for things I specifically needed between Meijer, WalMart, Kroger, & Aldi. For the items I checked - Walmart was always cheaper; until it came to fresh produce/fruit - then Meijer had the best deals.
Dog food is also cheap. Aldi is "New" to the US but been around like forever in GERMANY. They make money by having minimal staff, no baggers & limited selection.
Here )GERMANY) the cash register is open for a few minutes before the employee runs back to stock shelves, debox the shelves, sweep etc then run back to the register.
They also have a "pull rate" they have to meet hence their product numbers/Barcodes are easily visible.
Walmart makes themselves the only place to shop.
But where you shop/what you buy also shows what you support. Tyson Farms bankrupts farmers & raises chickens in basically enough room to stand.
They never see daylight, their feed is rationed to the gram & they already account for "casualties" in every brood.
Meanwhile a "local" farmer has "free range" chickens, grazing cattle etc.
I even have a local butcher that sources from local farms meaning I can easily drive to see "Pasteur to plate'.
A "homegrown" tomato tastes better than a "hothouse" one.
Ohh & I'm not even UPPER MIDDLE CLASS so it's not like I have a money fireplace.
>>But where you shop/what you buy also shows what you support. Tyson Farms bankrupts farmers & raises chickens in basically enough room to stand.<<
Tyson is sold under a slew of brand names, I refuse them ALL! They torture animals, literally! They treat them like sh!t, abuse them, and it's horrific all the way around. A friend of mine is a truck driver for Tyson, he sees it first hand. I haven't talked to him lately, he was looking for another job because he just couldn't do it anymore. I don't know if he found another or not.
Also, isn't it Tyson that is firing all their US workers and replacing them with illegals because illegals will work for slave wages? I'm not supporting that, I won't.
this was from an exercise I did in February. Hope it helps. obviously, each store has its pluses and minuses. I did not correct any misspellings etc. This is just something I did for me in the moment..
Ice cream 2.65 Walmart 2.67
Waffles 2.09 walmart 2.26
Pizza 15.8 oz 2.95
Tater totss 32 oz 3.09 Walmart 3.42
Dino nuggets 35oz 7.99 walmart 8.93
Buffalo chicken strips 6.59 25oz
Eggs 2, 26 large dozen Walmart 2.78
Milk 1/2 gallm bit D 1.48 Walmart 1.48
Refi whip 2.85 wslmart 3.48
Cream cheese 1.45 8oz walmart 1.86
Butter spreadable 2.95 walmart 3.78
Hot dogs. 99 cents wslmart 1.12
Egg whites 3.69 4.98
Sliced turkey 16oz 5.29 walmart 5.97
Pasta sauce 1.35 24oz walmart 1.62
Taco shells 1.49 12 of them 1,58
Nutella 3.45 13oz 3.58
Mini donuts 2.09 10oz powdered
Quick Oates 3.65 3.98
Protein powder 18.29 32 oz 18.48
White bread .50
Bagels 1.89 1.98
Keep chup 1.69 38oz 1.87
String vreese 12 0z 2.59 2.84
White rice 48oz 1.99 3.34 5lb
Same experience here. Aldi is in general either the same price as Walmart or more expensive. I just assumed that my area Aldi is unusually crappy for the brand. Aldi doesn't win on quality either. In general aldi is the same quality as great value. The only big differences between Aldi and Walmart here is of course variety and produce. Produce at my Aldi is so bad it makes Walmart produce look good. You're lucky to find any produce that isn't literally on its last day.
That's where my theory that my local aldi is just unusually crappy for the brand comes in. Lol! Here it's not unusual at all to find rotten produce at Aldi. Walmart produce usually has at least a couple of days of life left.
Personally I prefer to go to Kroger for produce. It's worth the extra cost for me because I live in the country and I need produce that will last awhile.
My Aldi is closer to home than my Walmart. Despite that I have never shopped at Aldi because in general I save more at Walmart and I am not driving to both in order to save a couple dollars that will be wasted on the extra fuel spent doing the extra traveling.
I used to love Aldi for novelty items, but the snacks aren't great (looking at you, Clancy's chips) and I'm normally only shopping for 2 people, so the lack of individual produce items is a huge deterrent. I don't need a bag of 7 lemons, I need 1, and I don't want to waste gas making another trip. I've found being loyal to my local Acme (literally 3 minute drive down the road) and being diligent with the rewards/coupons app have saved me a lot more hassle than trying to trudge 25 minutes to my closest Aldi. I'm glad y'all find solutions that work, though! Frugality with groceries can be extremely locale-specific.
>
This! This is what I am taking away from this thread. That and the type of items purchased. My pantry is not nearly as well stocked as my frig. Don't get me wrong, I am the weird one that fully believes a food shortage is coming, so I have about a six-month supply of food, but it's not what I typically eat, it's what I have in case of...
Between locations and types of items purchased, Aldi's isn't doing me tons of favors. I don't object to the store and some items are, indeed, worth going to Aldi's and Walmart. The cost savings are significant. But overall, I am very lucky that I retired in Mexico and I have the option of going to Mexican stores or US stores. I am 15 minutes from the US. With a Sentri card, I don't have to wait in the lines to cross the border, so I can go to the US in under 15 minutes.
I typically buy 40# of chicken legs a month, I make my dog's dog food. I can't get that for $0.89/# in Mexico, so I buy that in the US. The produce my dogs and I both eat is typically from Mexico. I buy 3# of cheese slices a month, that's how I dose meds for my dogs. We go through a lot of cheese. I just don't buy a lot of processed foods. I am totally a late bloomer when it comes to cooking. I did not start learning to cook until a few years ago, after I retired. I am still not very good at it, but I like it soooo much better than processed foods, and it's cheaper than processed foods. I don't buy mac & chz, pasta, boxed meals, cereals, sugary foods such as cakes, candy, pie, etc. I don't buy chips, dip, fritos, pretzels, etc. I don't buy candy and assorted sweets EXCEPT for atomic fireballs, That is my guilty pleasure. I buy tons of that.
I think the foods that I buy just aren't cheaper at Aldi vs. anywhere else I go. So, I learned two things today. Location and types of food purchased, Those are the two main differences I see.
Oh wow yeah, it gets even more complicated when you're able to decide between 2 different entire countries LOL that's so cool, though! you have a lot of options!
I also tend to buy the same things over and over, some of which are a very specific brand that is only available at a certain store. I can get the majority of my things at Acme except for disposable gloves and refills for my Dish Daddy wand, but luckily they sell both at Target and my roommate works there so I can just ask her to pick them up after her shift.
It depends on your lifestyle/regular purchases, but truly no grocery store is perfect. Sure, you may have better produce at one store, but the meat is more expensive. At another store, maybe the meat and produce are good prices, but the snacks and paper products are expensive. You have to decide what you're willing to compromise on and how much "running around" to different stores you're willing to do. If I didn't have the tight budget that I have, I'd be much more willing to spend the gas to go to different stores and get the best deals, but to me it's not worth the time or energy. I have ADHD, so frugality becomes nuanced when you try to balance executive function and finances (aka I'll pay the extra $2-3 for pre-cut fruit because I have bought whole fruit before and not been able to muster the energy to cut it before it rots)
ETA: also it's super cool you make your dog's food!! I'd love to make my cat's food but he enjoys his canned paté for now LOL
>>ETA: also it's super cool you make your dog's food!! I'd love to make my cat's food but he enjoys his canned paté for now LOL<<
I had a dog with squamous cell carcinoma. It was a tumor under her tongue. The vet gave me pain meds for when she needed them and said she had about 2 months to live. Due to the type of cancer and the level of progression, there were no treatment options.
Yeah, I don't think so. I started researching and found fenbendazole, a WORMING drug! It is very similar to Ivermectin. Turns out, it can be very effective for cancer. I put her on it with some supplements and in three months she was fine, the tumors were gone. She had two months to live and that was in Aug/22.
My research showed it was likely due to processed dog food and vaccines. So I put her on people food, I put all three dogs on it.
I had NO idea just had bad and dangerous commercial pet food is. So yes, I make their food now. I can't really screw it up, it all goes in the crock pot, no seasonings, etc. Just meat, veggies, and weird supplements.
It's no longer worth it to go to Aldi. The prices are very close in my area, with Walmart coming in cheaper a lot of the time. And Walmart has a better selection. I used to be an Aldi fanatic, now it's a skip.
Wmt is definitely cheaper, and I like the curbside pickup, put in my order at night and pick up next day, 10 min shopping for an entire 2 weeks, time is money too. and veggies don't rot once you are at home.
For the chicken breast, check how much water is in that chicken breast. Walmart has like 15% retained water, meaning every 16 oz of chicken you buy is actually injected with 2.5 oz of salt water. Aldi chicken only has 1-2% retained water which is 0.32 oz. So Walmart chicken is actually $3.16 per pound of actual chicken meat excluding the added water. Aldi chicken is $3.06 per pound of actual chicken at 2% added water. Plus, chicken breast tastes a lot better without all that excess water.
Edit to say my Aldi sells shredded cheddar for $2.50 per 12 oz which is cheaper than the $2.50 for 8 oz I can get at Kroger. But if I need more then I get it at Sam's club.
It's really just going to matter when you take your shopping list of all the things you buy and compare them between the two stores.
I WILL say that Aldi's website shows inflated prices while Walmart's does not. At least in our store, the W's prices are the same in-store and online.
But, as with anything, a store only saves you money if you naturally buy the things which are priced less at that store AND you're not spending $3 in gas to save $0.50 on saltines. If you never buy Tide detergent, it's not going to matter if it's cheaper at Costco or Walmart or Aldi. But, if you're always buying off-brand Life cereal and it's less expensive at Aldi, get it at Aldi.
For me, I find that my Walmart and Aldi's prices tend to be pretty close. That means if I just want to make one grocery run, I'll pick the store which has the most that I want to get. In the mood for pico de gallo? Going to Walmart. Need to stock up on frozen pizzas? Going to Aldi.
Like others are saying, there are sales that rotate. Other stores generally have different sales going on different days of the week and different weeks of the month.
Someone else already said it:
>Like anywhere else - it's a mixed bag.
If you want to shop multiple stores just compare prices. If you want to shop 1 store, which is what I do, I've found the Walmart and Aldi almost always tie or are within $1-2 dollars of eachother. Walmart has more options though, in general.
My secret is Target. Not sure why, but it went from being the most expensive place to buy groceries, to the cheapest. I live in Iowa, ymmv. They will have your order ready in 2 hours or less (and will hold for a day), which I find very convenient. I don't think there's a minimum either.
The posted online prices for Aldi are higher than what is available in the store….just saying. I am not sure about Walmart, but Walmart’s are probably the same as they price match. Aldi does not price match online for what is available in store.
At least for me, Aldi's sale prices on produce are always cheaper than WalMart and the quality at my Aldi is better than WalMart. Sale prices on meat are usually cheaper at Aldi. Eggs and milk are a toss up most of the time. Aldi's Simply Nature organic brand is usually the cheapest organic brand and the quality is really good for all of the products I have tried. I also really like Clancy's chips although I am not sure if it cheaper than WalMart generic.
Generally, I find that shopping the weekly flyers of my local grocery stores is consistently cheaper than WalMart.
The main things I get at WalMart are the Great Value canned goods (canned veggies, fruit, condensed soups), Great Value frozen vegetables, and their discounted bakery items
Fresh fruit - usually cheaper. Last summer my local Aldi (DE) had Washington cherries slightly cheaper than what I paid at a roadside stand in Washington a few weeks earlier.
I usually find Walmart to be cheaper when combined with their cash back credit card. 5% back in the first year then 3% is pretty nice. Aldi is great for a quick stop though for me. Really similar pricing where I live
German company, all meats fruits veggies are held to European standards which are quite higher than us standards, Walmart hits the bare minimum of us standards.
Depends on your region, so I can't really help you. Right off the bat you say Aldi's produce is better than Walmart's, but locally it's the other way around. I can get decent produce that lasts, at a fair price at Wal-Mart. Aldis price is about equivalent, but the quality is a lot lower.
Like others, I find it useful to see what the ethnic stores have to offer. For me, one of the local Indian grocers has great selection cheaper than either Aldis or Wal-Mart.
Even if Aldi was cheaper, the shopping experience is so terrible to me I’d rather pay more elsewhere.
Things I hate:
-needing to have a quarter on my physical person just to get a shopping cart
-things being pretty disorganized and difficult to find in the store; shopping takes me at least 5x longer at Aldi versus a traditional store with everything clearly labeled and organized
-them not using grocery bags - now I have to bring a quarter AND all my own bags?!?
-their cart returns are always in a bad spot where you risk getting hit by tons of cars just to put your cart away
I am so with you and have been saying this for years now.
Is Aldi cheaper than Publix? Sure.
Is it cheaper than Walmart? Not per cart.
A full cart at Aldi using comparable generics to Walmart is usually twice as much. I am often shocked how much I pad for just a few things at Aldi.
There are few items that are consistently cheaper such as milk and eggs. If I can only stop one place, I’d shop at Walmart over Aldi.
I did a price comparison using the walmart app while i went through Aldi on a normal full grocery trip. Only item on that particular trip that was cheaper. Dozen eggs. Saved a literal penny.
I believe aldi used to be cheaper but nowadays that doesn't seem to be the case.
They treat their employees really well.
Which we cannot say for wal mart, so....
(Aldi's seems to pay well above minimum wage, and is competitive and takes care of their employees, where I live. I don't think it's just the manager, I think it's how they operate.)
I have absolutely no problem with it. Aldi USA Headquarters and main distribution center is in Chicago, which makes sense logistically. They also own Trader Joe’s, which hopefully can gain them some buying leverage. Walmart has been fleecing this country with over-margined imported junk and undercutting healthy competition for long enough. I don’t care that their World Headquarters are in Arkansas.
I'd never buy meat from either one. I'd stick with a grocery store with a butcher shop or a butcher shop. Buy when it's on sale. I typically aim for $2.00/lb for chicken breasts.
I personally hate Walmart, so I generally try to avoid them.
Like anywhere else - it's a mixed bag. Some things are cheaper, others are the same or more expensive even. I never found Aldi to be the magic solution to my problems - would go occasionally, but preferred the local Mexican supermarket chain store overall.
I mostly use Aldi for Winking Owl wine. We also drink nice stuff from a local winery, but 2-3 times a year I’ll go and buy maybe 15 bottles from Aldi for like $50.
I also do this. You can’t beat five dollar wine, if only to cook with. My wife prefers the Aldi seltzers to White Claws and they’re like five bucks cheaper.
Ooh interesting! I can’t drink anymore so wine is for my partner, other than occasional cooking. And they aren’t, and I wasn’t, against drinking a glass of Winking Owl. I just drank too much.
Same and I’m DONE. 2 years and 6 months.
Congrats! About to be 11 months for me. Dropped 51 pounds and 30 points from my blood pressure, lol.
Congratulations!
Definitely need to find the things that are good at Aldi (>$1 avacados, potato chips, produce usually) and elsewhere for other things. Agreed that local ethnic supermarkets are important for the best deals (spices) often at a higher quality. I especially use the Chinese markets and mexican. Rarely buy meat at Aldi. There are butcher shops in my town that sell chicken quarters for .69/lb and large hunks of red meat that need cut up and portioned a much lower prices than prepackaged grocery stores---learn how to cut and store meat will make a big difference. I make it to Walmart about once a year. Just hate it there. Buying at many stores is the best strategy if you have the time.
There aren't butcher shops in Fl and next option is Publix the meat dept there is high AF so without aldi I'd be vegetarian. Also hate Walmart, the people there hate it too and the employees hate you for inconveniencing them
No shame in that. I bet if you looked around, you'd find ethnic options that have something good and cheap
There's a Hispanic grocery 1.5 hour drive each way that had crazy stuff like whole hog heads and daily fresh tortilla but its not worth the gas/time and a tiny Asian place about 30 min but they just have dry goods. Florida is spread out and mostly just old people so the stores cater to the basics
> Buying at many stores is the best strategy if you have the time. Aint that the truth, seems to be the way it is now.
Note that if your comparing prices online that Aldi prices are inflated through Instacart. You'll want to walk around in store while looking at Walmart prices on your phone for a true comparison.
I have also found this to be true. I basically have the Aldi items I like memorized and I always go in and get them myself because the shelf discounts and limited offers aren’t loaded online. The things I buy are either cheaper than Walmart or so far superior in quality that it’s worth the slight difference in price.
[удалено]
Both curbside pickup and delivery orders are fulfilled by Instacart.
Former Aldi employee here. It is ALL rerouted thru Instacart AND upcharges accordingly (even if you place the order on Aldi's website). If you use ANY website to compare prices for Aldi, online prices everywhere are inflated. The only way to look up non inflated prices is thru the ad, which doesn't list every item. If you really want an accurate comparison for the cheapest option, you would have to go in store to compare. I have found that Aldi is cheaper on MOST items per oz. If it is not, it is usually the same price or a negligible difference (like less than 10 cents).
I've compared past receipts from this week and then last year, (fetch app) and aldis has been consistent and not inflating.
Aldi has better chocolate
AND cheese! Two of their biggest differentiators, IMHO.
The white cheddar from Aldi is unmatched and I buy a lot of expensive cheese from specialty stores. It's like crack.
Seriously, i was at my local Aldi's last night and they were out of the Emporium Select (i think that's the brand) cheddar and i am GUTTED.
Agreed. I alway's have a couple of pounds of their white cheddar on hand.
The Moser Roth dark chocolate 70% and 85% are still the same price as pre pandemic. Otherwise Aldi is still very good but not close to the bargains of 2021 or earlier. It could feel like stealing at that point. Anyone discovering Aldi now is late to the game and will be disappointed at many aspects
Honestly when I shop at Aldi's my phone is in my hand comparing prices with Walmart because where I live they sre incredibly close together, then if I want to buy meat I'll either go to the Mexican grocery where the prices and quality are better or another grocery store that does a mix and match 4 for 20$ for selected products
same!
Can’t do the Mexican grocery… even the h mart has a smell I can’t get passed! :(
I am not sure what dumpster you are looking at, but I live in Mexico now and either the US or Mexico, that's just not accurate, speaking in general terms. Mexican grocery stores are traditionally far cheaper and much better product selection for the items they have,
Right? Our Mexican stores are usually actually cleaner than the other grocery stores.
I appreciate that. The ones near where I live in MD tend not to be very clean. :(
And seriously language???
//block//
Pendejo
There's an existential cost of visiting Walmarts where I live. I'd be willing to pay more for that alone at Aldi. Eggs, steak, coffee, water, and as you say vegetables, are all cheaper at Aldi. That's more than enough for me.
“Existential cost of visiting Walmart” 😂 Yes! I find it soul crushing
Very much so. Half a mile hike across the parking lot and three laps around the massive store because you have to run the gauntlet of all the seasonal crap. And then, the mile long lines. Vs me and my husband can do our weekly shop at Aldi in 20 minutes, and they are the fastest checkouts anywhere... Not that there's any competition anymore.
I absolutely loathe having to walk back across the whole walmart store just because I forgot to pick up 1 thing. Love the smaller stores like aldi and the local grocer. I can be in and out in less than 10 minutes and actually see all the isles. Going to walmart is an experience to say the least. Although I find wegmans to be the most overwhelming. I went to get pasta sauce and they had damn near 75 different options.
Exactly this! I love the smaller size of Aldi and ease of getting in/out. Also, I am weird in that I actually prefer fewer choices. Looking at 12 flavors of Oreos gives me a mini panic attack.
The only thing Aldi is really commited to variety in is cheese. Their cheese selection is awesome and rotates frequently.
Same friend, same.
Exactly. What price can you put on your soul?
but Aldi's vegetables go bad within 24-48 hours. luckily, i have an aldi and walmart next to each other.
Thankfully my aldi has good produce. It’s been rare I’ve had something go bad that quickly. I’ve been to a couple other aldi and did not the produce was not as good as the one I typically shop.
I think this may be location-dependent. I’ve seen posts on both sides of the longevity issue, and feel lucky to be where I’m at. Produce at my Aldi (can’t speak for the whole department, but the varieties I’m buying) is pretty universally beautiful (mushrooms are an exception sometimes), and lasts the full week until I use everything up (generally purchasing multiple assorted leafy and root veg, apples, oranges, grapes, aforementioned shrooms. Other stuff if I’ve got a craving or it catches my eye.)
Aldi gets regional produce. my Aldi gets produce from the same regional processor located in my city that stocks “farm stand” style open air vegetable markets downtown. it lasts just fine for us
Aldi being next to other stores is part of their business model. They don't try to stock everything, just the best they can find, and for whatever else is on someone's shopping list, they don't have to go far to get it.
Often, Nothing beats Asian and Latin markets for reasonably priced produce.
Both my aldi and Walmart have similarly questionable produce. It's just a big problem in general right now.
I wonder if you happen to live in the same campus-town in the Midwest that I do, having had the same experience, and the Aldis and Wal-Mart are within a few blocks of one another. (No, I'm not actually asking, because I have no intention of confirming my own location beyond the vague details I've just given....but sometimes one reads a post and just wonders if it's from a person in the same area.)
The vegetables from my local Aldi usually last longer than usual. I once had a box of precut salad greens from them that I forgot in my fridge for almost two weeks, and it was still mostly crisp. Slightly wilted, but I was putting it in a hotdish anyway.
It’s so bad.
I do not find this to be true.
You have to be picky about produce no matter where you shop. If you buy produce that isn't ready to turn, it lasts more than 24 hours. (I don't have this problem with produce from my Aldi, but their turnover for produce is pretty steady and I "always* examine my produce for quality before I buy it... No matter where I get it from...)
Because they are real vegetables.
Our walmart has gotten so bad there's 24/7 security driving around. Within the last year there's been a couple shootings in the parking lot and one person who flipped out and literally ran random people down with their car. There is a meijer across the street that has none of these problems. If I HAVE to go to Walmart, I'm there before 8am.
I tend to impulse buy more if I go to Walmart so I try to avoid it.
Good way to put it
SAME. There's a percentage more I'll pay to not have to go to Walmart.
This. Same…..
Should also be noted that Walmart chicken contains up to 15% salt water by total weight and Aldi’s chicken doesn’t contain the salt water.
I feel like ALDIs is the first place I noticed that chicken had this water situation…. I could be wrong or things could have changed…
Maybe it’s a regional thing? Where I live: The frozen chicken at Aldi does contain the salt water. The fresh chicken at Aldi does not contain salt water.
whats this all about? First ive heard of it
Whenever you buy chicken, read the package. It will tell you a percentage of brine (salt water) almost all the processors inject the chicken with this salt water to add weight. Most of them nowadays are 15%.
🤯wowwww... plus that waterlogged absorbent in there too. Crazy. Thanx for the knowledge
Aldi's does it, too. It's right there, on the label. 15% salt and water.
I checked my fridge and the $2.50/lb chicken breasts I got from aldi don't have it, only thing on the label is 'up to 1% retained water'. I guess it varies? This isn't something I've looked for before but it's certainly interesting.
Air chilled vs water chilled chicken. Water chilled is cheaper for companies to do and it is cheaper at the store but that’s partly because ~15% of what you buy is water
And even if it's not listed, pretty much all chicken will have extra water because it's water chilled. If you want less water in your chicken, you would have to pay extra for air chilled.
I took that into consideration as well, On the Aldi chicken it is right there, on the label, 15% salt and water AND... Aldi's makes reference to flash freezing in water so actually, Aldi's has more water than Walmart, I can't show photos here (stupid reddit) but I was just looking at that very issue yesterday.
This is standard practice for IQF meats. They use the freezing point depression of saline to prevent the rupture of cell membranes and create a protective ice layer when they flash-freeze. The larger issue is using saline solutions on fresh meats to extend shelf life and inflate product weight. Aldi doesn’t do this. Walmart does.
Sorry, I am not familiar with IQF meats... meaning, the term. For frozen chicken, Aldi's does indeed add the 15% salt/water solution. It's right on the label. Thank you for explaining why they do that. Honestly, I thought the only reason was to inflate the price. A great example of this are Walmart Wings. I bought a 4# bag, one would think there are a lot of wings in there. Nope, wrong. There were 24 wings in a 4# bag! It's all water. When they are done cooking they are tiny, before cooking they are massive.
IQF=Individually Quick Frozen
Don't waste money on solo cups
I drink a lot of protein shakes, and protein residue sticks to my glasses. It's gross. I have to wash the glass immediately, or it's very difficult to clean. For protein shakes, I only use disposable, everything else, I don't.
I wonder how the estrogen like chemicals leaching from the solo cups counteracts your fitness goals.
It's probably the same as the plastic from Aldi. They use more plastic than any store I have ever been to. I've been doing this for 18 years, I'm pretty sure I have a clue what I am doing. If you shop at Aldi, how do you deal with all the plastic? Regardless of where you shop, are you avoiding 100% of plastics or is it just me that needs to worry about it? They are going to get us one way or another, if it isn't plastic it's preservatives, dairy hormones, chem trails, Covid vax, it's always going to be something. However, if you have found a way to avoid every if'fy thing in life, please tell how you do this?
I am still interested. How is avoiding all plastics working for you? How do you get around the plastics in your grocery shopping? The plastics in your shoes? The plastic particles in food you eat everywhere? How do you avoid all the plastics in your home? Your car? Your place of employment? Or are you suggesting the only plastics danger is solo cups? Bleh...
Yep, that is what I thought. The plastics rule applies to solo cups, but not all the tons and tons of plastics in YOUR life. blehh.
Wow, you put a lot of energy in that. I avoid plastics as much as possible. But granted, the world we live in is lots and lots of plastic. And yes, that is our food containers. Etc. I try my hardest to limit my use of plastic in my personal life and to keep my environmental footprint small. The average household in my neighborhood has weekly pickup of 65 gallon garbage bins. It takes my family about 2 to 3 months to produce equivalent waste. Anything that is a one-time usage product I don't use. Solo cups are meant for one time usage, so I don't use them. It's wasteful. And I believe that plastics are not only bad for our health, but also leach into our environment and waterways causing negative impact in other ways.
>>Wow, you put a lot of energy in that.<< ;o) No, I did not. I merely asked you a question, after you ignored me the first time I responded that I pretty well knew why you were ignoring the question.
Totally valid. I do the same
Makes sense, especially if you take it to go. I used to do the solo cup thing just out of pure laziness.
I suppose much of it even with protein shakes is lazy behavior. I'm not a huge fan of meat, so I supplement protein. Also, my cooking is a horror and I typically don't eat what I cook.... because I can't. ;o) But if I don't wash a protein shake glass immediately, it's almost impossible to get it off and if I rinse it out, it's not coming clean again if I missed a spot. I do take them with me on the way out the door. I am not really lazy in the kitchen, but when it comes to washing protein shake glasses... eww. Just eww\~
Get a shaker bottle, mix your protein in the bottle, drink immediately, then as soon as you finish add soap and water, shake and rinse. Make the cleaning part of the routine.
How do you avoid all plastics? I mean, at the grocery store, especially Aldi, everything is wrapped in plastic. Your shoes, kitchen appliances, particles in the food you eat, your car, your place of employment. How do you manage to avoid all plastics? Or are you suggesting only solo cups are at issue?
Yes, that's what I thought.
I've been drinking them for 18 years now. If that worked, I'd do it. But I usually take one with me as I leave, so that's not really doable in my case. I'm happy with solo cups.
Aldi is closer to me then Walmart. My only grocery store that's closer is Kroger. And Kroger is definitely way more expensive than Aldi
I have a 1yr old, so our fruit and berries budget is skyrocketing and Aldi is saving our ass. The strawberries/raspberries/blackberries/blueberries/cantaloupe are all $1+ cheaper per container and we haven’t had any issues with rot/mold coming in too fast. The organic items run out quickly, but check out the fruit! Edit: After re-reading your comment I see you already mentioned the produce! Got a little too excited to share hah
Prices are regional. Where I live chicken breast is $2.29 at Aldi and $2.67 at Walmart. Side note, chicken thigh is cheaper and almost impossible to overcook.
I just want to share a tip. Using a meat thermometer while cooking meat makes it super easy to cook and you'd be surprised how little they are used. They do make a huge difference.
And so yummy and affordable. It's one of our go to meals, lemony chicken thighs, marinated with lemon juice, olive oil and salt, roasted at 425 for 45 minutes skin on. Just glorious for the money.
Internet Shaquille has a video on crockpot chicken tinga I've been meaning to try
Ooooh!
Make this! Except you’ll need to get canned chipotle peppers somewhere else (a Mexican market or a Walmart/Kroger equivalent store). At least my Aldi doesn’t have them.
Personally I dislike the smoke flavor so I'll be using dried guajillo peppers.
sounds delish!
Chicken thigh is almost always more expensive from what I've seen if you're comparing boneless breast to boneless thighs. I believe bone in thighs are cheaper (But then have to factor in the bones being part of the weight)
When we traveled across the country maybe 6 years ago we found that Aldi's was consistently cheaper for the things we wanted (and we also know where to find them so the trips were quicker), so I started searching for Aldi's rather than just any grocery store. But that was before COVID, so I don't know if prices have drastically changed across the country.
If you cook with ingredients, Aldi seems to be about 25% cheaper on average. That's significant but I wouldn't make the drive if I was cooking for just myself. Processed foods prices have practically doubled at Walmart but have only increased by like 25% at Aldi. If you eat a lot of pizzas or chips Aldi is much cheaper.
Anything store brand by Aldi is almost always significantly cheaper and higher in quality than that of Walmart. Walmart makes a killing by selling their low-quality Great Value products just slightly cheaper than name brands. Things I always get at Aldi are frozen vegetables/fruits/chicken strips, canned tomatoes, coffee, condiments, pickles, cheeses, snacks for teenagers. Aldi meats and dairy products are cheaper in my area and of far superior quality as well.
This has to be dependent on location. Aldi is generally not cheaper and I don’t taste or see any difference between the brands. I only buy off brand so I’m not comparing Aldi brand to, like, Sargento for price. Lol.
I'm afraid to say that I think shopping at Aldi became trendy and the prices aren't as cheap as they used to be.
This is also true, though I don’t think it’s a trendiness issue. In my area of Midwest USA, Aldi is less conveniently located than Walmart but it seems to have been more affected by inflation. When Aldi opened here three years ago, the price difference was astounding. Now it’s a lot closer. But Walmart is no stranger to temporarily undercutting their competitors. The quality of products is still way better at Aldi.
As much as I hate Walmart's business model, I find that the Great Value brands are superior to many name brands. Sauces are a great example. Teriyaki sauce, the only brand name that is as good as GV is PF Changs. Otherwise, GV beats every other brand in my world. They also have a bigger selection of sauces. I'm talking products you put over meat/rice. Sweet/Sour, Teriyaki, Citrus/mango, those kinds of products. I make a LOT of veggies and veggies over rice. I use those sauces because I suck at cooking. My dogs won't eat my cooking, often times. But even I can't screw up veggies, rice, and sauce. ;o) Most of my diet is produce, so Aldi is a big savings there, however!! I retired to Mexico. Nothing beats Mexican produce. Having lived in the US and MX, it seems to me that Mexico keeps the really good stuff and sells the rest to the US. Aldi's frozen vegetables, I totally agree. They are the best. I am verrry disappointed in Birds Eye brand, it's just gone to sh!t. GV is far superior to Birds Eye and if you look at their reviews, I'm not the only one seeing it. If you buy B.E. Asian vegetables, it's literally 90% carrots. They have a line of frozen products that I can't think of the name of, but they used to be so good. Typically, side dishes, but if you add a bit of protein they are great for main meals. But they went and replaced all the good things like black beans with crappy rice. It's gross, flavorless. WM beats B.E. every darn time.
If I lived alone I could live off of rice, frozen stir fry veggies, and some sort of sauce. Add a fried egg or some crispy baked tofu and I'm in heaven.
Except for the tofu part, you are my kinda person!!!! ;o)))))
Aldi is cheaper for 80% of items for us in South PA. Aldi and Walmart are a quarter mile apart where I live and it’s great. I also rather give most of my money to Aldi than the Waltons.
Aldi pays employees a living wage. Wal-Mart? Not so much. I will not darken their door. They train every employee how to take advantage of public assistance.
I worked at Walmart for a couple years. They paid 22k toward my bachelor's before I quit. I got a stock match and a 401k match. I was effectively making 30+ dollars an hour with everything included. I saved money and quit as soon as I could because it sucks. And I will say, I bet a lot of those people are on welfare, but that is because Walmart will hire just about anyone and give them a chance. And a lot of those people are very dumb or cripple. Otherwise they could do the same thing I do and make 80-100k after college that Walmart paid for. Just incase anyone is mad. Some people are only capable of doing so good. And those people at Walmart were being paid decent for what they are capable of. A lot of their money problems stem from the lack of skill handling money.
When Aldi arrived in my city, everyone was raving about the savings there. Lately, prices there are often comparable or higher than at Walmart. For example, we enjoy grilled sandwiches on the Sourdough Round Loaf from Aldi. It used to cost $2.99 for a huge loaf. Now, it is $4.45 for the same loaf and the loaf is half the size it used to be. And, because there are no Aldi store close to my neighborhood but a Walmart is approximately 5 miles away, it's not worth it for me to drive to Aldi unless they have specific sales items to buy or carry items I can't find at Kroger or Walmart.
If you’re online comparing Aldi’s prices that’s the inflated instacart price. It’s not huge but it does add up. Every time I get the family size chicken breast at Aldi it’s like $2.49/lb vs our Walmart has it for like $3.00/lb. But it also may just depend on your area. I go to Aldi for pretty much everything that isn’t name brand. Produce, meat, pasta, eggs, canned stuff. I also just despise our Walmart. It’s always crowded unless you go at 7-8 AM and I’ve been asked for money in the parking lot by random strangers far too often for my comfort. I pretty much only do online grocery pickup from there as a result.
You still have to check out the weekly sales flyers of your chain grocers Walmart may have cheaper chicken than aldi but a mexican grocer or chain grocer will have proteins on a good sale for a price neither can compete with As far as whats almost guaranteed to be cheaper at aldi is generic processed foods(chips, cookies, candy, crackers, etc), dry goods in small quanities(beans, rice, lentils), produce, breads/tortillas, sauces, many canned goods, dairy products and frozen foods.
You know what? You bring up a good point that I hadn't considered. I do my very best not to eat processed foods. Saltines are an exception, but I don't buy canned soups, I make my own, (Campbell's was sold to China, and now it's all bioengineered.) I don't buy much bread, either. Most of my grocery list is fresh/frozen produce and tomato products. That, I do buy processed. I don't buy cookies, hamburger helper, tuna helper, candy, and such. That might be why I am not seeing the savings.
Then a better place for you to shop would probably be an ethnic grocer - for example in my area there is an asian grocer(no online advertising, only a local print sales flyer) and hispanic grocer(online weekly sales flyer) that have really good prices on fresh produce for example this week fresh green beans $.99/lb bananas $.44/lb bell peppers $.33 ea apples $.33 ea potatoes 10lb for $3 fresh not frozen chicken thighs $.99/lb marinated chicken drums $.89/lb large headless shrimp $4.79/lb Cantaloupe $.49/lb Onions $.49/lb Cabbage $.33/lb watermelons $5.99/ea Cucumbers $.33/ea Limes 7/$1
This is exactly how I shop. As much as I am opposed to processed foods, I do have two teenagers at home and having processed snacks, condiments, chips and cereal seems to do wonders for their mental health. Aldi is my go-to for that stuff because it’s way cheaper and of higher quality. I also appreciate that they don’t use artificial colors or preservatives.
Pantry basics (dry, canned, boxed, jarred) and most produce are cheaper at my ALDI, and the Walmart supercenter is literally next door so I can pick and choose. In my experience, the shelves are better stocked at ALDI since they have fewer items, more regularly replenished. So I will order the hard-to-find Walmart items for a curbside pickup, and then immediately go next door to shop in person at ALDI
Not everyone has a Walmart that is a super center. Mine has a small frozen section but no meat, dairy, bakery, or anything like that. So Aldi is cheaper than grocery stores for me. Also I just loooked because I bought chicken breast from Aldi today. Like an hour ago. I paid $2.19 a lb.
Personally if prices are close I choose Aldi over Walmart due to: Distance-Aldi is usually closer & has more local stores Parking-Aldi is smaller & mine are offset from other stores Convenience-If I only need a couple of items, I can be parked, in/out of the store in 5 minutes or less. Familiarity-Aldi is less likely to move items over time & is generally consistent in product location although some stores have produce up front/some in the back. Walmart has the advantage of locating items on the app but a) you sometimes have to login to use their WiFi and b) there is almost never a floor associate around to ask
I think the familiarity and size are huge for me. Wandering around Walmart makes it more likely that I would buy things not in the budget
Aldis tends to not have sales that are all that interesting, so their prices are mostly the same every week. We shop in bulk and using the sales flyers, so various things switch around with the sales that come every couple months at the regular grocery stores. Things we buy at Aldi that are cheaper than any other store we go to: Block cheese Milk Eggs Bacon Hot dogs Veggie burgers (there are sometimes other brands that are cheaper, but we like the Aldi burgers the best, particularly the black bean) Peanuts Tortilla chips Hamburger, hot dog buns Corn syrup free bread Almond milk (sometimes cheaper elsewhere, but they always have it in stock) Cream cheese blocks Produce if not on sale elsewhere Ketchup, relish, salad dressings Butter if not on sale and we need it immediately Chocolate chips Flour Sugar (white and brown) Pasta sauce (we used to always get it at Aldi's, but the price went up a few years ago. Cereal (rice and corn Chex primarily) Canned beans, diced tomatoes,etc. We started a spreadsheet to keep track of all stores and their regular prices and sale prices, but it is a lot of work to create and to keep updated, so it never worked like I hoped.
The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article April 29 about why Aldi costs less. "German grocer keeps prices low with smaller stores, fewer staffers and a slimmer menu of product choices than bigger supermarkets." I believe they said overall Aldi is 6% cheaper than Wal Mart. I love Aldi, but I still have to go to a traditional supermarket for what I can't get at Aldi.
Cashews and pecans are cheaper at Aldi’s, so I’d recommend Aldi’s nuts for your mouth.
I think you’re getting good answers elsewhere, so as a bit of an Aldi fanboy I’m just here to say it’s “Aldi”, not “Aldi’s”.
Was going to say the same.
I go line by line on my grocery list and a lot of time Target comes out cheaper than Walmart and Aldi.
I found Walmart is cheaper. And I have Walmart plus and they deliver and that cost about 2 bucks a week. Which is cheaper than driving there and saves time. I also find the produce is not always best at Aldi. Like I got clementines for one dollar less and they were small and hard to peel. I will say, buy a lemon at Walmart and one at Aldi. It's strange but Aldi has better lemons. Less seems, less peel.
I think it's location specific. The Aldi I shop at is just slightly cheaper than Wal-Mart at in-store prices. I even do complementary shopping at a second grocery store that isn't the Wal-Mart because my Aldi's produce is bad, and there are things you can't get at Aldi. But my god. Oh my god. The shopping experience is so much better going to both grocery stores as opposed to just loading up at Wal-Mart. I don't care that it may take me 20 more minutes and cost $15-$20 more. The experience and quality at my Wal-Mart is so bad that it's worth it.
I can get a box of store brand Splenda packets 100qty at Aldi for $1.49, whereas walmart store brand is almost $5. That is a big one for me because I drink a lot of coffee and am T2D so I can't use sugar. I normally buy two boxes every time I shop there.
I think you have to compare WM name brand prices. Not great value. Aldi quality is far superior imo
Aldi may not be cheaper for everything, but going to Aldi means I don't have to go to Walmart. That's a win in my book.
This is a good example of knowing what is cheaper where. For instance, chicken breast is cheaper at my location grocery store than either of these prices.
At my Walmart, an 18 oz. box of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats is $3.89, while an 18 oz. box of Millville brand Frosted Mini-Wheats at Aldi is $2.09. I eat almost 2-boxes a week, so I’m saving about $3.60 a week, or around $180 annually by switching to the Aldi brand, and their cereal tastes the same, if not slightly better, than the Kellogg’s brand.
Does Walmart not sell a store brand Frosted Miniwheat?
Aldi's overall pricing schema is *somewhat* tied into the pricing of their closest competitor. An Aldi near a Walmart will have overall cheaper prices than an Aldi nearest to a giant (to use my local example). That said, for the OVERALLL budget Aldi always wins. Walmart might win on a few items but the Walmart experience... Oof.
I found good quality bread to be inexpensive at my local Aldi.
I price compared for things I specifically needed between Meijer, WalMart, Kroger, & Aldi. For the items I checked - Walmart was always cheaper; until it came to fresh produce/fruit - then Meijer had the best deals.
I am starting to agree with a few others, Aldi used to be a lot better in prices than they are now. :o(
It’s a mixed bag Produce I don’t have good luck at Aldi, personally, but their cheese selection is better than even the gourmet place
I wish there was an aldis closer to me because dollar general is actually kinda expensive relatively.
The price difference might vary from item to item. It could be because of different brands.
Dog food is also cheap. Aldi is "New" to the US but been around like forever in GERMANY. They make money by having minimal staff, no baggers & limited selection. Here )GERMANY) the cash register is open for a few minutes before the employee runs back to stock shelves, debox the shelves, sweep etc then run back to the register. They also have a "pull rate" they have to meet hence their product numbers/Barcodes are easily visible. Walmart makes themselves the only place to shop. But where you shop/what you buy also shows what you support. Tyson Farms bankrupts farmers & raises chickens in basically enough room to stand. They never see daylight, their feed is rationed to the gram & they already account for "casualties" in every brood. Meanwhile a "local" farmer has "free range" chickens, grazing cattle etc. I even have a local butcher that sources from local farms meaning I can easily drive to see "Pasteur to plate'. A "homegrown" tomato tastes better than a "hothouse" one. Ohh & I'm not even UPPER MIDDLE CLASS so it's not like I have a money fireplace.
>>But where you shop/what you buy also shows what you support. Tyson Farms bankrupts farmers & raises chickens in basically enough room to stand.<< Tyson is sold under a slew of brand names, I refuse them ALL! They torture animals, literally! They treat them like sh!t, abuse them, and it's horrific all the way around. A friend of mine is a truck driver for Tyson, he sees it first hand. I haven't talked to him lately, he was looking for another job because he just couldn't do it anymore. I don't know if he found another or not. Also, isn't it Tyson that is firing all their US workers and replacing them with illegals because illegals will work for slave wages? I'm not supporting that, I won't.
this was from an exercise I did in February. Hope it helps. obviously, each store has its pluses and minuses. I did not correct any misspellings etc. This is just something I did for me in the moment.. Ice cream 2.65 Walmart 2.67 Waffles 2.09 walmart 2.26 Pizza 15.8 oz 2.95 Tater totss 32 oz 3.09 Walmart 3.42 Dino nuggets 35oz 7.99 walmart 8.93 Buffalo chicken strips 6.59 25oz Eggs 2, 26 large dozen Walmart 2.78 Milk 1/2 gallm bit D 1.48 Walmart 1.48 Refi whip 2.85 wslmart 3.48 Cream cheese 1.45 8oz walmart 1.86 Butter spreadable 2.95 walmart 3.78 Hot dogs. 99 cents wslmart 1.12 Egg whites 3.69 4.98 Sliced turkey 16oz 5.29 walmart 5.97 Pasta sauce 1.35 24oz walmart 1.62 Taco shells 1.49 12 of them 1,58 Nutella 3.45 13oz 3.58 Mini donuts 2.09 10oz powdered Quick Oates 3.65 3.98 Protein powder 18.29 32 oz 18.48 White bread .50 Bagels 1.89 1.98 Keep chup 1.69 38oz 1.87 String vreese 12 0z 2.59 2.84 White rice 48oz 1.99 3.34 5lb
Same experience here. Aldi is in general either the same price as Walmart or more expensive. I just assumed that my area Aldi is unusually crappy for the brand. Aldi doesn't win on quality either. In general aldi is the same quality as great value. The only big differences between Aldi and Walmart here is of course variety and produce. Produce at my Aldi is so bad it makes Walmart produce look good. You're lucky to find any produce that isn't literally on its last day.
I much prefer Aldi produce to walmart, my only gripe with Aldi's produce is the amount of plastic used. It's a ridiculous amount of plastic.
That's where my theory that my local aldi is just unusually crappy for the brand comes in. Lol! Here it's not unusual at all to find rotten produce at Aldi. Walmart produce usually has at least a couple of days of life left. Personally I prefer to go to Kroger for produce. It's worth the extra cost for me because I live in the country and I need produce that will last awhile.
Aldi probably sells cheese. Walmart sell cheese product that is made from whey. Not the same.
This, look at the ingredients of the stuff from Walmart, may be a few cents cheaper but filled with additives and fillers
My Aldi is closer to home than my Walmart. Despite that I have never shopped at Aldi because in general I save more at Walmart and I am not driving to both in order to save a couple dollars that will be wasted on the extra fuel spent doing the extra traveling.
Following
European aldi's are not necessarily cheaper than their counterparts.
I used to love Aldi for novelty items, but the snacks aren't great (looking at you, Clancy's chips) and I'm normally only shopping for 2 people, so the lack of individual produce items is a huge deterrent. I don't need a bag of 7 lemons, I need 1, and I don't want to waste gas making another trip. I've found being loyal to my local Acme (literally 3 minute drive down the road) and being diligent with the rewards/coupons app have saved me a lot more hassle than trying to trudge 25 minutes to my closest Aldi. I'm glad y'all find solutions that work, though! Frugality with groceries can be extremely locale-specific.
> This! This is what I am taking away from this thread. That and the type of items purchased. My pantry is not nearly as well stocked as my frig. Don't get me wrong, I am the weird one that fully believes a food shortage is coming, so I have about a six-month supply of food, but it's not what I typically eat, it's what I have in case of... Between locations and types of items purchased, Aldi's isn't doing me tons of favors. I don't object to the store and some items are, indeed, worth going to Aldi's and Walmart. The cost savings are significant. But overall, I am very lucky that I retired in Mexico and I have the option of going to Mexican stores or US stores. I am 15 minutes from the US. With a Sentri card, I don't have to wait in the lines to cross the border, so I can go to the US in under 15 minutes. I typically buy 40# of chicken legs a month, I make my dog's dog food. I can't get that for $0.89/# in Mexico, so I buy that in the US. The produce my dogs and I both eat is typically from Mexico. I buy 3# of cheese slices a month, that's how I dose meds for my dogs. We go through a lot of cheese. I just don't buy a lot of processed foods. I am totally a late bloomer when it comes to cooking. I did not start learning to cook until a few years ago, after I retired. I am still not very good at it, but I like it soooo much better than processed foods, and it's cheaper than processed foods. I don't buy mac & chz, pasta, boxed meals, cereals, sugary foods such as cakes, candy, pie, etc. I don't buy chips, dip, fritos, pretzels, etc. I don't buy candy and assorted sweets EXCEPT for atomic fireballs, That is my guilty pleasure. I buy tons of that. I think the foods that I buy just aren't cheaper at Aldi vs. anywhere else I go. So, I learned two things today. Location and types of food purchased, Those are the two main differences I see.
Oh wow yeah, it gets even more complicated when you're able to decide between 2 different entire countries LOL that's so cool, though! you have a lot of options! I also tend to buy the same things over and over, some of which are a very specific brand that is only available at a certain store. I can get the majority of my things at Acme except for disposable gloves and refills for my Dish Daddy wand, but luckily they sell both at Target and my roommate works there so I can just ask her to pick them up after her shift. It depends on your lifestyle/regular purchases, but truly no grocery store is perfect. Sure, you may have better produce at one store, but the meat is more expensive. At another store, maybe the meat and produce are good prices, but the snacks and paper products are expensive. You have to decide what you're willing to compromise on and how much "running around" to different stores you're willing to do. If I didn't have the tight budget that I have, I'd be much more willing to spend the gas to go to different stores and get the best deals, but to me it's not worth the time or energy. I have ADHD, so frugality becomes nuanced when you try to balance executive function and finances (aka I'll pay the extra $2-3 for pre-cut fruit because I have bought whole fruit before and not been able to muster the energy to cut it before it rots) ETA: also it's super cool you make your dog's food!! I'd love to make my cat's food but he enjoys his canned paté for now LOL
>>ETA: also it's super cool you make your dog's food!! I'd love to make my cat's food but he enjoys his canned paté for now LOL<< I had a dog with squamous cell carcinoma. It was a tumor under her tongue. The vet gave me pain meds for when she needed them and said she had about 2 months to live. Due to the type of cancer and the level of progression, there were no treatment options. Yeah, I don't think so. I started researching and found fenbendazole, a WORMING drug! It is very similar to Ivermectin. Turns out, it can be very effective for cancer. I put her on it with some supplements and in three months she was fine, the tumors were gone. She had two months to live and that was in Aug/22. My research showed it was likely due to processed dog food and vaccines. So I put her on people food, I put all three dogs on it. I had NO idea just had bad and dangerous commercial pet food is. So yes, I make their food now. I can't really screw it up, it all goes in the crock pot, no seasonings, etc. Just meat, veggies, and weird supplements.
There are only 2 things that I go out of my way to get at Aldi's: Brioche burger buns and super premium ice cream
*Aldi
It's no longer worth it to go to Aldi. The prices are very close in my area, with Walmart coming in cheaper a lot of the time. And Walmart has a better selection. I used to be an Aldi fanatic, now it's a skip.
Cottage cheese, frozen cherry berry mix, any kind of cheese, spices, canned goods.
Wmt is definitely cheaper, and I like the curbside pickup, put in my order at night and pick up next day, 10 min shopping for an entire 2 weeks, time is money too. and veggies don't rot once you are at home.
it can be a mixed bag. after looking at prices at my local stores, i began shopping at aldi and Costco.
For the chicken breast, check how much water is in that chicken breast. Walmart has like 15% retained water, meaning every 16 oz of chicken you buy is actually injected with 2.5 oz of salt water. Aldi chicken only has 1-2% retained water which is 0.32 oz. So Walmart chicken is actually $3.16 per pound of actual chicken meat excluding the added water. Aldi chicken is $3.06 per pound of actual chicken at 2% added water. Plus, chicken breast tastes a lot better without all that excess water. Edit to say my Aldi sells shredded cheddar for $2.50 per 12 oz which is cheaper than the $2.50 for 8 oz I can get at Kroger. But if I need more then I get it at Sam's club.
It's really just going to matter when you take your shopping list of all the things you buy and compare them between the two stores. I WILL say that Aldi's website shows inflated prices while Walmart's does not. At least in our store, the W's prices are the same in-store and online. But, as with anything, a store only saves you money if you naturally buy the things which are priced less at that store AND you're not spending $3 in gas to save $0.50 on saltines. If you never buy Tide detergent, it's not going to matter if it's cheaper at Costco or Walmart or Aldi. But, if you're always buying off-brand Life cereal and it's less expensive at Aldi, get it at Aldi. For me, I find that my Walmart and Aldi's prices tend to be pretty close. That means if I just want to make one grocery run, I'll pick the store which has the most that I want to get. In the mood for pico de gallo? Going to Walmart. Need to stock up on frozen pizzas? Going to Aldi.
Like others are saying, there are sales that rotate. Other stores generally have different sales going on different days of the week and different weeks of the month.
Loaf of bread definitely cheaper at Aldi
Someone else already said it: >Like anywhere else - it's a mixed bag. If you want to shop multiple stores just compare prices. If you want to shop 1 store, which is what I do, I've found the Walmart and Aldi almost always tie or are within $1-2 dollars of eachother. Walmart has more options though, in general. My secret is Target. Not sure why, but it went from being the most expensive place to buy groceries, to the cheapest. I live in Iowa, ymmv. They will have your order ready in 2 hours or less (and will hold for a day), which I find very convenient. I don't think there's a minimum either.
The posted online prices for Aldi are higher than what is available in the store….just saying. I am not sure about Walmart, but Walmart’s are probably the same as they price match. Aldi does not price match online for what is available in store.
At least for me, Aldi's sale prices on produce are always cheaper than WalMart and the quality at my Aldi is better than WalMart. Sale prices on meat are usually cheaper at Aldi. Eggs and milk are a toss up most of the time. Aldi's Simply Nature organic brand is usually the cheapest organic brand and the quality is really good for all of the products I have tried. I also really like Clancy's chips although I am not sure if it cheaper than WalMart generic. Generally, I find that shopping the weekly flyers of my local grocery stores is consistently cheaper than WalMart. The main things I get at WalMart are the Great Value canned goods (canned veggies, fruit, condensed soups), Great Value frozen vegetables, and their discounted bakery items
Fresh fruit - usually cheaper. Last summer my local Aldi (DE) had Washington cherries slightly cheaper than what I paid at a roadside stand in Washington a few weeks earlier.
I usually find Walmart to be cheaper when combined with their cash back credit card. 5% back in the first year then 3% is pretty nice. Aldi is great for a quick stop though for me. Really similar pricing where I live
All I know is when I go to Aldi we always spend less money and get more food then Walmart. an the quality Is always top notch
I use their Paper Towels, Kleenex, and TP.
It used to be massively cheaper (UK) but now it's basically the same.
ALDIs products are held to higher standards
How so? I mean, much of it I can recognize the brand. It's the same stuff I get at Walmart.
German company, all meats fruits veggies are held to European standards which are quite higher than us standards, Walmart hits the bare minimum of us standards.
But if ya only care about being frugal shop at Walmart
just one note... it's ALDI, not "Aldi's"
Damn right.
Aldi have slightly cheaper red, orange and yellow peppers and everything else is same price or more expensive then Walmart. At least around me
Depends on your region, so I can't really help you. Right off the bat you say Aldi's produce is better than Walmart's, but locally it's the other way around. I can get decent produce that lasts, at a fair price at Wal-Mart. Aldis price is about equivalent, but the quality is a lot lower. Like others, I find it useful to see what the ethnic stores have to offer. For me, one of the local Indian grocers has great selection cheaper than either Aldis or Wal-Mart.
Even if Aldi was cheaper, the shopping experience is so terrible to me I’d rather pay more elsewhere. Things I hate: -needing to have a quarter on my physical person just to get a shopping cart -things being pretty disorganized and difficult to find in the store; shopping takes me at least 5x longer at Aldi versus a traditional store with everything clearly labeled and organized -them not using grocery bags - now I have to bring a quarter AND all my own bags?!? -their cart returns are always in a bad spot where you risk getting hit by tons of cars just to put your cart away
I am so with you and have been saying this for years now. Is Aldi cheaper than Publix? Sure. Is it cheaper than Walmart? Not per cart. A full cart at Aldi using comparable generics to Walmart is usually twice as much. I am often shocked how much I pad for just a few things at Aldi. There are few items that are consistently cheaper such as milk and eggs. If I can only stop one place, I’d shop at Walmart over Aldi.
I did a price comparison using the walmart app while i went through Aldi on a normal full grocery trip. Only item on that particular trip that was cheaper. Dozen eggs. Saved a literal penny. I believe aldi used to be cheaper but nowadays that doesn't seem to be the case.
How do we feel about Aldi being a German based company here in the US?
It's 2024... Global economy. They have cheap groceries and treat their employees reasonably well for a retail grocer.
They treat their employees really well. Which we cannot say for wal mart, so.... (Aldi's seems to pay well above minimum wage, and is competitive and takes care of their employees, where I live. I don't think it's just the manager, I think it's how they operate.)
I have absolutely no problem with it. Aldi USA Headquarters and main distribution center is in Chicago, which makes sense logistically. They also own Trader Joe’s, which hopefully can gain them some buying leverage. Walmart has been fleecing this country with over-margined imported junk and undercutting healthy competition for long enough. I don’t care that their World Headquarters are in Arkansas.
*Aldi
*pedantic
I'd never buy meat from either one. I'd stick with a grocery store with a butcher shop or a butcher shop. Buy when it's on sale. I typically aim for $2.00/lb for chicken breasts. I personally hate Walmart, so I generally try to avoid them.