Before the economy went south and my husband was working I always did my food shopping at major grocery chains. I had to cut my spending in half and started shopping at Aldi's. I first thought it was great and saving loads of money, but I then noticed their prices started going up little by little. Now I noticed the major grocery chains are lowering their prices to compete with Aldi prices. I now shop at about 3 different stores to get what I like at the best price. How many food chains do you shop at?
I use Aldi, LIDL and Morrisons when I'm in the UK, and Aldi, LIDL and Consum when I'm in Spain. Between these three stores on either side of the channel, I can do all my grocery shopping for the best price, without sacrificing quality. I may occasionally pop into other stores to take advantage of special offers, but these stores offer the best prices week on week.
OMG I can't believe I just found this thread. I am originally from the midwest and shopped at ALDI's for years. Where else can you feed a family of 3 for $100 a month? Well we moved to FLorida in 1997 and there were no Aldi s to be found. Just today, I was driving out west, and low and behold there was an Aldi. Of course I had to dip in! I still have $75 left for my food budget. Had my quarter ready for the cart and everything! Ahhhhh, when I walked in the door it even still smelled the same!!! Ahhh the good memories of the old days. I didn't go crazy, but $25 later, I am sure that will get us through until next week!
I use Aldi's and County market. I like County Market for their meat and Aldi's for their canned goods and cereal's which aren't that bad and they are cheaper.
I was not real thrilled with Aldis here. We used to have 4 discount stores just like this one within 5-10 minutes of each other and also 6 major supermarkets and a Super Walmart all within 10 minutes. Some of the discount stores moved and some shut down. Aldis is still there, but I don't go there. We now have a Bottom Dollar Food which is a supermarket that is a little cheaper then a big supermarket and it opened recently. We also have a Redner's which I love!! This too is a supermarket that is a little cheaper then regular supermarkets. Both of these stores have name brands at discounts. I go by which store has the best sales. With this many supermarkets (and now 2 Super Walmarts) within 10-15 minutes of my house, I have options! The total now of stores by us I think is 1 major discount (Aldis), 3 discount supermarkets (including Redners and Bottom Dollar Food), 2 Super Walmarts and 6 major supermarkets.
I've only shopped at Aldis a couple of times. But I am glad we have them here because competition is a good thing! When I shopped there, I was disappointed with the produce, but maybe I just went on a bad day. I prefer to buy local produce as much as possible, and it looked like most of the produce was imported. Also, some of it looked old. Maybe I just came right before they were supposed to get a new shipment.
I shop at any store which has the items I need at a great price. The only store I refuse to go to is Kroger. They have managed to tick me off royally and have lost me as a customer for life.
I shop at Aldi's all the time and love it. I Think it has fantastic deals on many items. I have never had bad produce there. Our store is very busy and we have a high turnover of product though so maybe the ones that have an issue were not as busy. We have 3 Aldi's near me and I often check them all in a week. Different managers run different specials and I get some amazing deals. I love all the imported goods from Europe. I only shop the other stores in town if they are having extream specials or if there is a large enough coupon. I have found that even with a coupon and sale that I can usualy fnd it cheaper at Aldi's. Chicken leg quarters are 69 cents a lb today.
I don't have an Aldi near me, but I do review their produce ads on line wekely. My local Walmart matches their prices! I buy fruit &some veggies s in bulk and freeze them for later.
We shop at Aldi's and any other store that has a good price like Walmart. We have Super Walmart in the area with good prices and watch the sales.
I do shop at Aldi's when I need to stretch my grocery money a little more. I end up getting a lot more for the same amount I spend at Walmart or any other major store. The only thing I don't like is that I can't just buy everything there. Their veggies and fruits are not always the best and I don't like the taste of some of their brands.
I shop at 3. I use Aldis for the majority of my staples, such as flour, eggs, peanut butter, etc. Those all tend to stay cheaper, even as their prices have to go up with the economy. I use other stores for name brand items that can be coupled with coupons, and meats. I use Aldis for any produce that looks good because it's super cheap in comparison, but I have to go elsewhere for others because they don't always have what I need.