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Old 08-04-2019, 01:37 PM   #41
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You all had me thinking today since a new Aldi opened up a few months back near my daughter. They opened across the street from a fairly new Super Walmart in Spring, Texas.

So DD and I went there today around 1:00 PM (Aldi). There were 4 customers in the store and about 100 cars at nearby WM.

At Aldi's, produce selection was very limited and things like a head of lettuce was about the same price as at WM. Things like green peppers were packaged in "threes" so you cannot buy one? A head of cabbage was $1.89 vs. $1.71 at WM and a head of lettuce was $1.15 vs. $1.28 at WM.

DD shops at WM every week so she knows the prices of goods. Generally, she thought there were no "bargains" at Aldi and much of the goods were "no name" packagers.

Soft drinks (name brands ) were the same price or a few cents less. - there was only Coke on display.

Yesterday, I bought "Choice" grade ribeye steaks at Costco for $7.99/lb, fresh cut and packaged with 4 about 3/4 pound each on size. Same Choice grade ribeye at Aldi's were $8.99/lb. These were packaged individually at a supplier in O2 sealed plastic for long term shelf life.

All in all, DD and I were not impressed with Aldi's.
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Old 08-04-2019, 02:24 PM   #42
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aja8888, That has been my impression also. However, Aldi does have cheap wine! $2.89 a bottle! That is their store brand. I have no idea if it is any good. Taste OK to dw and I, but I wouldn't know good wine if it bit me!

Yesterday Cantaloupe was $.67 each, and at HEB, the same price. They have a lot of off brand merchandise, which makes it hard to compare. Chips and nuts seem about the same as Sam's, Beef Jerky was more expensive.
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Old 08-04-2019, 03:00 PM   #43
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Another thought: I was just in my local Wal*Mart picking up a few items I knew were loss leaders. I wandered around for a bit and found they were having a price rollback on the motor oil I use in my wife's truck - and bought (2) five quart containers. If you've got the storage space, snap up deals when you find them. I also use camelcamelcamel.com to figure out when what I want typically goes on sale at Amazon (hint: black friday deals can be excellent).
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Old 08-04-2019, 03:57 PM   #44
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If you've got the storage space, snap up deals when you find them. I also use camelcamelcamel.com to figure out when what I want typically goes on sale at Amazon (hint: black friday deals can be excellent).

This is a good time of year for clearance prices on patio and camping items. I bought 2 low back beach chairs for concerts and 4 fold up camping chairs at Big 5, with coupons, which made the prices much cheaper than anything I could find online.
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Old 08-04-2019, 07:29 PM   #45
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+2 on the garden!

I started with limited space, so I concentrated this year on things that would cost $$ at the store and I know we use. Thus I grow cilantro, rosemary, parsley, basil, sage, thyme as well as vegetables and fruit. I plan on many more strawberry plants, and blueberry bushes, perhaps other berries, also asparagus, as these are expensive. I use frozen berries daily throughout the year at breakfast - high in nutrients and very low in calories and delicious!

Adding a couple of bean dishes to one's repertoire, and making eggs in some form for dinner is a huge money saver for meat eaters. And add those fresh herbs. . . mmm.

I'm also raising hens for the eggs. This is not a money saver, at least in the beginning, but a fun retirement project for me with bonus food. I might get brave and raise meat birds, too, but that will be for next year.
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Old 08-05-2019, 02:09 AM   #46
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We hardly ever throw anything out. Most of our food is purchased fresh. If there is any left over, it usually ends up in a soup pot, an omelette or on top of of a pizza.
+1 I know some people who throw out leftovers after a meal.... whereas we love leftovers... for another meal or snack. And then there is always "refrigerator soup" to be made.
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Old 08-05-2019, 02:11 AM   #47
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One tip: When I buy a rotisserie chicken (Costco), we eat it once, then I cut the rest of the meat off the bones. I then put the carcass in crockpot, fill it with water and cook it on low for 24 hours. Best bone broth! I either drink it, warmed, in the mornings when it is cold, or I freeze it in 2-4 cup portions.
+1 When we are through with a whole chicken, there isn't much left other than bone and cartilage.
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Old 08-05-2019, 04:42 AM   #48
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Like others, we buy from in order:
  • Costco
  • Target
  • Local/regional chains (e.g. Publix, Kroger)
  • Splurge (Whole Foods, Earth Fare, local specialty fine foods)
I may need to try Aldi again. I’ve been a few times and it was so hit and miss with so many off brands and very limited produce, I didn’t go back. It seemed you couldn’t predict availability and you’d have to augment shopping elsewhere.

There are also Lidl stores where we are now, may have to try them too.
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Old 08-05-2019, 08:08 AM   #49
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I may need to try Aldi again. I’ve been a few times and it was so hit and miss with so many off brands and very limited produce, I didn’t go back. It seemed you couldn’t predict availability and you’d have to augment shopping elsewhere.
That's what I found on my one trip to Aldi although it was years ago. I suppose you could then plan your menu around what you buy but I'm a creature of habit. Like you, I start with Costco, buy nearly everything else at one grocery store that has a wide range of products, and fill in if needed at the chain next to my gym, which does OK on the basics. I get weekly circulars in the mail but pay little attention to them since most of the deals are on processed foods that I don't buy.
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Old 08-05-2019, 08:41 AM   #50
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You all had me thinking today since a new Aldi opened up a few months back near my daughter. They opened across the street from a fairly new Super Walmart in Spring, Texas.

So DD and I went there today around 1:00 PM (Aldi). There were 4 customers in the store and about 100 cars at nearby WM.

At Aldi's, produce selection was very limited and things like a head of lettuce was about the same price as at WM. Things like green peppers were packaged in "threes" so you cannot buy one? A head of cabbage was $1.89 vs. $1.71 at WM and a head of lettuce was $1.15 vs. $1.28 at WM.

DD shops at WM every week so she knows the prices of goods. Generally, she thought there were no "bargains" at Aldi and much of the goods were "no name" packagers.

Soft drinks (name brands ) were the same price or a few cents less. - there was only Coke on display.

Yesterday, I bought "Choice" grade ribeye steaks at Costco for $7.99/lb, fresh cut and packaged with 4 about 3/4 pound each on size. Same Choice grade ribeye at Aldi's were $8.99/lb. These were packaged individually at a supplier in O2 sealed plastic for long term shelf life.

All in all, DD and I were not impressed with Aldi's.
I call this the Aldi's affect, our Aldi's is kitty corner from the Super Walmart and after a little while I noticed that Walmart matched prices on eggs, milk and a few other basic items. If I need these things and something only available at Wal.mart I can buy them at Walmart and pay the same.

Aldi's is not good on name brands, but the no name is not generic it is the Aldi's in house brands and in more then a few cases, superior to name brand.

Also the key to saving at meat and produce is to buy the specials. The specials are always a great value. Berries in season, and stuff like that.

I like Aldi's because it has a small footprint easy and quick to get in and out. Stocks many, many basics eliminating having to shop specials and just buying when you need something. Checkout experience a million times better then WalMart.

You couldn't pay me to shop for food at a Super Target...
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Old 08-05-2019, 11:20 AM   #51
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I call this the Aldi's affect, our Aldi's is kitty corner from the Super Walmart and after a little while I noticed that Walmart matched prices on eggs, milk and a few other basic items.

I think we had something similar in our area only the opposite direction - the Whole Foods affect. Finding the Consumer Expenditure Survey and realizing how much we were overpaying for basic groceries was a real eye opener for us.
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Old 08-05-2019, 11:59 AM   #52
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Get Amex Blue cash preferred. It does have a $95 annual fee but you get 6% back for purchases up to $6K annually in most grocery stores. 1% is for grocery purchases above $6K. They also have a no annual fee variant that returns 3% on up to $6K in annual grocery purchases. These don't work for grocery purchases in wholesale clubs and superstores.
I use the no annual fee Amex Blue Cash card with 3%. Chase Freedom and Discover it typically has 5% cash back for one quarter on groceries every year.
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Old 08-05-2019, 12:25 PM   #53
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I’m hoping more ppl will avoid Aldi so the lines don’t get too long which is the biggest drawback to shopping there for me. I’ve never seen any self checkout at Aldi.
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Old 08-05-2019, 12:52 PM   #54
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+1 I know some people who throw out leftovers after a meal.... whereas we love leftovers... for another meal or snack.
We eat lots of leftovers and never throw food out until it starts to go bad. I give my wife a hard time because she will eat things I think have been in the fridge too long and should be thrown out. But, she hasn't gotten sick yet.

I also think it's funny that she'll spend $5 on additional ingredients to use up a leftover piece of cabbage or something. At least it doesn't go to waste and she makes lunch for the week.
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Old 08-05-2019, 01:30 PM   #55
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Hum, when we are in Florida I always go to Publix. It is less than a mile from our country club. The store is beautiful, well laid out, clean, safe, nice clientele. Polite, well trained cashiers. I’m in and out fast!

My wife says, “why didn’t you go over to Walmart or Costco it’s so much cheaper!”
Honey, I don’t care about saving a few dollars. Not dealing with the traffic, the shady clientele, the long lines, getting mugged in the parking lot, taking forever in line. Nasty people, nasty parking lot. Ugh. No thanks. Well worth it for me.
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Old 08-05-2019, 02:24 PM   #56
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I went to Aldi for the first time today. As others stated the produce was limited but what I did find was cheaper than Kroger and wasn’t drenched by the spray thingys. I found several packaged items on my list like raisins and oatmeal that were a good buy and we’ll see how they compare to other brands. I also made a couple of impulse buys like tortellini, cheese, and a new variety of crackers. I looked at the wine and it was all cheap labels I’d never heard of, but I think I’ll give one of those a go next time.
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Old 08-05-2019, 02:33 PM   #57
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Besides where to shop, not wasting food and all the other good tips in this thread so far, the nutritionfacts.org site has some pointers on which foods are super food bargains. In the link below they have which foods are super bargains in terms of antioxidants. Spoiler alert: the winner was purple cabbage. Purple cabbage keeps for a long time so now I always have a head in the fridge and chuck some in whenever we eat salads and stir fries.

Superfood Bargains: Ranking food by antioxidants per dollar
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/superfood-bargains-2/

We also try to eat from their Daily Dozen List. Most of the items are pretty healthy as well as inexpensive, though I'm not a flax seed fan so I substitute chia seeds.
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Old 08-05-2019, 02:41 PM   #58
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We enjoy looking for bargains when shopping for food, although grocery adds up to only 6% of our living expenses. Maybe it could be 10% if we were not good shoppers.

We mainly watch for loss leaders put out by different chains in our area (no Aldi here). We do not buy that much from Costco anymore. With the kids long moved out, we cannot consume food in the big packages that they sell, even though the price and quality are good.
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Old 08-05-2019, 02:46 PM   #59
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We enjoy looking for bargains when shopping for food, although grocery adds up to only 6% of our living expenses. ...
You made me look.... 6-7% for us.
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Old 08-05-2019, 03:23 PM   #60
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As one of the Aldi's proponents here, a little clarification on how we shop.

DW is the coupon and discount finder, for the most part. We both look at the circulars (Aldi's, Fresh Thyme, and locals Schnucks and Dierbergs) and mark what we might want. Additionally, there are things that Aldi's carries (store brand) that we have found to be equal to, or superior than, name brands at much lower regular prices (35% to 50% less in most cases).

So, typical trip to Aldi's might include:
- Boneless leg of lamb (on sale)
- rack of lamb (on sale)
- avocados (on sale)
- mushrooms (on sale)
- Rainer cherries (on sale for $2-$3/lb pound less than the supermarkets)
- Other discounted produce, if it looks good
- store brand pickles, condiments, chips, crackers, fiber bars, coffee, cheese, eggs, milk

I have no illusions that we are saving a pile of money. And if we prefer a different brand, sold elsewhere, that is what we buy.

FYI, I like lamb, DW does not. Local groceries rarely carry it. Aldi's, and Sam's are the only ones that have it regularly (Probably Costco too, but that is much further away, so we are not members).
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