You may think I am too excited about Aldi, but I just wanted you to know that there are other people just like me that are even more fanatical. Take my friend Melinda- she is a part-time optometrist and stay-at-home mom and her husband is a dentist. They do pretty well for themselves, but they like Aldi products so much that they shop there even though they can shop other places that some might call a bit more high-end. Melinda likes it so much, I could see her opening up her own eye clinic there just so she could be there more often. Have I embarrassed you enough, dear friend? I think she would also like me to share that she is also a bit fanatical over the yellow-sticker manager's specials at Kroger.
Moving on, since I praised Aldi the other day, I just wanted to let you know about a couple of things if you have never gone there and are now planning to go. One, bring a quarter with you. In order to use a shopping cart, you need a quarter. You get the 25 cents back once you return the cart, so they are not charging you to use it. This is just their way of saving money on an employee to go fetch your carts you left on the street to ding up someones vehicle. I think it is a great system (except when I forget to bring a quarter with me, doh!).
Secondly, bring your own shopping bags. They have really nice ones, and reusable ones (for all you eco-friendly crazies) on-site for you to purchase at a reasonable price, but you can bring your own. Most people do this or buy bags one time to start. They have really heavy duty bags, so they will last a long time. I just bring my Giant Eagle/Shop n' Save/Walmart stash that I always have lying (laying?-grammar fail) around.
Thirdly, they do not bag your groceries for you. They just swipe and dump them back in your cart. I actually find though that their employees are incredibly efficient and you get in and out of there much quicker than a grocery store. However, this is a major downside if you are in some way physically unable to pack up your own bags.
Lastly, and most importantly, they DO NOT take credit card. They do not take checks either. They only take cash or debit cards. I like this as this practice forces people to live within their means and it also speeds up the check-out process. Also, using my actual cash on hand forces me to stay on budget while I am there instead of just purchasing items on a whim.
Despite all the oddities of this store, the food is great, the prices are more than fair, and I always feel like I have purchased food that will fill my tummy and not just sit in my pantry. I personally enjoy their yogurt-covered raisins. What do you like to purchase at Aldi when you go?
Disclaimer: Aldi is not paying me to say any of these things, I just am a true believer in this store and hope that you will share my enthusiasm.
4 comments:
I love Aldi so much that, in college, one of my roommates and I went out of our way to attend the ribbon-cutting of the re-opening of the Lafayette store after it got remodeled. We were the only people there besides the dignitaries they'd brought out to take pictures, so we got pictures of us shaking hands with the Lafayette mayor. Funnily enough, when I blogged about it then I talked about how we were dorks too ;-)
http://karassoapbox.blogspot.com/2007/02/we-are-dorks.html
I collect the boxes around the store to put my groceries in. It was my job as a kid to collect boxes while my mom shopped. It kept us entertained.
Jill Crum once wrote a brilliant haiku in praise of Aldi after finding them in Maryland. (She'd missed Aldi stores while living in Florida.) And, you can sure count me as an Aldi fan as well.
I'm a fellow Aldi shopper! I used to know it as that store where my grandma bought refrigerated biscuits for church dinners. This is the first I lived close enough to really get to know the store. Their produce can be hit or miss, but I've had more hits than misses. Where else can you buy 4 pears that cheap! I'm also a fan of their Mexican food line, the shredded parm and the quick oats that last a life time for $1.80-ish. I'm pretty sure my breakfast costs 5 cents a day this way. Also, pretzels and tortilla chips as good as any other for $1 a bag? Sign me up!
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