Shop at ALDI – Save money on groceries
ALDI is a supermarket that utilises the power of bulk buying and non brand name products to pass on truly unbelievable savings to the consumer (us). They have cut back on the luxuries that larger supermarkets invest in that in turn cost us the customer more money. ALDI are much like Virgin Blue flights VS Qantas flights – they both get you to your destination but Virgin is far cheaper because they tone back the level of in-flight service and fancy marketing to just provide the basics very well at a super cheap price.
For those readers who are yet to experience ALDI, here is some information that will help you learn how to make the most savings when doing your shopping. I can almost guarantee that you will forever shop at ALDI for your essentials after experiencing the cost savings of your first successful ALDI shop, so lets look into it a bit deeper so it doesn’t feel so foreign to you on your first time.
How much cheaper is ALDI?
ALDI on average is around $2 cheaper for EVERY item you wish to purchase. Sure the brand names are not exactly the same, but ALDI prides itself on stocking only quality products of the highest degree, so you can rest easy that the savings in money do not reflect a lower quality product. I went in there the other day to quickly purchase some kitchen essentials such as tin foil, paper bags, paper towels and kitchen gloves – the total cost for all of these things came in at under $10. Not bad considering that Woolworths stocks rubber gloves starting at $5.
ALDI stocks strange brands
As I said before, the brand names you will see in ALDI are quite strange. You will most likely have never seen them before as they are imported from overseas or produced specifically for ALDI supermarkets. Do not fear trying these as they truly are of a high quality and I am yet to experience a bad purchase from ALDI.
Use ALDI and your local large supermarket chain
I purchase what I call ‘essentials’ from ALDI. Things that you always need and will always drain your budget like tissues, toilet paper, cleaning products, kids lunch boxes and paper bags and the like. All of these things are substantially discounted and really do save you a small fortune from the very first shop.
I worked out that if I were to use ALDI for all my bare essential purchases each week I would save on average $100 – imagine what you could do with $100 times 50 shops a year!
Woolworths and Coles still have their place in my shopping as well though. I tend to buy my fresh fruit and veg from their shops along with the gourmet and brand name products I have become accustomed to. Remember that saving money does not mean losing ALL of your little luxuries you enjoy.
ALDI shopping trolleys and plastic bags
ALDI was the first chain in Australia to charge $0.15cents per plastic bag to avoid environment damage and to pass on the savings to us consumers who would get a discount for managing the bagging of our own groceries. This means that when you check out, make sure you take with you your environmental carry bags as it will make it a lot easier for you each time you need to walk back to the car.
ALDI also make you put a $2 deposit on hiring a trolley for use. This saves them having to pay the centre management to pick up their trolleys left in the car park and general loss / damage of trolleys. So remember to take your trolley back after your shop as it is a waste of $2!
ALDI is very fast paced and payment is easy
The check out at ALDI is very fast as you don’t require plastic bags and that extra service that Coles and Woolies give you. Remember to have your carry bags ready so that you can quickly bag your purchases as they are swiped through. This will save you wasting time and holding people up on your first visit. Remember that ALDI is basically self service and you are able to control the speed and duration of each visit by ensuring you are properly organised.
The verdict on ALDI
It is budget shopping at great prices, so remember to forget the lack of luxuries in the actual shop as that is the only way they can pass on such great savings to all us shoppers. I would highly suggest giving them a go if you haven’t already!
How do you find ALDI? Do you like it or hate it?
Please share your money saving experiences with ALDI as we would love to hear how you find it as a shop. What kind of products have you saved money on?
Discuss this topic further
We are slowly rolling out our Saving Money Community here at SavingsGuide.com.au – a forum where you can discuss tips and tricks on saving money with other like minded individuals.
Please feel free to sign up and then continue to discuss saving money on groceries with the newly formed community.
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