Grocery Shopping on a Budget

Ever have those weeks where you dread going to the grocery store, simply for the fact that you know your bill is going to be outrageous?  You are in the same budget-conscious boat as most people.  Families spend a ton of money every week at the grocery store... and lets be honest, we don't all have time to clip coupons and match up items to an excel spreadsheet each week.  For families with 2 working parents, where time is short and budgets are low, we need more options.  This is where grocery stores like Adli, and Compare Foods comes in.  I have done a video about Aldi and posted it to my Youtube Channel.  My username is LRebaglia.  You can find my channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/lrebaglia?feature=mhee .  Subscribe, and enjoy.  I will try to get to Compare Foods to take a video and compare them to Aldi for prices.

A little info on Aldi:

1. You must bring a Quarter to get a cart. You get this back at the end of your trip when you put the cart back.
2. You must bring your own bags. If you do not have reusable bags, Aldi sells them at the register.
3. You must bag your own groceries
4. Some items are seasonal, and you will only see them during that season. Stock up when you can
5. Aldi accepts only cash and Debit Cards - No Credit and no Checks 

Aldi can offer the AWESOME discounted prices because they do not offer all of the bells and whistles of a typical grocery store.  There is no butcher, no bakery, no balloon counter, no florist, no baggers, and no coffee shop.  You can buy everything at Aldi that you usually buy at large chain stores, but for much less money.  They sell groceries, flowers, electronics, household items, and seasonal items.  Produce is where you see the biggest difference.  In North Carolina, at Food Lion, ONE green bell pepper sells for $1.50, and we're lucky, $.99 on sale.  At Aldi, you get 3 for $1.99.  Strawberries usually cost $3.99, $2.99 if they are on sale.  You can buy them for $1.99 at Aldi.  The savings really start to add up.  Aldi is an AWESOME store to shop electronics at Christmas time as well!!  Stay tuned for a review of Compare Foods, coming next week.

For information on store locations visit:

http://www.aldi.us/us/html/service/store_locator_ENU_HTML.htm?WT.z_src=main

Compare foods: http://comparesupermarkets.com/store-locator

Cheers, and happy savings!
Lisa