I am a big fan of the Aldi grocery store. Growing up in Northern Virginia, we didn’t have any nearby (in Fairfax County). But now that I am “grown up” and moved one county over, I had heard about how great Aldi was and how you can save a lot of money on groceries (without coupons). And there happen to be a few in Prince William County, as well as in Alexandria, Culpeper and Spotsylvania County.
Back in January, I did a post here about Aldi and the Northern Virginia locations.
Well, today I did a big grocery trip at Aldi and got a ton of stuff and only spent a little over $45! I even bought over 16 pounds of meat!
Here’s what I got:
Over 15 lbs. Ground Beef for $13.79 ($0.92 per lb… they had a special $4 off special on select ground beef today which helped me decide to stock up my freezer)
Top Sirloin Steak 1.2 lb. $3.99 ($3.33 per lb)
French Vanilla Coffee Creamer 4 x $1.95 (I stock up because we go through A LOT of coffee and creamer, because we don’t feed our Starbucks latte cravings anymore. Plus the Aldi creamer is comparable to International Delight French Vanilla Creamer which is sold for almost $1.50 more at other stores)
Half & Half $1.99
1 gallon 2% Milk $1.99 (this is by far the lowest non-sale price for a gallon of milk around!)
1/2 gallon strawberry ice cream $1.79
Jar of Spaghetti Sauce 2 x $1.09
Cantaloupe 2 x $0.99
Cucumber $0.30 (best regular price for cucumbers that I have seen at any DC area grocery store!)
8 oz. Mozarella Cheese $1.29 (great price for cheese!)
Luncheon Meat $1.49
Popcorn $1.49
White Tortilla Chips 2 x $0.99
Plain Potato Chips $1.29
White Bread $0.79
1 Paper Towel Roll $0.65 (this fabulous post here by Crystal of MoneySavingMom made me “give up” my paper towels, but my hubby realllly has been missing them lately, and since we have a messy toddler and not a ton of wipe-up cloths and cotton towels at the moment, I’ve given in to buying paper towels on occasion)
4 rolls of Toilet Paper $0.89
Does any one else in Northern Virginia enjoy shopping at Aldi? I know it’s really popular in the Midwest and other areas of the country. If you’ve never tried it out, you definitely should (although most of their items are generic Aldi brand, and they don’t offer coupons on their brands). If you know how to speak German, you might be in for a treat as well, as it is a German grocery store, and I often hear folks in the store speaking German while I’m shopping during the day. Wunderbar!
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I love Aldi! The one in my area isn’t the nicest store, but I still love it. YOu definltey save at least 50% if not more than you would if you shopped at a regulr grocery store! I always get all my staples there, then hit Giant/Safeway for the rest.
Thanks for the comment Kim!
So glad to have another Aldi fan in the area. I recommended Aldi to a friend who has 4 kids (and 1 on the way), homeschools and says she doesn’t have the time and energy to put into couponing. She ventured over to Aldi one Saturday and she was AMAZED by how much money she saved on just one shopping trip to Aldi compared to other grocery stores; she thought she saved at least $75-$100 off their normal stock-up grocery bill. And that’s without any coupons!
I love Aldi too! Before I started to get into couponing I used to go there for all of my groceries. Since I’m addicted to double and triple coupons at Shoppers now and we haven’t had triples in awhile I’ve done more shopping at Aldi.
I think it is great that there are 3 of them in Prince William now. It used to be only 1 and now they have added 2 so more and more people shop at them.
Since Aldi and Trader Joes are sort of sister stores (same founders) you can sometime find similar products!
Thanks for the comment Holly!
There is a new Aldi opening up soon (update: Dec. 7, 2009!) off of Sudley Road in Manassas (in the same shopping center as the Family Christian Store and the Toys R Us). I’m excited about having another Aldi to shop at!
I agree, couponing can be addicting, and can save so much money at grocery stores like Giant, Shoppers, Harris Teeter and Bloom which sometimes have the Double/Triple coupon promotions.
Back when I was a single working lady years ago, Trader Joe’s was one of my favorite stores. I honestly don’t make it there that often anymore, but I love their selection and healthy food choices. I absolutely love their powdered Chai Tea Latte mix. If I ever saw that at Aldi I would probably start doing cartwheels down the aisle 🙂
I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for similar Trader Joes & Aldi items next time I’m out shopping!
The first time that I did a “big” grocery shop at Aldi, I spent about $55. Out of curiosity, I then went home, logged onto Peapod (Giant’s online shopping) and created a shopping list of everything that I’d gotten at Aldi. I did my best to select generic items (as Aldi is) and the same sizes, etc. My Peapod total came out to about $115! I was SHOCKED! I knew I’d saved a lot by going there, but I had no idea it was more than 50%. My husband is so thrilled that I’ve started to shop there. That along with my couponing addiction, we’re saving tons of money!!
I love Aldi, too, and I’m glad to see others around here are catching on!
I live in Fairfax City but shop weekly at the Aldi on Liberia Avenue in Manassas. For a family of three, I am able to pick up most of my staples including milk, meat, eggs, bread, coffee, cheese, etc., for less than $50 a trip. (The most I have spent in any one trip is $75 when we picked up ingredients for a party of 20 people.) In spite of the low prices, the food quality is surprisingly good and, in my opinion, compares well to the brand names you find in most stores. Aldi doesn’t stock everything you would find in stores such as Giant, Safeway or even Shoppers Food Warehouse. For me, however, the selection is good enough that I can plan most of my menus around what I find at Aldi without having to go to other stores.
I also appreciate everything Aldi does to keep its prices low, such as accepting only cash and debit cards, selling their grocery bags, requiring customers to bag/box their own groceries, and even using a coin-operated system to corral and lock the grocery carts so they don’t have to pay someone to round up the carts in the parking lot. It costs a quarter to unlock and use a cart, but you get that quarter back when you lock the cart back in. You can also avoid paying for bags by bringing your own or by using empty boxes that are often in ample supply throughout the store.
It’s a 24-mile round trip (costing about $2.60 at current prices for a gallon of gas) for me to visit Aldi each week. But when you compare what you would end up spending at stores like Giant, the trip is definitely worth it!
Thanks for the comment Del! Glad to hear from another Aldi fan! That’s the same Aldi I shop at in Manassas. I love how clean the store is since it is pretty new. My toddler had to go potty during my last trip, and I was even impressed by how clean their bathroom was! The prices on groceries are great, and you don’t have to hassle with coupons for low prices. Don’t get me wrong though, I have really enjoyed “couponing” lately to maximize deals at other stores like Giant, Shoppers, Bloom and Harris Teeter. I can usually count on Aldi to have the best price when I need staple items that don’t go on sale.
There’s another Aldi opening up in another part of Manassas, off of Sudley Road by the Toys R Us. I’m not sure exactly when it will be opening (UPDATE: DEC. 7, 2009 IS THE GRAND OPENING!), but there has been a big “Aldi coming soon” sign for a few months. I’m anxiously awaiting the grand opening!
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We have an Aldi’s in Fredericksburg (Rt. 208) & are supposedly getting another one on Rt. 3 West. I stopped in once a got a few things to check it out. Is the food good or good quality? I can be leery of brands I do not know and wonder if they meet and/or exceed USDA regulations or if they say have a higher rate of food born illnesses, etc. Would love to hear your input.
Thanks for the comment Pam! In my experience the quality of the food is on par with many other grocery stores and much better than most discount stores. I’ve been happy with the produce and their signature brands/private label products. To be honest I don’t buy a lot of meat there, but that’s because I shop at so many other local grocery stores when they have great sales on high quality meat and stock up then (I’m blessed to have over 9 grocery store choices in my area). Aldi does have a “Double Guarantee” in case you ever buy a food item that you feel is poor quality: “If for any reason, you are not 100% satisfied with any product, we will gladly replace the product AND refund your money” *Please note this does not include non-food special buy items or alcohol purchases.
I also know that Aldi was named the 2009 Retailer of the Year by PL Buyer which is an authority on Private Label Retailing and Aldi has been cited by other sources as an up-and-coming frugal force in the grocery store market.
That’s been my experience with Aldi locally.
Hope that helps!
Laura