I have mentioned in an earlier post my grocery budget. It's not that high at $80.00 a week especially with the cost of food going up so much these days but I would like to get it down a little further. With only two of us I think I can do better.
After reading other blogs ( Cheap as Chips blogged about it here) and a forum I am a member of, Aldi seems to be popular as a cheaper alternative to regular supermarkets.
I haven't really shopped at Aldi before except in the mid nineties when I was in Austria. It seemed a bit haphazard to me at the time so didn't bother when it came to Australia a few years ago.
Well, today I went shopping at Aldi for the first time and was pleasantly surprised. I decided this would just be a reconnaissance to see what their product range was like, how many choices they had and of course, were the prices really lower.
The result was I found some of the staple items such as pasta were a good deal cheaper than where I usually shop. Fruit and vegetables were much cheaper and I was able to stock up on the vegetables we used most often in our regular meals at a substantial saving. In fact, I spent $26.40 and got twice as much in my trolley than I did at my regular supermarket earlier in the week for the same money.
The downside: it a car trip so I am using petrol and leaving a carbon footprint when I go there. This also means parking costs may come into play if I cannot get a free parking spot. Aldi doesn't have everything I would need each week so would still need to go to our regular supermarket for those items.
The jury is still out whether the savings are worth the drive and parking hassles. Our local is convenient as it is an easy walk for me albeit with higher prices.
Time will tell...
I'd love to hear your comments on this post
3 comments:
Thanks for the link. Since we jumped on the Aldi bandwagon, I must say that we have noticed a slight decrease in our grocery spending. However, the small savings over a year does add up to significant amount. We are also quite happy with the quality of the products as well.
I really notice the price difference with Aldi, and I also love that I can get in and out of the shop fast.
I tried some of their items I bought over the weekend tehnyit and I agree the quality was just as good as my regular brand. That is half the battle I think - the perception that cheaper means poor quality. I will keep shopping there for sure.
Hi Louise, thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving me a comment. I enjoy your posts a read your blog regularly...
Post a Comment