Aldi

I went to Aldi today, because I had time to kill. It was there and so was I. Wasn't sure what to think as I had ventured into one of the first Aldi stores in this area a few years ago and didn't see much that I needed. Gas was under $2 a gallon at the time, and nobody was hoarding food, at least not publicly so I'm sure my needs were different than they are now. There have been more articles about grocery shopping recently, simply because prices have been rising.

Aldi's a bit strange. It's owned by the same Germans who own Trader Joe's. Which is another story entirely. Aldi is approximately the same size as a general grocer in Europe, at least when I was there several years ago. By which I mean much smaller than a typical American store. Even a regular old grocery store in a small town, not a gigantic box store. But it's bigger than a convenience store. They don't take checks but take some debit cards. Not all. And they take cash.

The first thing I found when I walked in the door was various flavors of canned Arizona beverages. I like the Mango one and this product normally sells for $.99 but was $.79, which is a good deal so I bought a few, despite the size of the container. I don't remember their store bands, which is fine; someone in the grocery business once told me that store brand foods are made in the same factory as name brand foods and are of good quality. Their brand of cereal was $1.99 a box, which is about a dollar less than my usual store, but I haven't bought cereal in awhile and prices have been going up so the difference could be greater. I bought a box of corn squares, which are like corn chex, and I was unable to detect an appreciable difference.

Their cases of bottled water were the same price as at my local store, so no bargain there, though they had toothpaste for $2, which is much less than I pay. I think it was Colgate. I use Tom's of Maine and have for a few years, ever since someone recommended it as being better for your teeth. Since then the dental hygienist hasn't lectured me once, so it's very much worth the higher price. My cousin uses Tom's of Maine because it's made in the US. And they use natural ingredients rather than poly-syllabic chemicals.

I didn't buy much because I have plenty of groceries right now, though I did buy ranch dressing for $.99. They had tons of produce and $.69 mangoes would've been tempting but weren't ripe. And I have a ton of fruit right now. They also had hot dogs and brats, along with honey-baked hams. Those were out since I try to minimize sodium and part of that is by avoiding processed foods.

Once I deplete some of my grocery supplies, I'll go back to Aldi. But first I'll have to check prices on the things I need to make sure I don't overpay. That's a concern at warehouse stores such as Sam's Club, Costco and BJ's too. I used to go to Sam's with my mom and settle up with her afterwards. We invariably spent a lot more money than we realized because of the combination of giant shopping carts, the perception that the goods are always a deal and the likelihood that by our next visit they'll have moved on to other products.

Aldi is the same way, with a seemingly random array of products. But they aren't sold in gigantic multi-packs and don't require a membership, so it's better for me. I'm sure next time the products will have changed; they had a can of white icing with red and blue sprinkles to put on, presumably 4th of July overstock. I already have icing for my cupcakes and will use the sprinkles I already have.

The weirdest thing about Aldi is that you have to put a quarter in a little gizmo on the cart which will then unlock it from the chain of carts. I don't have great manual dexterity, so that's a reason right there for me to minimize my Aldi shopping. They also charge you for paper or plastic bags so this is a good place to bring your reusable bags. I'll have to put mine in the car so I can use them at Aldi.