Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday, I know I did.

Now that I'm back in Chicago (just in time for the balmy weather we're currently enjoying I might add), I've got tons of new ideas for posts.

My first post topic of the new year came to me yesterday as I was grocery shopping at my favorite grocery store, Aldi. Shopping at discount stores like Aldi is a great way to save money on groceries, the quality is the same (Aldi is actually owned by the same company that owns Trader Joes) so only you will know the product is generic.

I actually started shopping at Aldi when I lived in Austria, it was the closest market to my apartment and I really loved the concept (and the beer prices). When I was living in Winston-Salem there was an Aldi near the Target I used to shop at and I often would try and buy groceries there when I could but it was a little far from my apartment and I'm lazy.

Anyway, Aldi is the closest grocery store to my apartment here in Chicago (there is also a larger one near Costco) and I've renewed my love of the store. What I really love so much about Aldi is the quality/price ratio. I've never purchased anything at Aldi that wasn't an excellent value and once you get past the fact that everything is store brand (there are very few national brands) you are pleasantly surprised by how much you can purchase at a fraction of the price of a regular supermarket.

Because the bf and I have been out of town due to the holidays we had not gone on a big grocery shopping trip since Thanksgiving. Of course, this meant one thing -- we were due for a big shopping trip, so I went to Aldi. I ended up getting an entire cart of food (including an entire brisket) for $65. Needless to say, I was super excited, especially since everything that I purchased would have been twice that amount at my local Jewell.

So the point of this post (which I know sounds more like a ramble) is twofold: (1) to express my undying love for Aldi, the discount supermarket; and (2) to share one of my favorite money saving secrets.

3 comments:

CTB said...

Haha I have an Aldi trip already planned for this afternoon. I like to buy produce there in the winter when the farmer's markets aren't open. I also like their $3 Winking Owl wine. If we are having a lot of people over, I'll pull out those bottles to serve and people will be like, "Oh I've never heard of this brand," I just smile and nod, but never reveal my little $3 secret.

Freck said...

Great post. Never been to Aldi, but I should really go, seems like such a bargain! Hope you had a great holiday, the weather is SO cold right now here in Chicago!

Katie said...

I love their Winking Owl wine! I also love their Mexican style and German beer selection (it TOTALLY looks way more expensive than it really is!)