We are getting an Aldis in our neighborhood. I have never been in one but I hear they are nicer then save a lot. Are they cheaper then save a lot?

I decided to do my shopping at save a lot this week because my list of needs was pretty basic and I knew they would have everything I needed. I was right I got almost everything expect for sour cream , cottage cheese and cream cheese. I needed all of these for various meals but I couldn't get them because they don't offer any of those in low fat varieties. :surprise:

So after I was finished at save a lot I went around the corner to Wal mart. While I was there I pulled out my receipt from save a lot and compared some prices. I didn't check everything just the stuff I walked by.

My findings:

Save a lot

capri sun drinks 1.99
3 lb bag of gala apples 3.99
bananas .55 a lb.
gallon of milk 3.69
bread .99
3 lb bag of onions 1.29
Total 12.50

Wal-mart

capri sun 2.50
3 lb bag of apples 4.48
bananas .64 a lb.
gallon of milk 3.88
bread 1.09
3 lb bag of onions 1.59
Total 14.18

Now I did notice that I paid .99 for a can of pineapple when I could have gotten a walmart brand can for .98. But when doing a price comparison on 7 items and only 1 of them was cheaper I will take my odds with save a lot. I just wish they offered low fat or fat free dairy. Does anyone know if Aldis offers low fat????

i went to our newly opened aldi's and really didnt' enjoy it. i don't want to bag my own groceries, and i didn't find the savings to be any more then SAL. i will just continue to shop SAL.

Aldi's carries low fat cream cheese but I haven't seen sour cream or cottage cheese

Aldi's carries low fat cream cheese but I haven't seen sour cream or cottage cheese

Thanks, I was afraid of that.

I think that shopping at a store like save a lot might save me a few dollars but I worry about my health. I was looking at the meat and none of it was lean. We mostly only eat lean while meats. I did some some pork chops that were only fatty around the edge and I could trim them but them I just paid for something I threw away. I really don't think any one can shop at just one store.

I like both stores. Savalot carries Butterball gr turkey 1#chubs for .99. I went to Aldi's yesterday & spent 104$. That includes 4 bags of softener salt, 5/12oz hot sausage I got for 49c each! Also bought polish sausage (love'm on the grill), & a turkey ham..which I will cut up and repkg. I really like their fresh veg's. I bought 2-mushroom, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, celery, apples, bananas. I keep a small spiral notebook with prices in it. I also buy my dry milk @ Aldi's..that price beats every store around here!! :yippee:

I love Aldi's. Not for everything, but I have found many things that are great with wonderful prices. I don't generally buy their meat, but there plenty else I love.

~frozen veggies
~ice cream
~cereals
~brownie mix
~olive oil
~snack bars (fruit kind)
~all potato and other chips
~salad dressings
~cheeses
~whipped yogurt
~certain canned goods
~frozen shrimp
~potatoes
~pancake syrup (great price, great taste)
~pasta, macaroni and cheese
~prepared spaghetti sauces
~toothbrushes (much cheaper)

Hope you enjoy it.

The Sav-a-Lot stores we have here are dirty if you ask me. I do shop there for certain items, but I just wish they would at least clean the floors!
Aldi's is on the other side of town and is out of the way for me. I have shopped there a time or two and it is a lot cleaner than Sav-a-Lot. I do know that Aldi's has great spiral hams at a great price!
At both stores, I still have to bag (box) my own groceries.

The Sav-a-Lot stores we have here are dirty if you ask me. I do shop there for certain items, but I just wish they would at least clean the floors!
Aldi's is on the other side of town and is out of the way for me. I have shopped there a time or two and it is a lot cleaner than Sav-a-Lot. I do know that Aldi's has great spiral hams at a great price!
At both stores, I still have to bag (box) my own groceries.

I agree with you about Sav-a-lots being dirty around here...I won't buy my food from a dirty store...only God knows for sure what's crawling around. I used to go to the Aldi's store when my son had appointments in town regularly. Now, it's just out of the way for me too...

i went to our newly opened aldi's and really didnt' enjoy it. i don't want to bag my own groceries, and i didn't find the savings to be any more then SAL. i will just continue to shop SAL.

At the Save A Lot here you also have to bag your own stuff, same as Aldi's. :confused:

I was in Aldis Saturday.
They were really clean and
I spent about $38.00 there and got a lot of stuff.
Bread was 75 cents a loaf.
I don't buy low fat anything so can't help you there.

I agree with you about Sav-a-lots being dirty around here...

Where in MI are you? The Save-A-Lot stores I go to (Wayne, Inkster or Westland) are always spotless.

Our local Aldi is getting remodeled and is expanding to be much bigger. I might go back when they reopen, because my biggest gripe is that they didn't have a big enough selection.

Our Aldi's carries low fat cream cheese, but no fat free. They also carry low fat cottage cheese and sometimes have nonfat in stock. They do not carry nonfat or low fat sour cream.

They do have their own brand of healthier, low fat, low calorie foods called Fit & Active. I like the F&A cream cheese, canned fruit (canned in juice rather than syrup), dried berries, low sugar jam, etc.

Our Aldi and Sav-A-Lot stores are both very clean and organized. You have to bag at both here in Indy.
We also have low cottage cheese and cream cheese heer at Aldi. Not sure about sour cream.
Both have some great prices, but I prefer Aldi prices.
Glad you are getting Aldi - hope it saves you a lot of $$$!!!!!

I just tried our Aldi's here last week. It was much cleaner than our Sav a lot and some prices were cheaper. Bread was .69,milk 2.69, frozen juice concentrate .75.

I agree - to get the best savings you can't just shopt at one store. I get my best deals at Kroger with double coupons and specials. I get a lot of staples at discount stores, but our Walmart's prices are outrageous! I guess that just shows how different prices are in different towns. I would definately check out Aldi's prices.

By the way, my Aldi's doesn't even have bags - it's more like a Sam's where they just put your scanned stuff back in your cart.

I don't shop at SAL just because I don't like the taste of alot of their products.

But we did drive out to our closest Aldi's yesterday just to check out their prices AND to do a bit of experimenting shopping (picking up just one or two items to see how we liked them).

Here's my receipt & prices:
Bag of bread croutons .99
2 lb. box of thin spaghetti 1.59
Jar of applesauce .89
Fruit & Grain bars 1.69
packets of taco mix .29
2 lb. bag of breaded chickent breast fillets 4.99
Frozen fruit bars (4 in a box) 1.99
3 pack of romaine hearts 1.99
1 combination pizza (similar in looks to the Totino's brand) .89
1 lb. roll of pork sausage 1.49
1 lb. bag of frozen salmon fillets individually wrapped (4 to a pack) 3.99
1 lb. extra fine whole frozen green beans 1.39
8 oz. of strawberry yougarts .43
bag of dried mixed berries 3.49
bag of deluxe almonds 3.49
tomatoe sauce .20 can
sea salt cashews 3.99
assorted bbq. sauce .85
2 lb. bag of brown rice 1.89
dishwashing gel 2.39
tomatoe paste .33
diced tomatoes w/green chilis (similar to rotel) .49
lemonade drink mix 1.49
honey wheat bread .99
shortbread cookies .99

After comparing several items, Aldi's can be anywhere from .5 to $2.00 cheaper on compariable Kroger store brand items.

So I can see how you could save a considerable amount, especially if you buy "flats" of canned foods or have a freezer to buy in multiples.
But I did find that alot of what Aldi's carries is more on the convenience end of things, boxed noodles with seasonings, pop tarts, boxed cereals, lots of canned meat type products, canned chili, etc.
But I could also see how you could still save a ton of money even doing alot of scratch cooking, especially with baking ingredients.
Oh & whole milk was $3.09 a gallon.

Also I didn't buy any, but noticed that the flour was 1.19 for a 5 lb. bag and sugar was about 1.29 for a 5 lb. bag, that is a really big savings compared to anyone else I've found.
As for the dried milk, I can't say for sure how much was in the box, but it was HUGE and it was 12.99 a box.

I will add that I don't make it a habit of shopping at Wal-mart, I think I've been in a Wal-mart about 3 times in the past 2.5 years or so. So I can't really compare Aldi's prices to them. Sorry, I'm no help there.

I like our save a lot store, it is clean and the staff are friendly. I also asked recently if they take coupon and found out that they do. Occassionally they get in name brand items and if you have a coupon it can be a great deal.

Over all I do shop at three different places, Save a lot, Walmart and a bent n dent store. It just depends what I need that week, what sales are going on and what coupons I have.

I will say our Walmart has terrible produce and I prefer Save a lot for produce and milk. Walmart is a place I shop when I need lowfat mayo or salad dressings or other items I can't find at Save A lot. The bent and dent is where I stock up on pasta (.20 a 1 pound box) or rice (1.00 for 10 pounds) I only go there two to three times a year if even that.

My sister argues that I waste money on gas in going to three different stores. Well not really if I plan my trips around other errands or my work schedule and I don't go each week to three different store. Some weeks I don't grocery shop at all or just stop for milk and produce.

Careful planning and not wasting has saved us alot on our grocery bill. It has been worth the effort.

Where in MI are you? The Save-A-Lot stores I go to (Wayne, Inkster or Westland) are always spotless.

I am in Muskegon. :wave2:

I shop at Aldi and I DO save money there. They also have the Fit & Active brand that is lower fat/healthier. OUr stores (we have 2) are clean and bright. Yes, you have to bag your own groceries, but that really does not bother me when most items I buy there I am savings at LEAST $.20 - $.50 cents per item-I figure it is worth it. I do not see cheese being too much less there as far as shredded since I can usually find a store that has it on sale, and the same with milk. But other things are great. I have no complaints. And I have never had trouble with fresh fruits and veggies. I just got a 3 lb bag opf gala apples there for either $1.99 or $2.99 and they were SOOOO sweet!

Our Aldi is now starting to sell a lot of brand name items as well.
I find that anything for baking, dairy, fresh produce, canned fruits and veggies, and frozen juices are lots cheaper than most stores - even when on sale.

I love Aldi :). I do shop between three stores each month. I shop our local grocery store, Dollar Store, and Aldi. Last month I shopped Aldi and I spent $23.69. My purchases:

flour, white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, mini-marshmallows, a box of white cake mix, a tub of white frosting, 2 boxes corn muffin mix (33 cents each), rice cereal, shredded coconut, 3 cans tomato sauce, 2 cans kidney beans, 2 cans french cut green beans, 2 cans carrots, 1 can beets, 2 cans stewed tomatoes, 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 2 jars of tomato sauce, 2 packages of wide egg noodles, box of instant oatmeal (to take to work for breakfasts), and instant cocoa packets with mini marshmallows, and a bag of chocolate chips.

Aldi's is by far cheaper than Walmart. I did a comparison yesterday in Southern Il. I do cherry pick for my meat & some fresh veggies but most things are much cheaper at Aldi's

I used to shop at Aldi more when we lived in Wichita, but we don't have one here in the suburbs. Some of their things I do like, such as the pancake syrup, chocolate chips, and olive oil. I have not had much luck with the produce, but the bags of baby carrots are always good. I can get many things cheaper at Dillon's with sales and double coupons, and Dillon's is so close, I can walk, saving even more on gas.

I went to Aldi and spent $30.36 including 8c of tax on one non-food item. Here's what I got:
6 cans spaghetti-o's w/ meatballs
2 cans corn
4 cans french cut green beans
2 cans Popeye spinach
1 bottle light ranch dressing
2 cans beets
1 can mixed vegetables (like Veg-All)
2 pkgs Romaine Hearts (3 per package)
1 pkg broccoli crowns (1lb)
2lbs red grapes
1 pint grape tomatoes
trail mix
dried berries
disposable plates
2 bags tortilla chips (like tostitos)
1 bag corn chips
1 bag pretzel stix
2.6lbs bananas

I'm finally getting an Aldis. It opens in June. I'm so excited. I've been to stores that are an hour and an hour and a half away so I'm thrilled there will be one in my town.

We don't have a Save A Lot, but I like our Aldi store. It's very clean and well laid out. I like their brands; they taste great. I especially like their produce. I save money there most of time; I always look around at other ads and then factor in gas to get there. And I don't mind boxing up my own groceries. I guess my biggest gripe would be the long lines as they don't have a lot of registers open.

There is a sav-a-lot near me. I went recently used to go monthly years ago. They did have some good deals there. Just wish it was easier to get to.

Forgot to mention...

Our Aldi produce is *usually* pretty good. But you have to watch. More than any other grocery store, at Aldi there are often moldy/yucky produce. When I went last time, I wanted their zucchini....every package I picked up was fuzzy :puck: But all the other produce looked good.

There are no Aldi's here in Texas. I have never tried Sav A Lot however I need to go grocery shopping today so maybe I will try Sav A Lot. Thanks for the feedback. One of my goals this month is to lower the grocery bill. :cloud9:

It makes you wonder, My Aldi's the produce is great. Actually better than Walmart & Ultra. Very clean almost always has what I need. I even bought my 1st digital camera there and it was great!. MAybe it is the manager that makes the difference. Our old Walmart was dirty & not friendly they opened the Super Walmart and the inside is still clean but the parking lot is a mess & it has only been a month. :pony: