Groceries are a big expense for many households, so it’s only natural that you want to find ways to save money on groceries — and what better way to do that than by shopping at Aldi?
Because Aldi doesn’t carry many name-brand products, it’s able to offer lower prices than many of its competitors. But despite that advantage, shopping at Aldi can be a frustrating experience. Here’s why:
Many people are used to going to the supermarket, buying everything they need and heading out, but that’s not always possible at Aldi.
Aldi purposely stocks products at low prices in the hopes of passing the savings on to consumers, which is why it sometimes doesn’t stock staple items, or many of its staple items.
Now imagine going to the grocery store and realizing you can’t buy a cucumber for your salad or an orange for your kid’s lunch. That’s a problem. You’ll have to hold off on that item for a week or go to a different store. Either way, it’s a pain.
2. You might end up wasting money on branded items that your kids don’t like.
If you don’t care about the brand and are just buying for yourself, then by all means buy from Aldi – if you don’t mind a boring beige box of pasta that’s $0.70 cheaper than the big brands, why not save some money?
However, if you have picky eaters at home, shopping at Aldi could mean wasting money in the form of food waste.
Kids can be picky about what they put in their mouths, and sometimes just a different looking package can be enough to stop your child from eating the cereal or snack bar you bought. This means you might end up having to throw out some of your Aldi purchases, which is not good for your wallet at all.
3. You may have to adjust your meal plan, which could increase your expenses.
Shoppers are often advised to plan their meals before heading to the supermarket, which can make shopping more efficient and reduce the chances of wasting money on ingredients you end up not using.
But remember, there’s no guarantee you’ll find everything you need at Aldi, so you might have to change course mid-trip and adjust your meal plan accordingly, which could result in you buying more expensive food than you had planned.
For example, let’s say you decide to make spaghetti and sautéed veggies with marinara sauce. The sauce you plan to use in the recipe is sold out at Aldi. If they have it in stock, you could buy a bottle of pre-made vodka or pesto sauce instead, but it might cost twice as much as a bottle of basic marinara sauce.
Overall, Aldi can be a great source of grocery savings, but be aware of these pitfalls before you go. And if you’re pressed for time and can only make it to one supermarket a week, you might be better off buying your groceries somewhere other than Aldi.
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