06|11 Aldi

Around Christmas time this quaint little store opened up in Washington by Walmart.

We like to call it Aldi, and we come once a week.

I now get about 90% of my groceries here and have noticed a dramatic savings! 

I thought, for fun, I'd list some pros and cons to coming here vs. another grocery store.

 {My quarter girl}

Why I LOVE it? (not particularly in order)

1. I feel like I save a TON of money

2. Double seats in the cart.... Can I get an amen!??!!!!

3. I'm in and out 10x quicker due to a smaller store, short and fast lines and less options 

(I do consider that a pro. I always grab the cheapest I can find in other stores so it's just done for me)

4. Their produce is always fantastic and low priced!! Strawberries have been 99 cents a lb for the past month.

5. I feel like the store in general is more nice and clean and well kept than Walmart!

6. The cashier's are always super friendly and SUPER fast! :)

7. I have, over the months tried lots of new things there, mainly because I want to eliminate a Walmart run too. And most of the time I have been pleasantly surprised. This sounds silly, but I actually get Tucker's diapers and wipes there now! 

8. Having bought and eaten their food for quite a while now, I personally can't tell a difference in the quality. There are obviously some exceptions. I don't usually get their dry cereal or pop tarts. 

A couple things I have noticed are different, but not by any means "worse" Kind of like pot-AE-toe/pot-AH-toe :)

Some things to consider:

1. You need a quarter to get a cart. Don't forget one. 

{you get it back when you return the cart!}

2. You have to pay with cash or a debit card. 

3.You either have to buy bags or bring your own. I have my huge 31 bags that always come along :)

4. They just don't have everything. Today I had to zip in Walmart to get a Darden gift card, Hawaiian rolls, mini m&m's, and mini chocolate chips. 

I did a rough estimate on gas to drive there vs. staying in town and it is still definitely worth it, even with a short list. However I still like to support my local IGA for all my "last minute" stuff. 

Well, now after today's post turned into a critique/ advertisement for Aldi, thanks for sticking around.

It's definitely not for everyone, but it works for us! :)