Looking for input on Aldis, No Frills Discount Grocery Stores and Grocery outlets

[lswheatly]

The one place that I stop and visit is the 99 cent only store. They do not accept coupons, but you can still great finds for only 99 cents. I believe the 99 cent store has come a long way. They offer name brands, produce, fresh vegetables and milk. However, with the 99 cent only store, you may not find the same items every week. They are always getting deliveries of new items. Just this week I was able to snatch up gogurts, hot pocket paninis, oscar meyer hot dogs, big bags of rold gold pretzels, sunny delight and vegetables @ 3lbs for .99. However, I don't always score on trips to the 99 cent store, but it always my first stop.

[CherryPicker]

I really pay attention to price per pound/oz as opposed to the initial price tag. Save a Lot likes to do meat promotions such as 4/$20 etc... One day I went to see what they offered and was astonished while although the packaging was definitely 4/$20 that the actual cost per pound was $4.99!!

They were also selling Betty Crocker potatoes for around $1.29 a box. I had got mine at my regular stores for around .30 cents that week (with coupons) and in regards to the meat....I had bought the same cuts at another store for $1.99 that week.

I haven't went back to Save A Lot.

[CherryPicker]

Sorry to be negative....but there is a small store named UGO. That store just scared me. The reasons why were 1) Many of the frozen food items that I saw were already expired and 2) The produce looked ok on the outside, but went bad the next day. Haven't been back since.

[ameeker]

I would like to try Aldi's, but it's quite a hike for me, thankfully I have Sav-A-Lot, Family Dollar and Dollar General.

You have to bag your own groceries at Sav-A-Lot too, but they sell both plastic bags and reusable cloth bags, or you can opt for the free empty stock boxes as well. The aisles are nice and wide, it's clean and well maintained and I've never had a problem with long lines there, but it is a new store in a small town. The food items are about 1/2 name brand and about 1/2 brands you've never heard of. The BEST, the very BEST thing about Sav-A-Lot is that they take coupons and the cashiers are particularly coupon friendly and will push through almost anything, and never mind the manager about it. I had coupons for "$.75 off any Rhodes classic rolls", but the only Rhodes product that SAL carries is the frozen bread dough version, but the cashier pushed it through 6 times. When I went back I asked her if the coupons had been a problem and she said (with a smile no less) "Nope, coupons are NEVER a problem around here", so I bought 4 more. They have pretty decent produce, and great prices, this whole month bananas have been 3lbs for $1, and they look beautiful. Oh that's the other thing I like about SAL, the advertised prices are for the month, not the week, so I have time to hit a great sale without being in a huge rush.

Family Dollar occasionally has great prices on laundry detergent, snack foods and paper goods. They bag your groceries too. I haven't had great luck with their clothing or shoes, but the toys are sometimes name brand at a quarter the price of any other store. I bought High School Musical character dolls for $5 each, and my girls love them. I saw the exact same dolls at Kmart for $18 each two days later. My particular store has very narrow aisles and a cluttered feeling to it, but that doesn't keep me out. They also have very good sales and accept coupons on sale and discounted items.

Dollar General is a great stop for H&B items, spices, paper goods, granola bars, cereal, canned goods and snacks. That's my usual stop for Head & Shoulders shampoo, they put it on sale for $3/bottle and I whip out my $1 off q's and get a mountain of it cheap. At that price I can even afford to buy the matching conditioner. The food items are about 1/2 name brand and 1/2 brands I've never heard of. They also have a "discount" rack where I've gotten insane deals as most of the stuff is discounted 75-90% and they will take a coupon on those items as well. I've never bought any clothing in there, but am considering it. The last 3 times I stopped there other shoppers were specifically shopping the $10 jean racks and raving about the quality. Okay granted those folks were all older gentlemen of the farmer variety, but I'm not so far removed from that really.

Well that's about it.

[abfabmom1]

Well, I doubt this will win as the most informative post, but I have to chime in with my two cents.

The one complaint I have with CouponMom.com is that the focus seems to be on stores on the East Coast, Southeast and in the Midwest. Before you asked the question, I had never heard of Aldi's, so I had to look them up. They have no stores in the western region - I checked California, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, New Mexico etc. Nothing.

On top of that, there's only one grocery store in your weekly circulars posting, but I can promise you that Safeway is not the only grocery store around. Albertson's/Lucky (partially owned by CVS?) often has great prices, and it would be wonderful if you could add them to the listing.

https://shop.albertsons.com/eCommerc...ction=zipCheck

:: Welcome to Lucky Supermarkets ::

I didn't have much luck at Grocery Outlet the few times I tried. The local store is no longer in business, but when it was here, it was very small, and inventory was extremely limited. There were good deals to be found, but it took a lot more work than it was worth, because everything was on the verge of spoiling.

Thanks for listening!

[mnm'z]

I shop Aldi's for the items I need that are not on sale at a Grocer. Just last night we had burgers on the grill and not enough cheese. DH doesn't like Kraft individual slices ~ it has to be deluxe. But the Aldi's deluxe deli cheese is good and he likes it. It's $2.29 and if I bought the Kraft Deluxe at Meijer I'd have paid $4.99 (not on sale). Cream Cheese is $.79, milk was $1.59, chocolate chips are $.99 (family/friends love my choc. chip cookies and the chocolate melts and tastes exactly like Nestle), and white choc. chips are $1.29 ~ there are some items that I just can't pick up at Meijer cheaper even with a sale and q's. I found a flier at Aldi that listed all of their products and prices with a big bold headline COMPARE OUR PRICES TO OTHERS, so now I can just refer to the flier and do my price comps.

[Big Daddy]

I've really compared Aldis to our other Low priced Stores and they can't compete against Save-A-Lot, or the Walmart...only way i would shop there was if I lived next door to one...

[Jenng]

Before I found Couponmom I used to do ALL my shopping at Aldi. I have found that even though they have very low prices and very high quality items I am saving more money by using the couponmom methods. I still shop Aldi about once a month for my staple items that are usually not on sale such as produce, eggs, tortilla chips, honey and meat. I used to buy all my dairy, canned vegetables, broth, tortilla shells and frozen vegtables at Aldi. By using BOGO and double coupons I've been able to SAVE a ton of money even on staple items including OJ, juice, cereal, cheese, dairy (yogurt and sour cream), sugar, frozen and canned vegetables. Not only am I able to purchase more items and create a massive stockpile but they are all named brand and I am trying out tons of new products. I'm also giving tons away. I will always love Aldi and shop there but I love my newfound way of life!!! Thanks couponmom.

[churn111]

Don't have an Aldi's and it took me about 2 seconds to see that Sav-A Lot wasn't really saving anything. Above CherryPicker noted that per pound price just doesn't cut it. Way too high.

I'll stick with my Kroger.

Except for.....here's a tip folks.....see if there is a bulk foods type store in your area. I get spices, oatmeal, whole wheat pastas, brown rice, other grains super cheap at a couple that are about 1 hour and 20 minutes from me. When ever my sister, SIL, niece or I go that way we all call each other to collect the "order" from the others. I haven't had to buy oatmeal for a while because I got a lot free at Kroger but I recently stocked up on some other things I hadn't found a better deal on. And a lot of their stuff is organic which is nice if you choose that. It's a little more expensive.

[snelson]

I just love to read all your posts, you guys are great!

Churn111, you mention buying foods in bulk. I've always found spices to be a great deal when I buy them in bulk at my local health food store, like 80 to 90% off and you can buy a small amount. You're not stuck with a big jar of a spice you rarely use for the next decade when you buy 12 cents worth of what you need!

However, are you also referring to being able to buy large quantities of beans, legumes, rice, etc. in bulk from another type of store? I'm trying to figure out how to find those types of sources. Do you have a local store you use to buy bulk items?

And this is off topic but I have to say that lentils are definitely the best nutrition for the lowest price. I've done the math. Now we just need some really great lentil recipes! I only have one. That will be my next contest to dig yours up!