Grocery Shopping....Part 2

So, last week I explained my process for meal planning and grocery shopping and I mentioned that I was going to see if going out of my way to shop at Aldi was going to add value to my life.  Well, the results are in.

First of all, Aldi is a long way from my house.  Twenty miles to be exact.  It's also in the most congested part of the county.  This is a big reason why I haven’t embraced Aldi.  I lived in a third-tier city for nearly a decade during and right after college, but I’ve really started to hate traffic since moving back here.  I also drive a big honking SUV (but I love her and she’s paid off).  At current gas prices, it costs me ~$5 and, most importantly, at least an hour round-trip to make the trip.  If I go after work, Google Maps tells me that it’s only 4 miles out of my way to stop on my way home.  It sure feels like it’s a lot further than that, but whatever.

Armed with my “reusable” bags (i.e. the handful of plastic bags left from the last Walmart trip), my quarter, and my shopping list, I set off.  Of the 35 items on my shopping list, 13 were less expensive at Aldi than Walmart.  Ten items were either more expensive or came in packages that were larger than I needed.  The Duke's mayo (one of the few things I'm brand specific about) was the same price and there were 11 items I couldn't find or were out of stock. In some cases, this is an imperfect comparison due to package sizing.  For example, I had initially ordered three lbs of carrots (I swear my kid’s going to turn into a bunny), but Aldi only offered them in 2 lb packages.  And it was actually cheaper to buy four lbs from Aldi than 3 lbs at Walmart.  And some of it was a no-brainer, like milk and eggs.  It took nearly an hour to get everything and check out/bag my groceries.

However, my total savings was about $8.50, not including the watermelon and pancakes-on-a-stick that were not on my list.  When you add in the aforementioned impulse purchases, I came out more or less even.

So the final verdict is that I want to like Aldi.  I really, really do.  And if the grocery gods would see to it that one were built near my house, or at least on my way home from work, then I'd hit them up all the time for coffee, milk, and vegetables.  For that matter, I'll probably hit them up if I'm in the area anyway.  I like the smaller store format.  I love the less-is-more philosophy when it comes to everything from packaging to employees.  It's just not something that works for me right now.