Saving Money on Groceries in a Tight Economy

It is a good idea to keep your eyes open for good bargains in our faltering economy but the price of our groceries has gone up while the packaging has gotten smaller. So what is a person to do when saving money has become so important?

One good idea is shopping at Aldi's.

Aldi stores have been around since 1976 and have expanded greatly because of how it operates, and the money that it's customers save has kept them coming back. Aldi stores have kept their overhead to a bare minimum and that expense is not there to pass on to customers.

When going to an Aldi store, it is a good idea to make sure you take a few bags (or boxes), with you unless you want to buy bags. Aldi does not buy bags to give away and it does not pass that cost to the customers. If you have plastic bags from previous shopping or reusable cloth bags take them with you. There are times when you can scoop up the merchandise boxes that have been emptied of stock but there is no guarantee you will find empty boxes at the store so take your own and be prepared. Aldi stores do not hire baggers so each customer bags (or boxes) everything they purchase. What you pay for your groceries will make up for having to bag your own purchases. I have comparison shopped and found the receipt from Aldi stores to be about half of what I would pay at most stores, even Wal Mart.

It is also a very good idea to make sure you have a quarter in your pocket. If you want to use one of the carts at the Aldi store, you will need a quarter to unlock it. When you return the cart, it will release your quarter. This cuts operating cost because extra help does not have to be there in order to collect all the stray carts in the parking lot and that is more overhead that is not passed on to the customer.

Most main ticket items that you buy on a normal trip to the grocery store can be found at an Aldi store, most likely at a better price. On any given day in Kansas, you will pay a minimum of $1.19 for a loaf of plain white bread yet the highest price I have ever found a loaf of bread at an Aldi store is $0.79 and as low as $0.50. Vienna Sausages at the Dollar General in Kansas will cost you $0.50 or more a can but at the Aldi store they cost $0.39 each. You get the idea.

Every state has their own taxes and average price of groceries so every Aldi store will be comparable, if not lower in price, to any local grocery store.

Aldi stores also have weekly specials and special buys. You can get a head's-up on these special buys by signing up for the Aldi e-newsletter sent to your email. For instance, last week they had a special buy for a heavy gauge carbon steel roasting pan (rack included) with a two year manufacturer's warranty for $6.99. This pan would accommodate a giant turkey or roast with no problem at all. Wal Mart has a similar roasting pan but for a substantially higher price.

Brands such as Sarah Lee and Tyson stock shelves at Aldi, not to mention many more. Some of the suppliers for Aldi do their business more anonymously by letting Aldi use their own brand label instead of the more public label. On a recent trip to the Aldi store in Manhattan, KS., I found and purchased a box of UNOS brand frozen calzones. UNOS restaurants can be found in Chicago, similar to the way White Castle sells it's sandwiches in grocery stores, UNOS products were also distributed to Aldi. I've never had UNOS calzones before but they tasted like restaurant quality Italian calzones and they were delicious!

If you do not mind the brand label being other than a national brand, you can not find a better way to save money on your grocery bill. In Kansas, a 12-pack of cola (generic) will cost almost $4.00 but a 24-pack of cola at Aldi costs $4.89. There is not much else to say after giving comparisons like this.

It has been all over the news within the past year how companies have been shrinking the volume of their products even as they raise their prices. With the economy tanking and unemployment higher than it has been since the Great Depression, we all have to do what we can to save money.

If you have to buy groceries (which we all do), it makes a great deal more sense to get the most for our dollars. Aldi stores are a good way to save a bit of that hard earned money and cut out the fluff that other stores charge you for.