I live in the northeast US and I feel like we don’t have the best grocery stores up here. But, I recently found an Aldi about a half hour to 45 minutes away from my house. You seem like a big supporter of Aldi so I was just wondering if you thought it would be frugal of me to make the drive there every month or so to do some grocery shopping or would it just be a waste of gas, money and time? What are your thoughts? -Becky
If I personally lived in an area where there were few grocery stores with good deals, I would definitely consider it worth my time and the expense of gas to drive 30 minutes to Aldi once every four to six weeks.
However, to make it worth the drive, you’d want to be strategic about it. You’d want to stock up on enough items which were significantly lower than the prices you would usually pay to last you for another four to six weeks (or until your next trip). I’d also look to see if there were any other great stores in the same area that I could also stop by to make my trip even more worthwhile.
I would likely buy enough fresh produce to last me for a week or two (depending upon what the produce is, sometimes it will last longer than that). I’d also stock up on staple items such as baking supplies and canned goods. And finally, I’d buy perishable items which can be frozen. You can freeze bread, butter, cheese, milk, fresh fruit (for smoothies or baking) and so much more. So I’d likely freeze most of the perishable items which we couldn’t use up in a week in order to extend their life.
I would track my expenditures at Aldi compared to the prices I could get at the local stores to make sure that I was saving enough money to make it worth the trip. Since it would be at least an hour of driving plus some gas money for the trip, I’d need to be saving at least $50 per trip to make it worth my time and expense.
Most importantly, I’d continue to do the best I could to find deals at my local stores. Sometimes, high-priced stores which don’t double coupons will have incredible loss leaders or catalina deals. Keep your eyes peeled! (By the way, have you signed up to receive the best deals at your local stores in your inbox every week? We do the work for you so make sure and take advantage of this free resource!)
Would you drive to Aldi if you were in Becky’s shoes? How far will you travel for good deals? I’d love to hear your answers!
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I would definitely travel to Aldi’s! I shop for my family of 9, and I like to go once or twice a month. I could save a lot on a stock-up trip to Aldi’s! I currently travel about 30 miles for groceries. I would be willing to go a bit further for a super-savings trip.
Does Aldi carry organic items?
I live about 25 minutes from a small Target and 45 minutes from a SuperTarget. I make the drive usually every two weeks to one of them to match my target and store coupons.
It’s worth it to me to not to have to shop at Walmart where they don’t do like couponers!!!
I’m in a similar situation in that all stores that offer the great deals and d/t coupons are at least 30 minutes away. It means I can’t do the fabulous deals multiple times, but like you said I try to be strategic about it.
I rarely justify making a trip just for groceries, but if we are driving somewhere for another activity, I always check my favorite blogs to see if there are any fabulous deals going on. Then I get ultra-prepared and run into the stores to do a quick deals-only trip, usually while hubby waits in the car with the kids. I will say though that if there is a Fantastic deal going, I look for a reason to make the drive.
I’ve learned to think ahead and pack an ice chest for my shopping trips!
I live 30 miles from the nearest grocery store anyway. I make a weekly trip into town to take advantage of the deals. I don’t have any grocery stores that have awesome sales or double coupons. The best I have is CVS and Target. I sure wish I lived near some of these grocery stores that you guys get.
I live 5 minutes of walking from Aldi, but for about 1.5 years don’t go there. I find MUCH better deals at Jewel , Dominick’s and petty much any store, which accepts coupons. I would consider driving 30-45 minutes to a good store, but not Aldi. My advice to you; learn how to use coupons, promotions , sales cycles. For a past 2 years I pay only taxes, but food itself covered by coupons and Catalina’s. Chicago area
I love Aldi! We live in a very rural area and I generally drive 30-45 minutes for any kind of grocery shopping. There is one Aldi about 30 minutes away and another about 45 minutes. I like both of them and shop at Aldi probably two to three times per month. I try to combine my Aldi trip with other shopping, so it’s worthwhile.
There’s an Aldi in my city, but I drive 30 miles to Publix once a week. I also take a pass on the local WalMart (I hate WM) and Sam’s Club. In the last year there have only been about 3 or 4 weeks when Publix’s BOGO deals combined with coupons did not justify the drive!
We used to drive 45 mins every other week and we planned it to get everything we needed. Our shopping choices in town were Walmart and City Market who at the time did not double. Since my husband worked in town he would take the list and the coupons and go after work. My favortie was the phone call “I am in the isle and they are out. Do you want a raincheck?” As if he had to ask. UMM yes. Now we live in town and I have to limit my trips to once a week. My how things change.
I would def. do it if we had an Aldi’s that far away. We drive 30-45 minutes once a week anyway for most of our shopping as we live in a small town with just 2 small high priced grocery/mini mart type stores.
We normally shop at Winco Foods and Walmart for other things. Occasionally, I go to Walgreens for deals. It’s hard to get super good deals when you only go once a week or every 9 days. And somtimes it doesn’t work out to go before the sales end. =/
Like Crystal mentioned, she has links to all sorts of local store deals on her site here. Also, I found Bargain Briana has a US map of local frugal bloggers, found here: http://bargainbriana.com/introducing-the-frugal-map/.
I sure feel lucky here-I have every great store I want on the way to my parent’s house, and I go there just about every week!
I think you can google Aldi and find the one closest to you and then there is a place that tells you their special deals and you can also get on their email list for a newsletter. I think I will try this myself.
I wonder if any of the commentors on this post live in the Harrisburg/Lancaster PA area?.. I recently discovered a grocery outlet store called Amelia’s. This store seems to be only in this area (there is @ 15) of them. It is some sort of a grocery outlet store. From what I understand some of the items are out of the “best buy” date but are within the “eat by” date. I recently bought a case (96 bags) of cherrios on the go for 3.99. Since then we have had cheerios in EVERY way known possible
Most of it is severely discounted bc they are advertising for a movie that is out of date/theaters and most companies want the most recent movies on the box of cereal/snacks. I have not bought much only bc we are in a hotel waiting to close on a house and space is limited.
Curious as to any other comments/recommendations with this store and to let others know in this area @ it….
@amy peca, I live outside of Philadelphia and we have an Amelia’s near us. I have been there many times and find that it is an excellent source for great deals on snacks, cereal, canned goods and yogurt. I would not buy any meat from them as they are past the sell buy date and that scares me with meat. I go maybe once a month to stock up and spend a ridiculously small percentage of what we would normally spend even at Price Right (the off price outlet for Shop Rite). A great recent buy was a large box of Nature Valley Crunchy Granola 30 count variety pack for an unbelieveable 2.99! So we now have enough granola in case of a nuclear winter…
I live in a rural area that is 30 minutes from a larger community. We have a local store, but the prices are 2-3 times higher than larger supermarket’s or Target/Walmart’s regular prices. They also do not accept internet coupons and they do not double coupons. Today, I saved over $40 on my purchases at a supermarket, Bath and Body Works, and Target. However, I probably saved around $80 considering the price I would pay at our local market. The gas was about $10. Also, the selection and quality are much better in the larger community. AND—if you live in rural North Dakota, you just need to go to a larger community once a week to perserve your mental health
So, for me, a once a week trip is well worth the money–but I may consider trying to make it only once every two weeks after reading some of these posts.
Check out the blogfrog frugal community discussion going on about this very subject right now too!
http://theblogfrog.com/1397936/forum/49221/thread.html
OH YEA I would drive 40 min to Aldi. When we lived 35 min from the nearest Aldi – Wichita, we did Aldi once a month. We had two tweeners, two toddlers, a very tight budget, one vehicle, and grocery shopped once a month. It was a wonderful system – a pretty big deal when I did have to go, but only did it once a month so it was great.
I agree with Crystal and would go every 4-6 weeks. I’d try to pick the best week based on the sales and what I need. I don’t like too close to Kroger, so I only go for mega events or if I’m in the area.
Another New England resident comments… We live in a rural area and it’s 30-45 minutes to the nearest big box store. I don’t know of any Aldi nearby, but here’s what I do about Target. I go there to stock up on socks, cleaning supplies, toiletries and other odds and ends that you can’t really find locally (like a drying rack that doesn’t cost $40!) My rule of thumb is not to make a special trip to Target… I only go when I have to go into town for something else, such as picking up my husband from the airport or a meeting for work. I keep a running list of things we need from Target and then stock up as the occasion arises. It works out that I go to Target once every 2-3 months or so – I’ve found that there’s really no need to go more often.
That’s funny. I have an Aldi in my town…but NEVER shop there.
Once a week, I drive about 40 miles away just to shop. Grocery stores don’t double in my town..and we don’t have a rite aid or target.
I live in a rural area and it is 40 minutes to Kroger, Aldi,, Walgreens, CVS & Rite Aid. It is about 15 minutes to local owned grocery stores and 20 minutes to Walmart. I usually only go about once a month for major shopping. My kids play sports so I try to stop around their games for some quick deals.
The closest non-gas-station grocery store to me is about 20 minutes away. The next closest is 25 minutes in the opposite direction. But, I kind of have to drive into town every day anyway since my kids attend an out of district school.
I think a big part of the answer is how good your gas mileage is. If it costs you $10 in gas and you only save $10 on the food, it’s not worth it.
couldn’t find my original comment, but the “clean linen” scent I use for laundry soap is found in the candle aisle at Walmart. It’s a 2 oz. essensial oil, and for a 10-gallon batch of soap, I add 1 oz. oil (1/2 the bottle). It smells just how laundry soup SHOULD smell!!!
I drive to Aldi’s once a month…….Ours is an hour away on a good day……..I don’t do all my shopping there I buy my can goods and soups……….their stuffed chicken breast are awesome………..I can’t afford to drive there anymore often than that……….So I make my trip count……..I go armed with a list and cash and a quarter for the cart………..
I have an Aldi’s right around the corner and I have not been pleased with it. I agree with the fruit issues that my store has horrible produce. We are trying to eat healthier and the majority of food is all processed and full of fat. I have every store I could think of in less than 1 mile from my house. Even without coupons I do very well for our food budget.
I know the feeling. I find myself driving 40 miles or more to save on groceries. The produce has been the hardest thing for me but They have started a produce co-op locally and that is the most wonderful thing. I love it. I have found that if I really watch the ads and coupons I can do really well locally and then stock up at the other stores further away when the deals are great My freinds call them vegas weeks when there are many great deals. good luck
This is funny b/c I wrote a post about my last Aldi’s trip. We try to go when it’s convenient or we want to go to the “big” city. Usually involves eating out somewhere we don’t have close by or to take the k ids to Chuck-E-Cheese. Just be careful to wrap up those breakable bottles – ha ha! http://needanap2.blogspot.com/2010/08/amazing.html
I am in the same boat. The closet one is 30 min. away. I try to make it to Aldi every other month. One way to cut the cost is I have someone else(my mom or other friend) go along with me and split the cost of gas. That makes it worthwhile for both of us.
My rule for travelling any distance for sales is this: Take good notes! Keep track of what you spend, how much you think you saved, how long the expedition took you and how much gas you used. At some point you might find the gas/time overpowers the savings you incur, but you’ll never know unless you keep notes. If I find that I am spending more in gas than I am saving at the store, then I rethink my strategy.
I do drive that far in either direction for a Target, and an Office depot & office max. I don’t think Aldi’s prices are all that great. If I was going to travel that far for an Aldi’s, I’d be stopping at other places along the way. I surely wouldn’t drive that far only for Aldi’s.
I think I can do better shopping for loss leaders at the local grocery stores than traveling that far.
I WAS in her shoes and yes, I did drive. Where we lived, everything was at least 1/2 hour to 45 minutes away. I made trips every so many weeks and stocked up as I was able to do so, making more trips during the summer. Depending upon weather, and because we lived in a very rural area, the roads weren’t always safe during the winter.
I live in a small town with several somewhat overpriced chain supermarkets. The nearest Aldi is 45 minutes away from us, and I make the trip every two months for dry goods, staples, frozen foods and some meats. We like the Fit & Active brand and Aldi’s has the best pork chops I’ve ever had. I take a cooler and a friend who also needs to save money on groceries, and we have a great time together. There’s a Big Lots at the halfway point between Aldi and home, and we always run through there on the way home to buy detergent, tea, coffee, etc. The trip takes us about three hours to complete, and we save between 30 and 50 percent off local prices.
I live an hour and a half from a Wal-Mart, and our local grocery store prices are a good 25 – 50% higher. During the school year I travel the 3 hour drive every other week and combine it with my daughter’s music lessons. During the summer we try to find fun activities in the area to do with the kids to help justify the 3 hour drive for a shopping trip. We do end up paying about $25 – 35 per shopping trip for the gas alone, but when I can incorporate other activities with the trip, it does help us to save money. I also have a friend that sometimes we will take turns driving and shop together for savings.
Becky, please be REALLY careful to check the prices at Aldi versus other grocery stores. I live in PA, and I find that Aldi’s prices are usually only somewhat better than those at Giant or Redner’s – and sometimes they’re worse! Unfortunately, here in the Northeast, the great grocery deals are just really hard to come by.
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