Is it just my Aldi store, or has your Aldi store raised almost all the prices by at least $0.25 in the last few weeks? The girls and I stopped by there yesterday and cheese was up to $1.99 from $1.79. Milk was $3.28! And I noticed all sorts of other price increases.
Overall, their prices are still lower, but if they keep this up, it won’t be long before they aren’t anymore! I feel so badly for those of you who are on extremely tight budgets to be dealing with all these price increases. 
However, I don’t mean to be complaining as I know that many of you don’t even have the luxury of an Aldi and are stuck with one over-priced grocery store. It just struck me yesterday how costly it seems basic necessities are becoming. And I’m more inspired than ever to try and do better about buying ahead when prices are at their lowest!
Now for what we bought:
1 canister oats — $1.99
2 loaves of honey wheat bread — clearanced to $0.69 each
2 packages of sweet corn — $0.99 each
3 bags of chicken breasts — $5.49 each
2 bags of apples — $2.89 each
1 jar of peanut butter — $1.49
2 packages of strawberries — $1.69 each
2 packages of baby carrots — $0.99 each
1 cantaloupe — $1.69
1 8-oz. cheddar cheese — $1.99
1 can orange juice — $1.09
My total with tax was $41.97
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I’ve been noticing this for a while. I’ve found I can beat Aldi prices by sticking to loss leaders. It takes a little effort to compile a list, but by buying only fruits & veggies (and other items) that are on sale each week and using coupons, I can still keep my grocery budget low. I also stockpile and garden. I’m fearful as well what prices are going to look like this summer. Here’s a link to my blog post comparing Aldi prices to loss leaders, if you’re curious:
http://simplifylivelove.blogspot.com/2011/01/which-is-cheaper-loss-leader-or-aldi.html
I do the same thing and am finding food items at the drug stores and dollar stores as well. Walgreens has eggs for $1.29 often when they are higher at the grocery stores. With Register Rewards, I can usually bring that price down. Right now Bi-Lo has eggs for $1.00/dozen so I will be stocking up. Keep your eyes out for good deals and stock up when you can!
I’ve been shopping at Aldi’s here in Maryland since we moved here in February. I’ve found that although their prices fluctuate every week (milk ranges from $1.99 up to $3.29 and changes weekly) I still shop primarily at Aldi’s. Other grocery stores in my area (outside D.C.) are outrageous! Even the stores that double coupons is STILL more expensive than just going to Walmart or Target for items I can buy with coupons.
I did a price comparison one week and created a spreadsheet based on my 3 local grocery stores, Walmart, Target, Aldi’s and Sam’s club. I had noticed that the grocery stores (Safeway in particular) were a LOT more expensive but I had never actually tracked the prices to compare. I found that many items at the grocery store were nearly DOUBLE what they were at Walmart and Target. “Buy 1 get 1 free” sales here are a JOKE! A few weeks ago, for example, they had Quart size Ice Cream on special B1G1 free…..for $6.29. Ridiculous.
I am sticking with Aldi’s, even if some weeks I have to pay a little more sometimes.
What ever happened to no regional pricing? That was their motto when they first opened here in CT.
I check the papers because someone ALWAYS has milk on sale for $1.99. I rarely ever pay more than that. Even CVS is doing that pricing! Aldi HAS gotten much higher. There’s a farmer’s market close and their prices on all veggies/fruits are nearly 1/3 the cost as any grocery store. When the red peppers were so high, I got a gigantic pepper that weighed 3/4 lb for only 75 cents (they were priced at 75 cents ea) where all local grocery stores were charging minimum of $2.99 #!!!! Another suggestion is that local grocery stores seem to be marking clearance the pre-chopped fruit (ie. Meijer) for dirt cheap! When I see that, I stock pile and freeze it.
The prices at Aldi in Minnetonka, MN have really gone up lately on meat. It does not seem to me that the prices have gone up in the produce or other items I buy there. If anyone else is in MN or WI, you can’t beat Kwik Trip’s prices on milk ($1.98/gallon plus rewards to lower it more), butter ($1.99/lb), eggs (99 cents/dozen), bananers and onions (39 cents/lb.) Crystal, can you please ask your readers for advice on books that help people with black thumbs learn to garden so that they actually save money? I love to garden but I don’t think I come out ahead some years because I don’t do a good job of it. Also, how do you bargain at the Farmer’s Market? The farmer’s markets I’ve been to are definitely not a way to save money.
Look for small farmers , pick your own places and roadside stands. You’ll often do better buying from someone’s driveway than from a farmer’s market.
Black-thumb advice: good soil and 6 to 8 hours of sun exposure daily (if not more). Start small. A package of cucumber or carrot seeds costs less than $2. If they don’t make it, you’re not out too much money. Read the directions carefully and research tips online.
Also, while there are lots of little road-side stands where I live, each only sells one or two different crops. I plan ahead and stop at a stand when I’m out doing errands.
I learned last year that the sweet corn/melon/etc stands in my area are all actually “franchised” by one woman that buys up from the local growers and sells it all at the same rates and each stand with no room for bargaining since the person working the stall isn’t the grower, just an employee. That was a crazy thought to me.
I was just in the Minnetonka Aldi today! I agree about produce still being a decent price. That’s just about all I buy there now! Ditto about Kwik Trip…I love that place!!!
I love Kwik Trip too. Especially their monthly coupons. This month includes FREE bread, a FREE donut, a FREE pound of either onions, potatoes or bananas along with other great coupons. I have a source to get several copies of their coupons and have been stocking up on the FREE onions and soon I’ll change to stocking up on the potatoes. I’ve got several loaves of different breads in the freezer too. I probably won’t have to buy bread/potatoes or onions till next fall!
I didn’t realize Kwik Trip had monthly coupons….where do you find them?
They have printable coupons on their website and they also send some out with their credit card statements.
We get them in the Northfield News and Star Tribune Southern edition in our area on the first Wednesday of the Month. They also are inserted in that week’s Northfield Shopper. I don’t have a May copy with me today but the April edition included: 6 coupons for $.05 off gas and two $.07 coupons off gas, FREE donut coupon, $1.00 off 4 cinnamon rolls, $1 off Fresh Case Parfait, FREE pound of bananas, onions or potatoes, and coupons for $1 off ice cream, $1.00 for a piece of pizza, $1 off any hot sandwich, $1 off soup or chili, $.10 off gas if you buy regular priced pizza, Thin Crust pizza for $3.99, Regular crust pizza for $6.99, $.10 off gass if you purchase a elite car wash, three $5.99 elite car wash coupons, FREE fountain drink, and $1 off a smoothie malt or shake. Plus, they accept ALL competitor’s gas coupons up to $.10 per gallon. I suggest that you contact their corporate office to find out what other newspapers they put the coupons inserts in. I do know that they don’t do this for their Wisconsin locations, just Minnesota. I also work for a non-profit and we use Kwik Trips non-profit program. A lot of churches also join this program.
I didn’t realize either, however, my husband came home with a coupon “magazine” on Tuesday and was surprised by all the coupons. He was joking that he can go and get a free lunch of bread, bananas and a fountain drink. I told him he just needed to grab some peanut butter from home to make PB&B sandwiches!
Love that the one for May includes cash wash coupons too! I also get text coupons as well for gas and then something either discounted or free every week!
Food prices around the globe are increasing, in part due to natural disasters. It’s not an uncommon news story.
From the US Bureau of Labor Statistics: “Over the past 12 months, the index for food at home has risen 3.6 percent with the index for meats, poultry, fish and eggs up 7.9 percent.” (April 2011 press release)
Gas has gone up nearly 15 percent in the last three months!
That’s what I was thinking. It isn’t limited to just Aldi. Costco and Kroger are going up weekly in my area. Some of the increase is the cost of fuel to transport the food to the store.
And packages are shrinking, too. I bought a “pint” of ice cream that wasn’t really a pint–14 ounces. I kept staring at it before I put it in my cart. It was such a petite little thing.
That’s one of they way food manufacturers try to trick consumers. They advertise new packaging and lower the price for a while hoping most of us won’t notice. Then they’ll raise the prices again with the smaller amount–notice a lot of cans are now 14 or 15oz instead of the 16 they used to be. I recently read an article about it, but I can’t remember what it was so I don’t have the link.
Yes. I too have noticed some price increases at Aldi. As a matter of fact, Kroger had them beat on a least one item last week. I think it was the hotdog and hamburger buns. They were on sale for .77 at Kroger. They were like .79 if not just a bit more at Aldi. Now, I know that’s not much of a difference to say the least. I was just shocked that they were more expensive at all.
But like you said. They still offer very good prices in comparison to other places, overall.
I have noticed raising prices at Aldi’s and other stores. Aldi’s, Walmart and Target are all a 20 minute drive for me while I have four chain grocery stores within 5-10 minutes. I usually visit Aldi’s once a month for the things that tend to be consistently cheaper like milk, tortilla chips, bread and produce. Their produce can be really questionable at times though and I have definitely noticed higher prices.
I recently started a produce co-op to save money (about 45-50% off of the chain store prices!) and that has helped tremendously. We even beat the Aldi’s price by about 30%! If you have a co-op nearby, you might consider looking into that option. If you are in the Odenton, MD area (Anne Arundel county), check out http://odentonproduce.wordpress.com and contact me through that site if you are interested in joining us.
Thanks for the great blog; love it!
I went to our Aldi’s on Sunday and the price was still 1.79 near Cincinnati as it has been for a while now. Not sure what day they change their prices. I’ve noticed prices increasing at the other stores though and not as many good deals.
I just posted the same thing on FB. I went to Aldi for staples today~bread, milk, fruit, eggs, frozen veggies, ect~and spent $69. The only “luxury” item I had in my cart was ice pops for $2.89.
Milk at my Aldi is $2.89 now~same price as Target and Kroger. Kroger’s sale price was better this week. Should have bought it when I was there.
I’m in TX, we don’t have Aldi here. Everything here is much more expensive than yours.
Can’t remember where I read it last week, someone was saying food price will go up a lot more towards later part of this year, and some stores have started to raise prices by 10-25cents to test customers’ reactions. I’ll definitely follow up your blog to learn more about couponing.
food prices everywhere r up and will continue to go up. The country is in an inflationary period and will be for sometime to come . Get use to it sadly it’s here for a while … likefor years.
There is indeed inflation in the world food market, while there are still falling prices in the real estate market. From what my husband (IMF Economist) reports, the reason for the rise in food prices is that as poorer nations (India, China) are growing their middle classes quickly at this time and those citizens are looking to eat better foods, such as meat and dairy, whereas previously, they were eating simple grains and rice. So it’s actually a case of supply and demand. Food supply, for the moment, remains the same, while demand on more “luxury” foods such as meat and dairy, increases – thus increasing the price of those foods.
What ever the reason, it still stinks that prices at Aldi are rising!
I was happy when Fresh and Easy came to Southern California but their prices have gone crazy too.
You said, “And I’m more inspired than ever to try and do better about buying ahead when prices are at their lowest!” We’ve definitely noticed that prices have gotten higher in recent months in our area. However, we’ve also seen the sales ads in our area have gotten much poorer as well. It seems most items now are only very slightly discounted; very few items can be stocked up on with significant savings.
Yes our Aldi’s has been slowly raising their prices, but still under WalMarts & HyVee & Fareway. I believe, though, that Aldis’ will always be under the competitors just due to the others raising theirs first. we have a local dairy that sells their milk for $3/gal and they have stated that they won’t go up – PTL!!!
May I ask what state your in?
I would love to find a local dairy!!
My Aldi is going up too. I just learned I could freeze dairy and luckily Aldi milk was below $3 this week so I got two. Hopefully my freezing doesn’t fail!
I don’t shop at Aldi but prices are increasing while packages shrink. Yesterday I paid nearly $5 for a 2 pound bag of rye flour (not organic). I’m seeing more 2 pound bags of flour and fewer 5 lb bags. Walnuts were 9.99 a pound. I’m now buying at least 1 extra stock up item each time I shop and buying in bulk when the price is right. Off to Costco now and hoping to find some affordable walnuts, LOL.
I send my husband to Aldi’s to pick up the smaller list of groceries….and the main staple on his list is milk. It was 2.64 a gallon which is less than Costco….but he went this week…and it was up to 2.79!!
Our Aldi is cheaper than yours but comparatively their prices have gone up. I know you have said you can beat their prices but Sam’s has great meat prices here un Dallas. I bought 10 lbs of chicken breasts for $22.00 the other day much less than any grocery store in our area.
Thanks for a your hard work. I am loving this blog and finding it very helpful.
We don’t have an Aldi’s in CO when we lived in NE they did and I loved that store. Our milk right now is 2.78 at King Soopers but Safeway is always having in store deal buy 2 for $4 but you do have to buy 2. We have been sticking to KS lately for the gas point and KS and City Market and Bakers are all owned by the same company. I went this past wknd and bought 220.$ in grocery and paid 85$ but my gas points were on before coupons. yeah!!! That and the buy 10 get $5 I did it 3 times.
Christina
Maybe I should look into buying a pet cow
then we could get milk, butter, and cheese! I’m not sure that the neighbors in our residential suburb town would like it…..
Green grapes were $4.99/lb at Publix in Gainesville, FL, so I think prices are just higher everywhere. (I did NOT buy them!) Think it’s gonna be a rough summer.
Our Aldi’s is too far away to make it feasible to go just for groceries. If we are in that part of town for another reason we might stop in, but generally I find that I can get the same (equivalent) items elsewhere for the same or lower price. We are preparing for a rough summer by stocking up now. Last week Fareway had a good price on hamburger and we stocked up enough to get us to the 4th of July. I figure by the 4th they will have more meat sales and we will be able to restock to carry us through to Labor Day. We are doing this on as much as we can. Our kids have really started eating more and it is showing in the food budget. Luckily I work by one grocery store and the other is only two blocks away. Between the two I am stocking up like crazy!
I agree that Aldi’s prices have been higher but they also seem to change a lot more than other stores. I feel that the items that go up and down are the produce and dairy products whereas the shelf stable stuff tends to be the same. I love Aldi for all of my baking supplies, they have continued to be the least expensive time and time again. For things like milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables I watch the sales and go where the best price is.
Bananas at our Aldi’s used to be the cheapest in town @ $.39/lb. I noticed in last two weeks they are now $.49/lb, which is the same as the grocery stores around here.
Couponing is more important than ever for our family! Buyer beware though. Not only are prices going up, package sizes are going down!! To avoid raising prices, manufacturers are shrinking packaging! Keep an eye on the per unit prices. Blessings!!
http://www.cnbc.com/id/40909380
The prices aren’t going to stop going up either, at least not anytime soon. None of us should be looking for “permanent” price drops before 2013.
I recently stumbled across a saying in a cookbook that was a compilation of recipes used by women to feed their families during the Horrible Depression, as well as little snippets from daily life during then. This saying was very popular back then:
EAT IT UP, WEAR IT OUT, MAKE IT DO OR DO WITHOUT!
My husband and I made a little sign using that saying and hung it on our refrigerator! If our great grandparents made it through that horrific time, won WWII and went on to create the economic prosperity that we have enjoyed and reaped the benefits of for almost 50 years, then WE can not only survive these times, but THRIVE in them too!
So little hinges on what our ACTUAL circumstances are, but on what we PERCEIVE our circumstances to be!
We are modern day Rosie the Riveter’s, doing what it takes to maintain our family!
I have discovered I can get groceries cheaper overall by shopping sales (and using printable coupons) at Kroger and occasionally Hyvee. I have found their butter, eggs, and milk to usually be right on par with Kroger if not more expensive. I personally am not going to waste a stop anymore at a less convenient store. The only exception is if they have a rock bottom price on produce that I happen hear about. For example, a couple months back they had 4lb bags of oranges for $1. That is worth the stop with four children in the house:). It is a bummer that Aldi isn’t what it used to be – the one place you could go to buy groceries and know you were going to get rock bottom prices on (mostly) generic foods.
I think everything has gone up a lot at our local stores – I bought basic sandwich stuff a few weeks ago and spent $30 – ouch! When I first started grocery shopping 7 years ago we could live on $100 a month, which sounds crazy now!
I am so glad there are sites like this that help you catch sales!! I spend several hours following them and clipping coupons, and go to the 3 drugstores, and our 3 local grocery stores every week, which takes up most of a day. But, it allows me to feed my family reasonably well – before I started couponing in November we would eat PB+J made from the cheapest bread, etc I could find every meal for a few weeks to fit in my budget. Now, I have been able to stockpile ground turkey and vegetables, etc that we can eat for the same low cost – much healthier! And there are weeks that I don’t have to shop – we can live off of my stock for probably a month and be well fed.
where do you find the clearanced or marked down bread? or is that the sale price for the week at aldis?
Every once in a while, our Aldi will just have a hand-written sign above one of their products with a special clearance sale.
I did noticed the gallon of milk went up from $1.49 to $1.99. I still find this to be cheap for milk. I hope it doesn’t go up any higher. This is the cheapest I can find milk here in Indiana.
I paid $4.23 for a gallon of milk this week (IA/MN area). This is not fancy milk (not organic or anything!), just milk. You are lucky to live somewhere where it is so cheap!
I just wanted to say thank you for your pictures of real food! So many times I see “bragging rights” photos and you have to wonder what they are really eating. 10 packs of razors, toothbrushes and shampoo won’t feed your family!
I only hit up Aldi’s about once a month and it’s to grab either their veggie chips or canned goods. I actually stopped in yesterday and decided I may be decreasing my trips, because I couldn’t find anything I needed at an equal or cheaper price than what I can get at Kroger or Meijer with a sale or coupon. However, I do love them for their cream of celery soup for less than $0.50! (they don’t always have it, it seems to come-in around thanksgiving and easter, so if you have to stock up) I can’t ever find cream of celery (which i use regularly) for anything close to that price. And also next time I need some canned beans or fruit and haven’t found a sale/coupon recently, I’ll probably hit them up too. But I was majorly let down yesterday. We walked out with only a water and a snack only because my husband and toddler really wanted them.
I only get the basics at Aldis anymore, as their prices have dramatically gone up. Three months ago, a bag of chips cost .99 cents. In the past three months, it’s risen to 1.39! A .40 cent increase! That’s almost 50%! It’s crazy. I find I do much better shopping the Jewel and Hy-Vee ads- getting what I can on sale with coupons, and then getting just the basics at Aldis. It’s getting harder and harder to feed a family of 7 on a budget of $80 a week!
My best deal on milk in my area is actually the Whole Foods brand. I can get a gallon of organic for around $5. The non-organic is right at $3.00. Wal-Mart brand milk is around $3.50 a gallon (Whole Foods 365 brand non-organic is actually cheaper than Wal-Mart here.)
I wish we had an Aldis though…or a Safeway or Dillons….Kroger… I’ll take any of those.
I admit I don’t do all my shopping at Aldi but I do go there a probably 2 times a month for speciality items that they are the cheapest on. Can someone give me an opinion on their frozen chicken breasts? I notice that you purchased them a lot. I have not tried them, always wind up waiting for a sale at one of the local markets but something that doesn’t always happen. Appareciate any opinions.
I go to Aldi for their sale priced produce, and nothing more. The Aldi is located conveniently- across the street from my usual grocery store.
Food prices up? Inflation my friends. Write your Representatives and ask them to Audit the Fed.
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