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!