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MiniBlondes

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Posts posted by MiniBlondes

    Hmmm. Explain Aldi's grocery store to me.

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

     

    But I do have to ask one more thing -- it sounds like many of you get a lot of different stuff at Aldi, but the store I visited was quite tiny. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was about the size of the produce department at my regular grocery store. Are they all small stores, or is the one I visited an exception to the rule?

     

    They are generally smaller, yes. The aisles are not as wide and they don't have 786 kinds of canned green beans. So it doesn't take up as much space.

     

    The only negative thing that I have to say about Aldi is that because of the layout and because the aisles are thinner, if I forget something and I have to backtrack through the store, it's a real pain in the butt. In those cases, I will often pull my cart to the side and backtrack on foot for the forgotten item/s. Once you start going every week you start to learn exactly where your staple items are and you grab one as you pass. It's SO fast.

    Hmmm. Explain Aldi's grocery store to me.

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I've heard that Aldi's gets products that are nearing their expiration date, and also products that there happens to be an overabundance of at the moment. So when I go there looking for a specific vegetable, they might not have that one but they'll have a giant amount of another. Or, they'll have a whole shelf of one type of cracker that is at its expiration date (but still considered okay to eat, of course). The two experiences I had there, I wasn't able to find many things that I needed and had to change my menu according to what they had.

     

     

    I've never found this to be true. 90% of the products they have is the same stuff, in the same exact spot, week after week after week. This is usually only true if they have some kind of special buy or something. For example, our Aldi had a large pallate of those Fruitable juice boxes that are 100% juice. They sat there until they were all sold out. They weren't in danger of going out of date or anything, but they also don't carry them all the time. I think the produce varies from store to store, and also the day that you go. If you go the day before the produce truck comes, then yeah... it does look a little rough out there.

    Hmmm. Explain Aldi's grocery store to me.

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I used to be a couponer. When I started homeschooling, I found that I didn't have the time or energy to coupon anymore but I also couldn't stand to go to the grocery store and pay full price either. Once you're used to getting an item for pennies, it's virtually impossible to make yourself pay full price for it. The result was that we would up eating out 4-6 nights a week. That was terrible to our budget and to our health alike.

     

    My husband kept encouraging me to try Aldi. I scoffed. "That place looks gross!" "Ewww, generic mayonnaise? Yuck." One day while we were out, we drove past and he quickly turned the car into the lot. "Just check it out.", he said. Sure, why not? We're already here. So in we went.

     

    The first trip was an experience. I was confused about how the shopping cart thing worked. I was a little weirded out by the dim lighting and 1970's styling of the place. But then I started noticing prices. Simple things like a gallon of milk for less than $3, Pepperidge Farm style wheat bread for $1.49, avocados for $.35. We bought a few things and I couldn't believe how much money we saved. The best part was that it didn't require any additional effort on my part. No hours of research and planning and printing and clipping. Nothing. I got up to the checkout and I was not happy. There was ONE cashier, and the line was a mile long. I'm standing there in line, huffing and puffing about how much time we're wasting in this line and within a minute or 2 I was standing there at the belt to put my things up. The cashier says, "Ma'am, please go ahead and put your items up on the belt." I didn't understand because she had just begun checking the lady in front of me. I had plenty of time! Nope. She was done in another minute. We get up there and the total came to about $20. I couldn't believe how much food we'd gotten for $20!

     

    That was about 8 months ago. I go once a week. There are specific items that I buy every single week. Other weeks the items change a little. I can buy for my family of 4 for $75 a week on average. We eat WELL. I don't buy stuff with HCFS and very very few canned foods. I have found the produce selection at my Aldi to be pretty good. Sometimes I will go on an off day but for the most part I usually get a ton of good produce. I buy apples, pears, berries, carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and avocados virtually every single week without fail. I can get in and out of the store in 30-45 minutes. Yes, some weeks there are a handful of items that I cannot get there. Whole wheat flour, for example. Luckily, I have a Food Lion about a mile from my house and I just ask my husband to stop on his way home. I know that many people say that Aldi is terrible for your diet, but I have to disagree. When I was couponing and shopping at nicer stores, I was buying lots of convenience processed foods. Shopping at Aldi has been a healthier decision for our family. It enables me to actually afford to buy things like fresh produce.

     

    This is just my personal experience. We love Aldi. I can't imagine what we'd do without it.

    nm

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I hear you. I was recently trying to sell my daughters iPods on Craigslist. My ad was clear that I was selling the iPods because my daughters were saving for their own iPads. This lady was DETERMINED that she was going to convince me to trade both of my iPods for a 'slightly scratched Pink Canon Powershot camera'. Her argument was that she paid $600 for it, so it was worth the trade. No. It's only worth it if I can use a pink scratched up camera or if I can resell it for the same as I could resell the iPod's. She was trying her hardest to convince me that I could sell it for $350. She wouldn't drop it so finally I said, "If the camera is worth $350, then why don't you just sell the camera?" Her reply, "You don't have to be a ^*#&% about it. I was just offering you a good deal!"

     

    -head desk-

    What are the very early warning signs of the flu?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I had the flu a few years ago. I remember sneezing a lot one day. Like sneezing fits, dozens of sneezes in a row. I was also really tired but at the time I had a baby and a toddler and it wasn't unusual for me to be worn out. Then about 3 am I woke up with severe body aches and chills.

     

    I hope everyone stays healthy and it's just paranoia!

    The word "flu"

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I think many people have no idea that the flu isn't a stomach virus. Or that the flu shot doesn't prevent a stomach virus. Or that antibiotics don't help with the flu....

     

     

     

    Or that antibiotics won't cure a stomach virus.

    The word "flu"

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I always mean influenza when I say it. I had real influenza once, and I swore that I'd never misuse the term again. A cold is a cold. The flu is the FLU.

     

    Whenever someone else uses it, I always ask for clarification. It's surprising how many people use the term 'flu' as a blanket for any illness they have.

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