Aldi has a bit of a reputation as being a no-frills, cheap, sometimes kind of icky store. Now, some of this is definitely the case. You have to make a quarter deposit to get a shopping cart, you either bring your own bags or pay for theirs, and they don't even play music in the store, making for a slightly horror-movie-esqe atmosphere at times.
However! Now that I've totally creeped you out and made you swear to never shop at Aldi...let's talk about the good stuff, namely, the prices. If you have the time, the best strategy is to start your shopping here, get anything on your list that they have (since they buy what's cheap, their selection can't always be counted on), and then fill in from another store. It's definitely shrunk my grocery bills!
Plus, the customers here are actually super nice. Everyone puts their cart away (since they want their quarter back!), but if someone sees you coming, they'll just swap out with you to make the process quicker. And people tend to pick up the cardboard display boxes as they empty out, so the store stays reasonably tidy even without employees really working at it.
So while you may not be able to do all your shopping here, Aldi is definitely worth a stop! read more