Bring a quarter, shop & save some money, you know the drill. Or maybe you do not, in which case you need to get with the program and check out an Aldi sometime.
I grew up with these stores, they are very popular in Europe, which makes sense since they are German. Some things are a little different than a regular American grocery store experience, but honestly they are why you save money.
First. The aforementioned quarter is for the shopping cart, it is locked until you place a .25 cent piece in and then you can take it. Don't worry, you get your coin back when you put the cart back where it belongs.
Second. You bag your own purchases, either in BYO bags, or ones that you just paid .7-.10 cents for. Just bring reusable ones, your wallet & the environment will thank you for it.
Third. The majority of products are private labels. Just like its distant cousin Trader Joe's, by private labeling the customer wins. Now, this is more of an American Aldi phenomenon, but there are quite a few "A brand" products available too. It is just hit or miss on those.
My mom used to have this saying she'd throw at me (which feels like) all the time. Actually, she had two. They translate a little weird but here goes: "My money isn't made of elastic, you know" and the second gem, "I'm not a thieve of my own money". As a punky kid my thoughts, followed by an eyeroll.. were; yeayea, whatchu talking about? Now, I get it.
I can only spend my money once, sadly it does not magically bounce back into my wallet. Why shop somewhere and pay double or triple the cost for what I can purchase the same amount of products for, here. Mom's know what's up, yo!
I visited the motherland last summer where Aldi North operates (same store and concept, different owners and logo) and went to some stores in Germany and Austria (road trip, woohoo) and by far the US stores, especially the new ones, are the nicest. They have really pulled out all stops in making the Aldi experience a great one, and I (still!) love them for it!
Now, if you're listening Aldi.., if only we could get a spiffy Aldi Bistro restaurant like they just launched in Cologne to the USA.. that would be awesome! read more