At the start of 2023, one of the financial resolutions I made was to spend less money on groceries. As someone who was already in the habit of buying staples in bulk (thanks, Costco), that was a pretty challenging thing. But then a friend of mine introduced me to Aldi, and suddenly, I found myself in a position of being able to save money on food at a time when grocery prices were still pretty high across the board (kudos, inflation).
I did a fair amount of shopping at Aldi during the first half of 2023. But I'll admit that as the year wore on, I found myself visiting the store less frequently.
It's true that shopping at Aldi has the potential to result in a fair amount of savings. But here's why you may not want to shop there despite the low prices.
1. You have picky eaters at home
Some people have pickier children than others. But my kids are pretty choosy about the food they're willing to eat. So when I brought home cheap granola bars from Aldi at one point last year, my kids downright refused to touch them because they weren't familiar with the brand. As such, instead of saving a few dollars on granola bars, I wasted a few dollars.
Aldi says itself that more than 90% of its products are exclusive brands, which means they're not the brands you see advertised all over the place. If you're not picky about brands, then by all means, stock up at Aldi. But if you have a household of picky eaters, you might unfortunately end up throwing your money away to some degree.
2. You have limited time to shop for groceries
Another hiccup I ran into last year during my Aldi shopping was not being able to find staple items consistently. Some weeks, for example, there would be no white bread. Other weeks, the store was out of cucumbers or strawberries.
If you have a busy schedule and limited time to shop, you may find Aldi to be a frustrating experience. You might have to make multiple trips in the same week to get everything you need. And if that's something you just don't have time for, then it could pay to do your grocery shopping elsewhere.
3. Your closest Aldi is far away
I happen to have an Aldi within 15 minutes of where I live. And as a bonus, it's right near Costco. So I don't have to spend extra on gas to get there if I want to pop in, since I typically go to Costco once a week.
But if the nearest Aldi to your home is a 30-minute drive or more, you may want to do your shopping at a store that's closer. Driving that long on a regular basis may not be feasible. What you save on groceries, you might end up spending on gas.
There are personal finance benefits to shopping at Aldi, and I haven't given up on the store completely. I'll still stop in on occasion if I'm doing a Costco run to see what produce is in stock, because believe it or not, in my experience, Aldi's prices are often more competitive than Costco's in that category. But if the above factors apply to you, you may not want to make Aldi your go-to store anytime soon.
