Aldi - a great place for cheap groceries!

Aldi Stores have been popping up all over Chicago lately since the Great Recession (2008 - ?).

But while Aldi is new to the mainstream, until recently the only Aldi I had ever heard of was on the outskirts of Coshocton, Ohio. My Grandmother and I would go shopping there when I stayed at her home, and sometimes there would be an Amish buggy with horses parked outside of the store. The local Amish population only shopped at Aldi and took advantage of the simple no-frills grocery store with low prices. My Granny says that they still continue to shop there to today! They are smart shoppers!

While there are no horses parked outside of my store in Evanston, there are still great prices on locally produced goods. Aldi has become my go-to place for dairy products. They stock Wisconsin Dairy products, "Happy Farms" for the lowest consistent prices. Milk is

under $3, Butter is on sale this week for $1.99, sour cream is $1.20 and blocks of cheese are $1.89. There's a host of holiday seasonal foods just in time for Christmas parties on sale now, including wines for $2.97 and cocktail sausages for $2.49! Check out the specials here and go stock up!

And while you can save a lot with coupons at Jewel and Dominick's...Aldi's products are store brand. This is a great relief to me, because I know I'm already saving without clipping coupons and relying on what the marketing wizards of the food business are telling me to buy! Also, their layout in stores is simple, no fancy marketing, just food on shelves with small signs overhead telling you the prices. Aldi also has a shopping app for smart phones, and it's free! i doesn't do coupons, because 90% of their products are store brand.

ALDI TIPS:

1. BYOB - Bring your own reusable bags, because after checkout, they don't provide free bags. You can use their cardboard boxes to carry your groceries out, but I find reusable bags easier to manage.
2. Bring a Quarter - (If you forget a quarter, ask the cashier for change for a dollar) This is your 'rent a cart' quarter. You get it back when you return your cart. (It's amazing that it only takes a quarter to contain carts in the parking lot!)
3. Bring cash or a debit card to pay. (No credit cards used here)

Find a local Aldi near you and start saving on your grocery bill!

Frugal Grocery Shopping in Chicago

In Chicago, Jewel-Osco and Dominick's are everywhere! But, choosing between going to Jewel or Dominick's is not your only choice for all your groceries. You can save a lot of money by a little bit of adventure and a little bit of planning ahead.

Plan your week (quickly)

Now I realize not everyone may have the chance to plan their weekly meals, but it reduces stress throughout the week, and eventually saves time and money. So on Saturday or Sunday when I have an extra minute or so of free time, I jot down the week's evening dinnertime schedule (quickly determining if a family dinner is possible for each night, if I have time to cook, etc). It goes like this:

· Mon - - COOK

· Tues - - PACK/LEFTOVERS

· Wed - - COOK

· Thur - -EASY COOK (busy night)

· Fri - - -COOK

· Sat - - -Go out to dinner with friends

So for the week above, I need 3 regular cooking meals, 1 Easy Cook meal (something like boil pasta and add sauce, or a pre-made freezer meal) and 1 day where I pack my lunch and my family eats leftovers.

Scan the Ads

Then, I glance over the local adds (online) for meat that's on sale. This will probably be the main course of my 3 COOK meals. (looking for meat $2 or under)

For example....This week, I found boneless skinless fresh Chicken Tenders for $1.79/lb at Village Marketplace, my COOK meals reflect and are planned as such: Pineapple Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Chicken with Artichokes and Chicken Parmesan. Also Boston Lettuce is 2 Heads for $1.00...thus, Lettuce Wraps and side salads are planned with each meal.

Adventuring out to new places:

Discover your neighborhood - Do not be totally satisfied with your big chain supermarkets! Venture to places that attract immigrants or local ethnic groups; these smaller markets tend to have fresher and cheaper produce than Jewel and Dominick's. Shop fresh items (meat, produce, and even some cheeses) at these local Grocery stores and save the commercialized items and your coupons for Jewel.

Some of Chicago's cheaper alternatives: (for north side)

Food4Less, Main Street & McCormick (Takes coupons, Kroger store brand, great produce & Mexican food section)

Village Marketplace, two locations in Skokie and Carol Stream (amazing produce sales, best meat & deli counter with great prices, Kosher products, friendly staff that remembers you)

Marketplace on Oakton (fresh produce, more meat and fish selections)

Aldi - opening up all over Chicago! Great prices especially on dried goods, great food!

Strack & Van Til, on Elston/Bucktown, (has a devoted following for their meat and deli counter, has much better prices than Jewel & Dominick's).

Save your coupons for the "Super-Markets", Jewel & Dominick's! Always match sales, coupons and rebates together and use your customer cards to get "preferred savings". At the supermarket chains, only shop for the coupon/sale items that are the American "commercialized items", (Like freezer items, soda, cereals, crackers, and cookies). This will save you immense cash throughout the year!

$$ Tip: Buy your Sunday Paper at The Dollar Tree (for only $1) and clip coupons for your week from the coupon inserts! The paper coupons are usually the best during the first week of every month. Are you even more (maybe shamelessly) frugal? Pick up coupon inserts from Starbucks or any fancy coffee shop on Sunday morning; many coffee drinkers buy the Sunday paper to read and discard and toss aside the coupon inserts! Also don't forget to log on to Coupons.com, Smartsource.com, and redplum.com to select and print online coupons. Most sites will let you print 2 coupons per computer.