I have shopped at Trader Joe’s for 13 years, but Aldi has better deals

Vaseline4 weeks ago

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I have shopped at Trader Joe’s for 13 years, but Aldi has better deals

My family moved from the suburbs of Washington, DC to Richmond, Virginia 13 years ago. With Trader Joe’s less than a mile from my doorstep, shopping with my 1-year-old daughter in tow was, frankly, relaxing.

Fragrant flowers, $1 cards, and paired tastings were my weekly Nirvana. With daughter no. 2 on the way and pregnancy cravings growing, my trips became even more frequent.

But now I’m switching careers from emergency management and homeland security consulting to education. I am excited to work with the students, but my hourly consulting rate now is what I make for a full day of teaching.

Plus, my daughters are now just a moment away from driving cars and going to college. With less money coming in and expenses increasing, we needed a better deal.

This is why I, a loyal shopper, started switching Trader Joe’s to Aldi.

My teacher friends swear by Aldi – and I saw why on my first visit

I didn’t know what to expect at Aldi so the selection surprised me.

Katrina Kernodle Walsh

A friend of mine told me she started shopping at Aldi after quitting her lucrative job at a bank to teach middle school math. She said Aldi had the best deals and was a favorite among her teacher friends who wanted lower-priced items that were still high quality.

So once I changed careers, I did the same thing.

Three weeks ago, I picked them all up at Trader Joe’s and headed to Aldi to get olive oil, lemons, and coffee.

At first, I was a little lost. I needed a quarter just to use my shopping cart, and there was no one in a bright floral shirt that I could ask for help finding things. In general, my Aldi seemed to be more limited in staff.

But it wasn’t long before I found the lemons.

Although the products weren’t displayed with weird signs like Trader Joe’s, the bare-bones layout still had a wide variety of products.

As I continued to scan the aisles, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of organic products available at Aldi at a reasonable price.

Even the generic brand coffee cups I found were certified fair trade, 100% Arabica and organic. They were also cheaper than the ones I had bought before.

After looking at my receipt I was immediately converted to Aldi

I’ve been loyal to Trader Joe’s for over a decade, but after one shopping trip, I’m a convert to Aldi.

So far, I’ve been back to the store five times in a month. My weekly cart of quality meat, fish, fruit and vegetables cost just $100 – a feat I haven’t achieved anywhere else.