For the love of (cheap) food

I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again. I. love. food. However, I do not usually enjoy grocery shopping. I don't know many people that do though. One thing that makes grocery shopping a little bit easier is spending less, right? Well, enter in ALDI.

As I've mentioned before, I have some pretty thrifty friends who have given me some great tips. ALDI is just one more tip given to me by my photographer Laura. She's always given me great advice, so when she mentioned that I should check out ALDI about the time I had bought my house, my roommate and I loaded up the car and took off.  And I wasn't disappointed.  I mean, a gallon of milk for around $2.50? A box of cereal for $1.50? Count me in! I can usually spend around $65 every two weeks on groceries and that's with me eating out maybe four times. That's only $130 a month for groceries - I think that's pretty good!

I will say that ALDI isn't for everyone. Not everybody likes shopping there (although I have no idea why?! :), but I think if you have one in your area, you should at least try it out once. Click here to see if you have an ALDI near you.

Here are five tips for your first trip to ALDI:

1. Take a quarter. You'll need it for the shopping cart (which is what we in the South call a "buggy"). Don't worry, you'll get it back when you return the cart.
2. Also take shopping bags. You can purchase plastic or paper bags at checkout, but why not save money and help the universe?
3. Be sure to check the prices well when you're shopping. It's sometimes hard to tell which price belongs to what item.
4. Don't buy something just because it's cheap! Only buy what you really need. I made that mistake the first time and ended up spending more than I usually did on groceries and had way too much cheap junk food in my pantry.
5. Don't expect to find absolutely everything on your list. They do have most of the necessities, but not some of the more rare items like certain produce. And certainly don't expect "name brand" items, you won't find many of those at ALDI!

{photo: Amy D. at To Do!}