Introducing Ten Minute Savings!

Last week, during my September & October Budget Update, I told you I wanted to introduce ya’ll to my second blog, and that is just what I’m going to do today!

Ten Minute Savings is a Realistic Couponing blog based on the premise that you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to Couponing – or even saving money through store sales.  I don’t have 10+ hours a week to dedicate to couponing – and neither do you! With that in mind, I only post the best 5 deals from 2 drugstore and 5 grocery stores – complete with a free printable shopping list – so that you can save money in only 10 minutes a week!

I also post a tip of the week – from how to purchase a discounted newspaper subscription, to how to read a coupon – so that beginners and seasoned savers alike can get information quickly!

Finally, I post 2-3 Freebies & Deals each week – anything from FREE 16×20 photo prints from Shutterfly, to Dryer Sheets at Target, to great deals found on Amazon.  All of the Freebies & Deals take less than 10 minutes to complete  and save tons of money!

Aldi is hands down my favorite place to shop.  Why?  Read on and find out! (All opinions are my own.  This post has not been sponsored in any way by Aldi or it’s affiliates)

Why Shop At Aldi?

Whenever I tell people that I shop at Aldi more than any other store, I get a mixed bag of reactions.  There are the reactions from fellow Aldi fanatics who give me a high-five and comment on how awesome Aldi is. Usually we speak briefly about the latest deal we’ve found there (such as 6 lbs of fresh chicken legs and thighs for $1.59) and them move one, happy in the fact that we each are saving boatloads of money!

And then there’s the other reaction.  The one you get when someone thinks you’re cheap.  You know the one I’m talking about, don’t you?  Usually this reaction is followed by some sort of comment about a) how low-quality Aldi’s food is, b) how Aldi’s food contains fillers, or c) how terrible their meat is.  There was a time when I agreed with these people, and there was also a time that I was embarassed about shopping at Aldi, but no more!  Why, because none of those things are true!  Read on to find out why!

I grew up on Aldi food.  Each Wednesday, my mom would load us up in the car for shopping day and Aldi was the main place we shopped.  In the 23 years I’ve been going to Aldi, I can tell you they have made huge strides as far as what products they offer, the quality of their products, and their business/marketing model.  I remember dirty floors especially from shopping with my mom when I was younger.  Although I cannot remember specific products, I know for certain that Aldi did not have an organic or gluten free line, or the quality and variety of produce and meat that they do now.  Of course, once I started school I no longer shopped with my mom each Wednesday, so I essentially did not set foot in an Aldi store until I started college (although I was still eating plenty of Aldi food).

Imagine my surprise when I started shopping for myself during college and found myself in this mecca of affordable food!  I was shocked to find impeccably neat stores, a huge variety of food, great prices, and cashiers that were far friendlier and more efficient than in any other store I shopped at!

Aldi Means:

Consistent Selection: Every single basic kitchen staple can be found at Aldi – at an impossibly low price.  However, because the physical size of an Aldi store is far smaller than your Walmart or Schnucks, they carry only basics and staples that appeal to everyone, not specialty items that might only be bought once or twice a year.

Aldi carries canned and dry goods, frozen items, fresh meat and produce, dairy products, beverages, and even household goods such as toilet paper and paper towels.  Since we are not fancy people, this encompasses nearly every grocery we buy on a regular basis.   Additionally, Aldi has a “special buys” section tailored to in-demand products depending on the time of year.  Some examples are dorm supplies for going back to school, Patio/Grilling supplies for summertime, and Christmas decorations and gifts around Christmas time.    Aldi also has a clearance section, where food and former special buys alike are marked down even lower!  This year I bought a small swimming pool for a daughter at half off the already low price!  I have also found things like sidewalk chalk, BBQ sauce, and canned Rotel marked down because they were dented or the store was no longer carrying them.

Ridiculously Low Prices: I find that Aldi’s normal prices almost always beat other stores’ sales prices.  And when Aldi puts and item on sale, it gets even better!  This is because of Aldi’s business model that eliminates extra fringe costs like advertising, large amounts of staff, and large inventories.  I’ll talk about the specifics of this a bit later.

Consistency of Quality: Like I said earlier, a lot of people assume that Aldi’s low prices mean that their products are low quality. This is absolutely not the case.   I have shopped at large chain stores, and I have shopped at Aldi, and I can tell you that other than with a few exceptions, I can’t tell a difference.  (Those exceptions would be things like Aldi brand cheerios and the like that just aren’t quite like the name brand).  However to me, there are less than 10 exceptions.

A note about produce:  I have found Aldi’s produce to always be fresh and at an unbearably low price.  However, once you get it home, you generally have to use it within the week.  When I shopped at large chain stores, I could get my produce to last almost 2 weeks, but with Aldi I have to use it a bit sooner.

If you ever buy a product, try it at home, and it doesn’t live up to your expectations, Aldi offers The Double Guarantee.  It reads that “if for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with any product, we will gladly replace the product AND refund your money.”  This is completely awesome of Aldi!  I don’t know of any other stores that do this – that’s how confident they are in the quality of their products.  I have actually returned two items before.  Once was a pool that had a hole in it, and the other was milk that went bad 2 days after I bought it even though it was good according to the sell – buy date.  Those were literally the only two times I’ve had problems, and both times the return was painless and I didn’t even need my receipt!

Store Design: Virtually any Aldi you step into will be laid out the same way.  Inventory is organized in the same way no matter what store, with products being stacked in their cardboard display boxes on pallets.  If you’re visiting and out-of-town Aldi, finding your way through the store will be a piece of cake!

Business Model: This blog deals with personal finance, so it stands to reason that I would be interested in the underlying structure (business model) of the Aldi Corporation.  Founded in 1913 (more than 100 years ago!) Aldi now has more than 8,000 stores – and their business model is consistently applied to each and every store.  Their cart check-out system (which makes checkout super fast), the small footprint of their stores, hours of operation, inventory, bring your own (or pay for theirs) grocery bags, the quarter-in-the-cart system, and minimal advertising, Aldi has made really smart business decisions, which has made them super successful!

An Honest Employer: Maybe you’ve seen the signs advertising that your local Aldi is hiring.  Have you ever looked at what they’re paying their cashiers? Well I have, and in my area it’s $11-$13 an hour.  Bear in mind, this varies by region, but seeing as mine is a fairly inexpensive place to live, this is huge!  Aldi hires the best by paying their cashiers more so that they can better serve their customers.  I love the emphasis they place on hiring good people, keeping good employees, and paying them well.   It really speaks to the integrity of the company!  To make this deal even better for employees, those who work 20+ hours per week are eligible for Aldi’s full benefits package!

You Can’t Find These Things at Aldi:

Everything: Aldi doesn’t carry specialty products that are only bought once in a blue moon.  But, while I enjoy good food, I don’t usually cook with super fancy ingredients.  About 80% of my grocery shopping is done at Aldi without a problem.  If you cook with more specialty items than I do, I recommend going to Aldi first, buying everything that they carry that is on your list, and then hitting up another store for the rest.  You’ll save tons of money and you won’t have to think it though very much!

A Health Food Store: That is not to say that the food at Aldi is not healthy, but again, Aldi doesn’t carry specialty foods and included in that would be health food items or an extensive selection or organic products.  They have introduced a small organic line, and it is growing every day, but you’re not going to find a huge variety yet.

Open 24/7: Aldi has standard business hours and is open on nights and weekends, but they close at reasonable hours.  This keep their employees happy, and their prices low.  If you need milk in the middle of the night you’ll be running to CVS, not Aldi.

How To Shop At Aldi:

Plan Your Trip Around Hours and Sale Flyers: As I said above, Aldi isn’t open 24/7, and they have a new sale flyer every week.  Shopping the best deals each week allows you to save the most money! While you’re their, pick up the sale ad for next week on you way out!  That way, you can prepare for your  next shopping trip!  This is just another thing that I love about Aldi!

The Sale ad contains:

• Meat Specials: Each Wednesday, Aldi has a special meat buy day.  Basically, it’s a one-day sale on meat.  It’s almost always an amazing deal, so if you can, I would try to stop in on Wednesdays!
• New Markdowns: Each week in their ad, Aldi also lowers the price of several items in the store.  It is usually only by $0.10 – $0.50, but when you consider how low the price is already, that’s an awesome deal!
• Produce Specials:  Aldi generally rotates weeks for produce specials.  One week will be vegetables, the next will be fruit.  Either way, their produce prices are unbeatable, even by other stores’ sales!
• Weekly Special Buys: Aldi also carries a weekly special buy section that is not food or household goods.  This section is special buys related to the season, be it Christmas, Back to School, or Super Bowl.  I have purchased colanders, sidewalk chalk, a little wading pool, and even car cleaning kits from this section and have been very happy with everything!

Arriving (Carts, Bags & Boxes: Aldi has carts, but shoppers are required to deposit a quarter into them in order to release them.  Once you’re done, you simply put your cart back with the others and get your quarter back.  If you don’t want to use a quarter to release the cart you can glance around the store for boxes.  As employees remove empty boxes, they leave them in a giant bin that customers have access to for the very purpose of using them to shop or put groceries in for the drive home.  Of course, there’s the third option: bags.  At Aldi you have two options for bags, either bring your own or buy their while you’re there.  Bags only cost between $0.05 and $0.15, but if you buy bags once and remember to bring them when you shop, you can avoid that cost.  All three of these things specific to Aldi help them to keep costs low.

Pallets/Signange: Aldi makes no bones about the fact that they do not invest in fancy signage or shelving. With a few exceptions, products are stored in boxes on pallets.  They come in cases already decorated for display, and pricing is clearly displayed either above or below the products.  Their whole system is fast, easy, and simple.  Aldi designs their stores for efficiency.

Checking Out: Aldi Checkers are ridiculously fast.  This is because, as described above, Aldi can hire the best.  I say that so you don’t think that when 4 carts are in front of you the process is going to take forever.  I promise you, it won’t.  How are they so fast?  Well, other than hiring good employees, Aldi puts two bar codes on nearly every product, allowing almost every item to be scanned faster.  A couple of important points:

• Aldi does not take coupons: Aldi doesn’t carry many products that there would be coupons for anyway.  What you will find are Aldi’s house brand products at unbeatably low prices!
• You are responsible for unloading your cart onto the checkout belt.  You cannot leave items in boxes.
• If you plan on purchasing bags, make sure to grab them while unloading onto the checkout belt so they can be scanned as well.
• Aldi Does not Take Credit Cards:  You have three payment options: Cash, Debt, or EBT.
• You can get cash back from your debt card after you make a purchase.  The maximum amount differs by store.
• Swapping Carts:  After you place your items on the checkout belt, the cashier will scan them and place them into an empty and waiting cart at the end of the checkout lane.  You will need to switch your purse, child, or whatever you have with you from your first cart to the cart that your groceries are now going in.  When all of your groceries are done, the cashier will pull your now empty cart around and fill it with the groceries of the person behind you.  Amazing, isn’t it?

Aldi isn’t your average grocery store.  They have fine-tuned their business model to save you money, save them money, and be the leader in low-cost, high-quality products.

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