Case Quarter Required

Have you ever shopped at Aldi?  Whenever my budget becomes stringent, I turn to this grocery store.

My first experience with Aldi happened when I was a child, younger than Molly. My grandpa was a carpenter and would periodically be out of work in the winter when construction was slow.  During these times, they would shop at Aldi.  (Actually, I think they became regulars year-round).  My grandpa would always have packages of iced oatmeal or sandwich cookies to hand out liberally to grandchildren.  We thought they were great.

Until my mom started buying them when my dad lost his job when I was in the sixth grade.  Then, not so great.  We wanted the Oreos and Cheez Its.  And ANYTHING but the Balsam and Protein Shampoo I can still smell if I think about washing my hair with that brown goop.  But, my parents fed hungry kids on an unemployment check for awhile thanks to Aldi, and as an adult, I remembered where Mom shopped in the lean years.

When I stopped working to stay home with preemie Molly and the full impact of one income plus diapers, formula and a mortgage settled upon us, I packed up my baby and headed to possibly the worst Aldi in the U.S.  Not clean, kind of unsafe.  I received an education at that Cincinnati Aldi. It was in that parking lot that I learned what a case quarter was.  Do you know what a case quarter is?  It's a quarter. As in, not two dimes and a nickel.  Or 5 nickels.  A quarter that fits in the slot of an Aldi cart that allows you to get it out of the rack and shop with it. You out there Alyssa?! She and I could feed a high school football team every Friday, thanks to that store.

In Michigan, Aldi was a half hour drive away.  Though I needed it on a grad school salary, I settled for Save A Lot, which is similar but somehow not the same. But I also did not have a car often, so ended up at Kroger a lot since it could be biked to. 

Aldi is close to me again.  Wegmans is lovely.  Wegmans has childcare.  But Wegmans is steak and Aldi is soup.  Who's there for you when you're poor and sick - steak or soup?

Shopping at Aldi is a learned art.  Besides needing a case quarter to use a cart, you bring your own bags (not such a big deal in the green era, but 10 years ago was more unusual) or you pay for them.  You bag your own groceries.  You pay with cash.  You keep up with the speedy cashier.  You act like all the bizarre things going on around you are perfectly normal. 

There are also no brands other than Aldi brand unless they receive close-outs.  The choices are more limited.  I generally shy away from fresh produce there, but hallelujah, they just started carrying black beans!!  Canned goods prices are unbeatable.  The simplicity is actually refreshing.  I can construct an "Aldi shopping list" fast, and can whip through the store quickly enough to not get stuck with a bored and whiny preschooler(if I go on a weekday morning to avoid long lines).  I actually am pleasantly surprised if they happen to have garden seeds or something out of the ordinary that week, or start carrying something awesome like fresh mozzarella.  The apples are probably gross and they don't carry whole wheat flour or fair trade coffee.  But they're getting there with their "Fit and Healthy" line.  

This March, I have begun seeing my old friend pretty exclusively.  And am reaping the rewards by staying on budget this month, largely due to this store I sometimes snub in good times.