With food prices on the rise, I set out to see if switching grocery stores can save me money. For this money challenge I made a list of 10 common items and headed to both Target and Aldi to see which was cheaper. You can watch my little adventure in the video below.
My shopping list:
Flour Tortillas
2% Milk (1/2 gallon)
32 oz. Mayonnaise
Olive oil
Unsalted butter
2 bananas
12 oz. ground beef
Small bag of rice
Peanut butter
All purpose flour
If you’re thinking Aldi is for sure going to be cheaper than Target, well, you’re right. But I was surprised to find that both stores offered all the above for between $25-$30. (The key to keeping my Target bill so low was sticking to the store brands.) So in the grand scheme of things, I think you should shop where you like, because there’re deals to be had anywhere you go.
Aldi’s will generally always beat Target. Trader Joe’s is a good place to save money as well, and you save on generics (even organics) at HEB (although they’re not located everywhere).
I think it also depends on what products you are getting on a regular basis most of which will be priced in or around the same price anyway you buy them. What will change in cost is the sizing available as certain stores will not carry larger sizes or a certain brand name— I have that problem with getting rice, which is already expensive in the brand I prefer over other brands, plus I buy rice to restock the pantry and buying small one bag that is only one pound is not as cost effective as buying the larger 20 pound bag. I find stores stock by what sells faster on their shelf. So you do need to know this when shopping that there’s a difference between buying by impulse and purchasing by pantry needs. Right now I alternate between going to a large supermarket which offers a big variety of choices some of which will satisfy my needs and going to a smaller supermarket that has the basic items I need and can pick up when I can’t get to the larger supermarket. Neither one offers everything I want but I don’t stick to getting a specific brand name which helps tremendously as most items are interchangeable despite the name
Shopping at Target is like shopping at 7-Eleven in terms of prices. You will always have your favorite stores, but it’s wise to check out other stores once in a while, because they can have good deals. Use those websites that host all the grocery flyers (Flipp is one) in your area based on zip code to see if there is any good hunting. I shop HEB and Joe V’s for basics, The same goes for Walmart, but I like Costco for chips, cereals, and bulk deals on water and sale items. Kroger can have very good deals on frozen foods and more selection for those on vegan or specialty diets. Sharecrop Costco and Sam’s memberships by going halves with family or friends.
@sthom Good points! I find Walmart to be just about as cheap as Aldi most of the time, but yeah if sticking with generics, prices seem to be similar everywhere. Never been to an HEB.
@Scott_Sarah Agree! Although I did expect Target to be much pricier than Aldi, but that just wasn’t the case when sticking with the store brands. Another factor I didn’t include in the video is proximity. If Target is 2 miles away and Aldi is 5 miles, it’ll take more time/gas to shop. And we all know time is money. Plus there’s the psychological factor – for me, Target will always be a more pleasurable experience than shopping at Aldi.
@maria.rose True, true! We generally buy our rice in bulk as well. But for this little experiment I wanted to try to grab common items most anyone needs. Plus I have to eat everything I bought, and do it twice, so I narrowed the focus to items I know me and my family would actually use before the expiration date.
I did not need to bring home 10 lbs. of flour, however… lol!
Yikes, hadn’t heard that! Definitely something to keep in mind. I live in Minneapolis where Target is headquartered, so shopping there is pretty universal locally.
Well using a basic list of items no matter the brand or store, helps make it easier to find items based on your list. It’s only the more specific items that lock you to one market over another. I have even made a shopping trip to H-mart, which aided me in finding ramen noodles with more flavorful ingredients and to find options in the perishable foods sections of pre-cut products that gave me lots of meal changes to try without needing the standard cold cuts for sandwich needs, lowering my consumption of processed food.
It’s being inflexible in what you get that causes overspending.
That’s interesting, Will! I would have thought Target was much more expensive.
I will stick to Aldi though because I HATE grocery shopping. The stores are smaller, laid out well, and I can be in and out in 20 minutes.
I used to shop at HEB in Texas, now the best priced chain grocery store up here is Market Basket. But I still do Aldi for the prices and convenience. It’s almost 40% less than Hannaford’s which is right across the street from it.
I agree with the comments so far. Aldi’s definitely saves us money, but I found it takes some time to find which items we like from there. We love their craft cheeses for the price. I’ve found their restaurant style tortilla chips better than any brand name anywhere. They are thinner, therefore crispier. We had a not-so-good experience with bagged pears and with pork and beans. I have better luck shopping sales and BOGOS at Publix (in the South USA and which happens to also be the nearest grocer to our home) using digital and paper coupons, Fetch and Ibotta cash back rewards being a better money-saver than trying different stores.
While I think you make a great observation, Will, when I grocery shop I don’t just shop for those items. It’s meat, produce, frozen veggies, etc. While staples don’t really change that much in price, everything else does.
I have six grocery stores in a one mile radius. Yes, you read that right. I keep a price book. The prices can massively fluctuate because they are in direct competition with each other.
To shop, I check Flashfood first. That app is awesome and routinely saves me 50% on meat and produce boxes are $5. On occasion, they even have dairy my family will use quickly. Whatever is left to pick up based on sales. Finally, a trip to the cheapest grocery store based on price book fills the rest.
I’m liking that price book tip, @annieb . I live near multiple grocery stores as well. I had checked out Flashfood as based on some info found in an earlier PennyHoarder article. Unfortunately, it was not available in my area, which is pretty unbelievable for the fourth largest city in the U.S.
Ah, @dear.penny. I also live alone now and just checked my freezer: Mandarin Orange chicken, vegetable fried rice, and sweet potato fries (which I snacked on last night). What’s missing are a few boxes of the Hatch chile mac and cheese. Time for a quick trip down the street .
Hi, @mintjulep . Try Aldi’s jarred Arriba Roasted Chipotle salsa (16 oz). I’m not much of a salsa aficionado, but that jar and another one I tried, the Southwest Salsa, are really good. Earlier in the week, I cooked some jasmine rice and added the first sauce. It was a really good meal, especially after I dropped some shrimp in.
I am sorry; to each his own but I just do not understand the fascination with Aldis. We buy two weeks of groceries at a time and never eat out. So am buying 75+ items. I just don’t think Aldis can handle that. Our town is too small for a Target but since they are going “woke” I have no desire to shop there. We shop online at Walmart and get it delivered. I use their CC to get 5% back which helps. I WILL say that I have started getting some produce and meats at the Ingles or FoodCity when on sale. Several times the produce from Walmart is rotten but at least I can get a refund online. But with meats I can get exactly what I want and it may not be a family pack from Walmart. I use an app for years called Now You’re Cooking which lets me create that two week menu and spits out a shopping list alphabetically or by aisle.
All the observations were very interesting. I shop primarily at Food Lion with a little Publix and Wal Mart thrown in there. It’s not the prices, but the selection of certain items that prevent me from doing all my grocery shopping at one store.
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