ALDI - The good and the bad?

[my2boyz]

Hi guys,

We are trying to save as much money as possible at the moment so we can have our xmas holiday :o

So, thought we would give ALDI a try seeing as though its apparently cheaper and a $ saver.:yelclap:

Can anyone let me know about what items are worthwhile and which to steer clear of?
Also what extra items do you find you need to get from the major chains that they dont stock.

Any replies would be great :thumbsup:

Cheers
Em

[babytoo]

i love aldi but yes every week i do 2 shops! Most of their stuff is fantastic...the meat, the fruit the veges, even their chipss, biscuits, frozen foods! I havent really found fault with anything and some of the stuff is better than brand names! Its great but i always get sucked in to buying their extra's every week...new dvd player and anything else that hits that damn magazine!! have fun!

[MumOfTwoBoys]

I agree. Well, almost. I found their sardines in tomato sauce too sweet (but that is just me). Salmon in lemon and dill sauce - much more sauce than salmon. Also many of their biscuits contain lots of preservatives and colours. Otherwise - dairy is fantastic, frosen beans and peas, rice, nappies, wipes, cleaning stuff... - I am happy with all that.

[tickle]

I've found that for the money these are my favourites:
Mamia nappies
Wipes
Pasta (.69c each, can't get better than that!)
Fabric softener (also 69cents)
Sponges
Cleaning stuff
Cheeses
Juice
Toothbrushes are great too

The only bad I've come across so far is the tomato pasta sauce type stuff.

[FourAngelKisses]

I buy pretty much everything from there, haven't found anything I haven't liked yet.
We go to woolies first, then Aldi, it saves us over $100 a week.

[rynosmum]

I agree with a lot so far, I travel for ages to get to an ALDI and love:

Mammia Nappies
Mammia Wipes
Bread with no preservatives (no nasty 282)
Milk
Crumbed Chicken fillets
Chocolate (it's all made in either Switzerland or Germany)
Almond Biscuits from Holland (Yummo)
Pasta

:thumbsup:

[shed]

Their chocolate wheaten biccies are nice.

I have heard good things about their disposable nappies but haven't tried them.

[TwoBlue]

The mamia nappies and wipes are awesome
The pancake shakes are great too
and so are their lollies :o

hehe

I find their fruit and veg great and the meat.
I also get all my dairy... cheese, yoghurt and milk

[FourAngelKisses]

I use the Mamia nappies.....they are great. Sometimes if I'm runoff my feet, Matthew will be in his from 6pm through till 11am and it will only be half full even though he drinks like a fish.

[Milliner]

I second the nappies!!

[Tristans_Mum]

Yep the nappies are great!

[Jacki]

We've started shopping there recently. We go in with our shopping list and get what we can and then anything else we get from Safeway. So far we have bought:

Milk
Yogurts
Cheese
Margarine
Bread
Muesli Bars/Oven Baked Bars/Jaffa Cakes
Pasta Sauce
Fruit/Veggies
Noodles
Meat
Olive Oil

No complaints so far:thumbsup:

It's just a pain to shop in 2 places but the savings make it worthwhile.

[SuperWoman]

I love the nappies too. Can't fault them at all. We pretty much buy everything from there except shampoo, washing powder and other odds and ends. I find their stuff great value for money!!:thumbsup:

[Rainbowbrite]

There is nothing that they sell that I would buy anywhere else. I love Aldi :thumbsup:

[Seekrit]

Another Nappy fan here! :D

Also the $2 frozen crumbed fish things! Can't go wrong! :D (my husband loves them and he's an I&J fish snob)

Thier ice cream is divine :D

[Little Gorilla]

I have no probs with:-

mamia nappies & wipes
chicken skewers
mince meat
vaccum sealed lamb roast & pork roast (extra yummy)
marinated whole roast chicken
milk
cheese
pre-made salads
fetta cheese (plain & marinated)
any of their biscuits
bread
english muffins
canned tomatos
canned kidney beans
packets of chips are good too
frozen veggies
bacon
dishwasher tablets
washing detergent
loo paper
paper towels (cheap as chips)
pasta

hhhmmm you can tell I have an aldi round the corner from me:rolleyes:

what I don't like:-

frozen chips (they just don't taste as good as the brand name ones)
cold meats (like hams etc....again I think the name brands taste better)
laundry detergent (think my son is allergic to it, plus doesn't seem to smell as nice or clean as good)
toilet blue loo (doesn't last as long as the name brands)
rice (just a bit funny tasting)

That's all I can think of for now

[my2boyz]

Wow, thanks for the replies:yelclap:

Well I am going on Thursday to check it out so I will put another post up then and let you know how it went!

thanks for the tips too by the way.

Em

[QTB]

the crumbed fish is great!!!
the nappies are excellent and cheap!!

only thing iv found that has been **** was a vaccume cleaner they are selling at the moment PRO 2000 or something $99... DONT GO NEAR IT... unless you are super strong! seriously, this vaccume has sooo much suction i cant move it along the floor... hubby can - just and hes a muscley truck driver that lifts 60-70kg at a time ... seriously... iv never seen anything like it, its got so much suction that it stinks :thumbsdown: lol

other than that, i love aldi!

[Rockett]

The Aldi nappies are fantastic!!:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I'm not keen on the wipes though.

[tickle]

I honestly wouldn't buy anything out of their non-regular lines, ie vacuums, prams, tools etc. Everything we've purchased along these lines has not been the best quality. Oh I lie, my BIL brought one of those massive jumping castles, it's great. Otherwise steer clear of other things. A pram they were selling didn't meet many safety criterias.

[FourAngelKisses]

Their TV's are great!!

[jack-e]

Great thread - thanks!
I am going to give Aldi a try for sure - I spend too much money on groceries at the moment.

[pookiesossige]

Brought a memory card for my digital camera that was $120 cheaper then ones of the same capacity at Big W- it's great. But I wouldn't be buying vac's, prams, DVD player etc there.

Ok, it looks as though I'm the only one... but I don't like the Aldi nappies at all :eek: :o ... the fit is really bad and they don't have any/much stretch at the back to stop sloppy b/f poo shooting up the back, they are too low-rise and too big in the waistband and they feel plasticy.. I can't remember them being this bad on Ronan, so maybe it's just the way they fit Ariene?? Sorry!!

Everything else is fine!! Especially their version of Crunchy Nut cereal! Yummo :D

[tickle]

Emma, we went off the nappies for about a year. It seems that, depending on the build of your child, the fit can get a bit weird. Oliver couldn't fit into them properly for about 10 months (leaks etc) and we brought some to go away with on the weekend and they are perfect again. Same size, my DS just got bigger! I think nappies can be a really individual thing.:thumbsup:

[FourAngelKisses]

Just out of curiosity, did you use the nappies with the cloth like cover or the plastic cover?

[tickle]

I used the Mammia ones. I wouldn't even consider the other ones, they looked and felt terrible.

[FourAngelKisses]

Strange really. Matthews been using the Mamia ones since he was born and we've never had leaks or anything. He sometimes wears his from 6pm through till 11am and it's only half full (he runs a mile when it's time to get dressed).

[QTB]

I'm not keen on the wipes though.

me neither.. i only buy huggies wipes... they are the best i have found and nothing since has compared....

[pookiesossige]

Strange really. Matthews been using the Mamia ones since he was born and we've never had leaks or anything. He sometimes wears his from 6pm through till 11am and it's only half full (he runs a mile when it's time to get dressed).

Yeah, it's the Mamia ones that are no good at all with Ariene. But, like I said, they were fine for Ronan- and they had/have different builds.
When I was younger I could wear hipster jeans and the waistband fitted fine. Now (after having two kids) the same pair gapes at the back and just don't fit!
Same thing here, those nappies let everything go up Ariene's back, no matter how tight I do them up!

It's no biggie though. A huge box of Babylove is often $30 at Big W and that's good enough for me while I build up my modern cloth nappy stash :D

[RedPanda]

I too use Mamia wipes. They seem to be popular among bubhubbers. I also have used their cake mixes before (they're pretty good and pretty cheap). I've got some Aldi frozen vegies in my freezer, but haven't used them yet so can't vouch for their quality.

[mummyof5]

The orange and poppyseed cake mix, which sells for about $1.70 is beautiful!! My family love it!!!
Have been using their nappies for ages, the mamia ones are great.
If you want a great wipe which isn't so expensive, try the little wishes ones from Woolies/Big W. Sometimes you can buy them by the box of 6 packets for less than $20 too. They are similar to the huggies ones, but not quite as thick, so I find they actually wipe better, and therefore I use less. Also Big W sell Johnson and Johnson boxes of 6 packets for around the $21 mark too. (Can you tell we use alot of them??):o
At christmas time they have gingerbread house and train sets, that come pre cut with all the decorations inside, so all you have to do is make the icing (recipe on the back of the box), and asemble it. My kids think I am a superwoman for putting them together!!!!Make great cheap gifts too, as they sell for about $10 a pack!!!:D
I have their vacuum too, it has strong suction, so I have to open the little air hole thing on the side a bit. Works fine then.
Big W is cheap for buying stuff in bulk. Coffee, tea bags, biscuits, school snacks, washing powder, it's all usually less expensive there.

[our little treasures]

Yes I love the ALDI nappies! My dd and ds have very sensative skin babylove and other brands make their bums get a rash. Great value for money and I found the fit excellent with both kids however I know someone who complained of the same thing so body shapes must be different!!

[missmum05]

We like most things from here but we do have our favorites from coles so we do two shops but it saves alot of money. I love the wipes and the other day we bought our meat there too and it was great. Dh came to aldi for the first time and he bought heaps off stuff and likes it all at first he was a bit funny on the stuff from there but now he likes it. cleaning products are great too.

[trina73]

we buy most things at aldi, and if you live near airport west shopping centre in vic you will find that coles and bi-lo matches their prices.

[FourAngelKisses]

I'm sitting here eating a pizza I made with their pizza bases....and I have to say, it is absolutely delicious!!! Will definately be buying them again (the Pepe's pan pizza bases).

[mum2bubba]

Can't wait to get my license coz then I can go to Aldis (there is one near me but you need a car to get there)

last time I went I bought a huge bottle of washing detergent for ony $1.30 and it lasted ages
also bought shampoo and conditioner for $2 each really huge bottles, that was 2 years ago and we still have them.