Have you ever wondered what a large family buys each week and what their grocery budget is? This week on the Raising Arrows Podcast and YouTube channel I am sharing my ALDI grocery shopping budget and what we buy. This post is an elaboration of those, so you can get a good idea of what I am buying and how much I am spending each week at ALDI. I will also share what we never buy at ALDI and our system for putting groceries away.
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Currently, we shop every week at ALDI. I used to shop less frequently, but with ALDI being very close to our home, it makes more sense to shop once a week, especially considering how many fresh fruits and veggies we buy.
As for the best day for a large family to go shopping – that’s an interesting dilemma. In the past couple of years, I have only taken my 16 year old daughter and maybe one other child with me. She and I have an understanding and a shopping relationship that allows us to work quickly and efficiently. She and I can shop successfully just about any day of the week, but I have a couple of tips for you that I’ve learned over the years as to which days DON’T work well.
Tip #1 – DON’T SHOP ON SATURDAY IF YOU CAN HELP IT! It’s the day the amateurs shop!
Tip #2 – DON’T SHOP ON SUNDAY IF YOU CAN HELP IT! There’s nothing left in the store!
Stores are naturally crowded on Saturdays (and the 1st and 15th of every month due to Pay Day). If you don’t mind crowds and you aren’t taking your big family with you, you should be fine.
Stores restock late Sunday night, so often on Sundays, the selection isn’t great. ALDI produce needs to be as fresh as possible to be good, and you want to have a good amount of selection, so I recommend shopping on Monday or Tuesday if you can. That said, I almost always find myself shopping closer to Thursday or Friday. Do what works for you, but be aware that the selection at ALDI goes downhill pretty fast toward the end of the weekend.
Grocery Budget for a Large Family
I used to keep a much tighter grocery budget, but now that I know approximately what we spend each week, and I know how to tighten the reins if we end up spending too much, I don’t keep myself on a super tight budget. ALDI used to only take cash, but they now take debit and credit cards, so that’s typically what I use. My expenditures at ALDI waffle between $180 and $260 every week. Yes, I know that’s a pretty big gap, but here’s why…
I can almost count on a small week following a big week for various reasons.
- I didn’t end up making all of the meals I had planned.
- Someone blessed us with food.
- I bought enough meat the week before to carry over to the next week.
- We ate less fresh produce.
- We have a trip planned and need less food.
It just seems to be the way it is. One week will be closer to the $260 mark, the next week, we are back down closer to $200 or less.
Now, I don’t buy everything at ALDI, and I do include paper goods and any special buys in that number. I could separate it all out, but frankly, it all comes from my grocery budget, so there’s no reason for me to do that.
What Our Large Family Buys at ALDI
You can get my Weekly Master Grocery List
HERE
(I’ll be talking more about it in a bit.)
Most ALDI stores are set up similarly, so I’ll give you a run down of what is typically on my list in that order…
Chips – I buy a few bags of chips to go with our sandwich lunches, as well as tortilla chips for nachos (a staple in our home). ALDI often carries Blue Corn chips, so I like to buy those as well. They have an organic salsa I really like near there too.
Snack items – I keep a few boxes of crackers on hand because they are easy snacks. I also love that ALDI carries large peanut butter containers! I get my maple syrup and often my honey there too. I don’t usually buy any of the prepackaged snacks they have for a couple of reasons – not super healthy and never enough in the box to make it work my while. It’s easier to whip up something from scratch at home, or buy a bag of apples.
Baking – I buy our cooking spray, organic sugar, and chocolate chips there, as well as brown sugar and powdered sugar. During the holidays there are more things I buy on a regular basis from that section, but these are the usuals.
Cereal – I buy 2-4 boxes of cereal, usually the Vitality cereal with the red berries. Sometimes we have cereal bars or oatmeal, but most of the time, my oatmeal is purchased in bulk. (You can read my post on what we buy in bulk.)
Condiments – yes. As in, if we need it, this is where we buy it. Ketchup, mustard, mayo, salad dressings, pickles, and even those packets of real bacon bits because I really like them on my salad.
Dairy – eggs, milk, butter, shredded cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt
We skip the soda and juice section. I rarely serve my kids either. We do keep lemon juice on hand for homemade lemonade.
Veggies – If it looks good and I think I can use it up that week, I buy anything that is a good price! They finally had zucchini this week, so I snagged some so I can try out my new spiralizer! (I have had a hard time finding zucchini so far this year, so I was excited!)
Canned goods – diced tomatoes, tomato paste, green chilis, beans for chili (I like to keep these on hand for an easy meal). I buy 4 large cans of soup for one of our lunches for the week, and I keep canned chicken and cream of chicken and mushroom on hand for the rare occasion I need it.
You can see what’s on my Master Weekly Grocery List HERE!
Pasta – I buy rice and some pasta, but we don’t eat a lot of pasta. I buy parmesan and pepperonis and sometimes spaghetti sauce if I’m needing some convenience in my life.
Baby – I buy diapers and wipes and baby food. I don’t buy Mercy’s specialty formula from ALDI because I get it in a bigger size at WalMart.
Paper goods – I buy sponges, dishwasher detergent and dishwashing soap, trash bags, storage bags, aluminum foil, etc. I also buy 3 things of paper plates because that’s the season I’m in. We also buy a big thing of paper towels as needed.
Specialty Buys – I always look over them, but only buy something once a month or so. This last week it was water balloons and sidewalk chalk.
Fruit – I buy whatever looks good and is a good price. It varies greatly from week to week. Some weeks there isn’t anything decent there. Some weeks there is an abundance.
Other refrigerator items – I will buy sausage on occasion, bacon, hot dogs, and butter salad mix (because it makes an easy lunch for me).
I rarely buy meat from the fresh case. And I never buy anything from the special freezer case unless it’s time for ham or turkey.
Deli case – I buy hummus…lots and lots of hummus…cheese, deli meat, and sometimes some specialty cheeses or fresh salsa for something special. Oh, and cheese sticks – easy snack!
Freezer case – I buy the 85/15 ground beef, the fajita chicken (for my salads and our fajita nachos). I buy frozen chicken breast and sometimes shrimp for special occasions. I also keep on hand a couple of bags of chicken nuggets and 3 frozen pizzas for nights when I need the kids to cook something quick or when a grandparent is watching them. I buy our frozen veggies here and our frozen berries for smoothies as well.
Bread – I usually only buy 4 loaves of bread and nothing else. Sometimes bagels if we are having bagel sandwiches.
And sometimes I buy myself some flowers…because sometimes I NEED flowers.
What I Do Not Buy at ALDI
I do not buy our tea or coffee from ALDI. I don’t buy bananas from ALDI because they never ripen. I don’t buy any pet products from ALDI, and I don’t buy our toilet paper from there because a certain someone in our household is particular about the toilet paper.
Our ALDI Shopping Routine
Prior to shopping, I have gone over my Master Grocery List to see if there is anything on the list that needs to be replenished. This list contains all of the things I like to keep on hand at all times. I like to have a well-stocked pantry that can be pulled from in a moment’s notice to make a meal on the fly. (You can download a copy HERE. It’s not going to be the same as your list, but it’s a start!)
From there, I look at my calendar and decide what special meals I want to make, and what I need to buy for any events we are going to. I make my list on Google Keep based off of my menu for the week (that I put together on Evernote – you can read more about how I do this in this post.)
As I said earlier, I usually take my 16 year old daughter with me to shop. She grabs the ALDI bags from their place in the laundry room closet. We take the smaller car, and drive the few blocks to ALDI and try to find shade. (good luck with that one!) We keep a quarter in the vehicle, so we can easily grab a cart. My daughter gets the cart and throws the bags in the bottom of the cart while I head into the store and pull up the Google Keep on my phone. It syncs with my computer, my husband’s phone, my son’s phone – I love it!
Megan and I shop through the store with me directing and both us grabbing from shelves. If I forget something, she’s my runner. It takes about 30-45 minutes to shop the store. We get in line, stun the clerk with how much we’ve managed to put in ONE cart, and pay. Then, we take the cart to the ledge and dump out all of our bags and bag up all the groceries. We know which bags work best for what food, and we work quickly, loading it back up in the cart, loading it up in the vehicle and heading home.
I text my son that we are almost there, and several of the kids gather to help unload. My 12 year old daughter typically orchestrates the putting away of the groceries. Everything has a place, and she knows how to get it all stacked and put away efficiently. I do have to keep check on it all because just this past week, my 11 year old son tried to put yogurt in the pantry!
By the way…little tidbit…
IF the ALDI clerk asks for your zip code, give it! Especially if you are from out of town! They are asking in order to determine where to build the next ALDI. If you would like one nearer to you, give your zip code!
OK, that’s about it! I’d love to hear your thoughts, how much you spend and the size of your family, as well as what you do and do not buy at ALDI!
One final note…I have heard some people suggest there is a “stigma” attached to shopping at ALDI. Well, the other day, I pulled up next to a Jag. It was an older gentleman driving, and I figure if HE can drive a jag and shop at ALDI, there isn’t any stigma attached to it…or at least, there shouldn’t be.
Tina says
Your list is nearly identical to mine! The only difference is I do buy hamburger and pork from the meat case but I’m guessing you have some game in your freezer which I do not.
Also, and I do buy bananas, we just have to be patient and give them a couple Day to ripen and then eat them quickly before they are over ripe.
Emily says
I would live to have an Aldi closer! Our closest is a good 40 minutes away. So we go once a month grocery shopping and boy do I hate the produce stocking up price at Wal-Mart in the middle of the month! Aldi shopping was big life changer for us when we first started going, it cut our bill in half. Since then we added 3 kids to our family and our expecting anothwr ( our 7th). Aldi is a huge reason we can afford our larger family. I agree the produce can be hit or miss and we never like their potatoes. The heavy cream and butter prices are amazing. I don’t think their has evwr been anything we tried from there we absolutely disnt like but we do prefer Ragu spaghetti sauce. Their meat is ok but we found it’s cheaper to buy a side of beef or whole hog from the local butcher so we do that now. Their all natural and organic section has grown so much in the past year or two. Love Aldi! Just wish there was one closer but with one within 40 minutes both waya I doubt we will get one. Thanks for sharing.
Erika andrade says
I just moved close an Aldi and LOVE it! My husband loves it too because I come home with more food on the small budget we set for our family.
As far as the stigma, I’ve seen all walks of life in Aldi. And for the good quality at a low price I’m always shocked it’s not crowded when we go.
Can I ask why you don’t buy meat from the fresh case? Why only the frozen?
Amy says
There is rarely enough meat in the case to feed our family, and the price is higher on the fresh. I do sometimes buy fresh, but it’s just hard to get enough at a good enough price. Also, the hamburger is higher fat in the fresh case, and I just don’t like it.
Kristita says
May I ask where you find the best prices on fresh meat? With one teenager and one who’s 11, my hubby and I are close to vegetarianism so we can feed our kids the meat they need!
Thanks for any help! 🙂
Amy says
Look into buying a side of beef if you can afford it. I cook up what we have and then add in a lot of fillers like veggies and other sides. They eventually get full. One serving of meat is enough if that’s all I have. 😉
Laurie rogers says
We love Aldi and since moving to a major city, I have my pick of a few!!! We were without one regularly for the few years we were fulltime RVing, and I love having one again! I really like their produce section and also very rarely buy their fresh meat. Thanks for sharing more of your life!
CarOlyn says
You love hummus. We love making hummus. You may mot want one more thing to do. I understand. But if your interested, we buy either canned chickpeas or at another store dried chickpeas. With the dried I throw them in a crockpot and cook like pintos. The recipes call for tahini. We passed on that and just blended the chick peas up with added seasonings. The tahini is expensive, but if you want that flavor it lasts a long time. So overall it is much cheaper and we like it better.
CabotMama says
Our nearest ALDI is three hours one way. 🙁 We only pass it maybe once a year, on family vacation with the car already packed to the hilt. I confess I let out a whimper each time, wishing we could find some room….maybe strap to the top of the car the kid who is causing the most problems. 🙂 So glad you have an ALDI near by…..large families need the blessing! Your post has inspired me to start praying they open one closer to us.
Lorraine Salmieri says
Your trips sound similar to mine. I have a family of 10 (8 children and us parents). I have a master list that was made up almost 15 years ago (and it has been adjusted through the years) when we had to make dietary changes for my husband. I also have a meal calendar for dinners. That has been a tremendous help in planning meals–even on the fly! We buy more bread but usually use about 5-6 loaves a week unless we don’t have a lot of leftovers. I keep 10 in the freezer at all times. We do buy tea there for homemade iced tea but my husband prefers a certain brand of coffee. I also don’t get the bananas…even after waiting a week, they go bad as green bananas. I usually spend anywhere from $130 to $180 per week there. It all depends. We also get paper products there and sometimes a speciality item. But that is not the norm. Our Aldi is in the process of being remodeled so I will have to go further away to shop at another Aldi–ours is 5 minutes from our house. But I will do it because the savings are great and the products have improved a lot over the years. I don’t think there is a stigma anymore for shopping at Aldi since the Great Recession hit. People now realize what a great place it is!! When I shop there, I bring one of my 6 oldest with me (sometimes 2 of them)…they take turns coming with me. This gives us one on one time plus I get to teach them how to shop for food. It is a win-win! I love your article and thanks for the tips. Even an experienced mom can always learn something new! God bless!
Becca says
I would LOVE to be able to shop like this at Aldi, but we have too many food allergies to buy much there.
We have a similar plan for shopping and putting groceries away, though. I am starting to feel the need to rotate my younger daughter in, so that she can learn the shopping portion before my oldest gets married next year.
Amy LeBlanc says
I love Aldi and shop there every week for our family of 11! I also shop at Walmart and another store where I get specialty things and most of my produce that I can’t get at Walmart/Aldi (at least that’s up to my standards!) They just started building a bigger store this week! Can’t wait!!!
Natausha Manis says
Can I say an “AMEN”! I LOVE Aldi and it saves my family SO MUCH MONEY on our grocery bill!! We are blessed that our store has a wonderful produce department, but I have lived in other cities where it sounds like your produce department. We are a family of 6 and spend about $200 every two weeks there. I get almost everything we need EXCEPT NO FRESH MEAT! Unfortunately, the fresh meat section at our store isn’t very good. It looks nice in the package but is pretty YUCK after cooking it. I have to go to another store about once a month and stock up on meat for the freezer. Oh…and I don’t get diapers and wipes there either….I’m kind of picky about diapers and wipes. I do get their toilet paper….but only a certain one….it’s called Soft and Strong…but only in the 12 pack. Something about it changes in the 24 pack and it’s not as good?? Weird….but true…. Anyway. thanks for sharing! I’d like to second what you said about the STIGMA…. I think it’s so petty to pay double or triple for the same quality else where just to “feel” like you are in a nicer store?? I have to say, our Aldi is very clean, prices are great, and the quality is top notch on most all things….. so I feel no stigma shopping there.
Karyn says
Lol — as if there isn’t already a stigma to having a large family and homeschooling and being Christian, etc! Your list is similar to my Aldi’s list as well. The closest one is still nearly an hour away, so I only go once a month and then shop at the local grocery store for fresh produce as needed. I do buy their meat (whole chickens, ground beef, pork) as well as their coffee (I’m not a picky coffee drinker). I generally avoid their chocolate chips but I like their chocolate bars okay. My only issue is that I carefully pack everything into one cart (which is hard to do) but the cashier always puts it into two carts — I pretty much have to admit that I’m going to have to take an older kid with me but I so love that alone time. My family then meets me when I get home and we all just work together to unload. Still….it takes me a few days to fully unload, as I like to stock and organize my shelves on my own so I just have the kids put everything near the shelves.
MELISSA WEbb says
I love Aldi. One thing I would add is that our local Aldi gets trucks Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and I think Saturdays. That can help with knowing when to shop. For example, Thursday evenings the shelves can be bare in spots. I try not to go the second day after a truck. We tend to go on Friday mornings. Works best for us. Sometimes you can snag some great deals on fresh meat that needs to move. They mark it off by $2 or even half-price at times. I think that’s usually just before new ad day. 😉 I usually shop the ad to get the best deals on non-pantry items. I also keep a quarter in a certain spot in my car and if it’s not there, someone’s going to be in trouble, lol!
Heather rhodes says
I just began shopping at Aldi full time this past month and it has really helped to cut our grocery bill down all while allowing us to buy extra. I have a family of 5 and pregnant with member #6 currently. We spend about $150 per week on average. I liked that you mentioned buying diapers there. I used to be an avid Luvs user but I find that the Aldi diapers work just as good and they are about $9 cheaper per box. We can usually make one box last 2 weeks. I think some people do think shopping at Aldi is attached to a stigma but hey I like to go against the status quo anyway. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Tiff says
I love Aldi as well and have one right on my path into town so I usually go 1-2 times a week if I need something quick I’ve run out of. I do my big shopping every 2 weeks. I spend $200-250 there, but also do my bulk shopping at Target and Costco. I spend approx $1500 per month for a family of 12. I also do daycare for 4 children and have 1 foster child. I live in Minnesota.
Nicky says
Note on the bananas. We found the same thing. They are always green, but hubby got tired of wasting them and decided to eat one anyway and he said it was the BEST tasting banana. Super sweet and yummy. The skin was a darker green after sitting for days waiting to ripen but the banana inside was ripe. Everyone loves them now that we have got over the green skin.
Amy says
No way?! OK, now I’m going to have to try it. lol
Kbh says
Love the grass fed ground beef and Kerry gold butter prices! Very tasty brie cheese as well! Between these items and the fun weekly special aisle, I would gladly wear an Aldi logo tshirt!
Rebekah K Royston says
Hahaha! I’ll wear one too! Jesus loving, Homeschool Mama, Aldi Shopper! LOL
Mom Maria says
I loved the fact that you are very real about your list and cost estimate. It’s frustrating to read posts titled “Feed your family for $60.00 per week” and breakfast and lunch items and snacks are not included. My sister works for a major meat company and she knows who supplies the pork to the Aldis in our area and says they are good, so I do purchase meat. I also love the fact that I can get organics for the price of regular food at other stores. I think the banana issue is funny – the Aldi’s in our area used to be terrible, only selling hard, green bananas, but they have improved greatly. The lesson learned is to check their produce over and to be flexible with what you purchase.
Christina says
Family of 9, budget $150, spend $75-$150 per week. Do not by produce at ALDI.
Lisa says
Hi Amy! I love you to death and feel like I know you even though we never met. I LOVE the way you write!! Seriously, I think we are twins sometimes…
I just downloaded your Master grocery list. But this is how my brain works- the first thing I noticed is that “deoderant” was misspelled. (should be “deodorant”) See, it has the word “odor” in it. LOL. That is just a glimpse of how my strange brain works… Please don’t hate this grammar queen. I annoy everyone with this character flaw of finding errors in writing.
Thanks for putting this out for us! If you ever visit Idaho please let me treat you to lunch 😉
Amy says
I knew I should have checked the list over better! I usually catch things like that!
Melinda Johnson says
I love Aldi’s! And they have a great gluten free section now! Even a lot of their regular stuff is free from dyes and nasty ingredients. Great tips though!
Arianne says
Hi Amy. I’m reading all the way in Australia! I’m a mom of 6… with 3 littlies under 3. We have ALDI here too…but in our state only since last year. I think I spend about $200 AU$ per fortnight but I think that’s because I buy all my fruit and Veg from our local green grocer. It keeps my bills low because they buy produce from local growers and in season so I get the best quality. It’s winter here so we are buying loads of citrus, apples, quinces and winter veg. Do you do any preserving? I try to do things like chutneys and jams too when fruit is cheap in season…esp if they’re selling lightly bruised fruit at really low prices. It saves a ton…but storage can be tricky! ? I love your posts…keep them coming! ?????
Amy says
I do enjoy canning a lot!
Danica says
I wish we had aldi. We have Trader Joe’s and Winco. That’s where I get the majority of our stuff and then Costco.
Monique says
That older gentleman can probably afore the jaguar because he is frugal with his money can can spend his money on things that truely matter to him. Wealthy people are usually good with their money because that’s how they became wealthy. Thanks for all your tips
Sarah says
We go to Walmart because it’s on our side of town and neither of us really want to drive throygh town.. We live out in the country.
I wish they had an Aldi’s near us. Even in town.
Tami Lewis says
Thank you…I so enjoyed this post. I am redoing my grocery routine and gleaned some ideas from you.
Diana says
This was fun to read! I have never seen an Aldi, but it sounds like fun. I hope they come to Arizona!
Wendy says
I have a few tidbits to share 🙂 As a mom of six and an Aldi fan for about 7 years now…here it is.
1. Check with your Aldi to see when there shipment comes in so you know when to get the best supply of goods. (Ours is on Wednesday)
2. I find for our family that the ground turkey is much cheaper (and healthier) than the ground beef. I also feel like I get more bang for my buck with the ground turkey b/c the ground beef seems to cook down a lot and leave me with less meat.
3. If the fruit/veggie supply is low or no longer good when you go, simply pick up the Aldi sale ad and take it in to Walmart with you…they will price match Aldi’s sales.
4. When strawberries are on sale I buy as many as I can at Aldi. (Sometimes they have a limit ) At home I cut the stems off and freeze them whole for smoothies. It’s a whole lot cheaper than buying them frozen. I try to take advantage of that during the summer so I will have some during the winter (hopefully!)
Price compare, price compare, price compare! I have found that where we live eggs are cheaper in the 5 doz. box at Walmart (only $1.98 right now!)
Great article! I really enjoy reading your blog!
Annemarie Salisbury says
I laughed about the bananas; ours ripen just fine! I always try to buy some greener/some riper if I can, but when they get too ripe, the chickens love them! I also buy our coffee there, because I don’t like strongly-flavored coffee, and I love the German mild, also the Peruvian. (I’m of German descent and grew up in Peru, so I guess it’s showing in my coffee genes–LOL!) I’ve been pretty particular about tp–I love the red package of the “one with the bear”, and Aldi’s version is pretty good! I’ve cut back to a once-monthly run for non-groceries to Wally World. Other than Aldi, I do some shopping at Costco, and the occasional ethnic food stock up at a few other stores.
Amy says
I am seriously trying to get away from WalMart. We don’t have a Costco near here, but perhaps someday. 🙂
Lauren says
What an awesome post and podcast! So so helpful. Question… do you ever shop at bulk stores like Costco? Trying to decide if it’s worth it for a membership!
Amy says
I don’t have a Costco in the city I live in, but MANY of my readers told me they feel like it is IS worth it. If it were Sam’s, I’d say no, but they have me pretty curious about Costco!
R March says
If your business is incorporated (you have a tax ID or EIN) you should search for a Restaurant Depot in your area. Usually a much better deal than small stores, Wal-Mart, or bulk stores like Sam’s and Costco. BUT they only allow corporate customers.
Rose McCarthy says
Thank you for this. I have been shopping at Aldi’s for over 20 years. I would have to drive across town and then they built one in Urbana closer to my home. By the way I also parked next to a man driving a Jag! He told me he saves money in every way he cans!
Annemarie says
I just stumbled across this article while looking for something else on your site and had to laugh – here in Germany, where Aldi comes from, it is rather a stigma NOT to buy there 😉