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Community Corner

Streamlined Grocery Shopping With Built-In Savings

Eight miles from Parsippany is the promised land: a grocery store that only carries the essentials.

Do you ever feel like the grocery store is just too much--too many aisles, too many foods to pick from? You dread going, because you just want to get in, get out and be done with it. Sometimes you may prefer something smaller than the grocery store, but bigger than the local convenience shop. 

Well, I found the answer! Aldi on Route 46 East in Rockaway. It’s a bit of a hike, more than eight miles each way from my house on the eastern side of Parsippany, but it is the perfect solution to finding a middle ground between too much and not enough selection.

Aldi is my sweet escape from the feeling that I “must” collect coupons. I have coupons coming out of my ears. They come in the newspaper, the mail and magazines. But I have two young kids, I work and I sometimes don’t have time to clip them.

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Quick facts about Aldi

  • It’s BYOB: Bring your own bags. They won’t give you any. Not one.
  • No coupons: They don’t accept them. Also, their prices are so low, you probably don’t need them.
  • No credit cards: Make sure you bring your bank debit card.
  • Carts cost you: Bring a quarter to unlock your cart (you’ll get it back).
  • It’s Aldi's way or the highway: Aldi mostly carries its own name brand products. I swear, though, you’ll like it! Here’s news of a taste test someone did a while back comparing the store brand to others.
  • Hello healthy food: The market carries its own line of calorie-counting foods under the tagline “Light & Fit.” You can easily spot the white packaging throughout the store.

What is Aldi?

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Spanning 31 states, Aldi bills itself as a “discount store.” About 95 percent of its products are generic and carry the store's name, but Aldi partner with national producers, so you’re probably getting the name anyway). They carry snack food, cereals, canned goods, breads, fresh meat, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as frozen goods (their frozen seafood prices are notoriously low).

A typical grocery store carries around 30,000 items, Aldi carries only around 1,400. It sells only the most popular items and sell a lot of them, which keeps prices low. That means less selection is available. For instance, on a recent trip, I picked up the gallon of whole milk that I wanted, but noticed that the half gallon of nonfat milk was limited to lactose-free nonfat milk.

Can I check out the prices before I go?

Yes. Here is a link to the special buys this week. Here is a link to the sales flyer.

Some deals worth mentioning: 55 cents for a 14.5-oz can of Fiesta diced tomatoes, $1.49 for Kraft flavored mayonnaise, 99 cents for Texas Toast croutons, red or green grapes at 99 cents/pound, $2.99 for a pot of garden mums.

So, how much do you spend?

I normally spend around $200 a week on my family of four people, one dog and two cats. This week I spent just over $157 at Aldi.

Part of that is due to selection: I wasn’t able to buy the deli meat I get at the grocery store, so instead I bought prepackaged frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts for under $2 per pound and made sandwiches out of them.  But I also saved money. The limited selection forces you to streamline your buying and avoid some of those impulse buys.

How do I get there?

Here is a map from Parsippany to Aldi.

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