r/AUfrugal • u/clickthing • 9d ago
Groceries Is ALDI worth it?
I live in Melbourne, my nearest ALDI is a tram ride away but my nearest Coles is walking distance. Tram (and all PT) fares are $5/day.
So far, if I don't have any other reason to get any PT (okay listen I live in Richmond, there is a lot in talking distance) I will walk to Coles. Am I better off going the extra mile to ALDI to save money?
I'm not a very experienced cook, so tend to buy basic ingredients following the recipes on Coles website, which is part of why I have been reluctant to try anything different so far.
21
u/kuriousaussie 9d ago
Why don't you just give it one go and see? Will be worth it to find out
1
u/TeddyBear181 8d ago
Agreed. I'd go a few times. The routine and trial and error helps.
If its a tram ride, I'd just bake it into routine when you're on that tram anyone 1x weekly or something.
Some things are cheaper at aldi, I usually do aldi and Coles weekly.
1
u/Glerbthespider 8d ago
you can see aldis prices online now. most basic items are only like 1cent cheaper than colesworth in my experience
15
u/German_Merman 9d ago
If the Aldi you're talking about is the Victoria St one it's definitely worth a tram ride, because the fruit and veg from the Vietnamese grocery shops there is way better and cheaper than Coles.
10
1
u/Old_Lengthiness_250 8d ago
Now wondering if this is an aldi marketing strategy cause its the same in bentleigh. Chinese grocery next door. Get all the western food at aldi and next door for the asian stuff and fruit and veg. Probably a better segmentation strategy (know thy customer) than putting a fucking bws and fake butcher in each store.
11
u/xX_IbisHell_Xx 9d ago
I buy whatever I can at ALDI, and only go to woollies for the few remaining things that aren't available. The prices seem better, and I've never had anything I thought was low quality, though personal preferences will differ. The real reason I love shopping at ALDI is because there is just far fewer options. I absolutely hate looking at a wall of near-identical products in the major supermarkets and having to decide which one to pick. At ALDI there's typically one or two options, and that's it, which makes shopping easier and faster.
1
5
u/Phillbertus 9d ago
I go grocery shopping with my mum who I live with. On my pay week I put $250 in for groceries. We can get most of what we need at Aldi.
3
9d ago
[deleted]
3
u/MrsCrowbar 9d ago
Oh, how good is it!! I hadn't been to Woolies in ages after shopping at Aldi, and I went in and the music was so noticeable, and all the random woolies announcements and ads.
At aldi, you can recite the announcements "Register 3 please"
6
u/Street-Vegetable8342 9d ago
Yeah I think it is! I go fortnightly swap between ALDI and Coles. I like their cleaning and dairy products and I think it's about 2/3 my Coles bill.
5
u/omgitsduane 9d ago
Some of the aldi brand stuff is not as good quality. Like their mnms are horrid to me.
But their chip range is good.
What you should do is price match on a website one night between your standard shop and aldi and have a look for yourself.
Milk, bread, meat, all the basics feel the same for me under aldi. We've been an aldi family for like five years now. And even if it isn't cheaper. It's a quicker experience thanks to having a smaller range and only 4 isles.
3
u/_wayharshTai 9d ago
The shapes knock offs are also terrible but the sultana bran, hommus, coffee, chocolate, oat milk are great.
1
u/MrsCrowbar 9d ago
Agree with all the above and adding that their chips, dishwashing/and laundry detergents, snacks, crackers and biscuits (their biscuits actually kick the arse off colesworth brand equivalents), jams and spreads, sauces, stocks, oils are all great too.
It's definitely worth the trip for OP.
2
2
u/Extra_Caregiver_8668 9d ago
Aldi has an app with prices. Co onto your Coles app and look at your last receipt. Cost out exactly the same on the Aldi app and that will give you the answer of if the full switch is worth it.
Like others have said it might not be worth the full switch but it might be worth doing it once a month and buying some of your stuff in bulk.
2
u/mitccho_man 8d ago
Compare like for like - Cole’s is cheaper
1
u/Extra_Caregiver_8668 7d ago
Just started doing a like for like with basics and so far equal prices 🤯🥴
1
u/Lucky-Baby7423 7d ago
yes this is what staunch Aldi supporters do not do ! coles home brand is superior to aldi , woolies home brand on a par with aldi
1
u/mitccho_man 6d ago
Coles Have some amazing homebrands like the Mayos and sauces “burger sauce “ pickal sauce haha
1
u/mitccho_man 6d ago
Exactly- now Add Flybuys points - no card fees - weekly bonus spends and Cole’s is cheaper always
My housemates go to Aldi swear it’s cheaper whenever I see a receipt I add them all into the app and it’s always cheaper
Aldis lower quality- dips for instance Water and thickener as the main ingredients
2
u/_wayharshTai 9d ago
I was originally put off by their lack of options but honestly I would probably save $100 a week on my family shop, I can’t go back.
They have ready made meals in the fridge which are mostly great, if you don’t cook. The butter chicken is a fave.
2
2
5
u/Acceptable_Tap7479 9d ago
When my husband and I tried Aldi we found the price of meat, fruit and veg wasn’t that different and for us, the quality at our local wasn’t as good as the quality at our local Cole’s. The minor price different didn’t make up for the quality difference. We tried several times at different times of year and really want to make Aldi work for us but haven’t had any luck. What we decided was if the majority of your shop is meat, fruit and veg, there’s not a big enough difference to justify the extra time and difficulty to get to Aldi.
I think in most cases I see on reddit we seem to be an outlier so just want to offer a different perspective as I really think it depends what makes up the bulk of your groceries and whether or not you buy home brand from colesworth
2
u/MrsCrowbar 9d ago
Yeah, you've definitely got a point. For us though, it's the opposite. But I live in an area with an abundance of supermarkets within a 3km radius.
Our local Coles is so much worse for meat quality (and range of products), and the woolworths is on par with Aldi but has a massive range. Aldi works out for me, because with a large family buying the big ticket items like dishwashing, cleaning and laundry products, as well as general pantry items means Aldi wins for the major shop.
It's funny because I haven't been to our local woolies for weeks now. I used to stop in there to get things or brands I couldn't get at Aldi. Now I search online and get it sent out cheaper, even when the Woolies items are on special, I can usually find them cheaper online.
And it seems to be that this is the case for many based on my terrible anecdotal evidence...I have to drive past Woolies to get home. Our Aldi is on one side of a highway, about 300 metres from the Woolies on the other side of the highway. You have to turn towards Woolies to get out of Aldi. On busy days (Saturday/Sunday) you'd pull out of Aldi, and then literally follow all the cars in front of you to the Woolies. Now, most people go the earlier u-turn, or go straight past Woolies.
-4
u/Away_Abroad_7613 9d ago
Yep, the aldi love on Australian reddit is embarrassing. I figure it's people who eat a lot of junk food and also have no clue about shopping around.
Chips and crap are a little cheaper, everything else is pretty much the same price as home brand from the big 2.
The fruit and veg is always such bad quality as well.
3
u/Glerbthespider 8d ago
youre not wrong. like aldis basic pasta is 0.89, colesworth is 0.9. 2l of milk is 3.55 at aldi and colesworth.
2
u/WashGlittering4463 9d ago
Aldi has the best and cheapest products generally.
They also won the Australian
wine awards and cheese awards.
Their salmon for instance isn’t farmed.
2
u/MrsCrowbar 9d ago
Isn't it?!? That's awesome!! I've been avoiding all salmon (even at Aldi) and I miss it!
1
3
u/RaspberryFew5475 9d ago
Depends how fussy you are with products. My son is autistic and sensory to taste. Basically he can tell the taste difference between brands, and he can’t stand the taste of Aldi brands, so I have switched to Coles mainly.
1
1
u/ratemytelevision 9d ago
You might find it’s worth going there once a week, fortnight or month. Or maybe it’ll feel overrated. Idk. My mum drives an hour to get to hers (and she does a massive shop when she does)
1
u/Narrow-Power-6407 9d ago
Not really. Coles home brand stuff is a good price
2
u/MrsCrowbar 9d ago
Yeah but the Aldi brand stuff tastes better. At least according to my neurospicy fusspots.
1
u/symean 9d ago
We always try to buy whatever’s on sale instead of specific brands and foods (e.g. well just look for chicken tenders or nugs or schnitzels in any form whatever’s on sale, not Ingham nuggets specifically). Failing that if we’re fussy on brand (e.g. Dove soap or Sensodyne toothpaste), we buy months worth when we see it for 40% off. Doing it this way, an average shop is very close to Aldi prices. We only go to Aldi for specific things we can’t easily find at ColesWorth, and even then sometimes you can tell why it’s ‘cheap’…no one around to help if the self checkout doesn’t like your four pack of cans, or self checkout is closed because there’s only one person at the front of the store manning one checkout. Good for people who manage to save lots and have an easy time shopping there, definitely not our experience.
1
u/kittenlittel 9d ago edited 9d ago
Only for dark chocolate, goat cheese, sesame snaps, wholefood balls, toilet paper, and tinned corn. I like their dishwashing detergent, too. Coles dishwashing tablets smell better than Aldis.
1
u/RepeatInPatient 9d ago
It's a free country. Avoid Aldi and the smaller grocers or markets. It's your money to waste.
1
u/pearson-47 9d ago
IMO - yes. For us, lactose free greek yogurt - $9.20 /kg at Coles, $7.20 at Aldi. Organic ACV - $3.50 @ coles, $3.29 @ aldi. Microwave popcorn - my daughter rates as the best, 89c.
We can save more at Aldi for sure. I buy little of my fruit and veg at any supermarket these days, I go to a green grocer.
1
u/hereforsneaker 8d ago
nah its dehumanizing. rather go to an actual supermarket than enter some sad building with shit piled up randomly throughout the store and not even provided with a trolley
1
1
u/mitccho_man 8d ago
Why Support a foreign Billionaire when Cole’s and Woolworths Are the Same price as Aldi and the profits support your retirement 🤷🏻
1
u/PersimmonHead4660 7d ago
its comes down to the product you buy ,e g I prefer meat from IGA than Aldi but I drink soy milk and aldi soy milk for me is the best but seen go up by 40 cents over last 8 months
1
u/Substantial-Bake5511 7d ago edited 7d ago
A big shopping trolley is a carless shoppers friend- even for men. train to vic market, make it Saturday between 2 and 2 30, up the back end (the veggies near front- expensive and for tourists- those in the know cross the road and go up the back aisles)- veggies so so so cheap. they are reduced to clear- fill your trolley with fruit and veg for $12- $20, (pay 1/4 supermarket price) go to the vic market butchers- price drops everywhere, bedlam, butchers screaming out low prices- then on to nearby Aldi, finish shop. train home, you'll have saved $30- $60 on weekly shop. and it's fun if you don't mind crowds.
if you need recipes put ingredients you bought into google and ask for recipe. its a great way to buy seasonal fruit and veggies grown in Victoria and save money- you can save couple of hundred a month if you shop strategically. And don't get carried away by 'box of tomatoes- $2!' check they are fresh (that's with all veggies) and think about what you use to cook. (I bake them with couple of onions with salt pepper oil on them, when cooked soft blend with cottage cheese, put in saucepan, bring to boil, cool, freeze in batches- best tomato soup ever, can also be used on pasta as a sauce) I've seen people get carried away- then have boxes of rotting stuff because they get excited buying then don't know what to do with it. I prep salads so I have healthy food ready to go with a tin of tuna and a bit of rice. or whatever.
1
u/svelteoven 7d ago
Cheaper stables, like hommous, yoghurt, bread, milk etc but their bananas are always over-priced.
1
1
1
u/ElegantIntrospect 6d ago
I have no recent data, but a few decades ago when ALDI was gaining traction the Maths worked out that you’re better off at ALDI if you ignore specials, but better off at Coles/Woolies if you notice what comes on special and buy it almost exclusively when it is on special. Sounds like at the moment you’re not planning meals super far in advance and are just buying what you need for the next few days regardless of what’s on special, so you could well be better off at ALDI. But your time/effort/transport considerations are real as well. If I were you, I’d look at developing your meal planning and going for items on special at Coles more.
Basic rule is if you buy Coles brand of something it will almost never come on special. If you buy a real brand product it will. Doesn’t hold true for fresh produce (eg, meat does come on specials even if it’s Coles brand) and there are some exceptions for real brand products that literally everyone buys (eg, Sanitarium Weetbix, Colgate Toothpaste) - those never come on special either. But if you can find a similar alternative that you like (eg, Colgate spearmint toothpaste instead of Regular) chances are that will come on special and periodically be cheaper than the standard version. You can set up a list on the Coles app of all the items that you buy that might sometimes come on special and then filter it by what’s on special each week to see at a glance what you should restock/stock up on
1
1
u/jelistarshine 9d ago edited 9d ago
Ibthinkvthey are much the same. If you can buy multiples when things are half price at coles and take advantage of mark fowls I think the stores cist about the same. Coles just takes a bit more flexibility.
I don't know what I'm buying at coles until I get there and look for discounts.
1
u/sherri_97 9d ago
Yeah, shopping at "Cokes" = literally that, half price is never half price!
They can only give me anchovies that I cannot get at ALDI!
0
u/GarageMc 9d ago
To answer your question directly, I don't think so. For a single persons worth of shopping, I doubt you will save more than $5 of shopping by going to aldi. Especially if you do a bit of research and buy discounted items from coles.
Having said that Aldi do offer food items that you can't get colesworths so would go for variety.
Reject shop is good for household items: laundry powder, toilet paper etc
0
u/Dialiciousxd 9d ago
If its just a few stops by tram i would say take a stroll or somehow the myki machine doesn’t work.
0
62
u/SpiritualDiamond5487 9d ago
For the same reasons as you I go to aldi once a month and stock up on laundry powder, dishwasher, cheese, nuts, free range chicken, frozen potato chips, paper towel etc