the Aldi project: the results!

Sorry to have kept everyone hanging! In retrospect, this was not the best project to take on a week before Thanksgiving…but the results are finally in!

You may want to get caught up with this:

the Aldi project: the proposal

and this:

the Aldi project: the list

So here we go on the results!

I bought everything Great Value at Walmart other than a few things that didn’t come in a generic brand (GoGurt and Tostitos salsa). I bought one name brand at Aldi since they had it and I knew Walmart did (Pepperidge Farm Goldfish).

After eating on Great Value for a week, I was fine with most of it but do not think that most Aldi is equivalent to a generic brand. Fit and Active, Casa Mamita…these are just better quality to me than Great Value.

I digress. I’m letting my bias show! Aldi fan for liiife.

Anyway…I had fun. I think I’d like to repeat this project a variety of ways!

Aldi vs name brand at Walmart.

Walmart name brand verses it’s own generic Great Value.

Aldi vs Ruler.

Who knows, maybe this is my future niche, ha!

Without further ado:

• Goldfish = $1.66 Walmart/$1.78 Aldi (of course I was shocked)
• Fruit snacks = $1.48 ($2.96 for 2 10 packs) Walmart/$3.29 for 24 pack Aldi
• Peanut butter = $1.18 at Walmart/$1.29 at Aldi
• Salsa = $3.98 at Walmart/$1.89 at Aldi
• Tortilla chips = $2.00 Walmart/$1.49 Aldi
• Loaf of wheat bread = $.88 Walmart/ $.79 Aldi
• Sweet rolls = $2.50 Walmart/$1.99 Aldi
• Strawberries = $1.98 Walmart/$2.29 Aldi (disbelief!)
• Grapes = $1.88/lb or $3.76 Walmart / $1.79/lb or $3.58 Aldi
• Milk x2 = $4.92 Walmart / $4.42 Aldi
• Shredded cheese = $1.74/8oz Walmart / $2.59/12oz Aldi
• Sour cream = $1.14 Walmart / $.89 Aldi
• Butter = $2.53 Walmart / $2.29 Aldi
• Yogurt tube = $3.94 Walmart / $1.49 Aldi
• 2 lbs 80% lean ground beef = $7.56 Walmart / $5.58 Aldi
• Onion =  $1.28/lb Walmart / $1.69/2 lbs Aldi
• Can black beans = $.54 Walmart / $.57 Aldi
• Can kidney beans = $.54 Walmart / $.55 Aldi
• Can chili beans = $.54 Walmart / $.55 Aldi
• Can tomato sauce = $.92 Walmart / $.25 Aldi
• Chili seasoning = $.74 Walmart / $.28 Aldi
• Tortillas = $1.98 Walmart / .$79 Aldi
• Taco seasoning = $.30 Walmart / $.22 Aldi
• Ham = $5.97 Walmart / $3.99 Aldi
• Swiss cheese = $1.84 Walmart / $1.99 Aldi
• String cheese = $2.84 Walmart / $2.35 Aldi
• Pop tarts = $2.48 Walmart / $2.75 Aldi
• Juice boxes = $2.48 Walmart / $1.99 Aldi
• Frozen pizza x 2 = $5 Walmart / $4.38 Aldi
• Muffin mix = $1.98 Walmart / $1.99 Aldi
• Apple sauce squeeze = $4.98 Walmart / $5.39
• K cups = $4.47 Walmart / $4.29 Aldi

Grand total:

$81.61 at Walmart vs $69.67 at Aldi 

My estimates were for a steeper savings–I thought the Aldi total would come in at $68 (hey that was pretty close!)  and Walmart would be $92.

Turns out the difference was not over $20 like I guessed, but exactly $11.94 for about a week’s worth of food.

It’s worth noting that the Aldi groceries yielded a bit more for a few items–more cheese, more onions, and more fruit snacks–because there was nothing comparable. But I didn’t get that picky and do a price per unit or ounce or anything, I just left it as is.

So, there you have it! If you are looking to save roughly $48 a month on groceries, Aldi may be worth a shot! $48 a month…$576 a year…that’s some serious Christmas shopping

As you probably noticed, there are some items Walmart had that beat Aldi but what was really shocking was the name brand prices. Great Value items that cost $2-3 were easily $4-5 if name brand.

I personally prefer to stay out of there because you are  bound to pick up some name brand over Great Value when it’s right in front of you or if you aren’t playing attention.

You can mindlessly walk through Aldi and put items in your cart knowing they are all a pretty good deal. On the flip side, it was work at Walmart to compare brands and sort through until I found the cheapest. I was there over an hour!

I hope you enjoyed my little project! I really think I will do it again sometime if anyone is interested in reading more comparison results.