Aldi-licious

I've talked about Aldi before and I'm going to again because I'm just amazed at te savings. It was a great weekend here in Howell because a new Aldi opened up less than 6 miles away from my house. I was so happy and so was our budget. I have talked before about monthly meal planning and since moving it has been somewhat difficult since the only stores close are Mejeir and Walmart and I was use to the prices at Aldi. I still ventured the 60 miles round trip to go to Aldi about once a month, but it was getting old- quick! My monthly meal planning has saved us so much money. I simply go through my pantry and see what I've got on hand. I then go through recipes and make a list of meals. From that I decide what is needed from the store and head out to Aldi and get whats on my list.

Here is a crappy pic of my monthly plan (which is taped to my spice cabinet door). This one was made on 2/18 and goes through 3/18 but since going to Aldi this past weekend, I will need to add to the list since I picked up some extra stuff. Up until last weekend, I hadn't needed to go grocery shopping except for constant stuff like soymilk, milk and bagels, etc. Monthly planning keeps me out of the stores and buying extra stuff that I don't need (i.e. that cute scarf that was on sale, hitting the clearance racks,magazines that I don't need, etc.) and saves us mucho money! My last trip to Aldi came to $130 and that was in February. I spent some money this weekend at Aldi's grand opening but I stocked up and should be all set till the end of March.

Monthly planning is really a great way to shrink your grocery bill and its amazing to see your budget grow for other things (like a new wood floor, paint for the barn, and flowers/plants). You can see where my priorities lay.

Happy planning!