I adore ALDI

I'm late getting on this boat. I know it. But give me a break--I've been out of the city for a year and where I was had one ALDI that was 40 minutes from my house. So yeah, I was an ALDI virgin until yesterday.

To clarify any misunderstanding (which necessarily happens when you throw the word "virgin" into a sentence), ALDI is a small, European-style grocery store with huge knock-off prices, a "put in a quarter to get your cart; return your cart and get your quarter," we-have-our-own-brands-that-are-just-as-good-as-the-flashy-ones, bag-your-own-groceries, we-only-accept-cash-or-debit-cards kind of place. And did I mention the prices? Oh my.

So, ALDI fliers showed up in my mailbox this week, which made me wonder if, in the past year that I've been away, Birmingham made a good choice in the midst of all the bad ones (remember our brilliant ex-Mayor, Larry Langford?) by building an ALDI near my house. Turns out, ALDI is 2.91 miles from my house!

Here's a glimpse of the savings from my $30 (!) grocery bill yesterday:

• $2.79 for 28 bottles of water
• 25 cent peaches, plums, and nectarines 
• $1.50 a pound for cherries (and they were already separated into 1-lb. bunches so you didn't have to guess how many pounds you were purchasing)
• $1.00 salad dressings
• $5.99 for a bag of about 6 frozen chicken breasts

Just a glimpse. I was so giddy leaving the store that I almost called my mom to have someone to celebrate savings with! I didn't need to buy any wine, cereal, fresh meat, or other refrigerated products this time, but I needed to save a little something for next time anyway. And there will definitely be a next time!

By the way, if the whole process of putting a quarter in your cart, etc. is a little foreign and intimidating to you, check out this link that explains how everything works and you'll look like a natural in no time.