A Cart Full of Food

Eager to be recommitted to my grocery bill slashing resolve, I ventured to shop at Aldi's yesterday afternoon.  My expectations of the store -- overcrowded, messy, and overall what my daughter as a pre-schooler would refer to as "gummy," were met with a surprising opposite.  Sunday afternoons are perhaps a wonderful time to shop there, compared to the grand opening week time slot I choose to first visit the store.  Though there were no jumbo cart buggies to entertain my toddler, but instead carts which required 25 cents to operate, the aisles were free, boxes were ready for customers to select (to place paid groceries in), and there was no line.

But most importantly, I left the store with a cart full of food after paying only $23.85.  It was a strange, even nostalgic feeling, paying for these groceries.  The feel of cash (no credit cards or checks are accepted at Aldi's) -- the wrinkles of the bills and the metallic thinness of the dimes gave me the sensation that I was a kid paying an ice cream treat.  The satisfaction was comparable.  $1.49 for 3 pounds of onions, $3.49 for ten pounds of potatoes, $2.89 for a gallon of milk, and 69 cents for a dozen of eggs...  how heavenly!  how gratifying!

This has to make up for that expensive lunch my kids and I had at Hampton Beach a few weeks ago!