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Once A Month Grocery Shopping at ALDI – $64 Grocery Budget Challenge

We’ve been excited to try once a month grocery shopping at ALDI. ALDI is currently our favorite grocery store, so deciding to take on the challenge of using our small $64 weekly grocery budget at ALDI was a no-brainer.

Our first try at using a small grocery budget at ALDI was definitely a learning experience. In the usual 4 Hats and Frugal fashion, we’re sharing what we learned, good and bad, with you.

Spoiler alert: we LOVED once a month grocery shopping at ALDI!

This wife and mom of 3 tried once a month grocery shopping at ALDI on a tight grocery budget. See what she bought, her grocery list, and the meals she made.

Once A Month Grocery Shopping – ALDI

We also shared our master list of everything we purchased with our $256 budget ($64 times 4, to represent the 4 weeks in the month). These tips can work for any grocery store, not just ALDI.

Related: {Our favorite reusable bags for grocery shopping}

Think of Meals Before You Shop

This rule is completely against what I usually do when it comes to grocery shopping and meal planning. I never think about meals before I shop. I check what’s in the pantry and fridge, shop, then plan from what is in the house.

Why did I change my mind for once a month shopping? There wasn’t much in the house, to begin with! Since I planned to try once a month shopping, I made sure we used up as much as we could to make space for the items we bought at ALDI.

Instead of waiting until I got home to meal plan, I wrote a list of a few simple meals to make for the month. I bought the ingredients for those items while at the store. I purchased items that could be used for many different meals, instead of buying items I wasn’t sure I would use.

Add An Extra Week of Groceries

Adding an extra week of groceries will give you a cushion of having more food rather than less. You are allowing yourself more items to plan your meals around, which will make planning breakfasts and lunches so much easier.

Yes, you do have to add on the extra week without adding more in your budget. But, guess what? You’ll make it happen. The best part about ALDI is staple items are affordable. As long as you stock up on your staples, you’ll be golden.

Shop Alone

Moms of little ones, this tip is for you. If you can, shop alone and get your mission done. These once a month grocery shopping trips may take you a few hours, even at ALDI, so make sure you have peace of mind.

Bonus tip: you can schedule a babysitter for 2 hours, once a month, because you will know when you’ll need the help. Another fun tip? Go once the kids are in bed.

Plan Your Prep Work

You will have to prep your groceries. This isn’t something you can get around when shopping for the month. You’ll have to chop, re-package, pre-cook, or organize a bunch of food all at one time.

Bonus tip: think about what you will have to prep while packing up your groceries at ALDI. Is there something that you’ll have to chop that evening? Put it in a special bag.

Will you have to re-package chicken and beef, but not your ground turkey? Place the chicken and beef in a bag together, away from the turkey (that can be thrown right in the freezer).

Also, if you don’t have to prep an item right away, don’t. Wait until the week you actually need it to prep for it.

This wife and mom of 3 tried once a month grocery shopping at ALDI on a tight grocery budget. See what she bought, her grocery list, and the meals she made.

Have a Game Plan for Produce

This is the BIGGEST problem most people have with once a month shopping. They complain that produce goes bad quickly, so they can’t shop monthly. Here’s the deal: you still can shop monthly, even with certain produce expiring.

Plan weekly meals around the items that will expire first, second, third and last. Avocados, fresh spinach and bagged salad tend to go bad quickly, so we plan the first week’s meals around those items.

Potatoes, carrots and onions last for a long time, so we place the last week’s meals around those items. Bananas go bad before apples, so bananas get eaten first. Plan your meals around the expiration of produce, and you won’t have to worry about you not using up items before they go bad.

What We Learned

There were so many things we learned about our own family from this experience, and so much I learned about what is really important when doing a once a month shopping trip. I learned we didn’t need as much of some items.

Apples were great to have on-hand, but I bought too many. We actually had a bag and a half left once the month was done. While we love eggs, I also bought too many of those. I could have saved some money by not buying as many eggs.

This wife and mom of 3 tried once a month grocery shopping at ALDI on a tight grocery budget. See what she bought, her grocery list, and the meals she made.

Just Enough Food & Not Enough Food

We eat a lot of cheese and chickpeas (or any other bean). I could have bought more of those and may have needed more. We don’t need as much milk as I thought.

Granted, we don’t drink milk everyday, so the 4 half-gallons of lactose-free and almond milk were the perfect amount for our family. I really thought we were going to be short on milk by mid-month. Surprise, surprise.

We got tired of chicken by week three, so the purchasing of beef sausage, fish, and chickpeas was a great idea. For some reason, when I shop weekly, we don’t get tired of chicken, but with this experience we did.

Boxed Items Helped And I Didn’t Spend Enough

I had less than 4 dollars left, so I should have bought flour, more sugar, or another staple to make sure I was covered. Luckily, we didn’t need any of those, but it would have been smart to use up all of the budget.

The boxed items were actually helpful. If you’ve read our $64 Grocery Budget post, you know that we try our hardest to only eat real food, not processed items.

I have to admit, the taco kits and the boxed mashed potatoes saved me a few nights. I could have made mashed potatoes from the bagged potatoes, but that would have used up some of the milk. You have to pick your battles.

This wife and mom of 3 tried once a month grocery shopping at ALDI on a tight grocery budget. See what she bought, her grocery list, and the meals she made.

 

Below is everything we bought, which ends up being a cheap grocery list for the month. If you save this list, you can easily use it when you do your once a month grocery shopping at ALDI.

Cheap Grocery List For The Month

2-pack zucchini squash – 1.69
2-pack cucumbers – .99
2 bags spring mix salad – 1.99 each
6 bags flat leaf spinach – 1.79 each
4lbs green grapes – .99 a pound – 3.96
12lbs Granny Smith apples – .49 a pound – 5.97
3.4lbs bananas – .44 a pound – 1.50
3 2-packs green peppers – 1.19 each
3lbs yellow onions – 1.99
2 2lb bags carrots – 1.49 each
Celery – 1.39
3 avocados – .99 each
2lbs broccoli crowns – 2.58
5lbs baking potatoes – 2.49
2 bags frozen peas – .95 each
6 dozen large eggs – 2.75 each
3 packages feta crumbles – 1.79 each
2 half-gallons lactose-free milk – 2.79 each
2 half-gallons unsweetened almond milk – 2.29 each
3 containers plain 32oz yogurt – 1.89 each
2 blocks Monterey jack cheese – 1.89 each
4 blocks New York Sharp Cheddar – 1.89 each
2 Packets ground turkey – 3.29 each
2 Packets frozen tilapia filets – 5.39 each
5 pounds 73% ground beef – 14.40
4lb packet of chicken thighs – 4.62
4lb packet of chicken thighs – 4.63
Packet of chicken breasts – 7.39
Packet of chicken breasts – 6.67
6lbs whole chicken – 6.39
5 loaves 100% whole wheat bread – 1.39 each
2 packages beef smoked sausage – 2.19 each
3 2lb boxes of elbow macaroni – 1.45 each
3 bags egg noodles – 1.29 each
2 boxes linguine – .66 each
2 boxes mashed potatoes – 1.19 each
3 Taco Bell hard taco dinner kits – .99 each
2 bottles unsweetened applesauce – 1.89 each
4 28oz cans organic diced tomatoes – 1.49 each
4 cans tomato paste – .39 each
4 cans organic chickpeas – .79 each
4 cans condensed milk – 1.39 each
4 can evaporated milk – .79 each
Minced garlic – 1.99
Natural creamy peanut butter – 1.49
2 containers old fashioned oats – 2.39
Instant corn masa – 1.99
3-pack of yeast – .79
Brown sugar – 1.29
Iodized table salt – .39
Organic ketchup – 1.69
2 bottles organic agave syrup – 2.99 each
1 bottle pure maple syrup – 4.29
2 64oz bottles 100% apple juice – 1.49 each
2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix – .47 each
6-count microwave popcorn – 1.69
Multigrain oats cereal – 1.79
2 boxes crispy oats cereal – 1.69
4 cans whole kernel corn – .49 each
Guacamole tortilla chips – 1.69
Sweet potato chips – 1.99
Dishwasher detergent – 2.49

Total: 252.19

Looking for recipes to make that will use up these items? Here are a few I made:

Yogurt Chicken

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Hamburger Steaks

Garlic Butter Fish

Kielbasa and Noodles

“Creamy” Spinach Pesto Pasta (with no cream)

Easy Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Spinach Frittata

Need more ideas? Check out these 20 Cheap & Easy Weeknight Meals!

So, what do you think? Will you try once a month grocery shopping at ALDI? Have you done once a month grocery shopping before? Share your tips in the comments below.

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Comments

  1. brenda says

    February 25, 2016 at 1:06 am

    It surprises me that you purchase the bagged salads. Where I live they are much more expensive than buying the lettuce and fixings separately, plus there have been so many recalls re: disease with those products that I wouldn’t buy them even if they were cheaper.
    Also surprises me that you would purchase boxed pizza and taco kits. I make my own pizza crusts and also make my own taco seasoning mix and purchase soft tortillas. Much cheaper and less preservatives/colourings, etc..
    I buy no name brands usually as they are cheaper.
    Soup would never go over here for a dinner meal as that is our main meal and lunch is our smaller meal. My husband also is not a big soup eater while I love it 🙁
    Interesting reading your ideas about shopping though.

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      February 25, 2016 at 5:53 pm

      Thank you for your input, Brenda! 😀

      Reply
    • Stacey says

      September 22, 2017 at 12:29 am

      Wow. Aren’t you a Judgy Jessica, Brenda? Did you ever stop to think that not everyone is you? Not everyone does things the exact same way as you and that is not a bad thing? In fact, maybe you should consider trying some of her awesome tips that I’m sure are time-saving, still economical, and less stressful on particularly challenging and stressful days? Maybe if you gave it a try you wouldn’t be so unhappy and feel the need to make judgmental, assuming comments to people that are trying to help others and promote economical, healthy, and actually DOABLE by the average family? Sometimes it’s difficult to make your own pizza crust when your kids have baseball practice one evening. Sometimes it’s a great idea to use a taco kit when you have worked all day or spent the day taking care of kids so that you can spend that extra time with your family or have some much needed self care. My point is that it’s not cool to rip apart someone that seems so incredibly kind that she will share such tips and the plan that works for her in the case that it might help others, too. Notice how her response was respectful and not at all dripping with the unbalanced self-satisfaction that you came at her with.
      I truly apologize if this response is hard to read, Brenda. I jus had a hard time reading your response to an article that was humbly written to help, inspire, and teach others.
      Amiyrah, well done. Much respect and appreciation. I will definitely be trying this for my family of 4. Sometimes we need to have a frozen pizza for dinner or don’t have the time to fashion our own tortillas out of scratch. You rock, lady.

      Reply
      • Debra says

        June 25, 2018 at 10:45 am

        Amen!

        Reply
        • Marcia Martin says

          July 26, 2018 at 4:23 pm

          Those were my thoughts to Brenda exactly! I thought the article and shopping list was outstanding and super helpful. It was exactly what I was looking for.

          Reply
          • Erica says

            November 5, 2019 at 6:44 pm

            YESSSSSS ❤️

  2. Jeanne says

    March 4, 2016 at 2:39 am

    Is there a way to see your menu list to go with this?

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      March 4, 2016 at 4:54 pm

      That would be a WHOLE other blog post. Ha! I’ll see what I can do.

      Reply
  3. Sarah says

    March 5, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    I was going to ask for a menu list too!

    Reply
  4. Bebe says

    March 8, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    I love all your posts about grocery shopping because that is where I always have an issue. Do you have a credit card? I’m sure you shop with cash but do you have one just for emergencies?

    Reply
  5. Judy Ammons says

    March 23, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    It was very interesting reading your post. One of the main things I noticed was the good prices you were able to get on get on all natural/organic products. Stores in my area don’t offer those types of deals. Also I noticed thatyou only pay half of rhe regular price I pay for pre-packed salad and spinach. I live in Columbus, Ga.

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      March 28, 2016 at 10:50 am

      That’s interesting, Judy!

      Reply
  6. Lynn says

    March 26, 2016 at 3:32 pm

    Aldi’s accepts credit cards and debit now too in my area as of 3/1/16. I’ve been afraid to try their meat, but I do buy their thick cut bacon. My H would go nuts if our fridge was that full bc then we have no room to put leftovers and he’s not patient enough to look for things either if he would have to take out a bunch of things to find one thing. And I have a deep freezer in my basement so I do use that space to stock up on meat and store leftovers I can freeze.

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      March 28, 2016 at 10:49 am

      Thank you for commenting, Lynn!

      Reply
  7. Joyce Brewer says

    March 28, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    I would love to do this once a month and get a small freezer to fit everything. Our fridge is too small 🙁

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      March 28, 2016 at 12:49 pm

      We have a small fridge, too, Joyce. I have to admit, it was a big challenge to figure it all out, since we don’t have a deep freezer in this tiny apartment. But, the second time around, I knew how to “tetris” my freezer to make it all fit. There’s a learning curve, for sure.

      Reply
  8. Jennifer says

    April 1, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    I love this idea, but I also need a menu. Have you make a blog post with the menu yet? If so can you sent me a link. Thanks

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      April 5, 2016 at 10:26 am

      Hi Jennifer! Any recipes that I have for meals are already linked in the post. If there isn’t a recipe, it was such an easy meal that it basically didn’t need a recipe, or it’s a meal I’ve made so many times that it doesn’t have an official recipe.

      Reply
      • Mary ann says

        April 13, 2016 at 9:29 am

        I don’t see any linked it recipes. Can you post them please

        Reply
        • Amiyrah says

          April 14, 2016 at 12:09 pm

          Updated!

          Reply
      • Jennifer says

        April 14, 2016 at 3:44 pm

        Thanks! Awesome. I can’t wait to try this. 🙂

        Reply
  9. sherlynn goins says

    April 6, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    love this idea of once a month shopping and of course I need help, I would love to see the meals that you fixed to go along with the grocery list. kraft foods have a meals in a bag, where you get five meal ides and everything can be bought to fit into one bag

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      April 11, 2016 at 4:00 pm

      I’ll work on that. Thanks, Sherlynn!

      Reply
  10. Jennifer says

    April 19, 2016 at 10:59 pm

    Hey it’s me again. I am going Friday to try my first monthly grocery shopping challenge. I was wondering what you us the condense mild and evaporated milk for and any other helpful tips you could give me on what you cooked would be great! I copied the resipes you posted. Thanks

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      April 20, 2016 at 5:29 pm

      Evaporated milk is for the mac and cheese. Sweetened condensed milk is for granola bars.

      Reply
      • Amy says

        September 5, 2016 at 8:11 am

        I am glad to hear what you used the evap milk and sweetened condensed milk for. I am trying to use up ingredients in my pantry and seem to have an abundance of those two items! As an avid Aldi’s devotee, I really enjoyed your post!

        Reply
        • Amiyrah says

          September 7, 2016 at 3:00 pm

          Thanks so much, Amy!

          Reply
  11. Maria says

    July 13, 2016 at 12:01 pm

    Awesome post!

    Reply
  12. Jeanna Grabuskie says

    November 5, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    I enjoyed your post. I liked the mix of DIY meals and some boxed to take the load off the chef! I shop ALDI too and you inspire me to expand my use of all their great prices to reduce our food budget. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      November 5, 2016 at 5:21 pm

      You’re so welcome!

      Reply
  13. tyshera says

    December 26, 2016 at 4:57 pm

    Hi!

    Are you going to start back up the Grocery Challenges again?

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      December 30, 2016 at 2:58 pm

      I hope to, Tyshera! The big challenge is finding writers who live in the areas of stores that we haven’t covered.

      Reply
  14. Mandie says

    December 26, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    I always look at these posts with bewilderment. I wish I could cut our grocery budget to 250/month. We barely get by on $250/week! I’m really pushing to get us under $800/month for 2017.

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      December 30, 2016 at 2:59 pm

      You can do it, Mandie! The key is to start doing SOMETHING. $64 dollars a week may not be where you need to be, but reducing your bill by 10 or 20% may be the thing that kicks your budget into high gear. Don’t aim for a number, aim for a percentage :).

      Reply
  15. Ginger says

    February 17, 2017 at 5:33 pm

    Very impressive. I think I may try more Aldi’s items for our monthly shopping. We are at 75 a week for 3 people (but I am pregnant and my daughter is only 4), but I want to cut it down closer to your number. Thanks for this post.

    Reply
  16. Hannah says

    March 14, 2017 at 12:42 pm

    How do you keep your bread from spoiling? My husband doesn’t like the taste of bread if I freeze it.
    I was so happy to find this post, as I dislike grocery shopping and our Aldi is inconveniently located. I’m excited to try this!

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      March 14, 2017 at 4:32 pm

      We do freeze it, Hannah. I try to freeze it as soon as I get it from the store, if I know it won’t be used right away. This helps it taste fresh once it thaws out. If that’s not an option, then you may have to do without bread for the last two weeks of the month, which is way more doable than people think 😀

      Reply
  17. Shelly says

    July 23, 2017 at 11:06 am

    Shop around a little. You could have done better. Walmart has better prices for your hamburger and evaporated milk.

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      July 31, 2017 at 12:51 pm

      The challenge was to do the whole shopping experience at ALDI, but thanks for the tip, Shelly! 🙂

      Reply
  18. Emily Johnson says

    August 7, 2017 at 7:40 pm

    Are these all of the recipes that you used? If so what were the ratios you used? I.e. How many meals did you make with each recipe?

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      August 14, 2017 at 10:31 am

      It would take me a while to write all of that down for you, Emily, so I’ll add this to my editorial calendar so I can turn it into a blog post for you.

      Reply
  19. Donna Clarke says

    December 28, 2017 at 1:58 am

    It takes time to establish a meal plan that will work for your family and then to manage the buying of groceries to actually make that meal plan function as it is supposed to. I give you applause for the great effort that you put into this post. It takes work and diligence to put a plan into effect and it definitely appears that you have done very well at this. I give you an A+ for the great post that you have offered to all of us in ciber -land. Don’t pay any attention to the nay-sayers. I don’t see them offering a practical menu / buying plan for the rest of us. Keep up the great work and thank you so much for being willing to share your efforts with the rest of us. I don’t have an Aldi’s store near us as we live in southern Oregon.

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      December 29, 2017 at 12:41 am

      Thank you for the kind words, Donna!

      Reply
  20. Leigh says

    January 9, 2018 at 6:38 pm

    This is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing. I love Aldi. I really enjoy all of your tips. 😀

    Reply
  21. Mary says

    January 14, 2018 at 10:03 am

    I am so glad I found this post on Pinterest! Thank you for sharing. I plan to use some of your meals this week! I do my shopping mostly at Lidl (Aldi’s Cheaper sister store). Do you have a Lidl near you? I can usually get a week’s worth of groceries for $30-$50 depending on what I fix and what we have in the freezer already (we are gifted with beef, Deer, and sausage throughout the year from our farmer friends). Thank you again for your list and meals!

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      January 15, 2018 at 12:48 pm

      You are so welcome! We don’t have a Lidl here, but I’ve heard that they are amazing! We have ALDI and Trader Joe’s, so a Lidl would take it over the top :D. So glad the post was helpful!

      Reply
  22. Bonnie says

    May 1, 2018 at 8:01 pm

    Hi, I’m just curious how many people are in your family? We have 6, so it’s like to adapt this for our family! Thanks;)

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      May 2, 2018 at 11:05 pm

      Hi Bonnie! We have 5 in our family, and one kitty (I make his cat food). Our kids are currently 12, 7, and 3.

      Reply
  23. Misty says

    May 5, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    It was an awesome read! I do my shopping very similarly and find its a great way to save money for families. My only difference is i also go to a regular grocery store for those must have items that you cant get at Aldi and i will go to sams club for restaurant size seasonings since we cook alot from scratch.

    Reply
  24. Kim says

    August 9, 2018 at 3:26 pm

    Thanks for sharing!! You have inspired me to tackle my grocery budget!

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      August 12, 2018 at 7:03 pm

      You’re so welcome, Kim!

      Reply
  25. Rae says

    November 28, 2018 at 2:07 am

    Do you know of an “equivalent” to Aldi? We don’t have one here, but those prices are amazing!! We spend about $250 every two weeks and would love to only do that for an entire month

    Reply
    • Amiyrah says

      November 28, 2018 at 2:41 pm

      Hi Rae! The only equivalent price-wise would be Lidl. If you don’t have either, you’ll get one soon! They are expanding very quickly, now that many people are getting hip to how awesome they are :).

      Reply

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Amiyrah is an African American frugal blogger at 4 Hats and Frugal. Click through to learn more about her and her family.
Amiyrah is an African American frugal blogger at 4 Hats and Frugal. Click her photo to learn more about her and her family.
Email me: 4hatsandfrugal@gmail.com

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