My $115 ALDI Grocery Haul

How often do you buy groceries? Recently I have been buying groceries every week and it’s become so stressful. Prices are skyrocketing. Every time I go to the grocery store I feel like the prices have changed again, making it hard to budget and afford the things you normally like to buy. We budget anywhere from $100-$150 a week for groceries for a family of four, thanks in large part to supermarkets like ALDI. If you want to see how we keep our budget so low even in these crazy times of inflation, click here to learn different ways to save.

My ALDI Budget

This week our grocery budget was on the smaller side. The holidays just ended, my paycheck was a little lower due to the holidays – so I needed to make $125 work for the week. I needed some staples like salt and butter so I knew that going to ALDI would be my best option to make my money stretch. I was able to get a week’s worth of groceries, breakfast, lunches and dinners – for $115. In this economy, you can’t beat that! I am going to share with you what I got – as well as the meal plan I made and how I did it.

How I Did It at ALDI

The first thing I did was shop my freezer, pantry and fridge. I made a list of all of the condiments, veggies, and pantry items I had as well as what meats I had left in my freezer. I then devised a meal plan based off of meals I can make with the pantry items and meats with only needing a few additional ingredients from ALDI.

When I was done devising my list of ingredients to fulfill the meal plan – I then guesstimated about how much I thought it would cost to buy those items. With the remaining money of my $125 budget, I will use towards specialty items and snacks for my kids.

My ALDI Grocery Haul

• Penne $.92
• Loaf of Bread $2.69
• Cucumber $.75

Snacks

• String Cheese $2.19
• Goldfish $4
• Crackers $2.49
• 5 Bananas (2.64lb) $1.27
• Gouda Cheese Cracker Cuts $2.99
• Snack packs (cheese/crackers)$2.85
• White Cheddar Puffs $1.99

Pantry Staples

• 4 cans tomato sauce $.44 x 4
• Table Salt $.54
• Kidney Beans (2) $.76
• Stuffed olives $1.59

Meal Ingredients

• Taco Shredded Cheese $2.99
• Italian Shredded Cheese $2.99
• 80% Lean Ground Beef 2.42lbs $9.17
• Chicken Breasts (pack of 5) $10.65
• Whole Milk $4.45
• Spaghetti $1.67
• Large Eggs (2- 12ct) $3.92 x 2
• Multi Pack Peppers $2.69
• 24oz Pasta Sauce $1.45 x2
• 24 pack Bottled Water $3.29
• Butter $3.87
• 32 oz Heavy whipping cream $3.83
• Garlic Naan Bread (4 slices) $4.29
• Vine Tomatoes $2.89
• 8lb bag Potatoes $4.49
• Hamburger buns $1.09
• Sliced Pepperoni $2.55
• Deli Turkey Breast $5.49
• Romaine Hearts $3.39
• Shredded Parmesan $2.49
• Celery $1.29

My meal plan is as follows:

Breakfast: Eggs, Pancakes, Toast, Frozen Waffles or French Toast

Lunches: PB & J, PB & Fluff, Turkey Sandwiches, Salads

Dinner Options: Naan Bread Individual Pizzas, Chicken & Stuffing in Crockpot, Tacos, Pork Chops and Rice & Beans, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, Pot Roast in the Crockpot, Hamburgers, Crockpot Taco Soup, Steak & Peppers with Yellow Rice

Snacks: bananas, goldfish, cheddar puffs, clementines, cheese & crackers, mozzarella string cheese.

Make It Stretch

To optimize my snacks and make sure they get eaten – I opened both the goldfish and cheddar puffs and put 2 handfuls in snack size ziplock bags. This makes for easy grabbing when I am making lunches, and it is easy for my kids to grab when they get home from school. I set the bags in a container that is easy for them to see – and voila by the end of the week, it all gets eaten.

To make my meat stretch, I cut each chicken breast in half – this allows me to get double the amount of dinners out of it. I also take my ground beef out of the package, and divide it up into separate ziplock bags for different dinners.

To save even MORE money, I scan all of my receipts to the FETCH rewards app. It’s free and if you sign up using my code 1TCXK and get 2,000 free points when you scan your first receipt. As your rewards add up, you can redeem them for gift cards. I use this all the time and redeem for gift cards that I use for Christmas time.

So there you have it – $115 for over a week’s worth of meals. Check out my Pinterest page for meal planning tips and awesome budget friendly recipes, here!