Why You Should Always Check Aldi's Website Before You Shop

Aldi is a haven for budget shoppers everywhere. From discounts galore to plenty of fan-favorite products on the shelves, it's accumulated its own cult following, much like Trader Joe's and Costco.

Before you roll up to your local Aldi's, though, it's important to take a moment and look at the bargain chain's website. Its website is the best place to find out ahead of time which items are on sale and what deals are going on for the week. While you can always pick up a flyer in-store, it's nice to know deals ahead of time so you can pre-plan your grocery list and avoid making shopping mistakes.

Be sure to read carefully, though; sometimes Aldi sales have limitations or restrictions, such as being locked to certain days of the week or limiting the amount of a product that a single shopper can purchase at one time. Heading into your shop with this knowledge can help you focus your list on discounted items, and can save you some headaches (and money!) at the register. 

The deals on Aldi's website might seem too good to be true. Is it really that cheap for a pound of ground beef or a package of shredded cheese? Don't be skeptical; these discounts are the real deal, though they come at their own price.

Aldi is able to sell such inexpensive products because they keep costs down throughout their store in other ways. By reducing operating costs and running its store in the most bare-bones manner possible (without sacrificing customer service), it can afford to mark products down considerably while still turning a profit.

Between its small selection of products, its limited hours, and its reduced amount of staff, as well as other small differences such as quarter shopping cart rentals and encouraging customers to bring their own bag, Aldi has far fewer expenses than competing grocery stores. These other stores need to mark up groceries in order to offset costs such as staying open later and hiring more staff.

Dedicated Aldi shoppers have plenty of insider tips to refer to in order to get the most out of a discount grocery haul. If you want to get the best possible deals, stop into the store on a Wednesday. This is the best day of the week to shop at Aldi; the store refreshes and restocks its limited and seasonal items on Wednesday, and those goods don't always come back after they're gone. Heading in on a Wednesday gives you the best chance of snagging something unique while special discounted items are still on the shelves.

Another good day to visit the store is Sunday when the heavily discounted "Hot Deals" items get stocked. These items are usually centered around a certain theme each week and rotate regularly.

Want the freshest produce? Stop by as early as you can in the morning — Aldi produce is refreshed early, and while some of the fruits and veggies may not look picturesque (Aldi tends to sell less-than-perfect produce in order to keep costs down), they'll definitely be as fresh as possible right off the truck.