3 Reasons Not to Shop at Aldi Despite the Fantastic Prices

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As a family of five, I can tell you that second to housing, food is my household's largest monthly expense. We spend more money on groceries than we do on transportation, despite being a two-car household (to be fair, one vehicle is paid off). Because of this, I'm always looking for ways to save money in the course of putting food on the table. And one strategy that worked for me for a while was shopping at Aldi.

Aldi is known for its low prices. And shopping there has saved me a fair amount of money.

But I've mostly stopped shopping at Aldi at this point. And you may want to follow my lead for these reasons.

1. You only have time for one supermarket run per week

As a working mom, I only have so much time in my schedule to go shopping for groceries . So on those busy weeks, I need to make my one supermarket run count.

Unfortunately, I can't rely on Aldi to fulfill my shopping list because the store's inventory is both limited and inconsistent. There have been weeks when I've been unable to find staples like cucumbers and strawberries -- items we go through quickly in my house.

If you're on a tight schedule, Aldi may not be the best store to shop at because your chances of finding everything you need aren't as good as with a non-budget supermarket. And it's not worth stressing yourself out to make multiple supermarket runs, nor is it worth having to go without standard items most grocery stores have.

2. You have picky eaters in your household

If your kids are choosy about what they'll eat, I can totally relate. My daughters are so picky that if I so much as buy a different brand of bread, they might protest and downright refuse to eat sandwiches. This makes shopping at Aldi very challenging for me.

Most of the products Aldi sells are off-brands exclusive to the store. It's these lesser-known brands that help consumers save money , which is why so many people are huge Aldi fans. But if you buy brands your kids aren't familiar with and it leads to thrown-out food, you'll negate your savings, which makes Aldi not worth visiting.

3. What you might save on lower-priced groceries, you might lose in terms of gas spending and productivity

As much as I appreciate saving money on groceries, I'm only willing to sacrifice so much to do so. My area happens to have an Aldi location that's not so far away from me. But if your closest Aldi is a 30-minute drive away, what you save on food, you might at least partially spend on extra gas.

There's also lost time to consider. I'm self-employed, so the more time I have to spend running errands, the less time I have to work and earn money. If you're in a similar boat and there's no Aldi convenient to you, that's reason enough not to shop there.

I'm all about saving money -- on groceries and in general. But while shopping at Aldi is a great option for some people, it may not be ideal for you. And that's okay. As long as you're able to feed your family without going into debt, there's nothing wrong with doing your shopping at a more traditional supermarket.

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