My October Grocery Challenge: Week 2

            Grocery shopping has never been more fun…SERIOUSLY! For week 2 of my October grocery challenge, I happily made it to the mother of all frugal shopping locations, ALDI. I love Aldi. I love everything that it is and stands for. Yes, there is a true stigma with this grocer within social communities. To the hyperconsumer it is perceived as cheap, low quality and found in the bad end of town. So naturally, if the norm is to avoid Aldi, I’ll run to it as fast as I can. I have been shopping here for a few years now, and I am sorry for not patronizing this fine grocer sooner. Aldi represents a lot of what I am all about: everyday low prices (no sales needed), not being a brand snob, quality based on content and not the name, and did I mention that they do not accept credit cards?? Cash and debit cards only. Aldi encourages (ok, forces) you to avoid going into debt, how can you not get behind that!

            Back on track though, this week our household opted to stock up on items for our ongoing and future needs for meal planning. Highlights of this week’s trip included continuing to grab fruits for under $1 a pound, and this week we scored Michigan apples, bananas and avocados. In addition, my home church also sponsors a weekly meal for the area’s homeless community, and regularly accept specific donations. So for this week we picked up extra bottles of ranch dressing for the program’s needs. With everything said and done for week 2 our total came out to $54.87 for 45 items. So after 2 weeks we have spent a total of $76.95, leaving a remaining budget balance of $263.05 with 3 weeks to go.