8 Things You Must Buy at Aldi While on a Retirement Budget

If you’ve ever been to Aldi, you already know that the grocery store chain has some great options at budget-friendly prices. When it comes to food, you can get fresh produce, dairy, pasta, grains and frozen meals on a fixed income. But you can also get nonedible items, like paper products and laundry detergent.

Whatever you need, check out Aldi for these eight items if you’re trying to keep costs low in your retirement.

Aldi has fresh fruits and vegetables at reasonable prices, but you’ll get the best prices — and quality — by shopping for produce that’s currently in season. Depending on your preferences, you can make salads, smoothies or enjoy a healthy snack right out of the refrigerator.

You can pick up romaine lettuce, potatoes, broccoli, grapes, blueberries and bananas for less than what you’d usually get elsewhere. This means you can enjoy healthy eating while on a retirement budget and even stretch said budget out a little further.

For example, organic green grapes are currently $5.49 for two pounds at Aldi. In comparison, Target sells organic green grapes for $5.99 at 1.5 pounds. Shopping at Aldi saves money and gives you more fruit to enjoy.

“Regardless of your budget, Aldi is typically the best place to purchase your fresh produce items to save money,” said Samantha Landau, consumer expert at TopCashback.

If you don’t have time to cook, consider picking up some ready-to-eat or easy meals from Aldi.

For example, Casa Mamita bean and cheese burritos cost $4.39 for a package of eight burritos. A similar offering at Target, El Monterey bean and cheese frozen burritos, includes eight burritos for $5.59. Both options are less expensive than dining out, but Aldi’s option saves retirees $1.20.

“Dairy products are a good buy at Aldi, too,” recommended Landau. “You’ll save money on these items versus at your local grocery store.”

Shopping at Aldi for dairy items, like milk, cheese and ice cream, can be cost-effective. This is especially true if you get store-exclusive brands.

For instance, a 16-ounce bag of Happy Farms shredded mozzarella cheese at Aldi costs $3.49 each. At Walmart, a similarly sized in-house brand Great Value is $3.74 per bag. And that’s at the current sale price. The original listed price is $4.18, saving retired shoppers 69 cents.

If you’re trying to maximize your retirement budget while stocking your pantry, Aldi’s a great place to go. It’s still cheaper to pick up pantry staples like rice, pasta noodles and canned goods at Aldi than it is to go to a big-box retailer.

Take white basmati rice, for example. A 32-ounce bag of Earthly Grains white basmati rice costs $4.19 at Aldi. Target’s Good & Gather brand prices the same rice portion at $4.99. This gives retirees a small savings of 80 cents, but it’s still a little less than if you shopped just at Target.

If you’re like many other retirees, your retirement years are when you have the most free time to pursue your hobbies or other interests. And if one of those interests is cooking, then you’ll need spices.

But while you could spend $3 to $6 on a small jar of spices at other retailers, you could save a lot of money by shopping at Aldi.

“Spices are another great option to buy at Aldi, especially the basic ones, which are typically cheaper than alternative brands,” said Landau.

Looking under the Stonemill brand at Aldi, retired shoppers can buy garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, paprika and more for about $1.29 each.

Retired or not, many people quickly run out of paper products like napkins, paper towels and bath tissue. Keeping your home stocked with these supplies becomes costly unless you shop at a budget-friendly store like Aldi.

Swap out a brand name in favor of in-store brands whenever possible to save extra money. A six-roll package of Scott paper towels sold at Target costs $10.39. This amount compares to Fiora paper towels sold at Aldi which are $5.49 for six rolls. Retired shoppers save $4.90, putting nearly $5 back into their wallets.

Everyone needs to do laundry, so you might as well stock up on some inexpensive — but still effective — laundry detergent at Aldi.

A 100-fluid-ounce container of Tandil original liquid laundry detergent is priced at $8.25 at Aldi. In comparison, the Persil brand sold at Target is $12.99 for the same amount of fluid ounces. This allows retired shoppers to trim $4.74 off their grocery bill and put that money back into savings.

You can find a variety of deals in Aldi’s Weekly Finds or Special Buys aisle. These deals change out regularly, so check what’s available when planning your upcoming shopping trip to ensure you get the best deals possible.

Try to plan your list around what’s on sale, too, for even more savings.

Ultimately, if there’s an Aldi near you, you might want to check it out. You’d be surprised by how many deals the store has — and the different ways you can save money by shopping for what you need there.

“By shopping at Aldi for your basic groceries, you’re saving money that can be spent elsewhere,” Landau said. “Especially for retirees, this could give you extra room in your budget to travel, attend local events, pick up a hobby or anything else you may be interested in during your sunset years.”

Heather Taylor contributed to the reporting for this piece.