Shop at Aldi? You Might Fall Into This Trader Joe's Trap

Consider yourself warned.

Some people just love Trader Joe's, and I happen to be one of them. And while I don't have a Trader Joe's near my home, I'm willing to make the 30-minute trek by car because there are certain products that I love and can only purchase there.

Plus, I find that the prices at Trader Joe's are very reasonable. That's a good thing when you're perpetually trying to grow your savings.

But there's one trap I tend to fall into at Trader Joe's: falling in love with products, only to have them disappear from the shelf completely. In fact, I had this issue with my kids a few years back.

My children decided that their absolute favorite type of granola bar was a Trader Joe's brownie bar (perhaps not the healthiest, but so it goes), so I used to buy eight boxes or so at a time. But then Trader Joe's discontinued those bars, and my kids have yet to find a replacement they enjoy as much.

Meanwhile, in my persistent effort to keep my grocery bills low, I recently decided to start shopping at Aldi. Aldi is known for its competitive prices, so I figure shopping there might result in a lower credit card tab for me.

But I've also been warned by friends of mine who have been shopping at Aldi for a while that as is the case with Trader Joe's, you might find a product you like at Aldi only to never see it again after a while. And that's definitely going to shape my approach to shopping there.

Don't get too comfortable with your Aldi shopping list

It's not unheard of for a given grocery item to get discontinued. But if you're going to start shopping at Aldi on a regular basis, you may need to take the approach of "I'll take what I can get."

As Aldi says on its website, "We are always evolving our product mix, which is more than 90% private label." Aldi also expressly says that every week, nearly 100 unique finds are offered for a limited period of time, ranging from food items to household goods based on the season.

In other words, let's say you find your kids' new favorite granola bar brand at Aldi. You might return in a week to stock up, only to learn that product is gone. Plus, let's say you follow a gluten-free diet and finally find a host of products that meet your needs at Aldi. In that case, you'd better stock up, because they may not stick around.

What's more, you may not be able to shop for things like produce consistently at Aldi. A good friend of mine who shops there often explained that some weeks, there won't be any strawberries, or oranges, or another common fruit or vegetable item. That's something that's apt to trip me up, because my kids are somewhat picky -- so I can't always replace an item on my list easily.

Prepare to be flexible

I do plan to incorporate more Aldi trips into my grocery shopping routine. But I'll go in with the expectation that I'll take what I can get, and that I'll probably have to hit up a second store to make sure everything gets checked off of my grocery list. Thankfully, in my area, there's a Costco right next to Aldi, so if I don't find what I'm looking for, I can always head there to complete my list.

If you're going to shop at Aldi, prepare to be flexible and know that you may not find everything you're looking for. And prepare to fall in love with certain products that will soon vanish from the store. If you're a fan of Trader Joe's like I am, that's probably something you're already used to -- for better or worse.