Walmart vs Aldi - a REAL comparison

I must confess: well it's no secret I have a love-hate relationship with Walmart. I hate the parking lot, the morons inside and everything in between. But a girl on a budget can't beat the prices. Or so I thought. Lately in the Atlanta area, I'm sure across the country as well, Walmart has been running price comparison ads where you can save 13%!!! Wake me when I can save 30-40%, then we'll talk. Thirteen percent isn't enough to cover the road rage I experience trying to get up and down each miserable aisle in an effort just to get the hell out as quickly as possible!!!

So I decided to do my own comparison, to Aldi. My wonderful, small, easy to get in and out Aldi.

Let's see how Walmart stacks up to ALDI!!!

I went yesterday, 12.20.12, around lunch time, to Aldi then I left there, when 1 mile up the road to Walmart. That's right! I must be insane, but it brought me much joy to do the comparison on things I buy regularly. I compared store brand, since that's pretty much all Aldi is, to store brand at Walmart, Great Value. Same sizes and when the sizes were not comparable I did a unit price break down.

Here's what I found:

Item	Aldi	Walmart
gallon of milk	2.39	3.23
dozen eggs	0.99	1.88
16 oz butter (sticks)	1.99	2.49
5 lb bag of flour	1.59	1.78
sugar (Aldi 4lb $2.12, Walmart 5lb $2.88)	.53 per lb	.576 per lb
48 oz vegetable oil	2.49	2.64
8oz cream cheese (bar)	0.99	1.78
16oz tub sour cream	1.29	1.48
24oz jar spaghetti sauce	1.19	1.33
angel hair pasta (Aldi 32oz $1.69, Walmart 16oz $1.00)	.0528 per oz	.0625 per oz
15 oz breadcrumbs	0.89	1.08
15 oz canned peas	0.65	0.68
canned corn (Aldi 15oz $.49, Walmart 15.25oz $.68)	.03266 per oz	.0445 per oz
28oz can whole tomatoes	0.99	1.08
8oz block mozzarella cheese	1.49	2.32
8oz pre-sliced swiss cheese	1.99	2.38
24 oz bottle dish soap	1.89	1.97
6pk full size Hershey bars	3.79	3.94

WHAT?! Walmart wasn't cheaper?! That's what I've been trying to tell you! Walmart does not always have the best price!  If you don't have an Aldi in your area, then yes Walmart is the best price option. But if you do have an Aldi, I URGE you to check it out. Wait till I do a cereal comparison!  You'll be stunned! And no Aldi does not carry everything.  Example: yesterday red wine vinegar was on my list, but Aldi doesn't carry it, so I bought it at Walmart.  But I have noticed that over the last 4 years, Aldi has expanded their food selections and they offer more and more items all the time.

In the meantime I will continue to buy everything I possibly can at Aldi at much better prices! 

Happy Saving! 

Wendy