Five items you should always buy at Aldi – and the ones to avoid

ALDI is known for its low prices and there’s usually a good deal hanging round every corner of the store.

But which ones should you pop in your trolley and which should you avoid? We reveal.

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Shoppers are having to fork out a lot more for goods from the supermarket shelves, so it’s important to snap up a bargain when you see it.

But that being said, you shouldn’t snap up everything at Aldi just because of its budget reputation.

Sure, you could snag a bargain hanging egg chair, or a chocolate deal that tastes that much better at a cheaper price, but there’s some things you should avoid popping in your basket too.

We reveal the five things you should always buy at Aldi – and some products that should stay at the back of the shelf too.

The items you should always buy at Aldi

Chocolate

Aldi stocks a mass of its own brand products and the chocolate aisle is the best place to start to track them down.

You can even make a fun game with the kids out of guessing what brand each product is trying to imitate, as the packaging is often very close in style.

Titans for example are the 62p dupe of Mars bars.

The pack of six is 63p (50%) cheaper than a pack of the chocolates from the likes of Tesco – where a four pack costs £1.25 to buy.

It’s not only chocolate either as bargain sweets are a great treat for the kids at a fraction of the price.

Aldi shoppers have even spotted the store selling its own version of Percy Pigs for half the price that posh supermarket M&S has them on offer for.

And Aldi’s bargain dupe of a Magnum chocolate ice cream even came second place on our taste test last summer.

Wine

Whether you enjoy red wine, white wine or bubbles, Aldi has a large assortment of vino to stock up on.

And they all come at bargain prices.

But as well as being affordable, the wines are also award-winning, so you could save yourself and your wallet from a trip to the official vineyards and wine specialists.

There’s over 150 products that you can choose from, with the cheapest prices starting from just £4.50.

Friday night’s fake-away

Aldi launched a range of snacks last year inspired by McDonald’s menu items.

The products are around 47% cheaper than at the fast food chain though, so if you’re looking for a budget dinner you’re better off heading to the supermarket.

You’re able to pick up chicken nuggets, hash browns and the “Big Stack” burger, that all strike a close resemblance to the fast-food favourites.

One of the items is the 12 chicken nuggets with dips box which costs £1.69.

McDonald’s box of nine chicken nuggets usually costs £3.89, so you’ll get three more nuggets in Aldi’s box while saving £2.20 off the price.

And Aldi’s Snacksters Big Stack burger only costs £1.49, which is £1.90 cheaper than the £3.39 Big Mac it is designed after.

The box it comes in very closely resembles Maccies packaging too.

Of course, you will have to heat up the snacks at home yourself though, which differs to McDonald’s instant and on the go service.

Household items

Visiting the supermarket might not be what immediately springs to mind when you’re thinking about refurbishing the house.

But Aldi is known for its spectacular Specialbuys, with items suited for every room in your home.

Specialbuys are products launched every Thursday and Sunday and cover a range of activities and hobbies, like camping, fitness, or DIY.

But most things come pretty cheap, which is why shoppers love to cash-in.

The supermarket sells a popular garden egg-chair for example that’s much cheaper than rivals – and it sells-out in record time without fail every time it’s launched on the site.

Shoppers have even been able to bag sofa sets, water slides, and more in the past too.

Of course, you have to keep in mind that it’s only a bargain if you were planning on splashing out anyway.

But it can save you over spending when you can pick up near dupes of more expensive brands like Dunelm or Habitat.

Baby bits

Buying essentials for your little ones could be done on a budget for Aldi, and saves you splashing out on a expensive baby store.

AND you can even get away with not paying a penny for some products – making shopping at Aldi for the baby bits a no brainer.

Aldi shoppers can pick up FREE nappies in-store with an easy-to-claim voucher, for example.

On offer right now is a 24 pack of Mamia size one newborn nappies, which usually cost 79p to buy from the budget supermarket.

But parents can get the full-sized pack free of charge thanks to a Netmums trial.

You have to sign up, and you’ll be mailed your free voucher that you can claim only in an Aldi store.

The ones to avoid

If you buy anything from Aldi you know it’s going to be cheap and cheerful, so keep this in mind and you won’t be disappointed in your purchase.

But that being said, there are a few things to strike off the shopping list, as they’re simply better of picking up elsewhere.

Household brands

Don’t buy anything branded while you’re in Aldi.

You’re better off making use of the store’s endless dupes.

You can buy big names in the store like like Cadbury or Nestle, but if it’s just a quick chocolate fix you’re after, why not go for a dupe instead.

A 95g Cadbury Dairy milk bar costs 85p to buy at the store.

Meanwhile Aldi’s own 100g bar costs just 30p – making it 55p cheaper.

For your household names, you’re better off going to Tesco, where you can take advantage of the store’s loyalty card to get a cheaper price on the high quality chocolate.

A 95g bar of Dairy milk chocolate is typically £1.50, but it’s only £1 with the Clubcard discount saving shoppers 50p.

Clothing

Aldi isn’t really known for its infinite range of clothing – you can pick up womenswear, menswear, kidswear and even pet wear from time to time, but the choice is often slight.

Currently at Aldi its clothing range is limited to ski wear.

That’s great if you’re jetting off to the chalet soon, but the rest of us are enviously left looking at the holiday pictures with nothing to wear.

If you’re after budget fashion, you’re better off trying Asda’s George range or something from F&F at Tesco.

Both the supermarkets regularly hold sales on their impressive stock of clothing too, so you can bag an even better bargain.

A new hot tub

While Aldi prides itself on its bargain Specialbuys, you might want to give one major summer item a miss.

A cheap hot tub might cost you more in the long run – especially when it comes to your energy bills.

That’s according to the energy saving experts at Loop who say the least energy efficient models – which are often the cheapest ones – could add a whopping £300 per month to electricity bills.

Aldi’s four person inflatable hot tub is only £400 to buy, so it’s certainly at the cheaper end of the market.

If you make sure to buy all the gear to go with it, including covers and other means of insulation you’ll be sure to keep your costs minimal though and waste less energy.

But it does mean an extra spend on top of the bargain buy – so you could be better off opting for a more expensive and higher quality tub in the first place.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk