Locked-up carts at Aldi keep prices low
People love to talk about grocery stores. I got a lot of reaction about my love of Aldi and its super cheap prices. Readers had other consumer-oriented questions, too. Keep them coming. Email me at dchristensen@sunsentinel.com or chat me up at Facebook.com/DoreensDeals.
Dear Doreen: I totally agree with you about shopping at various supermarkets. I’m an Aldi devotee. However, I can’t understand why you have a problem with Aldi’s shopping-cart policy. Aldi keeps prices lower than any other store and one of the ways is they do not have to pay someone to go out in the parking lot and gather shopping carts. Aldi’s is the best thing that has happened to us. — N.H., Delray Beach
Dear N.H.: The reason I don’t like those carts is because I am LAZY and don’t want to walk them back to the front of the store to get my quarter. Sometimes, I don’t have a quarter, and then I have to go into the store to get one from a clerk. (Aldi provides them as a service.) However, last week, I was at the register and noticed cute little Aldi key chains for 99 cents that have a little slit in them to stash a coin! I bought one and will now be better prepared.
Dear Doreen: We shop occasionally at Lucky’s. Wondered where that was on the survey list. We love their produce. — T&D, via email
Dear T&D: I agree! What’s not to love about drinking beer or wine while you shop for groceries, as you can at Lucky’s. The Boulder, Colo., organic grocer was too small to register in the recent Market Force Grocery Study that asked more than 12,800 consumers to rank their favorite stores. (Wegmans was No. 1, Publix was No. 2, Trader Joe’s was No. 3 and Aldi was No. 4.) But the chain is growing. Lucky’s is expanding and plans to open stores in the next 18 months in Dania Beach, Cooper City and in west Boca Raton. I’ve learned the store will open in the Uptown Boca Raton plaza under construction at Glades Road and 95th Avenue South.
Dear Doreen: [In reference to the huge turnout at the Build-a-Bear Workshop event on July 12] My husband went with our son, saw the line and left the mall. Why does everyone get so crazy? We need an Act Your Age event to teach people how to behave. — T.N, via email
Dear T.N.: I am always amazed when brands shoot themselves in the foot with ill-conceived promotions
because they don’t properly understand retail psychology and the popularity of their own products. In case you didn’t hear, more than 1,000 people showed up to get the cheap toys at Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs on Thursday before authorities began turning away unruly crowds for safety reasons. The scene was repeated at stores across the U.S., Canada and Britain. As an apology, the company is giving away $15 vouchers to Bonus Club members. Log into accounts to claim the offer by July 15. Vouchers are good through Aug. 31. The company also launched a new promotion: The Count Your Candles offer for reward members lets kids pay their age for a $14 teddy bear during their birthday month. It’s free to sign up for the club at BuildaBear.com.
Dear Doreen: I see that computers are not on the tax-free list this year. Is it possible that it will be added or is that highly unlikely? It is unreasonable to think that a student in college or in grade 3-12 will not need to use a home computer or a computerrelated accessory for school work this school year. Maybe, in lieu of computers, lawmakers can add a complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica. — M.N, via email
Dear M.N.: I appreciate your sarcasm, but sadly, it’s true. There is no chance computers, laptops and tablets will be added to the list of tax-free items Floridians can buy during the back-to-school sales tax holiday on Aug. 3-5. You can still save on hundreds of items, from clothes and shoes ($60 or less) to school supplies ($15 or less), according the Florida Department of Revenue.
Computers didn’t make the list because the Legislature was unable to pass as large a tax-cut package as it wanted, with lawmakers citing a perfect storm of hurricane-related expenses as well as the $400 million in funding found in a school safety bill crafted in response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, according to my colleague Dan Sweeney, who covered the legislative session.
In Palm Beach County, public school begins on Aug. 13. In Broward, children return on Aug. 15. In Miami-Dade County, the return date is Aug. 21.
For more information, go to SunSentinel.com/TaxHoliday.
Dear Doreen: You once published a recipe for glass cleaner. I cut that out and have mislaid it. That is the very best glass cleaner I have ever used. Can you please send me a copy of that formula? I enjoy your money saving tips. — K.A. via email
Dear K.A. The recipe was published a few years ago in a column on how to make cheap cleaning products yourself. Window cleaner: Mix 2 cups rubbing alcohol, 1⁄2 cup ammonia, 1⁄2 teaspoon dish washing liquid in a spray bottle and top with distilled water. Tip: Use newspapers to buff windows to a sparkling shine.
Dear Doreen: Do you know if Amazon Prime Day will have iPads? — C.C. via email
Dear C.C. Unlikely. Amazon will be heavily discounting its Alexa voice devices, Fire tablets and other Amazon-branded goods when the sale begins at 3 p.m. July 16. If you’re looking for deals on Apple products, eBay.com is having a rival sale. I recently purchased a refurbished 64-GB iPad mini from Blinq.com. I was happy with the quality (it was in perfect condition) and most of all, price. It was less than $200 after I searched the internet for a coupon code. That price was close to 50 percent off what a new Apple device costs. Connect with me: Facebook.com/ DoreensDeals, Twitter.com/ PrettyGoodIdeas or email dchristensen@ sunsentinel.com.