Like a dollar not the deer ...
I hate shopping at Wal-Mart! I cringe every time I walk into the place. I saw a documentary about the company a few years ago and that turned me off of the superstore. I heard they're apparently trying to turn things around ... maybe I need to find a newer documentary.
Even though I prefer to buy American made things from local stores, Wally World has become a necessary evil in my life. The reason I shop there is 2-fold.
1. When I get out, especially when I've got all 3 in tow, I need to get as much of what I need in the same
place because there's really no telling when I'll get out again. So ... convenience.
2. The prices. I'm a cheapskate ... not ashamed of it.
Okay, so here's where the good part comes in! My wonderful sis-in-law told me about price matching at Wal-Mart. They will match a lower price at any other local store. Woohoo! Ever since I made this discovery, I've added a step to my grocery list making process. I check pretty much every store in the local area for better deals. Takes me about an hour. But I think it's worth it!
Many times Wal-Mart really does have the lowest price. But I'm usually able to save at least $25 this way. It's worth it to me since I go through at least 2 gallons of milk and 3 pints of strawberries a week.
So I've decided to share the love! After my weekly grocery trip, I'm going to post things I've bought that I price matched so everyone can benefit from my research. A good example of the deals I find: Strawberries are almost always .99 a pint at Aldi. They're usually $1.98 at Wal-Mart ... half off! YAY!
Since I'll only be posting about the deals I've found on my trip, I'll tell you how I do it in case you want to do your own legwork. :)
1. I've bookmarked every grocery store I can think of in the area: Tom Thumb, Aldi, Albertsons, Kroger, The Dollar Store, Dollar General, CVS, Walgreens, Brookshires, Target, Sprouts, & HEB (Having them bookmarked just makes the process easier)
2. Make out my grocery list.
3. Get on my computer and pull up each store's online weekly ad paper & look for the items on my list. Sometimes, if I see a really good deal I'll get something not on my list but I'm not about buying 42 travel size shampoos for only $1.29. I just want a good deal on the things I already buy.
4. When I find a better deal at a different store, I write the better price, the item info (brand, size, etc) & the store I found it at next to the item on my list.
Note: If Tom Thumb has 16oz of cheese for $4 but I can only find the same cheese at Wal-Mart in 8oz I'll
say 8oz for $2 ... get it?
Note #2: I try to stay pretty true to the exact size & brand. However, if the Tom Thumb brand cheese is
on sale I'll relate that to the Wal-Mart brand cheese. Sometimes the cashiers except it, sometimes not.
5. When I shop I'll get whatever's cheaper ... Wal-Mart or the other store. When at the register, I tell the cashier right off that I'm price matching. Then I group all my price matched items together (just makes it easier). When the cashier comes to an item I'm pricing matching I tell him "That cheese is $2 at Tom Thumb."
Although someone could very easily take advantage of the system, I don't. I stay very honest to it. Even though I'd LOVE to tell them milk is on sale for $1 somewhere. :(
Tune in later or my deal postings!
