Walmart: Saving with Frustration

Let me start by saying...I typically avoid Walmart at all costs.

Yeah, some items are cheaper, you can get a bunch of stuff all in one trip, yada, yada, yada.

A money vacuum, that is what I call it. You go in for a $5.00 item, you walk out crying, wondering where your paycheck went. Am I right?

Well...every now and then I'll start checking out some deals online; items I can get for little or no cost with coupons. I'll save them all up, make a list and drive on over. The secret here is to ONLY buy what is on your list...that's it...nothing more. Otherwise, SWWOOPP, into the money vacuum you'll go.

Today was my day to go. Let me start with the facts.
Total: $68.22
I paid: $14.41

Was the savings worth going? You bet! Was it a usual frustrating trip? You bet!

The annoyance comes with missing items, non-carried items, online v/s store price differences...that sort of thing (I hear this is a common complaint of online deal grabbers.) Price variances are to be expected across the country, but when you are walking and re-walking MILES around the store looking for certain items, and they aren't there, it's easy to become a hateful shopper. Though, I can't help but gleam when I'm only handing over $15 for a cart load of products. *cheesy smile*

Here are a few of the better deals I DID find:

• 8 bags Kitten Chow: $14.96 - (8x) 1.87 Sunday Q = 8 for FREE (I had planned on donating these to the Humane Society, but then remembered a stray cat gave birth to 5 kittens at my mom's house - so she's getting them. By the way, does anyone want a kitten in about 2 weeks? Two of them look Siamese.)
  
• 2 Armor All Protectant: $6.34 - (2x) $2 printable **MAN-PON ALERT** = 2 for $2.34
• 8 Kotex Liners: $8.00 - (4x) $2.00 Sunday Q = 8 for FREE (Umm..yeeah...I don't know. I'm building a Kotex liner castle? They make great party favors? Sending them to BP to soak up the oil spill? Aww, heck...I get them because they are free.)
• 2 STP Oil Treatments: $4.94 - (2x) $2 printables **MAN-PON ALERT** = 2 for $.94
• 2 Muir Glen Tomato Paste: $1.92 - (2x) $1 printable = 2 for FREE + $.08
• 2 Muir Glen Diced Tomatoes: $2.76 - (2x) $1 printable = 2 for $.76
• 4 Mac & Cheese: $2.96 - (2x) $.55 printable = 4 for $1.86
• Simply Go-Gurt: $2.25 - $2.25 Mailer (Facebook?) = FREE
• 3 EZ Mac: $2.64 - B2GOF $.88 = 3 for $1.76
• 4 100 Calorie Snacks: $9.52 - (2x) BOGOF printable = $4.76 for 4 (I needed to bring snacks to my son's baseball game tonight, so why not get half of them for free? I even got the box with 33% more in it - so I hope they like chocolate covered pretzels.)
• 2 Red Baron by the Slice Pizza: $6.00 - (2x) $1 Sunday Q = $4.00 for 2 boxes
  

Anyway, all of this plus a few extra things pictured for $14.41. Can you believe it?

My poor cashier. This time...this ONE time...I actually felt sort of bad. She had coupons everywhere. At one point, I had no clue on what she HAD rang in and what she HADN'T. Though, even though it took a while to get everything straight, she was very patient and even inquisitive about couponing. So I gave her a biz card. Of course, the lady behind me had a small touch of the Coupon Stink Eye going on. She could have gone to another lane. If she would have gotten in line before the cashier started ringing up my items, I would have let her go first...with her measly six ears of corn. *sorry*

Just always remember, it's YOUR dollar. Don't let anyone else's actions determine how you spend it...despite that nasty stink eye.