My Foray Into Wal-Mart

Yesterday the Little Ladybug and I ventured into Wal-Mart for my big grocery shop of the week. If you read yesterday's post, you know that this was a difficult decision and I really dreaded the experience.The results were a mixed bag.

On the positive side, the store was fairly empty. I guess weekday mornings are the time to go. I was able to find almost everything I needed and I did notice that some items are slightly cheaper than at Kroger. Wal-Mart also carries some things that Kroger doesn't but I didn't want to get too distracted or grab items that weren't on my list, so I didn't investigate that too closely.

I got a good amount of groceries for a little under $200. Of course that doesn't include the $5 T-shirt I also picked up. I guess that's one way they get you. You go in for groceries and come out with an additional hundred bucks in cheapo clothing and toys.

On the downside, there weren't enough cashiers and the wait in line was a little long. Luckily, just about the time Ladybug started screaming at the top of her lungs and throwing groceries out of the cart, another lane opened and we managed to get out of there.

I do have some questions about the quality of the food. I might be imagining this, but the bagged salad I usually buy looked to be a smaller bag than the same item at Kroger. I wonder if they skimp on the ounces of product to make up for the lower cost? Also, for dinner last night I bought some steak for fajitas and it just was not very good at all. It was tough, but worse, it didn't taste good. It wasn't spoiled or anything, just bland and a little reminiscent of the half-beef half-soy burgers that my elementary school served.

To cap things off, I had to go to Kroger anyway to pick up the couple of items Wal-Mart doesn't carry and while there, I noticed that at least three things I bought at Wal-Mart were cheaper at Kroger this week! Grrrrr. I guess I need to read the Sunday ads and try to shop the best deals at both places. As if I needed to complicate my life more....

On the Horns of a Dilemma

My ethics and my pocketbook are at war with one another. It's all over that evil but cheap commerical mecca, Wal-Mart.

We have been spending an ungodly amount on our groceries and try as I might, I just can't bring the expenditure down. I usually do our grocery shopping at the Kroger just down the street. It's convenient, clean, and has everything I need. The cashiers are helpful and friendly.

Unfortunately, it's not cheap. Oh, it's not the Cadillac of groceries, that would be Pulix or Harris Teeter, but it's no ugly stepchild either. I use coupons, I buy the store-brand items or items on sale, and I try to avoid impulse buys, but we're still spending a pretty penny each month.At dinner the other night, one of my friends explained how she feeds her family of three on a little over $300 a month.

Yes, you read that correctly, $300 a month.

This woman does 95% of her shopping at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. She also plans her meals for a month at a time and buys the majority of the month's food in one trip. I was dumbstruck.

We spend 3 times that much for our family of 3.5 (my 15 month old doesn't eat alot). We occasionally go to Sam's Club for things like tires or contacts, but I don't do much grocery shopping there.

And I almost never go to Wal-Mart. Both my husband and I are both ethically opposed to Wal-Mart's for the usual reasons: poor treatment of employees, anti-labor tactics, forcing companies to reduce the quality of their products and encouraging companies to move oversees. Plus I just don't like the stores. They are always crowded and dirty and I can never find anything. It's not an enjoyable experience.

I can't pretend that I can do all my shopping for a month at a time. We eat far too much produce for that and my 3 year old son powers through milk like a newborn babe. However, we have got to find a way to lower our grocery bill and thus, I am at war with myself.

Do I throw my beliefs to the wind to kneel at the altar of the Sam Walton? Should I cave in to save some cash? Is Wal-Mart really that much cheaper? Is it worth the hassle of shopping there?

I guess I won't know until I try so I have decided to give Wal-Mart a go for one month. I know it won't be pretty but I will gird my loins and do the bulk of my shopping there. At the end of the month, we'll compare this month's bill with last month's. It would be nice to do an item by item comparison on say, 50 things I regularly buy, but I don't have time for that. I buy pretty much the same things on each trip, so we should get a general idea of how Kroger and Wal-Mart compare. I'm crossing my fingers that Kroger will be comparable, but I have my doubts.

Billions of people can't be wrong, right?