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After 8 years of teaching people to save money and telling 99% of folks in workshops, live Q&A sessions and many blog posts that there is nothing to get at Walmart that you couldn’t get cheaper on sale at another store, I must confess that I was wrong. This week we made a quick (and slightly harried) trip to Walmart for a few things we needed the night before a birthday party for my older girls. We needed storage containers so that I could finally finish putting away Christmas things (yes I know it’s April) and a few grocery items. Since most grocery stores don’t sell storage containers and I needed to make this a one stop trip for the sake of time and Walmart became the store of choice. I haven’t shopped in Walmart for groceries in years. Seriously.
Most items were priced exactly what I expected, slightly more than the sale prices in the grocery store. So far we were good and life was normal until I hit the very back of the store. We needed milk. Remember that I haven’t shopped in Walmart for groceries part… I found the milk and looked at the price. Then I just stood there in shock. Milk at Walmart is $2 cheaper per gallon than the grocery store! That’s not chump change. I usually get 2 gallons, so that’s $4 saved over the Publix or Bi-Lo price.
I’m not about to start making a weekly trip to Walmart for just milk, but my eyes have been opened a little. The trick if you did make this journey just for milk… could you get in the store, all the way to the back for it and leave with just the milk you came for?? Probably not. Which is their plan and why they sell it below market value. (Currently the USDA pays around $1.70 per gallon not including shipping, distribution, subsidies etc.)
I pondered buying more than the two gallons we needed and freezing extra, but I currently need to clean out my freezer and have no room. I might start to do this monthly though to save a good $16-$20 per month just on milk and buy in bulk. If my buggy is full of milk I can’t be tempted to buy anything else while I’m there!
For the first time possibly ever on Friday Finals…
Walmart Totals:
Total Purchase Value: $37.59
Total Spent: $32.59
Total Saved: $5
Now let me say one last thing, the $4 saved on milk was probably lost on the other items. What we bought are items not normally on my shopping list so they weren’t in my pantry, but they do go on sale and are considerably cheaper in the grocery store than what we paid.
How did you do this week? Leave a comment or a link to your savings post.
