No Superstore Challenge

[Denim Deb]

We don't have any small, local stores in this area, so I'm pretty limited as to where I can shop. But I also try not to buy stuff unless I really need it.

 

[tortoise]

I almost caved in yesterday! I wanted to go to Walmart to get material for teaching DS8 to sew. I know they have a good selection of fat quarters and I had a couple other things on my list. I begrudgingly went to a local quilt shop. I felt I didn't get much for the money ($65!), but a Walmart trip would have been double. I stopped at Walmart today after a doctor appointment - and I sent DS8 in to drop off 3 big stuffed bags of plastic shopping bags. I'm so "over" plastic bags. Collecting, sorting for holes, wrapping good ones up to save for later, storing the HUGE excess in my tiny mudroom, extra trips to drop them off for recycling. FORGET IT! I'm done with that. I have enough cloth bags. And ALDI. ALDI accepts credit cards now! Beats the best stock-up sale prices at the grocery store everyday. And their brands have no synthetic food dyes, bonus! I bought 12 pounds of butter for $1.99 each, I'll stop in tomorrow to get another 12 pounds at the same price. Butter costs twice as much at the grocery store and we've been doing without butter. That's HARD for a dairy-state family!!

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Congrats on holding firm. I need to see if our local Aldi has butter on sale. I'd stock up too - butter freezes so well!

 

[Mini Horses]

We don't have Aldi or I would sure be there for butter!

 

[baymule]

No Aldi here either. We only have ONE, count it, ONE grocery store besides the grocery department of Walmart. There are no other different grocery stores in neighboring towns either. Tyler is the headquarters for Brookshire's and Brookshire's has it all sewn up. NO competition.

 

[Denim Deb]

They moved the Aldi's I used to go to. The new location is better for them, but not for me. I had to practically go past it between my doctors. There's another one I can go to. I really need to start going to it.

 

[lcertuche]

There are lots of reasons to forgo the big warehouse stores. Here is a few of my thoughts on this subject.

1. I think if you believe you are getting a deal you may use more product than you normally would therefore not lasting as long. Plus the $45 membership fee would take a lot of bargains and money spent to off set. Only if you are buying major appliances this could be possible. Also, there is the idea of storing say 40 rolls of toilet paper or eating huge boxes of cereal before going stale. Is that really saving money in the long run?

2. I like to buy personal products at the Dollar Tree when possible. They even take coupons now on name brands like Crest. It is a good place to stock up on many things. Walmart and Harps, for instance are getting wise to this $1 phenomenon and have their own cheap isle or dollar products. In fact in recent months Walmart has offered certain products for .88 cents competing with the dollar store competition. I have yet to find a tube of toothpaste at Sam's Club for a $1 or a tube of antibiotic cream for .88 cents.

3. Liked mentioned early often sales cycles and loss leader products are cheaper than Sam's club. Walmart does match sales prices though.

4. I like to shop at our little Mom and Pop ethnic stores. The prices are a bargain. You don't waste gasoline traveling out of town and it helps local economy.

5. If you do have to travel for good deals as mentioned earlier stores like Aldi's does offer bargains that is hard to beat. I have got eggs for as little as 69 cents/dozen, avocados for 49 cents/piece, quinoa for less than $2.

6. Feminine products and diapers are cheaper but diapers for instance may be outgrown before all could be used in that particular size and feminine products could be bought online in a reusable version. Washable cloth pads or a rubber cup that could be used for virtually years bought online. The same with cloth diapers plus no disposable package or product to go into landfills. Generic versions of the disposable can be bought from the Dollar Tree as well at a lower price.

7. Walmart is working on getting cheaper necessary things, prescriptions, etc. but it's because of competition. They are working hard at driving out the competition and I have no doubt that prices will go up and wages down as this happens. Too often Walmart has opened up new stores in areas with the so called everyday low prices only to raise them when local stores closed.

Now I actually like to buy certain things at Sam's Club and Walmart. I will buy large bags of beans, rice, flour, sugar, cheese, and sometimes meat. The hard part is not wanting to buy all the products offered as samples. Do I buy enough to offset the price of the membership. No, but there are times when you can get a free pass to visit Sam's Club and pay a 10% markup. We do have a membership because my husband thinks we can't live without it. We actually drive an hour to the big city where it is located, costing at least $10 in gas, not to mention the wear and tear on our vehicle, tires, etc. I would say we probably don't go there more than 6 times a year and have don't done it less than 3 or 4. We don't buy appliances and only once bought a large TV. If you got most your groceries, laundry soap, medicines then maybe but for me it isn't a bargain in the long run. I like to shop closer to home even if that means it cost a little more on some things. For instance I pay $2/dozen on fresh farm eggs when I shop here at home from a local farmer. I buy beans for $1 from the local Mexican market and .49 cents/pound for onions from the Oriental market, at least a dollar cheaper than most other places I could shop and then stores are 10 minutes from I live.

 

[lcertuche]

Sales cycles, loss leaders, coupons, b2g1 have generally been the best way to consistently save money. Another way to save money is to seasonally shop. Certain foods at certain times of the year. I use to save a lot of money matching sales with coupons but couponing can actually cost you money because they aren't easy or cheap to get. Also, I often would buy things that we didn't really use that much and most of that was highly processed.

 

[Mini Horses]

Wonder what happened to Tortoise who started this?

 

[lcertuche]

I once made"Baileys" and took on a camping trip with friends. I was everyone's best friend. I sometime go weeks eating out of the pantry and freezer but if I had to survive on my garden I would starve, lol.