No Superstore Challenge

tortoise

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I went to superstores to get the "lowest prices", but when my household category of spending hit $500 per month in February, I needed to make some BIG changes! Household category = clothing, cleaning, toiletries, paper goods, any random stuff

One of my weaknesses was non-list items at Walmart, so I STOPPED going to Walmart completely for a month. I was nervous at first. I wasn't sure my spending would go down by shopping at local shops with notoriously high prices.

But, results are in. My household category spending was down to $300! I need to shave off at least another $100 from this category, consistently. This past month, I did not try to be frugal - only to stay out of superstores. Now I'm encouraged to continue - and maybe try being a bit frugal in this category. ;)
 

Denim Deb

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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.
 

baymule

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Make a list and stick to it. Do you have Dollar stores in your area? Family Dollar or Dollar General are small, have the basics and are NOT a superstore.
 

MoonShadows

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Another money-burner are club stores like Sam's, Costco and BJ's. We found that if you watch the sales and learn their timing in the local supermarkets, you save much more than club stores. An example is coffee. We drink 8 O'clock Coffee. At 1 store it goes on a buy1, get 1 free every 3 months. We buy about 20 bags 4 times a year. We save much more than if we buy the gigantic bags in one of the club stores. The same goes for paper goods, cleaning supplies (the ones we don't make ourselves)...any packaged goods almost.
 

Denim Deb

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We stopped shopping in the club stores because we were buying all kinds of things we wouldn't normally buy. Our grocery bills where thru the roof! And the packages were so big, that more often than not, half of the package would be wasted either because we couldn't eat it fast enough, or we got tired of eating it.
 

tortoise

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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

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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!
 

baymule

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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

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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.
 

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