September 23, 2006
I Can’t Help It
I know I’m not supposed to like Wal-Mart, but I must confess: I do. I really do.
My husband will argue with me until his last breath that Wal-Mart is evil. They monopolize the retail industry with their rolling back of the prices and make it impossible for the little guy to survive in these difficult financial times. I completely understand that. I half agree with him.
We have a Super Wal-Mart less than a mile away from our house. It opened in April 2006, and the residents of Stevens Point and Plover were up in arms over this new store, which was moving from Stevens Point (big city) into Plover (small town). The controversy started because our “old” Wal-Mart was located in a part of town next to Copps East Point Food Center. People shopped for basics at Wal-Mart and did their food shopping at Copps. When Wal-Mart built their superstore, they took not only a chunk of regular customers away from Copps, they took ALL of the grocery customers with them.
Copps is part of Roundy’s Inc. of Pewaukee, Wis. My husband and my father are both employed by Roundy’s; my father works at the east side store and Doug works at the south side store. You can imagine the dent in our incomes when people choose to shop at Super Wal-Mart (with adjacent grocery store) instead of Copps.
I must note that before the Copps Corporation sold out to Roundy’s, they were a family owned and operated company that was built over 100 years ago in Stevens Point. It was the Copps family that put small town grocery stores like Gene’s IGA, Piggly Wiggly and Econo Foods (not a small store - this was a competitor corporation) out of business. Because of this, I feel it’s only fair in this corporation “food” chain (get the pun?) that the bigger guy eats the little guy.
Even though I know Wal-Mart is “not cool” to some people and that it’s stereotyped as a ” southern redneck” store (which I DON’T believe — I blame that movie “Home Is Where the Heart Is”), I have a list of my favorite things about the “evil” corporation.
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- I can get my digital pictures printed at the 2-day rate of $0.15 per print, saving oodles of dough as I print a lot of pictures. Shopko and K-Mart charge $0.24 and Walgreens $0.22 per print. Those pennies add up tp saving me $108 per year.
- Cost Cutters is right inside the store. If I need a quick trim, I can spend $16.95 on a shampoo & cut. Since I’m keeping my hair shorter these days I frequently need a trim. My regular salon charges $24.95 for the same hair service. I end up saving $32-$64 a year.
- Since my Doodlebug has no interest in consistently potty training, I have to buy diapers every two to three weeks (depending on the count of the package). An 80 count box is $18.88. I often have coupons for $1.50 off, bringing my price to $17.38. Since other stores charge $22 for the same box I save $62.88 a year.
-Dawson goes through clothes sizes fairly slowly, but when he does need new pants or season appropriate attire, I often scour the racks at Wal-Mart and find the best deals and clearance items. Not to mention clothing made in the USA and very durable. Just yesterday I spent $40 on new winter wear and got four pairs of pants, four shirts and socks. Target has awesome clothing, but I can’t always afford it for the few short months Dawson wears them.
-I found Doug some sweatpants (and they’re HANES!) for $8.94. At other stores I’m looking at $15 a pair. And since my husband wanted slippers for winter, I found durable and washable black comfy footwear for him for $7.97.
-Wal-Mart has a portrait studio extremely less expensive than Sears. While I love Sears, our local store is horrible with keeping appointment times and they are way over priced. We had Dawson’s 2 year photos taken and spent $79 on 24 portrait sheets. $3.66 a piece. Sears charges $8.99 each, plus a $14.99 sitting fee and there’s not much difference. I’ve just save $45 right there.
-Halloween decorations are inexpensive and costumes are cheap (since you only wear them once).
-While I don’t grocery shop at Super Wal-Mart because of loyalty to the company my husband works for, I do notice their prices are lower than Copps. This disturbs me. We are not a family with high income. Pinching pennies is a must for us because we have a mortgage and car payment and utilities and medical bills to pay. I feel as though I should be shopping at Wal-Mart for groceries to save as much as possible. (Okay, don’t tell Doug this — honey if you’re reading this, I’m sorry — but once I bought groceries at Wal-Mart and brought them home in Copps bags. OOPS!)
So there you have it. I’m a Wal-Mart whore and I can’t help it. The savings add up to nearly $600 a year, equivalent to our house payment. Do you blame me? Then why do I feel so guilty for liking “Wally World”?
Posted by Dana @ 12:05 pm • Uncategorized
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September 24th, 2006 at 10:28 am, Jessica Says:
I love ya to death, Dana, but this is where we may part ways (grin) - I have to agree with your husband on this one. My shop of choice is usually Target.
September 24th, 2006 at 3:58 pm, Dana Says:
Jessica, I know……I KNOOOOOOOW. But all the money we save…….-ugh- What’s a girl to do?
September 24th, 2006 at 6:34 pm, Lorelai Says:
Last year I made a vow never to shop in a Walmart again. I watched a documentary on how the Walmart corp. is run and I got so mad. That being said, it is a very convenient place to shop, and at first I struggled with my vow a lot, but now I forget it’s even there. If I were a parent it would be a lot harder to resist. You have to do what’s best for your family, and you should never feel guilty about that.
September 26th, 2006 at 11:17 am, Anonymous Purple Car Says:
Dana,
I have always been a Wal-mart person vs. the other stores due to the fact their prices have always been cheaper. When I need groceries I have found them to be quite a bit cheaper at Wal-mart and it is convenient that I can get my non grocery items and grocery items in the same place.
My husband too hates to shop at Wal-mart because it is “evil” as Doug says, but when a person (family) is looking to save money that is how you can do it.
September 26th, 2006 at 12:56 pm, Dana Says:
Hey APC!! Good to see you! I’m glad I’m not alone!!!!
Lorelei, thank you. I still feel so bad about it, but I know all the money I save is worth it!