Not a bargain!

Eric and I decided to try grocery shopping at Sprawlmart this weekend to see if it would save us money. It actually did, probably about five bucks... but it would have to save me 50 every week to make it worth my time to go there.

No, I do not love Walmart.  I don't like the way they treat their workers based on the few I've known personally. They cut their hours and make them work holidays, people who work there don't make a living wage, women are not in management... the list goes on. I'm sure you're familiar with it.

I'm also old enough to remember Sam Walton and his insistence that everything be made in America... ha ha.. not anymore, kids!
So why did we try it?
My family's bottom line is of sufficient importance to me to try to save money when and where I can, but taking our weekly grocery shopping expedition to Sprawlmart just isn't going to happen.

We were greeted at the door (after hiking about three miles from the parking lot) by one of the Salvation Army bell ringers. I hate that SO much. I usually ignore them, I'm certainly not going to donate money to any anti-gay organization no matter what the season, and there are ways to help other people that don't involve in-your-face solicitation. It does not add to the happiness of the season for me to have them outside the stores when I shop. Call me Scrooge. I don't care.

There was a woman with a toddler in a stroller. Baby was about a year old. The mother had given the child a plastic produce bag to keep her occupied. She was chewing on it, taking a huge amount into her mouth, drooling down her chin etc... the MOTHER wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to the baby, shopping, talking on her phone... that kid seriously could have choked and died. The mother would have been surprised, I'm sure. She might have even sued the store.

Then, there was a guy with gauges in his ears. He was wearing jeans for the buttless, black and white Waldo striped shirt and I swear to god those gauges were the size of bangle bracelets.

Now I don't 'get' them, but I don't have a problem with it, they're his ears. What makes me say 'huh' though, is the attitude. Yes, I looked carefully at him. It's hard to look away, ya know? And he looked all disgusted that I had noticed him. His glare was just full of challenge. WTF? If you don't want people to look at you, perhaps you should ponder the Leopard. He's showy against a white background, but when you put him in his natural habitat, he's almost invisible. The lesson here is that if you're sporting bangle-sized holes in your earlobes and thinking you look hip, and people notice you, perhaps you're in the wrong surroundings.

People were parked in the middle of aisles, seemed utterly clueless that they were in the way, and just took their damn time moving on. Every 15 to 20 seconds, someone made a loud announcement over the PA system. Between the constant noise from the PA, the huge crowd,the loud hum of the refrigeration units, screeching children... I couldn't hear my husband talking.

There was no fresh fish. No seafood at all, really. Unless you like the breaded kind you find in the freezer. There were THREE FULL AISLES devoted to frozen convenience 'foods'. Now I am not the most careful eater, but I don't eat that stuff.

The produce was pretty crummy, too. The broccoli was not in flower, was a weird green color without the blue you get with the good stuff, the mushrooms were PACKAGED in little cardboard containers and shrink wrapped, the potatoes were small and misshapen. Bananas were over ripe and there were only a couple varieties of apples.

The chickens were all either frozen or from Alabama. Which means they HAD been frozen and thawed. Most cuts of meat were very fat, very expensive, and I swear they'd all been sprayed with spray paint. Weird color.

So we got the things we could... a loaf of bread, paper towels, toilet paper, apple juice, orange juice, butter... but there were things on our list that simply weren't available there. So we get to go to our regular store today and get them. Meaning we have to go shopping TWICE when going even once sucks.

The grocery store we usually use is crowded at times, but the entire atmosphere is different. It's quieter, although there is still quite a bit of yelling over the PA. It's a little more expensive on some items, but I learned that paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo etc are really just about the same.

So how do YOU save money? How do you work at improving your family's bottom line? I shop at Goodwill, I use coupons when it's something I would ordinarily buy, I don't do impulse shopping, I don't take unnecessary trips, I wear things until they wear out, drive vehicles until THEY wear out...

I guess there are things I won't do to save, though. Walmart is one of them.