Frugal Friday - Just Say No

Just recently my county has gotten a Walmart.   I've never been a big fan of Walmart but having one so close made it pretty convenient.  Before this the only big chain store was a Foodlion.   There is another small family owned grocery store but that's about all we have out here.   If I wanted to go shopping I went to town.   It's about 45 minutes away so most trips were planned.   Now I could just run to the store whenever I wanted.   It's only 15 miles down the road and that's darn close.   Yep....it's close all right.  Maybe too darn close.

I used to make due when I ran out of something.   Or I would run to the small family owned grocery store even though it was quite a bit more expensive.  Not any more.   I could run up to Walmart.  After all Walmart is cheaper right?   

Not necessarily.   Sometimes it is and sometimes it's quite a bit more expensive.   I had seen documentaries about Walmart's pricing policies but now I was experiencing it first hand.   An example:  Cloves at Walmart  4.99.   Cloves at Foodlion  2.79.   Same size bottle.  Same quality.  I've  found the same thing to be true again and again with different products.  

For me though the bigger issue is that I left the house for a $3 item but the trip ends up costing me $20 because I see this or that and I think I need it.  I get sucked into the same mind frame on a smaller  scale with Foodlion too.   But at least there it's just food items.   Walmarts one stop shopping is a killer.   

A few years back I saw another documentary with the Dalai Lama in it and one of the things he said  was how hard it was even for him when he went into an American grocery store because it's so bright and full of everything under the sun and how he was somewhat captivated and mesmerized by it all.    Well folks if the Dalai Lama is mesmerized by it, I don't stand a chance.   

I am and have been just saying no to Walmart.  Now I go to the family owned store where it's not so shiny and bright and things may be a bit more expensive but my wallet and mother earth are both better off for this.

Elizabeth