Adventures in Wal-Mart

Yes, Walmart is evil. Moving on, it's also relatively cheap and good value, especially for the mall's proximity to Manhattan (12 min from Port Authority via the Lincoln Tunnel). I try to get there every four - six weeks to stock up on necessities and get more value for my coupons because the prices are far cheaper than other options.

I saved $27.09 on coupons alone!

Last night, I sat down with my coupon holder and pulled out those that expired 9/30 or 10/15. It also allowed me to purge all of those that expired 9/15. As I made my shopping list based on my tacked up "finished and need to buy" list as well as my coupons, I put them all in an envelope. I really need a second coupon holder because having them unsorted in the envelope was a little annoying.

As I walked through the aisles I came across some things I didn't need/were too big to buy/wouldn't keep on the trip back/etc. and had fun paying those coupons forward. In some cases I simply left them on the shelf near the product. In others I handed them to shoppers who were looking at those items. Karma up significantly.

I'm also very proud of myself. I didn't reach into my other coupon holder for impulse buys that "I think I have a coupon for." If I didn't need it and/or the coupon is good for another month, it can wait.

Biggest expenditures:

14.94 (2) - two tops, and I did have these on my shopping list, my fall wardrobe is a bit lacking.

11.97 - Lactaid, it's one of those things where I just can't buy generic. The generic don't work as well and don't take care of the problem

7.94 (2) - hair dye, but then I had a $5 off 2 coupon so really it was $5.54 apiece and that's a good price for L'Oreal Feria and much cheaper than having my hair done

5.52 (2) - bodywash. Like my usual bodywash, it's not cheap but I love how it makes my skin look and feel. I wish the days I wasn't a soap snob.

Most of what I bought was grocery stuff - I have lots now so that I can avoid the expensive stores here except for perishables, and I think I can cook around a lot of that. I'm happy with my total. I'm also happy with some non-expenditures, namely shoes that I found out were $29. Nope, I don't pay $29 for shoes at Wal-mart. If I want cheap shoes, it's $15 at Payless or for better ones,  $40 at DSW.

Also raincheck for Act for $2.99 since it's usually almost double and Walgreens was out. Need to submit the $15 in rebates from last month. Overall, been a good month.