Be Careful Saving Money on Groceries

Have you seen those ads about saving money on groceries by shopping at Walmart? Whenever grocery stores compare the total costs of a shopping trip at their store with a competitor’s store, I wonder if they use “real” grocery lists, or just select products that are on sale at their store that week.

Our newspaper has had big print ads for this Walmart campaign, so I took a closer look at the list.

Walmart Grocery Receipt

Either that’s a fake list or Marsha is shopping for some carboholics!

  • Seven boxes of cereal
  • Five boxes of crackers (and one bag of chips)
  • Five packages of cookies and other sweet snack foods (and one bag of chocolate chips to make some more)

It’s hard to identify any “real” food in this list. The yogurt? The hot dogs? The olive oil or coconut oil? What is Marsha’s family going to eat this week?

While I am tempted to buy junk food when it is on sale (and was particularly vulnerable on this grocery trip), I try to remind myself that a healthy week starts at the grocery store.

healthy grocery cart

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12 Responses to Be Careful Saving Money on Groceries

  1. Madeline @ Food, Fitness, and Family says:

    Holy cow. That's a lot of carbs! I see people actually shop like that though when they have coupons. It makes me shake my head seeing all the empty calories they are eating 🙁

  2. Carrie says:

    Wow! I think that's why I hardly use coupons. They're rarely ever available for anything healthy.

    I totally agree – if you don't buy it, you won't eat it.

  3. David H. says:

    We use coupons all the time and have found a lot this year for items like Cuties, Chobani, frozen fruits and vegetables, etc. Coupons are out there for healthier food. Also, not that I'm defending WM, but their strategy is basket savings — while they won't "win" on every price, they'll "win" on your overall trip to the store. I'm actually surprised to see their local side of the company having an ad like that.

  4. yumyucky says:

    My list used to look like that back in the day. This is a normal American grocery receipt.
    sidenote: People who buy their meats at Walmart….that's just nasty.

  5. Sarah says:

    My friends ask me ALL THE TIME how I'm losing weight the way I am. I always tell them that it starts at the grocery store. They look at me like I have three heads….If you're unwilling to give up (at atleast cut back) on your sugary cereal, Doritos, and soda, I can't help you….

    Sarah http://www.thinfluenced.com

    • It is amazing how the simplest thing can be so hard to grasp. Of course, I don't always keep that stuff out of my cart, but at least now I think twice — or harder — about it.

  6. Girl Gone Veggie says:

    Such a good reminder how much control we have over our "uncontrollable" snacking urges.

  7. Marcia says:

    A nearby Walmart just went to the full-blown grocery route. What i found was the foods not listed on the register tape you show (ie: deli, produce) are way higher priced than other grocery stores. Overall Definitely not the great deals they advertise.

  8. ericka says:

    Such a good point. I struggle with this no end. A good reminder!

  9. Steena says:

    I've never seen an ad like this .. ? Maybe it's an east coast thing.

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