From worst to best, in one shopping trip flat!

Okay, for all you out there who HATE Wal-Mart with a passion, I can totally relate. They used to be one of my least favorite places to buy groceries because: A: it's almost always packed, B: it never seemed to be as good of quality as Target or the regular grocery store, and C: I always seem to find an extra $50 worth of junk to buy that wasn't on my list.
However, I had recently read some acticles on Walmarts updated price matching policy and I decided to give it a shot. Suddenly, I think I'll be shopping at Walmart a LOT more often!
Here's the srategy that worked great for me:
First, I sat down at home and scanned all the local grocery ads for the week (the ads have to be local in order for them to guarantee price matching). I made a list of the things in the ads I wanted to buy that looked something like this:
 Buy 4 Less deals:
Wonder Classic White Sandwich Bread- 1 loaf  $1.19
Red Strawberries- 1 lb $2.39
Homeland Grocery deals:
DiGiorno pizzas 24-31 oz: 2/$7
Etc.
You have to be a little detailed becuase the item in the store has to be the same as what the ad lists. For meat and produce, it has to be sold by the same units (such as $2 per pound ) so if Buy 4 Less is selling apples by the pound and Walmart sells them as a price per apple, you won't be able to use that deal. Also, Walmart won't match "buy one for x, get one for y" type ads. However, pretty much anything else goes. They also honor deals that other stores require a "frequent shoppers card" for. Also, you no longer have to bring the ad with you. Stores are now responsible for keeping all local ads on hand and if they don't have them, too bad for them!
So, like I said, I made my list so I would know exactly what I needed to tell the lady at checkout, and also added on the things that weren't on sale already somewhere.
Next, I headed to the store. I didn't want to be one of those people who goes during the busiest times and holds up the line for 20 people, so I went about 10 in the morning when there were no lines. When I got to the store, if there were some things that Walmart was already selling cheaper than the deal on my list, I crossed it off so I wouldn't get confused at checkout. Then, when we got to the front, I put all the things that were going to be price adjustments at the end of the black rolling counter (what the heck are those things called, anyway?) I told the lady I had a few price matches and she didn't even roll her eyes at me!
When she got to those things, I just told her who had that item listed and for what price and she adjusted it right there, without even looking it up, so it only took a couple extra seconds per item.
Here's the kicker, between that and a few coupons, I saved over $30 on our $70 grocery bill! THIRTY DOLLARS! And I probably only spent an extra 15 minutes between scanning ads and the extra time in line!
I know, its nothing compared to the people on those "Extreme Couponing" shows, but I was still pretty excited about it, after all, thats an hour less of work, or a meal out one night!
Well, I guess thats enough about my grocery habits for one day. Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you about how I got a new dress and shirt at the Gap for $15 :)

I am a shopaholic.

There, I said it.

Whew, that's a weight off the shoulders.

But seriously, I love to shop. I don't mean love in the way I love Starbucks or Francine Rivers books. I mean LOVE in the way that I want to do it all the time. I crave it. It excites me. Online, in stores, garage sales, flea markets, Ebay, and on and on and on! I could do it EVERY SINGLE DAY! And I'm not exaggerating. But I don't JUST like to shop. If I just liked to shop, we wouldn't have a problem. The problem is, I also like to BUY. In fact, I don't even like going shopping if I don't have something I'm looking for to buy.
Buying things, in and of itself, is not a problem. However, buying things you don't need, just because you feel the need to buy something, anything, is a big NO NO! And yet, I do it. Well, did it. No, do it. I've curbed the habit a LOT in the last few years. My self control has been forced to grow as I'm learning to budget for a whole household and not just a single college girl living in dorms. Despite that I still find myself waking up in the morning and thinking to myself, hmmm, it sure would be fun to go shopping today....what do I need..... and then I slap myself across the face (figuratively).
I found myself in Walgreen's yesterday, yes, Walgreen's, the lamest store on the planet, waiting for a prescription to be filled browsing the aisles to see what else I needed. And truth be told, if it weren't for the fact that I only took inside my flex insurance card, I probably would have ended up with 5 or 6 items. And I would have justified it by saying "ooh, this would look nice on my dining room buffet that I plan to have in the next 5-7 years, ohhh Benton would LOVE this for his 17th birthday, surely one of my friends will be getting married in the next few years that would love his and hers Snuggies" See what I mean? Its a sickness. His and hers Snuggies, really???? Come on, Andrea!
Okay, you caught me, I didn't really almost buy those, but I wouldn't put it past me.
So, I'm going in to start my own BA club (buyers anonymous. Although its not really anonymous because I just told you, I'm the buyer.) The only rule for my club is that members must keep track of all EXTRA things they buy (not groceries, underwear, shampoo, just extra things like bookends, snuggies, and that 68th bottle of nail polish we buy because we just don't have THAT shade of red.) Then, at the end of the month you have to look at your list of all the things you bought and ask yourself if you really needed them (just to give yourself a reality check). The next month, your goal is to cut the number of items down by two. Keep cutting and within...a lot of months...maybe your list will be 0!
So, who wants to join my club? It will be lots of fun...we can hold our meetings at the mall. Ahem, I mean at the library. LOL.
No, but really, I think I am going to give this a try, I'll let you know how it goes. Feel free to join me!