This weeks adventure brings me to our local Wal-Mart Supercenter, some people love it, and some people loathe it. Either way I’m going to list the good points and the not so good points of our local store, along with the prices of my 15 items.

When the Wal-Mart Supercenter opened, almost a year ago, I was thrilled. I had been driving to a Supercenter 40 minutes round trip once a week for about five years, so I was overjoyed when the store arrived. I could save time and gas money. The prices were much lower than the local grocery stores, and you can’t beat the appeal of one stop shopping 24 hours a day.

There are a few drawbacks though… There are usually only about four check-out lanes open, no matter what time I shop at. Our local store makes sure that the registers right by the Fun Center (arcade) are open, so you have the joy of a screaming toddler at checkout begging to go and play, and spend more money. I’ve also noticed that our local store isn’t too coupon friendly, I’ve come home many times to find out that my coupons were never run, but collected at check-out. Customer service is hit or miss, and the local selection is often lacking in the grocery department. You often see many empty shelves where the great deals should be.

I’ve also had issues with the baby/toddler clothing and shoe aisles. Boy’s items are very difficult to find, and you are often referred to go and shop at the other Wal-Mart 30 minutes away for kids items. I usually end up making a run to Payless for the boy’s shoes, which is another tank of gas, and money spent out of our local economy. The Supercenter Pharmacy is not the best, I have run into a problem with every refill. The wait for a new prescription is anywhere from 4 hours to 2 days, its just crazy. We now take our prescription needs to Walgreens. The Supercenter is also a brand new building, and it has its quirks. The parking lot was designed very poorly, there is only one entrance and one exit, and they are the same. It is a little dangerous getting in and out of there.

It isn’t all negative though, I promise… It is hard to beat their prices especially on grocery items. You can usually buy everything in just one stop, which is nice when you’ve got to grumpy kids in the cart, and it is time for lunch. Also make friends in the Bakery and Deli; Thade usually receives a Free Cookie, or Popcorn Chicken for the price of a smile. The Greeters are always very friendly and helpful too. Overall it is a nice place to shop, and the 24-hour availability of products does come in handy.

So how did I do pricing my fifteen items? Here is the list:

• Cat Food-Sam’s Choice: $3.84
• Kitty Litter-Sam’s Choice: $1.68
• Kleenexes  Single Box- Great Value: $1.24
• Toilet Paper-Angel Soft 4 count: $1.32
• Diapers-Huggies Jumbo pack: $10.67
• Baby Food-Gerber 2 pack: $.98
• Baby Food-Gerber 3rd Foods Jar:$.72
• Gerber Puffs: $1.92
• Saltines-Great Value: $.96
• Coca-Cola 12 pack: $3.98
• Bread-Sam’s Choice small: $.96
• Eggs- Big River (sale) : $1.70
• Milk One Gallon 2%-Great Value (sale):$3.40
• White Flour 5lbs-Great Value: $1.58
• Sugar 5lbs-GreatValue:$1.98
• Grand Total of all items: $36.93

So far the prices at Wal-Mart are coming in the lowest, but I haven’t shopped the other grocery stores just yet. We’ll see if the Supercenter’s lower prices remain the lowest. What do you think about your local Wal-Mart, good or bad, let me know…