Target vs. Walmart

Hello, my name is Sarah and I am a Targaholic.  I must go every few days and if I don't, I start itching all over.  I just love it.  Whether I am going for one thing, twenty things, or nothing at all - I. LOVE. IT.  I don't know what it is about it. It could be the Red Card that really does save you 5% off on every single purchase.  (If you also love Target and do not have one of these cards - go get one RIGHT NOW.  It is a debit card that pulls money straight out of your checking account, but just takes 5% off of your bill every single time.  There are no fees (I have had mine for over a year and have not had to pay one penny) of any sort.  It is just that awesome because Target is just that awesome!)  I loved it before my Target was a grocery store (with a dag-on Starbucks in it!) and once they made the switch I told my husband we were never ever moving.  Our Target is literally around the corner for us, which allows me to satisfy my need fairly easily.  I love picking Caroline up from school and going to pick up that imaginary item that I came up with just so I could go to Target.  I have stood in line at the Starbucks that is now nestled into my sweet little land of joy and had conversations with people about how much we love Target.  Does that happen at Walmart?  It may, but you won't have that conversation with me.

Which brings me to the point of this post.  I have started planning our meals out week by and week and doing the grocery shopping on Sundays.  It has saved us from a lot of produce going bad and it has also saved us from the terrible What Are We Having For Dinner? question that I got so sick of.  So the first Sunday was pretty fun because it was a new way of doing things.  I was in charge of the kitchen (which has not been the case since Jason is the true chef of our family) and I had my list and I was ready to go.  Michelle actually went with me, which made it a bit easier.  I was in and out and it was not TOO painful.  But don't get that tangled and twisted - I was by no means a fan of that place.  There are just TOO many people trying to get to the same stuff and it is overwhelming and overcrowded and I overhate it.  The next Sunday was worse.  I spent all Saturday dreading the trip.  The next weekend I ended up just going to Target and getting enough to get us through the week until I could build up the whatever-I-would-need to get back to Walmart.

Last weekend I set up a challenge for myself.  I wanted to see how much more expensive Target was than Walmart so I would know that I really did need to go to Walmart to save the most money for my family.  (Side note: Since I am the money person for our family, this is VERY important to me since I see the money go out and come in every month.)  So I took my list for that week and I went to Target and priced every single item.  Target had every thing that I needed for that week.  Then I went to Walmart and told myself that I would buy anything at Walmart that was cheaper.  Honest to goodness, I left there with one bag full of maybe five or six things.  Their canned goods were a few cents cheaper and there were a couple of other items that were cheaper, but it wasn't by much.  Everything else I ended up getting at Target because they were cheaper.  So not only is Target cheaper on most items I was looking for, I also got 5% off on top of that!  It was awesome!  If I had really been doing my research as the mathematical brain that I am I would have calculated average percentages and exactly how much cheaper Target was, but I did not.  Honestly, I did not think Target was going to be cheaper, so I wasn't prepared for that part of the challenge.  Maybe another Sunday!

So needless to say, I am very excited about my Sunday shopping trips to Target to get ready for the meals for the week!