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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Walmart vs. Publix
Ok, so after reading the budget posts many of you changed your shopping to Walmart. Everyone thought it was worth it on the posts so far. Do you feel it is worth it? We shop at Publix too and love it for the same reasons. There is a new Walmart not too far from us that is actually pretty nice so I'm wondering if we should start going there to save money, especially with the added expensive of a baby on the way!
Tell me what you think about this.
Re: Walmart vs. Publix
I've had the best luck with Walmart for the basics - towels, toilet paper, tissues...they also have good deals on oj, cereal, butter, flour, etc. However, for meat, I would rather get it from Publix because they have sales and better deals than walmart. I also like Publix ice cream!
Keep an eye out for "Aldi" - a discount foodstore that is making it's way down south. We had these up in NJ and they were FABULOUS!! They have some name brand foods, but mostly their own brands. They had oreos (their own brand) for 99cents a pack and they taste soooo much better than Oreo brand. Chips, salad dressing, cereal, canned veggies and fruits....awesome deals. Can't wait until they open up down here because I'm really missing them!
They're building an Aldi on the corner of Aloma & Forsyth, FYI - it says it opens in Fall 2008!
I agree Mrs.DMC, Walmarts attract some seedy characters. I told my hubby I wasn't going there anymore alone after 5pm.
Last time I was there alone there were three guys following me around the store. I though I was just being paranoid but then when i was leaving I noticed two of them leave first and the other was behind me.
I was freaking out inside but finally I just stopped and looked straight at the guy (I was around people still of course), and he was kind of surprised but kept walking. I got in my car quickly and looked back to see where they went and realized they hadn't bought ANYTHING and they didn't have a car in the parking lot! They were just looking in people's cars.
I reported them to the guy in the security car and left. No more Walmart trips alone. My hubby knows this.
I pretty much by everything at Walmart now except for meats because that's the only thing that really isn't the same in quality between the two.
But for example, my hubby loves guacamole. He went to Publix to buy four avocadoes and they were 3.99 each! I was like well I guess we're not having guac unless you buy the premade stuff for $4. He went to publix and they were like $1.29 or something rediculously cheap. That's when I switched.
Yeah I hate the super wal marts in Orlando. They are all horrible. That's why we always go to Target for basic stuff. I agree on the crime too, what is the deal with that? You always hear about crime in wm parking lots!!! They just opened a Super walmart on Goldenrod and Narcoossee that is actually pretty decent. I was shocked. I went in to look for cheap nursing bras... haha.
I think I would miss my Publix too much. If it's cheaper though, it's worth a shot!
Yeah the Walmart I'm talking about is the one on Goldenrod and Narcoosee. I do miss Publix but for now, I only go there for meat and specialties.
WOOOOHOOOOO!
Girls...it is not just the Walmarts in Orlando, it is every one across the country. I have heard about so many muggings and cars being broke into at all the Walmarts near me.
A long time ago my sister and I were walking out of the Walmart on 436 at night. There was a homeless guy leaned up against a truck jerking off....WTF! We just got in our car and speed away!
YAY that's sooo close to me!! Whew hew!! Going to def. check it out.
Well just for the record, I have had a "following" incident by a strange man at the Publix at Lake Mary Collection. He saw me in store and then when I popped outside with my bags, he was by the door, and started walking behind me. I turned back around and got a bagger to escort me to my car. He was definitely suspicious. It can happen anywhere. Not just at Walmart. At least the 2 Walmarts by me ALWAYS have security driving around.
I am a Walmart Supercenter and Publix combo shopper. But I also shop at a produce stand for that stuff and shave about $20 off my produce bill by doing so. Most of my diet is vegtables because I dont eat a lot of meat, so that is a big savings. We also have a BJs and Sams membership through our parents' cards, but we only get a few items there, such as cat litter for 4 cats (big savings), EV Olive Oil, pretzel rods in a barrell, and DH's acne medication. I would never want a membership there because I dont feel it saves me money OVERALL.
I make sure to shop at Walmart in the early hours of morning (like 700 or 800 AM on a Sunday) where I can get a parking spot up front and get out of there before it gets busy and families of 10 come in to shop together. The aisles just are too crowded mid day or at night.
When I shop Publix, I shop ONLY their sale ads or go there for a quick thing I need for a meal. Sometimes the sale stuff ends up being cheaper than Walmart. Otherwise Publix is very expensive. ESPECIALLY on meat not on sale. I think the other day I saw Triscuits for $3.98 in there for the small box. Good grief. Walmart is either $2.00 or $2.50 tops for small box.
I guess the Walmart Supercenter experiences also depend on your area. When I lived in Waterford Lakes, we only had the one on East Colonial to choose from, and that place was scary. Talk about crime? Lots of it. Actually my maine cooon cat came from that Walmart...a lovely jerk threw him out his big truck window by front door of the Walmart in the rain and his box landed at my mom's feet. The jerk then sped off. Oliver was only 6 weeks old. He is the only good thing that ever came out of that particular Walmart. I dont think I would ever shop at that particular one ever again after what I have seen on news in past years of that location.
The one I shop at near the Sanford mall has not given me any issues. I will continue to go there....just at the above stated times I mentioned.
They have both a Walmart Neighborhood Market and Publix right by where we live. I have found that Walmart has "everyday" lower prices then Publix but Publix sale prices are MUCH better then Walmarts "everyday" low price. Walmart doesnt ever seem to run good sales. I just wish Publix would let you get one item from their BOGO specials at half off since I dont always need 2 items (our old grocery store we shopped at up north let us do that).
I find meat at both stores to be overpriced compared to sales I see in the paper for Winn Dixie and Albertsons (although I have no idea where either of those grocery stores are and if they have good meat). I do know that Walmart will price match advertised specials on meat. So a few weeks ago when boneless skinless chicken breast was $1.XX (cant remember exact price) at Albertsons, I was able to buy 10 lbs of it at Walmart (the Purdue brand) at that price. I have a chest deep freezer so we buy meat on sale in bulk and wrap it and freeze it.
I was a total Publix snob - ask my hubby! Even when we are at his parents in Georgia, I make him drive an extra 2 miles to go to Publix over Kroger.?
I did my first shopping strip to Walmart this past weekend and spent $50 less on groceries - including the meat I bought at Publix. That's $200 in one month. That's my car payment! After my trail, I have to go there. As much as I hate it and the seedy people. The new one on Goldenrod and Lee Vista isn't so bad but the people just SUCK. I don't get why trashy people are attracted to Wal Mart but if it's saving $200 in groceries a month, then wooo!
?
How do you get the meat price match/discount at Walmart? Do you just take the ad to customer service at end of shopping to get a refund, or does cashier handle the price match?
I never knew about this!
Just bring the ad with you when checking out and before the cashier rings up the meat, tell her you want them to price match and show her the advertisement. Then they just override this. If they give you trouble as them to call the manager and the manager will do it. Some of the cashiers don't know how so just say they dont price match but they will.
I learned this b/c I used to live in a podunk town and Walmart was the only store and we used to buy DVDs when they come out on Tuesdays so I would bring a Circuit City add from Sunday's paper (closets store was 45 min away) and Walmart would always price match the same price.
I hate shopping at Walmart for anything. I live in Maitland/Altamonte area and the store near me is just always packed...and with very rude people. I went there one night b.c publix was closed and I needed to get Soy milk for my youngest and some douche was in front of me with like 1000 items. It took me an hour just to get SOY MILK! I can't stand it.
I shop at Publix. I will pay the higher prices for a nicer shopping atmosphere.
We do Walmart for all of our dry goods and cleaning/paper products. It's so much cheaper. I can pack the buggy down and it's still under $100 for 2-3 weeks worth of dry goods and dairy products. For example, the bread I buy at Walmart for $2 is $3.39 everywhere else.
I use a local farmer's market for fruits and veggies. A week's worth of fresh fruits and veggies for us is less than $10; I was spending a lot more than that at any of the grocery stores (Walmart, Publix and Albertson's).
For meat I go to Sam's and buy those huge pallets of meat and then I package them separately for our freezer. It's so much cheaper and because I buy in bulk, we go almost 3 months on one meat shopping trip. I don't buy anything else in bulk at Sam's because there are only 3 of us and we haven't found anything that we go through fast enough to make it worth buying it in bulk. (Buying diapers in bulk is a good idea, just be careful once the baby gets almost to the next size.)
Prettypiphi - you go to the Sanford one I go to, or you go to the E. Colonial one?
If its the Sanford one, one perk for us is the Smoothie King in the next door shopping center! Whoop whoop! Pineapple pleasure smoothie please!
For some reason I find that really, really funny. But I have noticed that when I go to wal-mart on a Sunday morning, the people are a lot less rude. Hmm....
I didn't read anyone else's responses, but I feel strongly about this and I want to respond. SAVE YOUR SANITY AND GO TO PUBLIX! I don't know about you, but I walk out of Walmart with knots in my shoulders, a headache, and a bad mood for the rest of the day.
My trick to shopping at Publix is their buy one get one free sales. I literally go down every aisle and buy the stuff that we would normally eat that's BOGO. I will stock up a lot, and by the time I run out of that item, it's usually back on sale. For example, when yogurt burst cheerios go on sale, I buy 8 boxes!!! And then by the next time I'm out of cereal, it's back on sale or another of my favorites is on sale. If I see my other favorite (Crispix) on sale the next week, i get it. Then I just alternate boxes for variety.
You need SPACE for this method, but it totally works. And I end up spending less than I do at Walmart. Staples like milk and bread, you'll always need to get regularly (perishable items). Just try to be smart and buy the sale kind, etc
As much as I dislike WalMart for its overall atmosphere, I've never had any experiences like some of you have mentioned. I do live out in the sticks and have weekdays off so I typically shop on Thursday - maybe that's why?
Anyway - I don't have many specific prices in my head but overall I just spend a lot less at WalMart than I do at Publix. A couple of weeks ago I went to Publix and bought just what I needed for that week, not counting meat which I had, and shopped sales. I spent well over $100 for just two people. The following week I went to WalMart and needed a lot of toiletries as well as weekly food. I got everything for $69, which is just under my $75 budget. One example from this week was coffee - I love Dunkin Donuts coffee and Publix had it on sale for $6.99 - WalMart's regular price is $6 so it was still cheaper than sale. I also got a huge box of Honey Bunches of Oats that I'm sure would have been around $5 at Publix for $2.50. I agree the BOGO at Publix are great bargains but I've noticed them having fewer things I would buy on there.
For meats we go to Sam's - we have a big chest freezer so we'll go about once a month and stock up. I think the Perdue chicken I get is $1.69 a pound there. Publix chicken (not even Perdue) is usually at least $3.99 a pound.
I don't like to support Wal-mart with our dollars, and I can always do without the headache that comes on, from even driving by the parking lots. I will admit that their grocery-only stores are a little nicer to deal with- but, not nice enough to want to spend any time there. And really, I haven't seen TOO much of a price difference between Publix's sales and Wal-marts usual prices.
Publix and SuperTarget are where we do most of our shopping. I'd love a Whole Foods or Chamberlains near us, though!
CMP - Publix will let you do that! At least they will with the specials that are, for example, "2 for $5" when the regular price is $3 each. I always thought they would charge me the normal price if I only got one. But one day I just DIDN'T need two of whatever it was so I sucked it up and only got one. Well, it caught my eye when she rung it up that it came up as the "special" price. I asked about it and they said that all of their "buy 2" items, you get the discounted price whether you get 1, 2 or 3! Just an FYI.
The trick to save my "sanity" is NOT to go to Super Walmart. The Neighborhood ones are NEVER EVER full doesn't matter what time I've been there. I'm in and out of there with a ton of savings. I got to the one on Curry Ford and Alafaya or Alafaya McCulloch (though I don't care for that one too much).
The super walmart on colonial is a little scary. I never go at night though.