HellMart--ALWAYS low prices??

Well I had said I wanted to do a post about Wal-mart, so in the short time frame I have I'm going to give it a shot. While I used to be a big fan of Wal-mart, some things have caused my opinion to change quite drastically in the last couple years. There are a few things I have realized, and a few suspicions I have that I thought I would share.

1. Wal-mart's prices have gone up. I know prices have gone up everywhere, and I know they still have lower prices than the majority of grocery stores, but that doesn't change the fact that they are raising their prices. Which I know is necessary to accommodate for the growing cost of fuel (or so my husband says)...the reason this whole issue bothers me leads me to number two...

2. Check the dates on the food you buy at Wal-mart people. Seriously. Do you know how many expired or near-expiration date food I have purchased from this place? And it's not just one store. We have 3 here in town, 2 that were built in the last couple years. This has happened at ALL of them. I'm not just talking bread or cottage cheese, things that expire quicker...I'm talking frozen dinners even, the things that stay good for freaking 5 years or more. I have bought out of date frozen and boxed items from this chain. Including a Gerber Graduates meal, which REALLY bothered me. It's one thing to sell out of date food for adults...but babies?? Come on...how low can you go? It's just not right to charge us higher prices for expired or near-expiring food! Which leads me to number three...

3. My theory is this: Besides raising their prices, Wal-mart has found another way to make more money...I believe they make deals with manufacturers to buy food that is close to expiring. They get the food at cheaper prices, sell it to us for the "inflatedtomakeupforthecostoffuel" price, and voila, more money for them. It totally makes sense. The range of out of date items I have purchases, seen purchased by other people(I saw them returning the food) or that I have seen sitting on the shelves is HUGE...the items vary so widely, it's hard for me to think this could be just a big coincidence. The turnover at Wal-Mart is not that low. Food does not sit on those shelves very long. It's put on the shelves with expiration dates close to expiring. Now this whole issue really pisses me off. As if I have all the time in the world to sit and check the date on every damn thing I need to buy...esp. with a toddler refusing to sit in the cart 3/4 of the time, running around and thinking we need 10 cans of peeled tomatoes, 5 bags of cheesey poofs and multiple containers of cleaning supplies(is she trying to give me a hint??) and "EGGS mommy EGGS, CHEEEEESE!!!! CHIPS!!!!" It would be nice if I could go in the store and assume the food I'm about to buy is safe for my family to eat, THANKYOUVERYMUCH, without having to check the date.

4. Another thing I remembered last night as I was shopping at the dreaded HellMart...watch the prices that things ring up for...esp. if the item was on the end of an isle or in the middle on display, where they put their "specials." I don't know how many times I've bought something that was on special(or even just on sale), say laundry detergent or ground turkey for instance, because it was marked down to a really good buy...and lo and behold, when I've checked my receipt out in the car they charged me regular full price, not the sale price! This has happened to me so many times I've lost count. Even on little things, like boxed pasta salad mixes. One time they were on special for 77 cents a box for a 2 pack and when I got out to the car they'd charged me almost 2$! I returned it, because even though it was only a little over a dollar, I wasn't going to let them take advantage of me like that again. I'm too poor for that! So really try to watch the prices when they're ringing you up!

Now that I have all that off my chest, I will thank Wal-Mart for the $3.98 coffee pot I bought the morning after Thanksgiving...it had better work!