Happy Thanksgiving

• She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

Holidays have a unique effect sometimes, of bringing out the best and the worst in us, and Thanksgiving is no exception.

The best because we do usually pause, however briefly, to reflect on those things that we're thankful for--our families, if we have one; our health, however precarious; the abundance of food that the majority of us have the means for--all of those things that we do, face it, take for granted much of the time.

Along with all of the thankfulness, though, can come lots of pressure, which translates into lots of stress. Whether we are hosting an elaborate family get-together, or whether we are the ones visiting extended family, the pressure is there, just in different ways.

If we are hosting, we feel the pressure of making sure we've remembered everything from the rolls to the cranberry sauce. We want the food to be just right, and of course the house needs to be spotless, here comes Aunt Sara two hours early and I haven't even had my shower yet, oh-lord-who-invited-this-many-people-do-I-have-enough-of-everything-will-you-make-those-kids-go-outside-will-everyone-just-BE-QUIET-SO-WE-CAN-GIVE-THANKS-BEFORE-WE-EAT!

You know what I mean.

If you are the one traveling, you still have pressure, just of a different sort. What clothes will I need to bring, not just for myself, but for the kids? Will it be warm enough for them to play outside and run off some of this energy? Do I need an extra jacket for everybody? Do I have enough toys/books/crayons to keep them occupied if it's too cold/wet/rainy for them to go outside? Did I forget anything? No, honey, I need the snacks loaded in the front of the car, not the trunk. Yes, the other ice chest can go in the back, it has my pies in it. Ok, kids, everybody load up. I-thought-I-told-you-to-go-before-we-left-honey-we-have-to-pull-over-why-are-you-driving-so-fast-no-kids-we-aren't-there-yet-here-we-are-oh-look-Aunt-Sara-is-already-here-too-oh-great-who-invited-them-NO-KIDS-NOT-GRANDMAS-BEST-DISHTOWELS-go-in-the-bedroom-and-play-just-eat-a-little-of-what-I-put-on-your-plate-WILL-YOU-ALL-JUST-GET-QUIET-SO-WE-CAN-GIVE-THANKS!

Whew!

Just remember this--sometimes we are nicer to strangers than we are to our own families. And vice versa. It's not that we don't all love each other-but we do often know each other so well that we forget hose common courtesies that we would offer to strangers.

If you haven't had your family dinner yet, take a deep breath, say a prayer of thankfulness, and try to speak kindly. And carry a big stick. (just kidding!)

And if you're reading this after yours is over, and it turned into another three-ring-circus with everybody mad at everybody else, remember this--forgiveness is divine. Literally.

Hoping you and yours have a blessed holiday, with just the right amount of family togetherness to leave you wanting more, and a few shopping bargains this weekend to help you out of your post-turkey-day-blues.

Until next time...

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Walmart--the good, the bad, and the (not) ugly

• She is like the merchants' ships, she bringeth her food from afar
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

Today was another major grocery shopping trip for me, and I decided to risk Walmart again, since I was out and about fairly early today. I can't say that it was a mistake, but I'm not sure I'm going to go back to Walmart for my "big" trips again any time soon. They seem to do okay when I have three or four items, but when I have a buggy full, I seem to always have issues!


First of all, Walmart's "low, everyday prices" have been creeping back up on some items. One item in particular that I like to buy from Walmart is Hebrew National weiners. They increased in price at least $1 a pack from last week. Certain grated cheeses are up at least $.50 a package. Some of their prices are still low, but I think I can do as good or better by going to a store that has good sales, doubles coupons up to $.50, but also take competitors coupons.


Secondly, and more importantly, my internet coupons were questioned, again. You can read about the issue I had with this last week here. I politely told the cashier that I had a problem with this at another time, and that I had not only printed a copy of the Walmart corporate coupon policy, I had spoken with a manager at that same store, who confirmed, (after he made some calls himself) that I was correct, and that they would take care of it. At this point, the cashier called a manager, who approved my coupons. The cashier was very polite and aplogetic, and I assured her that I understood that she was only trying to do her job. I think she was concerned that she had not been given the corrected information, and as a matter of fact, she asked to keep the copy of the corporate coupon policy that I had, so she could show some of the other cashiers, which I was happy to let her do.


In the end, I did at least get my groceries this time, and with my coupons(!) I got some good deals on certain items. I will, again, print a copy of the Walmart corporate coupon policy to keep with my coupons. I was able to educate an employee, again, about their own company rules.


That being said, let me tell you about the coupon deals I did make in the end.

1 box Kashi cereal bars, $2.67, less $2Q, net of $.97
4 cans Progesso soup, $1.50 ea, less 2 $1.10/1 Qs, and 1 $1/2, net of $.70 ea
Yoplus yogurt, $2.23, less $1 Q, net of $1.23 for 4, or $.31 ea
2 pkgs Butterball turkey lunch meat, $2.50 ea, less 2 $1 Qs, net of $1.50 ea
3 pkgs Green Giant steamers veggies, $1 ea, less 3 $1 Qs, net = FREE
1 Pillsbury refrigerated Pizza crust, $2.16, less 1 $1.10 Q, net of $1.06
2 Grands biscuits, $1.62 ea, less 2 $1 Qs, net of $.62 ea


The rest of my purchases were things that I seldom have coupons for--ground meat, milk, eggs, bread, etc. I did well on the things I had coupons for, but, again, not sure it's worth it at this point.


One thing I'm thankful for, again, is that I was never rude, never raised my voice, but maintained a calm and pleasant demeanor. I was able to educate an employee, again, on their own policy. I reasured the cashier that I understood she was just trying to do her job. I think I can say that I opened my mouth with kindness (something I've been planning to blog about soon), and spoke with wisdom.


I can't say that this was a terrible trip. I can't say that this was a good trip. It was just a trip!


Hoping you have pleasant shopping this week. Until next time...

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Walmart

• She is like the merchants' ships, she bringeth her food (and other things!) from afar.

After last week's Walmart fiasco, I was eager, yet hesitant to see what deals I could snag at Walmart this morning, using my internet coupons! I did make a small mistake by going relatively early on a Monday--they were still restocking from the weekend, and a couple of things I wanted weren't there. I did get several free and almost free items, though! The four itmes pictured above, after coupons, came to $.20. Yep, you read that right, $.20. "How could this be?" you might ask. And I might tell you!

Kotex pantiliners, 16 count, $1.00, less $1 Q (coupon) off any Kotex product.

Colgate Plus toothbrush, $.96, less $1 Q off any Colgate adult manual toothbrush. Net of +$.04 (edited to add: I don't think this coupon is still available, but Colgate regularly has good coupons of at least $1-$1.50 off, and they change the flavors, style of toothbrush, etc, periodically. Click here to see what they have available now.)

2 pkgs Goody's ouchless hair elastics, $2.12 each, less two $2 Q (available here), net of $.12 each or $.24.

The overage from the toothbrush offset part of the hair thingys, net of $.20!!

I did also buy a few grocery items--3 boxes of cereal, 3 pouches of cookie mix, and a box of granola bars, but they've already been put away in the pantry, so no picture!

Total merchandise, $19.69, total after Qs, $9.69. (It should have been a little lower, I didn't realize till later that the cashier scanned 1 Q twice and missed another, so it would have been $1.75 less!, or $8.44!)

Altogether a good day of shopping! Until next time...

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Very bad, awful, aggravating-but-ultimately-good-day at Walmart

Today I decided to do a big shopping trip to Walmart.

I have coupons that are close to expiring for a lot of things that have not come up on sale recently at other stores, and that Walmart has had lower everyday prices for. Deep breath. I spent about an hour or more, going up and down aisles, looking at prices, making choices, and pulling coupons to match. I had a lot of good deals, and a LOT of coupons. I had read that Walmart coupon policy states only 40 coupons per transaction, so I counted to be sure I wasn't over.

Everything was great.

I found a very pleasant cashier with no line, unloaded my stuff, she rang it up and bagged it, we were good-to-go.

Then she took my coupons, and immediately separated out the printed ones. "We don't take internet coupons." I told her I had used them there several time with no problem. "We used to, but we had a meeting about a month ago, and we can't take these any more." I told her that according to what I had read on the internet, Walmart corporate policy is that they DO take internet coupons.

Call for CSM. Wait. Call again. Cashier takes coupons to CSM herself. CSM comes over, calls another CSM. "She's calling someone". "No, we don't take internet coupons".

I had read about this on some other blogs. Several of the "Walmart 11 Moms" bloggers had verified that corporate policy does allow legitimate internet coupons. Other bloggers had recommended having a printed copy of the policy with you, which I had never found to be necessary.

At this point, I politely asked for the transaction to be voided and my coupons returned so that I could take them elsewhere. They were very nice, and apologetic, as was I, but I was determined that if Walmart did indeed have such a policy, I was going to find it, and I was going to let everyone at every step of the ladder know, ever so politely, that I WAS NOT A HAPPY CAMPER.

As I left the store, I had a number of different emotions racing through me. I knew all of my coupons were legit, and I while I knew that they had no way of knowing that, I felt like I was being penalized for someone else's misdeed. I was embarrassed, I was frustrated, and I was angry.

I came home, I got on the internet, I checked a couple of blogs that I knew had mentioned this, and I found it.

So. Here it is. Walmart Corporate Coupon Policy. Yes, Virginia, Walmart does accept internet coupons. Here it is in black and white. Black and white and blue.

After I found the policy, and printed it (twice), I called the store where I had the very-bad-awful-terrible experience, and asked first for a customer service manager. There was apparently not one on duty, as the phone rang interminably and was never picked up. I then called back and asked to speak to a manager. The manager I was connected with was a very nice gentleman named Alan. I explained to him what had happened, and that I had a printed copy of the corporate policy in front of me, and that it contradicted the information that the CSM's and cashier had. He, too, was under the impression that Walmart had stopped taking internet coupons, due to fraudulent coupons. We had a nice conversation about legitimate vs fraudulent coupons. He apologized to me several times, and stated, that while he was very sorry for what had happened to me personally, he was glad this had come up, because they definitely needed to get the local store policies in line with corporate--as they thought they were doing, already. He assured me that he would look into it. At this point, I asked for a call back, one way or the other, when the issue was resolved.

I honestly wasn't sure if I would ever hear anything else about it, but I was determined to be an informed consumer. If Walmart didn't want my coupons, I would live without Walmart, but I WOULD NOT CAVE.

Less than an hour later, I received a call from Alan, the manager I had spoken with. He confirmed what I already knew. Walmart corporate policy is to accept legitimate internet-printed coupons. I had won.

So now, I feel very good that I have impacted a local store policy that affects not just me but many others. At the same time, I thought--I still have to go back and shop again to get my stuff. It probably won't be this weekend, because Walmart is having a big pre-black-Friday blow-out tomorrow, and I don't want to get caught up in all of that. So it will probably be next week before I go back. But go back, I will, armed with my coupons, internet printed and all, AND, a copy of the Walmart Corporate Coupon Policy.

My advice to you--click on it, print it, and put it with your coupons. (Even the manager told me that it would probably be a good idea). I'm thankful that none of my family was with me. My son and husband would have wanted to crawl UNDER the floor that I was CREATING A SCENE. I really didn't, and I am thankful that the Lord allowed me to maintain a calm and pleasant demeanor through out the whole fiasco.

I'm just glad it all worked out in the end. (I'll let you know what happens when I finally do decided to go back) For Part 2 of this story, see Walmart--the good, the bad, and the (not) ugly

Happier shopping. Until next time...

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Did You Vote?

We voted by absentee ballot already. Did you vote today?

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