Wal-Mart: Friend or Foe?

I went to Wal-Mart tonight to pick up a few items that I needed. However, I never seem to walk out of Wal-Mart with only the items on my list. As soon as I walked into the store the Halloween candy to my right caught my eye. As soon as school begins, the school supplies are quickly replaced with Halloween candy. So of course I had to browse all the delicious candy and chocolate that was staring me in the face. Somehow I managed to pull myself away without putting anything into my basket.

The next section that sucked me in was the makeup and beauty supplies. I can always use a new eye shadow or nail polish, so it really doesn’t hurt to see the new fall colours.

Once I finished browsing that section, with a couple of new bottles of nail polish in my basket, I proceeded to grab the items I actually came to Wal-Mart for. I got all the items I needed and decided to stop at the shoe section before heading to the cash register. It really isn’t a complete trip to Wal-Mart if I don’t stop at the shoe section. With the turn of a new season, all of the new fall shoes are out. Let me tell you, Wal-Mart has some very cute shoes at very affordable prices. Fourteen dollars for a pair of flats is a steal, so of course I had to get two pairs! I figured I would treat myself a little bit, since I have to take public transportation to and from school. For that reason, I can rarely wear heels, so flats are great. It may seem like an excuse to purchase a couple of pairs of shoes, but it’s true!

At that point I figured it was probably best to stop browsing the many sections of Wal-Mart and head to the cashier. After the cashier rang up all my items and gave me the final total, I was a bit surprised. Given I knew that I had grabbed a few items that were not on my list, it was still a shocker. How did an initial $10 purchase turn into $50?

This trip to Wal-Mart is usually the way it always goes for me. Rarely do I walk into Wal-Mart and only purchase what I have on my list. There are just so many other items that I do not really need, but seem to always convince myself I do.

Now that I try to stay on a strict budget, shopping has become very difficult. Needless to say, Wal-Mart has proven to be a weak spot for me. I think I am going to have to go to Wal-Mart only when I really need to. Or else I will have to put on blinders once I walk into the store and stop at the sections I need to, with no distractions. However, that does not seem like an easy feat for me.

My name is Karleigh and I am addicted to Wal-Mart.