How to Save Money Shopping at Walmart

Note from the Editor: This post is written by our very talented coupon blogger, Shannen Bayles, showing you how to save money shopping at Walmart for your groceries. I wanted to take a moment to point out to you that the Walmart Ad Match Guarantee is available on all their products, not just groceries!

This post will be especially helpful to Holiday shoppers who are looking to get the best deal without hitting all the stores, and if you're shopping online Walmart is offering 2% cash back when you shop through FatWallet.

Enjoy!

:) Heather

I’ve read and heard about the Walmart Ad Match Guarantee, but until recently had never tried it. In the past week or so, it has made my grocery shopping easier because I haven’t had much time to go out of town to shop.

I found these helpful tips on Walmart’s website:

Ad Match Guarantee

• They’ll match the price for an identical items that’s advertised in a local competitor’s printed ad (I recommend calling or going to your local Walmart store first to find out what they consider “local.”)
  
• You don’t have to bring in the ad
  
• The cashier can match it right at the register
  
• Ad Match does not apply to online pricing
  
• Items purchased must be identical to the ad (size, brand, quantity, flavor, color, etc)
  They will also match the following:
  
• Buy One Get One Free ads with a specific price
  
• Competitor’s ads that feature a specific item for a specific price
  
• Preferred shopping card prices for specific items that are in a printed ad
  
• Fresh produce and meat items when the price is offered in the same unit type (lb for lb; each for each)

Walmart will NOT ad match the following:

• Items that require a separate purchase to get the ad price
  
• Items with no actual price that require a purchase to get a free item
  
• Items that require a purchase to get a competitor’s gift card
  
• Buy One Get One Free ads with no specific price
  
• Going out of business or close out prices
  
• Percentage off
  
• Competitor’s private label price promotions.

In the past few weeks, I’ve priced matched canned vegetables, Campbell’s soups, soda, chips for my weekly football parties, cheese slices, bananas, lettuce, cream cheese, and sugar and flour to start planning for my holiday baking. I’ve also price matched milk and bread. You can also use your coupons on items that you are price matching which will get you additional savings. I’ve saved about $20 just price matching in the past two weeks!

If you don’t want to or don’t have the time to run to various stores, but you do have time to stand in line while they price match your items, Walmart’s ad match guarantee is a good option for you!

Christmas Price Guarantee

This year Walmart is also offering a Christmas Price Match Guarantee which guarantees that, “if you find a lower advertised price on an identical in-stock product at a local retailer competitor’s store after you purchased an item at a Walmart store between November 1 and December 25, we’ll give you a gift card for the difference.” I’ve not tried this offer yet either, probably because I haven’t done much Christmas shopping, and what I have done, I’ve done online! More information on the Christmas Price Guarantee can be found on Walmart’s website.

Bargain Buys

Many of the stores around me are running the same sales that started last week either through this Friday or even into next week. My Walgreens and Target ads are good through Wednesday. My advice for this week: eat leftovers and finish researching your Black Friday ads by using our Black Friday Deal Finder!


FatWallet tip: This post is part of an ongoing series of posts for the couponers and those who wanna be couponers! You may access all the posts on Shannen's author page. Please be sure to check out the grocery coupons and deals forum here on FatWallet to get great deals and connect with other couponers!