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So Pam and I were talking about where to shop for the best prices and rather than guess, we got in the car and went price comparing.

To get a wide comparison of prices we went to Sam’s Club for wholesale prices, Walmart for bragging cheap prices, Lowes Food for your typical grocery store, Food Lion for a discount grocery store, and CVS drug store. We added CVS to the mix because I had heard that paper products were often cheaper at CVS.

We tried to compare the same products from store to store but where we couldn’t we did our best to find good comparisons.

SAM’s Club

  • Bread
    Wonder Bread 2 pack of 24oz loaves - $3.32
  • Gallon of Milk
    Whole $3.29
    Skim $2.79
  • Large Eggs
    18 Count - $2.15
  • Paper Towels
    Bounty Select-a-Size 12 pack, 880 square feet - $17.58 ($1.45 per roll) ($0.019/sq ft)
    Generic Members Mark 12 pack 907.2 square feet - $13.86 ($1.15 per roll) ($0.015/sq ft)
  • Toilet Paper
    Generic Members Mark 36 rolls 860 square feet - $15.68 ($0.44 per roll)($0.018/sq ft)
    Charmin Ultra Soft 36 rolls 854 square feet - $18.32 ($0.51 per roll)($0.021/sq ft)

Lowes Food

  • Bread
    Wonder Bread 20oz Loaf - $2.49
  • Gallon of Milk
    Whole - $3.89
    Skim - $3.89
  • Large Eggs
    18 Count - $2.99
  • Paper Towels
    Bounty Select-a-Size 12 pack, 704 square feet - $16.99 ($1.42 per roll)($0.024/sq ft)
    Generic 8 pack 376.4 square feet - $7.99 ($0.99 per roll)($0.021/sq ft)
  • Toilet Paper
    Chairman Ultra Soft 24 rolls 569.3 square feet - $15.35 ($0.64 per roll)($0.027/sq ft)
    Generic 12 rolls 300 square feet - $7.99 ($0.66 per roll)($0.027/sq ft)

Walmart

  • Bread
    Wonder Bread 20 oz loaf - $2.33
    Wonder Bread 24 oz loaf - $2.42
  • Gallon of Milk
    Whole $3.98
    Skim $3.84
  • Large Eggs
    18 Count - $2.28
  • Paper Towels
    Bounty Select-a-Size 6 rolls 484 square feet - $11.64 ($1.94 per roll)($0.024/sq ft)
  • Toilet Paper
    Charmin Ultra Soft 24 rolls 569.3 square feet - $14.24 ($0.59 per roll)($0.025 sq/ft)

CVS Drug Store

  • Bread
    None
  • Milk
    None
  • Eggs
    None
  • Paper Towels
    Bounty 1 roll 63.2 square feet $2.19 ($2.19 per roll)($0.034/sq ft)
    CVS Generic 3 rolls 151.2 sq ft $2.99 ($1.03 per roll)($0.019/sq ft)
  • Toilet Paper
    Charmin 12 rolls 284.6 square feet - $10.99 ($0.92 per roll)($0.038/sq ft)
    Generic 12 rolls 1311.5 square feet (single ply) - $8.99 ($0.75 per roll)($0.014/double ply/sq ft)

Food Lion

  • Bread
    Wonder 20oz Loaf - $2.49
    Generic Bread 20oz Loaf - $1.74
  • Gallon of Milk
    Whole - $3.79
    Skim - $3.79
  • Large Eggs
    18 Count - $2.49
  • Paper Towels
    Generic Select-a-Size 1 roll 75.6 square feet - $1.78 ($1.78 per roll)($0.023/sq ft)
    Bounty Select-a-Size 1 roll 63.2 square feet - $2.23($2.23 per roll)($0.035/sq ft)
  • Toilet Paper
    Charmin Ultra Soft 427 square feet 18 rolls - $11.61 ($0.65 per roll)($0.027/sq ft)

Results

So after all that data gathering, what are the results?

The Least Expensive Place:
Bread - Sam’s Club
Milk - Sam’s Club
Eggs - Sam’s Club
Paper Towels - Sam’s Club
Toilet Paper - Sam’s Club

The Most Expensive Place:
Bread - Food Lion
Milk - Walmart
Eggs - Lowes Food
Paper Towels - Food Lion
Toilet Paper - Food Lion

Biggest Surprise

The biggest surprise was that even if you turn your single ply toilet paper from CVS into double ply, the CVS generic toilet paper is the least expensive. It was only because the name brand toilet paper was more expensive that I did not give CVS the least expensive rating. After all it is a bit less desirable as single ply paper.

I was under the impression that Food Lion was a lower cost grocery store but from the data gathered tonight, that’s not the case. The warehouse store was a better deal but what if you don’t have room to store all the stuff? And I guess Pam and I should compare the different warehouse clubs next to see what the differences are there.

I was very surprised to see Bounty paper towels sold in an 18 pack at both Sam’s Club and Lowes Food but if you look the Lowes 18 pack is 176 square feet smaller so it would be wrong to compare the 18 pack price. If you did that then you’d say that Lowes Food was cheaper and you’d be wrong.

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Source: Sam’s Club, CVS, Walmart, Lowes Food & Food Lion - Who Has The Best Prices?

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