As I went from my 20s to 30s, I started better appreciating convenience over wasting my time. That was on display one day when, as if it were a gift from God himself, Walmart+ was recommended to me by one of my brothers. I am such a big fan of it that I wanted to write an article solely about why I love my Walmart+ subscription, and how I think it can help fathers.
One of my biggest time wasters in my 20s was grocery shopping. You drive to the store, pick out groceries, wait in a long checkout line or use the self-service lane, load the groceries into your car, drive home, unload them from the car, and finally put them away. This is almost certainly being done during your precious weekend hours or right after work where you’ll promptly need make dinner. Sound familiar?
It’s 2023. On-demand everything is everywhere, and as fathers we know that every spare minute is needed. Interested in freeing up time, getting groceries cheaper, and spending more previous non-working hours and minutes with your family or even on the golf course? Keep reading on!
The Many, Many Benefits of My Walmart+ Subscription
There are an abundance of reasons why someone, particularly a father, should get Walmart+. However, for me, the reason I love my Walmart+ subscription is almost entirely because of the grocery delivery.
Walmart advertises that you can get your groceries delivered the same-day. That’s mostly true, but the caveat is if you’re ordering in the afternoon it’s unlikely you’ll have the option to get your order the same day. For me, that’s usually not an issue because I generally order in the morning.
In addition to grocery delivery, you get free shipping without an order minimum, a free subscription to Paramount Plus, discounted gas, a new feature that allows returns without leaving your home, and more.
When I Purchased My Walmart+ Subscription
Prior to COVID, there weren’t really options to order groceries online and have them delivered to your home. Sure, non-refrigerated or non-frozen items could be ordered and delivered to your doorstep, but that generally took days—not hours.
So, like virtually every other asshole in the world, I’d make my way to a Giant Eagle or Kroger, spend an hour or so packing up my cart with everything I felt I’d need to the week, wait to checkout or have the privilege of checking myself out, and then make the drive home.
Everything changed one day after I was bitching about needing to go to the grocery store after some family function, and my brother, with all the tact of a homeless person, told me to stop being a dipshit and use Walmart+. I was still skeptical because I despise Walmart and most of the people who shop in them (that’s not a hot take). But after scrolling through my American Express credit card add-on rewards, I noticed I could get a one-year subscription for $50. So, I said fu*k it, signed up and made my first order.
My First Order With Walmart+
When I created my first order I figured the whole process would be too good to be true. Opening an app, selecting groceries for generally the lowest prices possible, checking out, and then going back to my day while people pick out my items and drive them to me? For only $98 plus tax (for me it was $50 for my first year)? What’s the catch?
Surprisingly, my order was delivered to my front door, I unloaded the groceries, and just like that, I was done. Pretty fu*king amazing. I was immediately in love with my Walmart+ subscription.
I made a few more orders and everything was good. But then, a mistake was made.
We Have A Problem, Right?
During one of my early orders, the person who was tasked with delivering my order left in on my neighbor’s porch. After seeing the picture on my order page, I went over and noticed it was gone. Now, these neighbors are garbage, so I wasn’t completely surprised.
I went into my app and connected with a customer service agent. Ultimately, the order was canceled and I was refunded, but I still didn’t have my groceries. I wish that I would’ve gotten $5 or so in Walmart cash for the inconvenience, but I re-ordered for the next morning and everything was fine.
Since then, there has not been a single mistake made with one of my orders. Outside of the occasional item that wasn’t in stock (you can set preferences on how to replace those items), each and every one has been delivered to my doorstep without issue.
How Much Time And Money Can I Expect To Save?
My current Walmart stats say I’ve saved 93 hours and nearly $900 since joining Walmart+ about a year and a half ago. That is basically counting the money I’ve saved in delivery and shipping charges. The 93 hours is a big deal, and I think that estimate is actually even lower than reality.
The other savings is that instead of loading up my cart with food to avoid having to come back to the store, I just order what I need for the next three or four days. Unlike my pre-Walmart+ days, there is rarely unused food thrown out from my house. Cha-ching!
One woman actually did research on the cheapest grocery store, and while she determined Aldi to be the cheapest, it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, in my opinion. Unlike Aldi, Walmart has the brands you know and love and, again, with Walmart+ you don’t need to schlep across town to buy groceries. Add in the other perks and you can feel confident there is no way to spend less money or time regarding your grocery needs.
What I Don’t Buy With My Walmart+ Subscription
To be clear, Walmart+ has not completely eliminated my need to ever go to a grocery store. And in my lifetime there will probably never be a service that will do that. For example, if we’re having chili one night and I’m out of cornbread I am either going to make a quick trip to the grocery store or not have cornbread. Walmart’s delivery option is useless to me at that point.
In fairness though, that’s a ‘me’ problem for not planning out my meals a day or two ahead of time.
Also, and this is just personal preference, I like to pick out my own meat and produce. So those are items I do not get via Walmart+.
Finally, certain items, like ketchup, peanut butter, mustard, etc. that I can get in bulk are usually purchased through Sam’s Club. I’ll have an article later about the value of Walmart’s sister chain.
Money Saving Hack With Walmart+
If you do decide to get a Walmart+ subscription, you have a good credit score, and you pay off your credit card payments in full each month, I can’t recommend the Capital One Walmart Rewards card highly enough. I highlighted this in my article about cash back credit cards, but the endorsement of this card is worth repeating.
With that card you get 5% cash back on all grocery delivery and Walmart.com orders. In addition, you get 2% cash back at physical Walmart stores, restaurants, and travel, as well as 1% back on everything else.
The hack is that with this card I am gaining about $200-300 in rewards each year. That means I am able to pay for my Walmart+ subscription (about $110 annually), and still have about $100-200 in rewards to cut down my credit card statement. And that’s on top of Walmart’s savings!
Nothing Else Left To Do But Sign Up!
I love my Walmart+ subscription because it has truly become an incredible benefit to my family and me.
No longer am I spending the equivalent of a work day going to the grocery store each month. And, I’m getting the groceries delivered to me for cheaper than I would if I got them myself.
Time is our most important asset. Particularly when we’re raising kids. If you’re done spending a good amount of it in a grocery store, explore Walmart+ for yourself.
If you decide to sign up, click here for my referral link where we’ll both get $20 off our next grocery order!
