My friend G., a teaching colleague from Europe, has quickly become American by shopping regularly at Wal-Mart. We went there yesterday to pick up some groceries. I have avoided shopping at Wal-Mart since January 2006 as a New Year's Resolution. But I went inside to see how things are, and how they're priced.

First of all, you'll notice that very few prices end in 0, 5, or 9 unless it's on rollback. These are the values that other stores normally use, and Wal-Mart is too special for that. You're saving every cent possible by shopping here, after all.

So, if you are looking for a box of Kellogg's Mini-Wheats (Strawberry Delight), where's the best place to get them? I usually get them from Food Lion or Harris Teeter, where it costs about 3.29. Enter Wal-Mart, with its everyday low price: 3.12. Not bad...until you see that at Target, it's 2.89. When it's not on sale! The lineups are also shorter at Target.

A box of Michelina's pasta dinners costs $1 at the grocery store, but .96 at Wal-Mart! A box of Stouffer's Corner Bistro paninis is 2.81; not 2.80, because, good heavens, that might cut into profit margins.

The truth is I find shopping at Wal-Mart with its penny-pinching pricing strategy not worth the additional time spent waiting in line at the checkout.