For people who just love Target, you must shop there based on the atmosphere of the store because it's not just for the prices. I am that type of person that enjoys saving money and tends to look around at different stores and compare the prices. My favorite time of year is back to school shopping because I love school supplies. When I’m looking for my supplies, the thing that I check first (besides the cute designs and patterns) are the prices. Because of this, I am always bouncing back and forth between stores to get the things that I need. As someone who enjoys school supply shopping, I’m always looking out for the better deals.

When I go out shopping, I often ask my friends what they spent and where they went for certain items; one thing they all agreed on was that Target or “Tarjay” was the go to place. However, as I am someone who enjoys saving money, this is not always the first place I go to. The two most popular stores that I find many people shopping at for school supplies are Walmart and Target. Because I look for the lower prices, I am a person who often shops at Walmart. Growing up, I was taught how to save money, not shop based on what’s “popular” or based on the brand names. I’ve learned how to check quality of products instead of just what the outside of the box says. Just because something costs more does not mean that it is a better product.

Of the two, Target is the more popular in terms of what the status quo is. I hate to be the one to burst the bubble of those who shop at Target, but you’re not shopping there for prices alone. In fact, you’re shopping there based on the reputation that Target has come to achieve. There’s always been this stigma that Walmart is this bad place or those people who shop there aren’t as put together as those who shop at Target. However, from my own personal experience, I can definitely say that this is not true at all. I have been to Targets that aren’t well put together, just as I have been to Walmarts that are very neat and clean, it all comes down to how well they are taken care of.

Now I’m not going to tear down people who shop at Target, but what I’m going to do is encourage people that do shop there not to tear down those who shop at Walmart since they’re doing it to save money. In fact, Walmart’s motto is “Save money, live better,” this is the end goal for their customers. Walmart will even match their competitor’s prices if their [Walmart’s] products cost more. I’m also not going to say that Target does not have some great deals because there are times that they do, but to buy something for the sole purpose of “image,” shouldn’t be the reason we buy things, it should be for the practicality of it.

The idea of shopping at Target over shopping at Walmart is just the same as people who buy Starbucks over other coffee. I hate to ruin this for those who shop at Target, but there is no magical difference between Starbucks $7 Frappuccino and McDonald’s $3 Frappé. The idea of purchasing things for the image or status is an example of vanity. Why shop based on how something will look, when you can buy something based on how many uses you will get out of it as well as how much money it will save you?