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It’s no secret that prices on household essentials and groceries are at an unprecedented high right now. We’ve been comparing the cost of cookies, pumpkin pie, and other holiday favorites. Our hope is to help you find the best prices so you can do all of your holiday shopping without busting your budget.
We recently saw a TikTok from user Rochelle Chalmers where she compared the cost of Kevin McCallister’s Home Alone shopping cart to today’s prices. Kevin spent a total of $19.83 on his items. We did some browsing for the same — or as close as we could get — products to see just how much this cart would cost today. On average, the same groceries today would cost $50.98. We also did a fun little comparison to see where adult Kevin should shop to score the best deal on all of his necessities in 2022.
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What was in Kevin’s Home Alone shopping cart?
Kevin’s list includes some basic essentials, and we did our very best to match the brand and size he purchased for each of his items. We did have to purchase a 6-count of toilet paper instead of four rolls, and we had to take a few liberties with whole milk brands and white breads. But overall, we stayed as close as we could to the original Home Alone shopping cart. We compared carts at several major retailers, including two big-box stores, a pharmacy store, and an online retailer. Here’s what Kevin purchased in the movie.
- Tropicana orange juice
- 1/2-gallon Prairie Farms whole milk
- Stouffer’s roast turkey dinner
- Loaf of Wonder Bread
- Kraft macaroni and cheese
- Snuggle fabric softener sheets
- Tide liquid laundry detergent
- 4-pack Quilted Northern toilet paper
- Glad plastic cling wrap
- Plastic army soldiers
Since not every store carried plastic toy soldiers, we included the best price we could find on those from Amazon, and they add $6.37 to each total cart cost.
So where should Kevin shop today?
We have to give the win to Target! The Target cart totals $44.78 when you include the toy soldiers via Amazon. Target won out because they had the lowest price on Tide liquid detergent by far. At just $7.49 for a 46-ounce bottle, they beat the next lowest price by over $2. They also had the lowest price for Snuggle laundry sheets, so if you’re looking for some deals on laundry essentials, Target is the place to stock up.
Walmart came in a very close second, but their $12.76 price on Tide detergent knocked them out of first place. The grocery items, like Tropicana orange juice, Wonder Bread, and frozen Stouffer’s dinner, were all cheapest at Walmart. Walgreens snuck in a few great deals with the best prices on a 1/2-gallon of milk and a small pack of Quilted Northern toilet paper.
If Kevin were to order online through Amazon and Whole Foods, he would definitely end up spending the most money. But it may have been worth it for the convenience, allowing extra time to set up his booby traps.
Related: Thanksgiving Dinner Cost
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