Should You Join Walmart+ in 2024?

Any time you sign up for a subscription or service, you run the risk of throwing your money away and negatively impacting your personal finances. How many of us have our credit cards charged every month for Netflix or Hulu, only to never watch a single show? And how many of us have money debited from our checking accounts for a gym we visit a handful of times each year?

As such, if you're going to pay for a new service, it should really be something you get great use out of. And so if you're contemplating paying for a Walmart+ membership in 2024, it pays to ask yourself these questions to see if the $98 annual fee is worth forking over.

1. Will I need to fall back on grocery delivery even more in 2024?

Maybe you're a busy person to begin with, and now work is heating up thanks to a new project that's expected to explode in the new year. If so, and you expect to be working very long hours, then you may not have the time to do much grocery shopping in person.

One major benefit of Walmart+ is that members get free grocery delivery with a $35 order (a threshold that isn't particularly hard to meet, even if you're just one person). That way, you don't have to stress about hitting the store or spending money on Instacart fees all the time.

A Walmart+ membership could also make a lot of sense if you're thinking about ditching your car in 2024. If you work remotely and really only need a car for the purpose of running errands, then it can be far more cost-effective to just Uber your way to the store when you need to rather than pay to maintain and insure a vehicle. But with Walmart+, you can save yourself the ride-hailing fares and have your food show up at your door instead.

2. Do I tend to place orders on Walmart.com a lot?

Another big perk of Walmart+ is that the program gives you access to free shipping on orders of any size. So if you're someone who tends to place a lot of online orders at Walmart, now, you won't need to worry about meeting an order minimum to qualify for free shipping.

Do keep in mind that Walmart+ differs a bit from Amazon Prime in that with the latter, you get free two-day shipping on your orders. With Walmart+, your items might take longer to arrive. But if that's something you're willing to work around, then you may find that your membership is worth it.

3. Is my car expensive to fill up?

Walmart+ membership makes a lot of sense for people who don't have a car. But if you own a vehicle, and it's expensive to fill up (either because it's not the most fuel-efficient or it's just plain large), then a membership to Walmart+ could make sense because it could save you $0.10 per gallon of gas at a wide range of fuel stations.

So, let's say you normally fill up to the tune of 25 gallons of gas per week. This is more than conceivable if you commute to an office far away and/or do a lot of driving to get your kids places. If you save $0.10 per gallon, that's $2.50 a week. On a yearly basis, that's $130 in savings, which is more than your $98 membership fee.

You definitely do not want to throw your money away on a Walmart+ membership, so don't just buy one on a whim. But if your answer to any of these questions is a yes, then you may want to consider buying one in the new year.