I want to summarize on what I think are the key answers I've gotten to the question:
Yes, it is possible to live frugally and not buy from Wal-Mart.
if you have to buy at Wal-Mart, always use CREDIT not DEBIT.
There are "good" and "bad" Wal-Marts, try another one if you can.
(I've hit two bad ones but can still give this a shot...)
Grocery Alternatives:
Aldi, Sav-A-Lot, Costco, Trader Joe's, Kroger (and competing grocery stores here).
(Alternatives not available to me are Sav-A-Lot, Winco, Publix, etc.)
Clothing Alternatives:
Goodwill, Ross, Macy's (I'm sure with a coupon, right?), JC Penney
Autoparts Alternatives:
I insource my repairs when possible and I have used Auto Zone and Advance before. Their in-store prices kinda suck, so I order online, get the discount but pick-up in-store. You get free shipping and the internet price on an in-store part. The change I need to make is to buy oil and filters on-sale in bulk to last me at least 2 years.
Honorable mentions:
1) Try another Wal-Mart, the experience can differ from store to store. (I did try another store and had an even worse experience, but I've got several to choose from which are on my normal routes, so I'll give that a try.)
2) Locally sourced meats and produce. Note to self: Check and see if there's a food buying co-op anywhere nearby.
Surprise Conclusions:
1) I go to Wal-Mart too much. There are items I'm buying in smaller quantity that I should be buying in bulk, probably from warehouse vendors. I'm thinking paper products and motor oil. Maybe non-perishable food items if I can find them.
2) A significant number of people cite poor stocking levels or bad produce as problems with Wal-Mart. I have seen the same thing myself, to the point that I have suffered some produce waste from things going bad. (Avocados seem to be hard for Wal-Mart to keep fresh...) Alternatives: Costco, Aldi and Trader Joe's
3) My Wal-Mart is within biking distance and I have used the bicycle to go there many times and buy small quantities. This may not be the best way to spend my time and trouble - I may need to add a bike trailer to handle larger quantities and buy in bulk. I can do this with Aldi, Auto Parts and grocery stores. I CAN do it with the warehouse vendors but they are much further away. That will require a weekend morning and better planning to execute on the bike with a trailer.
Proposed Testing:
1) Bulk Buying: I've already started an experiment where I'm buying paper products (toilet paper, facial tissues and paper towels) in bulk from Sam's Club. I'll measure financially how that compares to buying in the smaller quantities from Wal-Mart. Next time I'll buy from Costco. I'll try to remember to summarize the results here as soon as I have the data.
2) Wal-Mart vs. Aldi vs. Trader Joe's: I've gotten enough positive comments about Aldi and Trader Joe's, that I'm thinking I should do a "pricebook" and compare the common items I buy, see what I can come up with. I'll try to summarize that as soon as I know more...
Comment:
I agree Wal-Mart has serious problems with social ethics, employee disrespect and foreign sourcing, and I accept those as problems that deserve my attention. However, "hate" isn't what this thread is about. The problem I have brought here to you to discuss is that Wal-Mart has sloppy financial processes and uneducated employees who won't honor product warranties.
I feel this constitutes financial risk that I'm not willing to accept in order to get low prices. Therefore I'm looking for viable alternatives to Wal-Mart as a food and household buying source. Instead of whining about this and doing nothing, I want to use the Power of Optimism to optimize how I spend money that I would normally spend at Wal-Mart without shopping competitively.