Is it Possible to Quit "Wal-Marting"?

[Megma]

I had a summer job there as a teenager. I've never worked in such an incompetent and disrespectful work environment.

So I don't shop there.

SIS

That speaks volumes. I feel this way about Applebee's, after I briefly worked there in college.

[Roadhog]

I have never shopped at Walmart and I never plan on shopping there in the future.  So yes, it can be done.   I shop at Costco, Winco and Trader Joes.

[Miss Prim]

I hate Walmart too!  But, Walmart is the closest store to me and they fought tooth and nail to put a store there.  My sister-in-law and I actually picketed in the field before they got the OK to build it!  She is a union member so she was dead set against it for that reason.  I just didn't want it to spoil our semi-rural area and have it be close to 3 schools.  The township did make them jump through hoops to put it there and they can not sell guns or ammo. 

Anyhoo, Sister-in-law has never set foot in there, but I find that I use it quite a bit because it is so close to me and they put the local grocery store out of business.  But, the shelves are always half empty, the produce is terrible and goes bad quickly and I am not interested in anything else they have but groceries.  I spend as little as possible there as we get our meat locally sourced and grow a lot of our own vegetables and freeze or can them.  We also have a membership to Cosco, but I can't find everything I need there and it is much further away.

So, that is my Walmart story.  If you have an Aldi, I definitely would shop there instead.  Wish we had one close, but ours is a long ways away.

                                                                             Miss Prim

[Faraday]

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.



 

[Jack]

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...

Note that Trader Joe's carries much fancier (i.e., mostly-organic) products than Wal-Mart or Aldi.... it's more of a less-expensive alternative to Whole Foods or a hippie co-op than it is an competitor to a mainstream grocery.

[ABC123]

In the case of produce, I find that Aldi is not very good.  The prices are low, but any time I have bought produce there it goes bad within a few days. 

[MooseOutFront]

This thread has inspired me to start spreadsheeting my groceries.  We buy the same stuff over and over so it shouldn't be too hard.  Walmart is very close to us, but Aldi is equally so.  I have to go to Trader Joes for our wine anyway, so I can incorporate more of their frozen veggies as staples at least.

Our thing is that going to the grocery store is a chore that we don't ever want to make time for.  Between Walmart and Sams, we can get everything we need other than wine.  Adding more stops to the chore to save here or there will not be well received.  What we need to do is get a firm look at the savings and adjust our staples accordingly so that we're still only going to a couple places.

Will report back once I get some data.  OP, please do the same!

[ltt]

Why aren't you shopping more online???  Like Amazon?

[justajane]

This thread has inspired me to start spreadsheeting my groceries.  We buy the same stuff over and over so it shouldn't be too hard.  Walmart is very close to us, but Aldi is equally so.  I have to go to Trader Joes for our wine anyway, so I can incorporate more of their frozen veggies as staples at least.

Our thing is that going to the grocery store is a chore that we don't ever want to make time for.  Between Walmart and Sams, we can get everything we need other than wine.  Adding more stops to the chore to save here or there will not be well received.  What we need to do is get a firm look at the savings and adjust our staples accordingly so that we're still only going to a couple places.

Will report back once I get some data.  OP, please do the same!

Can't you buy wine at Sam's?

[KithKanan]

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...

Note that Trader Joe's carries much fancier (i.e., mostly-organic) products than Wal-Mart or Aldi.... it's more of a less-expensive alternative to Whole Foods or a hippie co-op than it is an competitor to a mainstream grocery.

It really varies from item to item (and town to town?) whether Trader Joes is a good deal or not. They have definitely gotten a bit fancier (and a bit pricier) as they've grown and expanded and have too many stores to sell as many of the one-off items they happened to get a really good deal on from a supplier as they had before they went national.

It also depends a lot on the size of your household. I buy some things at Costco, but there are a number of things I don't because as a single I just can't use them up before they go bad. Same applies for Smart&Final. For me/in my town (has Costco, Target, Smart&Final, Von's, Ralph's, Albertson's, Food4Less, Whole Foods, and a recently opened Grocery Outlet I need to visit more. No Aldi and the nearest Wal-Mart is 15 miles away), Trader Joes still tends to have the best prices on reasonable quantities of:

* Wine
* Eggs (a lot pricier than they used to be. they used to have the cheapest eggs by far, but after protests they dropped their cheapest eggs and now pretty much only have organic/free range. I don't use many eggs right now, so I tend to buy them by the half-dozen and it still works out alright for me -- their eggs seem to be fresher and so have a longer shelf-life than most other local stores).
* Milk (cheaper AND fresher/longer shelf life applies as I don't use much), Butter, Cheese
* Bread
* Nuts
* Crackers
* Bagged Salad Mixes (fresher/longer shelf life applies), Mushrooms, Frozen Vegetables (that I don't need in a Costco sized package)

Produce/meat I'm more likely to check the Food4Less next door, or one of the standard grocery stores on the way home if I'm not happy with the price/quality I find there. Spices I buy in bulk at the local hippie co-op.

[5pak]

I know how hard it can be to avoid Wal-Mart. Smaller cities tend to have fewer alternatives. Most of the suggestions people tend to give about avoiding [insert evil corporation name here] is to go to another, somewhat nicer one that is usually only in well developed cities.

My suggestion: just go where the lowest prices can be found without sacrificing product quality. If it's Wal-Mart, then you aren't Wal-Marting. You're surviving. For me, it happens to be a Winn-Dixie, Walgreens, and Publix with a trip to Target now and then. For you, it might be something else.

If you can't support Wal-Mart because of morals or business strategy (trust me, I certainly feel the same and refuse to go into a Wal-Mart unless forced to), then decide what you're willing to pay not to go there. If you have to drive an hour out of the boonies to find a better store, then decide if you're willing to do it.

That all said, I would still pay a little bit more to support a truly local owned and operated enterprise, provided its quality is good. I would pay the extra money to support a good local butcher instead of just going to Piggly Wiggly.

[MooseOutFront]

Can't you buy wine at Sam's?

Not at a good price.  Black box is about $18 for the same quantity as TJ's $12 box and we like the TJ wine better.  Wife won't let me get franzia though I do sometimes and just drink it myself depending on timing of sams run and supply of TJ on hand.

[Jack]

* Bagged Salad Mixes

These are anti-mustachian. Just buy a head of lettuce of lettuce instead. A whole head of even fancy lettuce (like Bibb or Romaine) is cheaper than one bag of mix, let alone the difference in price per ounce.

Can't you buy wine at Sam's?

Not at a good price.  Black box is about $18 for the same quantity as TJ's $12 box and we like the TJ wine better.  Wife won't let me get franzia though I do sometimes and just drink it myself depending on timing of sams run and supply of TJ on hand.

I'm not a big wine drinker (it mostly gets used for cooking), but I'll admit Trader Joe's is really good for wine. Of course, now that "two buck Chuck" has started costing three bucks, it's no longer cheaper than Aldi...

[dorothyc]

As a quick/simple fix to the debit card fiasco.. Use a credit card at Walmart. They accept them, and you can enjoy some cash-back rewards while knowing that transactions can be disputed and you don't have to fight to get your money back.

+1 for Aldi. I buy 90% of my family's groceries there and purchase the remaining 10% from a local chain. In my opinion, what makes Aldi great is exactly what makes Walmart terrible: convenient size, small parking lot free of carts, very efficient cashiers, and minimal in-store marketing via house-sized displays of soda/chips.

Nathan, good point and you are 100% correct. I heard a half dozen times "if you had used a credit card, we could refund your money immediately". It only incensed me more, since the default mode of the terminals is to use DEBIT.  I'll never, ever, ever use a debit card there again...

Or pay cash

[justajane]

Can't you buy wine at Sam's?

Not at a good price.  Black box is about $18 for the same quantity as TJ's $12 box and we like the TJ wine better.  Wife won't let me get franzia though I do sometimes and just drink it myself depending on timing of sams run and supply of TJ on hand.

I have a hard time balancing taste and price when it comes to wine. I'm cheap, but I also drink so little that when I do, I want it to taste the way I like it. My favorite so far is the $7.99 Menage a Trois at Costco. Hate the name - love the taste. I can't do the Two (three) Buck Chuck. I'm not a wine snob by any means - it just tastes so bitter to me. But I agree that TJ's has good priced wines. In our experience, beer selection is better at Sam's, and wine price is better at Costco. 

[DarinC]

I'd like to think I've mostly quit. They have the best prices on some non-consumables, so I grab those from there, but I'm only going twice a month, and if I can get everyone to plan ahead can probably go once every two or three months.

In terms of groceries groceries, Ralphs, Costco, and a local Korean and Spanish market blow them out of the water for pricing.

[Faraday]

This thread has inspired me to start spreadsheeting my groceries.  We buy the same stuff over and over so it shouldn't be too hard.  Walmart is very close to us, but Aldi is equally so.  I have to go to Trader Joes for our wine anyway, so I can incorporate more of their frozen veggies as staples at least.

Our thing is that going to the grocery store is a chore that we don't ever want to make time for.  Between Walmart and Sams, we can get everything we need other than wine.  Adding more stops to the chore to save here or there will not be well received.  What we need to do is get a firm look at the savings and adjust our staples accordingly so that we're still only going to a couple places.

Will report back once I get some data.  OP, please do the same!

Moose - I've already signed on to do that, earlier in the thread. You are going exactly the direction I want to go with this topic - some "pricebooking" as some call it. You are right about buying "same stuff over and over": we do too, so that should make it easier. It should also help me identify any potential swap-outs for better quality, lower price items. (fresh vegs. vs. bagged salads, for example)

BTW: Jack made the comment that bagged salads are anti-mustachian and he's right. The right way to do that would be to buy the components and make up pre-sized quantities in plasticware containers, then you can just grab the container and eat for use at home or at work.

You are right about not wanting to make time for groceries - for me, that's included doing a broad-brush "sweep" of the local area to find the best prices, cultivating connections with local farmers, etc. Now, I've got to change my ways if I'm going to optimize grocery cash flow.

[Faraday]

Tonight the money Wal-Mart overcharged me finally reappeared in my bank account:
3/16/2015   3/16/2015   Point of Sale Credit             L340
DATE 03-14      WAL-MART #xxxx <anytown>       $195.46   

It's interesting: the transaction occurred today, but somehow Wal-Mart was able to "back date" it to yesterday. It caused my bank to put the owed money "back ahead" of some of my expenditures.

Knowing that Wal-Mart can bend rules that apply to the rest of us doesn't make me any more comfortable.....

[h2ogal]

Politics and snobbery aside...I don't enjoy shopping at walmart.  Is an unpleasant sensory experience.  Glaring lighting, daunting size. Also, have you noticed a chemical plasticky type smell in their stores?  Makes my eyes water.  We have a super store here and I find it's just too BIG to shop at, very inefficient. 

I like our little Aldi.  In and out in 10 mins...never any long lines.   

Also - maybe you can check around for other options for Groceries.  For example, we have a wholesale produce warehouse and several farmers markets and local farms that sell produce, meat, chicken and eggs direct and sometimes they even deliver. 

For non-food items like clothes and house stuff, I like TJ Maxs.  It has nice quality brands for big discounts, it you can tolerate picking through the disarray.

[KithKanan]

* Bagged Salad Mixes

These are anti-mustachian. Just buy a head of lettuce of lettuce instead. A whole head of even fancy lettuce (like Bibb or Romaine) is cheaper than one bag of mix, let alone the difference in price per ounce.

They're definitely anti-mustachian, though at Trader Joes prices I don't think they're completely facepunch-worthy if you'd rather have three kinds of lettuce than one, you're living by yourself, and you have trouble using things up before they spoil (probably the most facepunch-worthy thing. My meal planning needs a lot of work).

[WESTOFTHEHUDSON]

I use a price comparison spreadsheet ( a la Tightwad Gazette). I only track certain items at certain stores. For example, we buy our meat from a local butcher so I won't track grocery store meat prices.

I saved my receipts for a few months to get started but then when
I was in the stores, I would sometimes note the price on an item. Now I know how often PB goes in sale and I buy enough every 3 months to last me until the next sale.

[clarkfan1979]

I have had some very bad experiences at my Target and avoid shopping there as much as a I can. I went from spending about $450/month in groceries to about $20/month for convenience. It's not worth it to me to give it up 100% because I'm not going to inconvenience myself for the sake of making a point. By reducing my bill by $430/month I think I have already made my point.

[libertarian4321]

I go into Walmart about once a year.

Just to remind myself that it isn't worth the aggravation of rubbing up against teeming masses of unwashed humanity just to save a nickel on a 12-pack of socks.

[KMMK]

It's hard to do everything right all the time. Now that I'm car free, the closest store is a Walmart so I shop there a lot. Yes, ideally I'd just buy local or from other stores, but I have to figure out what the best decision is for my particular life circumstances.

[Jack]

* Bagged Salad Mixes

These are anti-mustachian. Just buy a head of lettuce of lettuce instead. A whole head of even fancy lettuce (like Bibb or Romaine) is cheaper than one bag of mix, let alone the difference in price per ounce.

They're definitely anti-mustachian, though at Trader Joes prices I don't think they're completely facepunch-worthy if you'd rather have three kinds of lettuce than one, you're living by yourself, and you have trouble using things up before they spoil (probably the most facepunch-worthy thing. My meal planning needs a lot of work).

If you simply must have three kinds of lettuce (really?!) and don't have anyone to share it with, then you should just have salads for every meal until it's gone.

I mean, sure, you can construct an edge case where buying bagged lettuce allegedly makes sense. But you should realize that you constructed that situation and were perfectly free to make a different (more sensible) choice.

[justajane]

* Bagged Salad Mixes

These are anti-mustachian. Just buy a head of lettuce of lettuce instead. A whole head of even fancy lettuce (like Bibb or Romaine) is cheaper than one bag of mix, let alone the difference in price per ounce.

They're definitely anti-mustachian, though at Trader Joes prices I don't think they're completely facepunch-worthy if you'd rather have three kinds of lettuce than one, you're living by yourself, and you have trouble using things up before they spoil (probably the most facepunch-worthy thing. My meal planning needs a lot of work).

If you simply must have three kinds of lettuce (really?!) and don't have anyone to share it with, then you should just have salads for every meal until it's gone.

I mean, sure, you can construct an edge case where buying bagged lettuce allegedly makes sense. But you should realize that you constructed that situation and were perfectly free to make a different (more sensible) choice.

Geez, it's not like he or she is buying caviar. I can buy a bag of butter lettuce at Aldi for $1.99. I don't imagine TJs is much more. I'm all for encouraging people to spend less, but the person already acknowledged it was a minor splurge. Are you going to administer facepunches next for buying the apples that are $2.50 lb rather than $1.99 lb?

[Jack]

* Bagged Salad Mixes

These are anti-mustachian. Just buy a head of lettuce of lettuce instead. A whole head of even fancy lettuce (like Bibb or Romaine) is cheaper than one bag of mix, let alone the difference in price per ounce.

They're definitely anti-mustachian, though at Trader Joes prices I don't think they're completely facepunch-worthy if you'd rather have three kinds of lettuce than one, you're living by yourself, and you have trouble using things up before they spoil (probably the most facepunch-worthy thing. My meal planning needs a lot of work).

If you simply must have three kinds of lettuce (really?!) and don't have anyone to share it with, then you should just have salads for every meal until it's gone.

I mean, sure, you can construct an edge case where buying bagged lettuce allegedly makes sense. But you should realize that you constructed that situation and were perfectly free to make a different (more sensible) choice.

Geez, it's not like he or she is buying caviar. I can buy a bag of butter lettuce at Aldi for $1.99. I don't imagine TJs is much more. I'm all for encouraging people to spend less, but the person already acknowledged it was a minor splurge. Are you going to administer facepunches next for buying the apples that are $2.50 lb rather than $1.99 lb?

The facepunch is not for spending an extra fifty cents on something, the facepunch is for making the decision thoughtlessly. If you've got a particular good reason to spend extra, fine, but KithKanan as much as admitted that it was because he or she couldn't be bothered to meal-plan properly.

Besides, it all adds up. People wonder how folks here manage to spend (what seems to them to be) ridiculously little on groceries, like $100/person/month. Well, buying heads of lettuce instead of pre-bagged mix is (part of) how we do it!

You thoughtlessly choose to make your salad with $2.50 pre-bagged lettuce (instead of a $1 head), $2/lb chicken breast (instead of a breast you cut from a $1/lb whole chicken), $2/pint cherry tomatoes (instead of cut up $1/lb Roma tomatoes), $4/lb pre-shredded cheese (instead of $3/lb block cheese that you shred yourself), and $1.50/lb "baby" carrots (instead of $0.75/lb whole bulk carrots that you cut into sticks), and suddenly your whole salad costs twice as much as it needed to. Multiply that by every meal, and suddenly you're wondering why you're spending $500+/month on groceries for two people.

By the way: if I'm paying more than about $1.25/lb on apples, they'd better be organic or something. $2/lb is ridiculous, let alone $2.50! Of course, hopefully in a few years I won't be buying apples (or pears) at all, once the trees I planted start producing...

[Bob W]

So here is my Wal-Mart experience from last night ---

I pull into lot with my 7 year old.  Pocket phone rings "Mr. SonSo, this is Kathy from Wal Mart Vision center.  Your glasses are ready to pick up."   Me "That's scary!  I just pulled in your lot.  Be there in 1 minute"

Go in -  glass place busy  --  go to back of store for soccer ball for kids practice --- go up front for his favorite popcorn chicken (lady is super nice and overfills)--- he and I remark how fresh and good it is  (there was a lady in line with pink multicolored hair about 40.  I'm say something about her hair.  She gives me the scoop and says she is changing it to the school colors next to support her teen sons sport.  We all smile) --- my kid heads to the kids game room which I feel safe for him to be at (he runs,  he is happy) --  me to self check out (another helpful lady)--  then to eye glass place where they see me coming and everyone has a good laugh --- lady says "I should have said, We know when you said you were in the lot"  ---- grab kid on way out --- he has found a quarter and gives it to me (he almost always finds money there) -- we laugh about that.    Whole thing took 15 minutes and we arrive at soccer practice on time.

Soccer ball, popcorn chicken, eyeglasses, game room,  found money,  nice people.    I'm pretty sure this couldn't be done in many places.  boo, hoo the store was so large that I actually had to walk across it twice!   I don't think most people would complain about heaven being too large and filled with unwashed masses?

 If I had wanted to I could have grabbed a cell phone from their electronic department,   developed some pictures,  had a hair cut,  picked up my meds,  done some banking, had a fresh baked sandwich at Subway all while having my oil changed and tires rotated (free).   I could have then picked up some tomato and petunia plants at the garden center on my way out.  Hell I haven't even mentioned the grocery shopping,   Deli, liquor department, floral, hardware, pet and beauty supplies.

Sure I could spend lot of time driving around town but why bother?   Membership fees - nope,  pack your own bags - nope.         

Quit Wal_Mart over a flubbed up electronic purchase?   Nope life is too short.   Some Wal-Marts may suck but mine rocks.    Maybe it is the difference between small town rural life and the big city thing?   Or maybe it is a personal attitude thing?   

Next topic --  Why Home Depot beats the crap out of Lowes!   

[slugline]

Bob W's story makes me wonder if each Walmart experience is mainly reflective of the character of the surrounding neighborhood, magnified to ridiculous levels of either awesomeness or disappointment.

[Jack]

So here is my Wal-Mart experience from last night ---

...

If I had wanted to I could have grabbed a cell phone from their electronic department,   developed some pictures,  had a hair cut,  picked up my meds,  done some banking, had a fresh baked sandwich at Subway all while having my oil changed and tires rotated (free).   I could have then picked up some tomato and petunia plants at the garden center on my way out.  Hell I haven't even mentioned the grocery shopping,   Deli, liquor department, floral, hardware, pet and beauty supplies.

...

Some Wal-Marts may suck but mine rocks.    Maybe it is the difference between small town rural life and the big city thing?   Or maybe it is a personal attitude thing?   

I have to admit, that story creeps me out in a "company store" or "Wall-E" sort of way. It's like Wal-Mart is trying to replace an entire small-town commercial district, except all owned by the same corporation, with no democratic process involved.

[justajane]

The facepunch is not for spending an extra fifty cents on something, the facepunch is for making the decision thoughtlessly. If you've got a particular good reason to spend extra, fine, but KithKanan as much as admitted that it was because he or she couldn't be bothered to meal-plan properly.

Besides, it all adds up. People wonder how folks here manage to spend (what seems to them to be) ridiculously little on groceries, like $100/person/month. Well, buying heads of lettuce instead of pre-bagged mix is (part of) how we do it!

You thoughtlessly choose to make your salad with $2.50 pre-bagged lettuce (instead of a $1 head), $2/lb chicken breast (instead of a breast you cut from a $1/lb whole chicken), $2/pint cherry tomatoes (instead of cut up $1/lb Roma tomatoes), $4/lb pre-shredded cheese (instead of $3/lb block cheese that you shred yourself), and $1.50/lb "baby" carrots (instead of $0.75/lb whole bulk carrots that you cut into sticks), and suddenly your whole salad costs twice as much as it needed to. Multiply that by every meal, and suddenly you're wondering why you're spending $500+/month on groceries for two people.

By the way: if I'm paying more than about $1.25/lb on apples, they'd better be organic or something. $2/lb is ridiculous, let alone $2.50! Of course, hopefully in a few years I won't be buying apples (or pears) at all, once the trees I planted start producing...

Your overall point is taken, although for most of the year Roma tomatoes taste like ass, which is why at least I buy cherry tomatoes. I don't eat tomatoes at all in the winter, but if by chance I "need" them for something, I buy cherry.

I actually had no idea what the cost of the apples are per pound, since I only buy them in the big bags at Aldi when they are on sale, usually $2 or less for a fairly larged sized bag. Obviously I guessed high. I can't stomach buying them individually by weight - too expensive!

FWIW, in my neck of the woods, shredded and block cheese are close to the same per ounce if not the same price at the grocery store. I buy the big blocks of cheese at Costco (ca. $5.50 for two pounds) and shredded at Aldi. I guess you're right that if I shredded Costco cheese I might save money, but shredding cheese is a miserable experience IMO.

Back to the OT, Walmart grocery prices are not good where I live. I'm always amazed that people shop there, sinc ethey could do so much better at Aldi, Costco, Sam's, and even Target most of the time.

[merula]

Next topic --  Why Home Depot beats the crap out of Lowes!

I'm guessing you'll get some people who say "I love HD because they actually stock products that I need." and others who say "I shop at HD because Lowe's hates gay people and Muslims."

[Bob W]

So here is my Wal-Mart experience from last night ---

...

If I had wanted to I could have grabbed a cell phone from their electronic department,   developed some pictures,  had a hair cut,  picked up my meds,  done some banking, had a fresh baked sandwich at Subway all while having my oil changed and tires rotated (free).   I could have then picked up some tomato and petunia plants at the garden center on my way out.  Hell I haven't even mentioned the grocery shopping,   Deli, liquor department, floral, hardware, pet and beauty supplies.

...

Some Wal-Marts may suck but mine rocks.    Maybe it is the difference between small town rural life and the big city thing?   Or maybe it is a personal attitude thing?   

I have to admit, that story creeps me out in a "company store" or "Wall-E" sort of way. It's like Wal-Mart is trying to replace an entire small-town commercial district, except all owned by the same corporation, with no democratic process involved.

Yes,  Wal-Mart replaced small town commercial districts years ago around here.   The town fathers fought to keep them out in many places.  The supercenters often have other strip malls located out front that Wal Mart owns and rents to who they like.   

We are talking about the country's biggest employer here with the founders children being 4 times as rich as Warren Buffet.   

If they continue their current trajectory.   They will be in every consumer retail and service business.  (I think they are doing insurance already)

Did I mention I could have left my taxes to be done while I shopped? 

My guess is that eventually they will be unionized.   Big cities seem to hate them like our small towns used to.    What do they call that?  Market disruption? 

[darkadams00]

I quit walmart a few years ago, but I'm back now as I've trimmed expenses.  There's a couple reasons.

1.  I can bike to the local walmart.  It isn't super close, but I can get there.
...
4.  ...If the trip isn't going to save me $15.00 then I just order it online (it's kind of a long bike ride).
...
6.  It's the only store that far away that also sells whatever part of my bicycle broke on the way there.

Sounds like you need to rethink your biking options. If I had to select a store based on the likelihood of my bike breaking down, I would be actively scouring Craigslist for a different bike. $250 will buy a bike that can turn over thousands of miles annually with minimal issues and little more than annual maintenance. Some have done it for less $, others a little more.

But good job on utility riding. Anything that helps people see that bikes can be used for something besides recreation is a plus.

[FarmerPete]

I grew up going to Meijer stores.  Meijer is basically like a super Walmart, but they've been doing it long before Walmart did.  Their prices are normally better than Walmart.  I've never heard that Meijer treats it's employees badly, although I figure it can't be that much better than Walmart.  Meijer is only in the Great Lakes states though.  Could I save money by shopping at Aldi?  Maybe.  The closest one is 8 miles away, and Meijer is 1 mile.  We do 90% of our shopping at Meijer and the other 10% at a local produce market.  We'll grab loss leaders from Kroger on occasion.  The only reason I've set foot in a Walmart in the last 5 years is to get all friendly and spend some one on one time with KATE when I do my manufactured spending.

[MandalayVA]

I grew up going to Meijer stores.  Meijer is basically like a super Walmart, but they've been doing it long before Walmart did.  Their prices are normally better than Walmart.  I've never heard that Meijer treats it's employees badly, although I figure it can't be that much better than Walmart.  Meijer is only in the Great Lakes states though. 

Kentucky is a Great Lakes state?  When did that happen?  :D  And about the only difference between Meijer and the Evil Empire Walmart is that Meijer is unionized.

I only go into an outpost of the EE if forced--I was a minion many years ago and I can tell you from experience that if it does anything nice or even human for its employees it's because it was sued into it (thanks for the $500, Waltons!).  Last time was last year when I was in North Carolina for a friend's wedding and there was no other store and I needed stuff.  Prices were actually higher than my local supermarket or Target.  Lack of competition, maybe?

[asauer]

Yes, definitely.  I get my rare prescriptions there for $4 but that's it.  We don't shop there for  reasons:
1. Their culture, treatment of employees is absolutely abhorrent (and that's coming from an evil HR person!)
2. Their sourcing methods are against my values
3. I WILL overspend if I go to a store that has all that shit in it.  I know this about myself and so I stay away!

So- for clothes- we do consignment and/or goodwill and/or Amazon, for groceries we do a CSA, I make cleaning products, we use cloth instead of paper (maybe 1 roll of paper towels every quarter), I make a large amount of our personal products but buy the other stuff on Amazon usually for less than walmart charges

Yeah, it's possible.

[KithKanan]

The facepunch is not for spending an extra fifty cents on something, the facepunch is for making the decision thoughtlessly. If you've got a particular good reason to spend extra, fine, but KithKanan as much as admitted that it was because he or she couldn't be bothered to meal-plan properly.

Besides, it all adds up. People wonder how folks here manage to spend (what seems to them to be) ridiculously little on groceries, like $100/person/month. Well, buying heads of lettuce instead of pre-bagged mix is (part of) how we do it!

You thoughtlessly choose to make your salad with $2.50 pre-bagged lettuce (instead of a $1 head), $2/lb chicken breast (instead of a breast you cut from a $1/lb whole chicken), $2/pint cherry tomatoes (instead of cut up $1/lb Roma tomatoes), $4/lb pre-shredded cheese (instead of $3/lb block cheese that you shred yourself), and $1.50/lb "baby" carrots (instead of $0.75/lb whole bulk carrots that you cut into sticks), and suddenly your whole salad costs twice as much as it needed to. Multiply that by every meal, and suddenly you're wondering why you're spending $500+/month on groceries for two people.

By the way: if I'm paying more than about $1.25/lb on apples, they'd better be organic or something. $2/lb is ridiculous, let alone $2.50! Of course, hopefully in a few years I won't be buying apples (or pears) at all, once the trees I planted start producing...

In this case I buy the $1.99 7oz bag of (green leaf lettuce, frisee, radicchio and carrots) -- which is a face-punch worthy cost per oz I'll admit -- and use just that + olive oil + vinegar as a quick and easy side to my main meals every so often for a week or so, while also stealing some of the lettuce from it to use on sandwiches or in tacos/etc. It's replacing more than just one head of lettuce, and since it's fresh for ~10-12 days from when I buy it there's no risk of spoilage. It also doesn't take up a ton of space in my small apartment fridge. It's not totally thoughtless -- for the current amount of salad I want/eat it's reasonably efficient balance of cost, effort, and spoilage -- but wanting/eating more salad (and making that from scratch) would probably be a better choice, and certainly much cheaper per lb.

[Faraday]

So here is my Wal-Mart experience from last night ---
...good stuff was here...

Quit Wal_Mart over a flubbed up electronic purchase?   Nope life is too short.   Some Wal-Marts may suck but mine rocks.    Maybe it is the difference between small town rural life and the big city thing?   Or maybe it is a personal attitude thing?   

Bob: No "personal attitude thing" to it for me (Did I facepunch your Jesus, man?). I'm thrilled, AND envious...by the experience you report in your Wal-Mart. I'd gladly go there, but you've GOT to be talking about something like a "showcase store". 

It's what I've learned about how Wal-Mart is able to debit my accounts and the "honoring warranty" thing. I'm still in shock over that. Three days man, three days I had to operate with a $400 injection into my checking account that I had not planned. (no, it wasn't $200, it was $400...)

I've cut my debit card usage dramatically (90%). I am pondering switching to cash only. But you know man, even if I used cash-only, this particular snafu, I still would be standing there with my grocery cart and no receipt-in-hand.

One more thing: if everyone reading this hates Wal-mart or the way they treat their employees or whatever, then cool: start your own thread and have at it. I'll cheer you on in your own thread, but that's not what this thread is about.

What I'm looking for here is more ways to further optimize buying and increase my savings level beyond the 50% I'm already achieving. Up until now, my Wal-Mart buying has been largely unexamined. Now, it's time to examine and see if I have better options.

And BTW: What you got against bringing your own bag, you lazy sack? (har har...get it? :-) :-) :-) )

 I'll bet you don't even own a bicycle, and yo' momma uses Discover cards! Watch out or I'll sic JACK on you man! :-) :-) :-)

[stlbrah]

I haven't been to walmart in years. I strictly use drugstore.com. I usually get free shipping on bigger orders, on smaller ones sometimes I do, since my amex card came w/ a free shoprunner account. It costs me less than walmart and saves time. Ship in about 2 days. I love taking advantage of modern services and technology.

[Faraday]

You thoughtlessly choose to make your salad with $2.50 pre-bagged lettuce (instead of a $1 head), $2/lb chicken breast (instead of a breast you cut from a $1/lb whole chicken), $2/pint cherry tomatoes (instead of cut up $1/lb Roma tomatoes), $4/lb pre-shredded cheese (instead of $3/lb block cheese that you shred yourself), and $1.50/lb "baby" carrots (instead of $0.75/lb whole bulk carrots that you cut into sticks), and suddenly your whole salad costs twice as much as it needed to. Multiply that by every meal, and suddenly you're wondering why you're spending $500+/month on groceries for two people.

By the way: if I'm paying more than about $1.25/lb on apples, they'd better be organic or something. $2/lb is ridiculous, let alone $2.50! Of course, hopefully in a few years I won't be buying apples (or pears) at all, once the trees I planted start producing...

That's where I want to go with this thread. Maybe it means the end of the Wal-Mart thread and beginning a new "Grocery Shopping for Baby Mustachians" thread?

I cut/pasted every word of that into my shopping list for the next trip. 'cause let me tell you man, I sure can skin a chicken carcass till there's only teeny bones left...and THEN it becomes pet food.

[Jack]

That's where I want to go with this thread. Maybe it means the end of the Wal-Mart thread and beginning a new "Grocery Shopping for Baby Mustachians" thread?

I cut/pasted every word of that into my shopping list for the next trip. 'cause let me tell you man, I sure can skin a chicken carcass till there's only teeny bones left...and THEN it becomes pet food.

Why, thank you!

Also, that makes me wonder: which is a more efficient use of chicken bones, pet food or stock?

(Okay, now even I think I'm over-thinking it!)

[Faraday]

That's where I want to go with this thread. Maybe it means the end of the Wal-Mart thread and beginning a new "Grocery Shopping for Baby Mustachians" thread?

I cut/pasted every word of that into my shopping list for the next trip. 'cause let me tell you man, I sure can skin a chicken carcass till there's only teeny bones left...and THEN it becomes pet food.

Why, thank you!

Also, that makes me wonder: which is a more efficient use of chicken bones, pet food or stock?

(Okay, now even I think I'm over-thinking it!)

Well, you kicked me in the....wallet...but you are sticking with the goal here: improving buying choices. I've made huge mustachian progress (case study coming soon) but it's my shopping habits that need improvement. It's urgent and vital - I'm spending too much and letting Wal-Mart "feel-up" my checking account was a wake-up call.

I'll hurry up, make my shopping list and get the pricebooking done this weekend. Maybe we start a new thread...then, let the facepunches begin!

[1967mama]

I live within walking distance (under 1/2 a mile)of a Walmart Supercenter and a fancy pants regional chain. I choose Walmart, hands down.

If I'm out in the car, I have a Costco 25 minutes from home. We go there about once a month. Winco is 25 minutes by car in a different direction at highway speed. We get there about every 4 weeks as well.

I get frustrated by Walmart produce which is less than lovely a lot of the time, turns quickly and is overpriced. I also loathe the checkouts (too few checkers and too many customers with huge cartsfull of groceries and clothes and plastic bins and toys and sheet sets, and, and, and...)

I try to shop during off peak periods, which is entirely possible for me since I'm a SAHM and live so close :-)

[FarmerPete]

I grew up going to Meijer stores.  Meijer is basically like a super Walmart, but they've been doing it long before Walmart did.  Their prices are normally better than Walmart.  I've never heard that Meijer treats it's employees badly, although I figure it can't be that much better than Walmart.  Meijer is only in the Great Lakes states though. 

Kentucky is a Great Lakes state?  When did that happen?  :D  And about the only difference between Meijer and the Evil Empire Walmart is that Meijer is unionized.

I only go into an outpost of the EE if forced--I was a minion many years ago and I can tell you from experience that if it does anything nice or even human for its employees it's because it was sued into it (thanks for the $500, Waltons!).  Last time was last year when I was in North Carolina for a friend's wedding and there was no other store and I needed stuff.  Prices were actually higher than my local supermarket or Target.  Lack of competition, maybe?

Well, their coverage has expanded a lot in the last few years.  I live in Southern Michigan, and as their HQ is Grand Rapids, they've been around in Michigan for all of my 33 years alive.  It wasn't THAT long ago that Meijer was only a Michigan thing.  If I ever had to move outside of the Meijer service area, I would miss Meijer more than any other store.  I've enjoyed having one store to rule them all.  Typically, when we go there, we primarily get items from one department.  For example, when we go grocery shopping, we pretty much stay in the grocery aisles.  We don't walk all over the store.  On the few occasions that we need to pickup something, it's very convenient to walk the 200 feet or whatever to go grab it.  Is the store big?  Yeah, but I know that it's less walking to grab a wiper blade, extension cord, or a car seat at Meijer vs going to an auto store, hardware store, and baby's R us.  And their prices are normally cheaper.  I only buy my motor oil from Meijer.  They sell a 5.1qt Mobile 1 0w-20 for $25.  They regularly have 20% all general merchandise sales.  You can also often get a "Spend $25 on auto, get $5 off your next order" deals.  Stack those on top of each other and you end up getting the oil for $20 - $5 OYNO = $15.  Not bad for a full synthetic oil that AdvanceAuto sells for $38.  Even with a 40% off coupon, that's still $22.80.  When the sale comes around, we'll stock up and grab 2-4.  I only have to do 3 oil changes a year between our two cars.  (7.5k & 10k Mnf recommended intervals for our cars).

My favorite part of Meijer was that as we live in the heart of Meijer country, Wal-Mart pretty much had written off opening in our city.  It wasn't until 10 years ago that the first Wal-mart opened in our city.  A city of 300k, and not a walmart.  It was glorious.  I remember when they started building the Wal-Marts, and a friend was getting excited about it.  I asked, "So what do you feel that Wal-Mart will have that Meijer doesn't provide?"  He didn't have an answer.  After experiencing the horridness that is Wal-Mart first hand (20 minute's waiting for a self checkout cashier to approve a liquor sale...yes, I timed it), I can't imagine why anyone would be excited about a WalMart ever.

On the flip side, I do go to Sams.  Mainly because there is no Costco in my city.  Some day...

[FarmerPete]

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my favorite grocery hack doesn't work at Walmart, Aldi, Sams, or Costco...That's my 6% cash back Amex.  I get 6% cash back on all groceries.  For the record, Meijer is registered as "Grocery".  I love getting 6% cash back on everything they sell.  That's on top of the sales, paper coupons, digital coupons, etc.  Good on everything from diapers to booze to video games.

[StarswirlTheMustached]

That's where I want to go with this thread. Maybe it means the end of the Wal-Mart thread and beginning a new "Grocery Shopping for Baby Mustachians" thread?

I cut/pasted every word of that into my shopping list for the next trip. 'cause let me tell you man, I sure can skin a chicken carcass till there's only teeny bones left...and THEN it becomes pet food.

Why, thank you!

Also, that makes me wonder: which is a more efficient use of chicken bones, pet food or stock?

(Okay, now even I think I'm over-thinking it!)

How is that an either/or choice? Boil 'em down, and feed what's left to the dog. Might be better for the pets, too, since chicken bones are pretty splintery.

[Jack]

I'll bet you don't even own a bicycle, and yo' momma uses Discover cards! Watch out or I'll sic JACK on you man! :-) :-) :-)

Hey! Don't be dissin' the Discover; mine is getting me 5% back on gas right now! ; )

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my favorite grocery hack doesn't work at Walmart, Aldi, Sams, or Costco...That's my 6% cash back Amex.  I get 6% cash back on all groceries.  For the record, Meijer is registered as "Grocery".  I love getting 6% cash back on everything they sell.  That's on top of the sales, paper coupons, digital coupons, etc.  Good on everything from diapers to booze to video games.

Ooh, that's a good tip! There's a "SuperKroger" planned near me* which might be the same. When it opens, I'll have to look into getting one of those cards.

How is that an either/or choice? Boil 'em down, and feed what's left to the dog. Might be better for the pets, too, since chicken bones are pretty splintery.

Once you've boiled them for stock, is there any nutritional value left? (I'd say we need a thread on DIY cat food, but my cat only goes through a bag of dry food maybe 2-3x per year.)

(* It actually sucks -- they're building a damn suburban-style big-box store with a gas station in the middle of what's supposed to be a walkable transit-oriented development, which is stupid. But the community lost the fight, so it is what it is.)

[Bob W]

So here is my Wal-Mart experience from last night ---
...good stuff was here...

Quit Wal_Mart over a flubbed up electronic purchase?   Nope life is too short.   Some Wal-Marts may suck but mine rocks.    Maybe it is the difference between small town rural life and the big city thing?   Or maybe it is a personal attitude thing?   

Bob: No "personal attitude thing" to it for me (Did I facepunch your Jesus, man?). I'm thrilled, AND envious...by the experience you report in your Wal-Mart. I'd gladly go there, but you've GOT to be talking about something like a "showcase store". 

It's what I've learned about how Wal-Mart is able to debit my accounts and the "honoring warranty" thing. I'm still in shock over that. Three days man, three days I had to operate with a $400 injection into my checking account that I had not planned. (no, it wasn't $200, it was $400...)

I've cut my debit card usage dramatically (90%). I am pondering switching to cash only. But you know man, even if I used cash-only, this particular snafu, I still would be standing there with my grocery cart and no receipt-in-hand.

One more thing: if everyone reading this hates Wal-mart or the way they treat their employees or whatever, then cool: start your own thread and have at it. I'll cheer you on in your own thread, but that's not what this thread is about.

What I'm looking for here is more ways to further optimize buying and increase my savings level beyond the 50% I'm already achieving. Up until now, my Wal-Mart buying has been largely unexamined. Now, it's time to examine and see if I have better options.

And BTW: What you got against bringing your own bag, you lazy sack? (har har...get it? :-) :-) :-) )

 I'll bet you don't even own a bicycle, and yo' momma uses Discover cards! Watch out or I'll sic JACK on you man! :-) :-) :-)

Oh sorry,  didn't mean it was your personal thing.   Have a bike and my mom passed away recently.     So here is my favorite Wal Mart hack.     On earlier Monday mornings cruise the meat department.  There is often a huge mark down on choice cuts of meat.   It seems they put the nicer cuts out on Fridays and if not bought on the weekend they discount them heavily Monday to move them.    It appears Jesus has blessed me with a very pleasant, well stocked Wal Mart.  I will pray for the others.  Lol

[Faraday]

Oh sorry,  didn't mean it was your personal thing.   Have a bike and my mom passed away recently.     So here is my favorite Wal Mart hack.     On earlier Monday mornings cruise the meat department.  There is often a huge mark down on choice cuts of meat.   It seems they put the nicer cuts out on Fridays and if not bought on the weekend they discount them heavily Monday to move them.    It appears Jesus has blessed me with a very pleasant, well stocked Wal Mart.  I will pray for the others.  Lol

Well, sorry about your mother, we are getting that age man. (I see you have yours in your profile, I guess that's relevant info here...I'll consider doing same...) THANK YOU for the meats tip! I've had terrible luck buying meats - no matter where I go. So I'll try and see if it works.

Don't pray to Jesus, go down to headquarters and tell them to put a store like that in NC. There's a new Sham's Krubb going in near that store, maybe we could hope for a big 'ol renovation.