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ctg492
12-26-12, 3:05pm
WalMart or Meijer.
For the last many months I have cut back on my shopping at these stores for many reasons of my own. Today it hit me, I would go one year of neither of these stores. I then typed this topic in under A Year of No Walmart. Geeze pages of blogs and articles on the topic for many reasons. Guess many people have done the same thing.
This style of shopping at the local markets will continue to fit more inline with my being as car free as possilbe this coming year. Of which I have been doing very well at the last many months. I will give this a very good try and post along the way how I am doing or why I had >:( to shop there.

bunnys
12-26-12, 3:28pm
This can be your ongoing journal on it. Good luck.

I wish I could give up Walmart (and I guess Meijer, too, although I don't know what that is) but everything there is 25% cheaper than anywhere else and I just don't feel like I can afford to take that hit. I hate that store, though.

PS--I think you'll easily be able to go a year w/o shopping there.

ctg492
12-26-12, 3:57pm
Oh I hear you on "but everything is cheaper". That is the underlying issue on why I go there to begin with, then come home and grumble about going there.
My history with these stores over the years. We have moved 26 times and that was always my main requirement, I must be close to a Meijer or WM. Then a change in me or the stores or life ;) made me do a complete turn around on how I felt. Funny how things change.

Dhiana
12-26-12, 5:27pm
Hey ctg492! I've moved 26 times also! We're experts aren't we =)

My experience with Walmart is that it is NOT really cheaper. Sure the price tag maybe cheaper, but when I used to go in with my list of 6 or 8 basic items, only 2 or 3 of them would be in stock and I would still have to go to Target to complete the list. The savings in price and time wasn't really there.

Good luck on your Walmart/Meijer No-go goal!

mamalatte
12-26-12, 7:56pm
I basically never go to Walmart although I do occasionally go to Target. In the case of Target, I find that things are reasonably priced but I also almost always buy something that wasn't on my list (just because there is so much cheap stuff there), which probably eats up the "savings" on the other items. Do you also find yourself picking up extra stuff at Walmart? If so, then maybe your more local shopping will turn out cheaper because you'll only get exactly what you need?

bunnys
12-26-12, 9:08pm
I agree with you all that Mart-mart is Satan's store. And I hate it. Everything about it--but the prices. I mean I really hate it.

I do stick with my list. Well over 50% of the time I buy only what is on my list and when I do impulse buying it's only 1 extra item.

I wonder if I could get that monkey off my back too...

shadowmoss
12-27-12, 8:45am
Move to Honduras. Oh, wait, we have WalMart here now, too. :) Actually a couple of the grocery stores are also WalMart owned, so if you want to avoid the entire brand check that as well.

lucas
12-27-12, 9:17am
Hi there CTG!

Sounds like a great plan to me... I'm about to move to the US (I currently live in the mercifully Walmart-free zone of Spain)... now that I will be sharing a city with goodness-knows-how-many Walmart stores, I'm going to join you in your boycott.. ;)

Sad Eyed Lady
12-27-12, 10:02am
I made that same decision with regard to Wal-mart almost 10 years ago and guess what? You can live without Wal-mart in your life. I haven't spent a penny in one of their stores for all these years and yet I don't feel like it has hurt me financially, (I think it is just a mindset that we THINK everything is cheaper there). And sometimes it is cheaper because it is CHEAP stuff. Not always I know, but sometimes. Anyway, rambling aside and not going into my reasons for leaving the beast, I applaud others who make that decision and stick with it.

Fawn
12-27-12, 12:39pm
I, also, am a non-Walmart shopper for 18 years now. The groceries I buy at Aldi are cheaper or comparable (DS#1 let me see his Wal-Mart grocery receipts last summer.) Clothes of higher quality and cheaper pricing can be found at Goodwill, Target, TJ Maxx. Household items such as shampoo, soap, cleaners can also be found elsewhere for less, especailly if one is looking for simple as well as inexpensive.

ToomuchStuff
12-27-12, 1:04pm
I can't say I have a problem with them. It all comes down to choice. I go to Sam's club, at least a couple times a month (more like once every 10 days) for work (shopper for work). Walmart, proper, however, there is pretty much two things I buy there: my motor oil, which the parts houses don't seem to carry the brand and weight I use, and my work pants, that they stopped carrying, then started back again (get them about every three years). Not a lot of visits, or money spent with them, just fulfilling needs, as I would at a grocery store, etc.

SteveinMN
12-27-12, 1:34pm
A Web search will locate several comparisons (of varying statistical quality) indicating that other stores are less expensive than Walmart much of the time. In fact, Walmart lost a challenge several years ago that forced them to change their slogan from "Always the low price" (emphasis mine) to "Always low prices" simply because they were not the cheapest place in town on everything.

Lately Walmart has taken to comparing their food prices to a local grocery chain and, of course, always coming out on top on the sample grocery list they use. Early in the campaign, they got called out for not including any perishable food on their lists; they fixed that. Now the chain they are comparing themselves to (which I don't believe is near the cheapest in town [Cub]) is running commercials indicating that a well-chosen shopping list of theirs comes out cheaper than at WalMart.

There are places where Walmart has pretty much driven out any other convenient retail choice. There are a few items which can be purchased only at Walmart (beside the old changed-model-number trick). It certainly is convenient to be able to buy groceries, clothing, and hardware in one place rather than several. But I dislike how Walmart treats its employees. And I think I could offer low prices, too, if I was being subsidized by the American taxpayer as Walmart is.

Almost everyone can live without Walmart. Sometimes even very well, indeed.

TMC
12-27-12, 2:43pm
SteveinMN: This is exactly our problem with Walmart, being subsidized by taxpayers. Our friends will say if people don't like the wages and benefits at Walmart they shouldn't work there but that's really only part of the equation.

With tax breaks local municipalities give Walmart for gracing their town with a store, to the American taxpayer subsidizing their employees medical benefits, Walmart has found all sorts of loopholes to make a buck that our family doesn't respect.

I've been to Walmart once in the past year and I assure you it was complete desperation that drove me there.

You certainly can stay out of that store in my opinion by shopping sales flyers.

Good luck to everybody!

rosarugosa
12-27-12, 7:13pm
We almost never go to Walmart, and now they're putting one in our town. So DH & I are challenging ourselves to never set foot in it. I think it will be really easy to almost never set foot it; but to never set foot in it might be a tad more difficult.

ctg492
12-31-12, 3:19pm
As I research the options of No WM, the best sites I have found have been the Made in the USA sites out there, www.americansworking.com along with others. Then I stumbled on this site:
http://www.notmadeinchinalife.com/index.html
This site is an eye opening reading.
I am feeling like this is 95% something I can live with, but will keep working on it and updating.

ctg492
12-31-12, 3:21pm
On the www.americansworking.com The interesting to me was there are no coffee makers made in the USA anylong.

pinkytoe
12-31-12, 4:00pm
We have a WM about a mile away - one that our neighborhood fought and did not win. Nevertheless, it is the only general merchandise type store for miles. I have bought a few items but am convinced that even name brand items are made to a lesser standard to save costs. The few things I have purchased did not hold up. We just received a $25 WM gift card though and went yesterday to use it towards a blood pressure monitor. I hope it works for more than a few weeks.

awakenedsoul
12-31-12, 5:39pm
I don't shop at Walmart. I did buy my bicycle there in 2009. I've had it fixed and maintained since then, and it should last for several years. It was only $79.00.

I just don't shop much at all anymore. I've found just about everything that I need at the Salvation Army.

catherine
12-31-12, 5:53pm
I don't shop at Wal-Mart, because I really do not enjoy the experience. However, I admit that sometimes I go to Target--they seem to have better buyers and nicer stuff for the same amount of money--at least in my neighborhood.

I think it comes down to how many times you think you "need" something from one of these big box stores. In order to cut out the justification to shop at Wal-Mart for the discounts, it makes sense just to tell yourself you don't need whatever it is you want to buy there.

The first time I went to Walmart in ages was just this past week. I made an inspirational calendar for my family members with family pictures through Snapfish, and to be honest, it was a fantastic buying experience. I uploaded the calendar to Snapfish, and two hours later five calendars were available for pick-up at Walmart.

But as a rule, I can get by just fine not needing to go to Wal-Mart for anything at all.

gimmethesimplelife
12-31-12, 6:52pm
Move to Honduras. Oh, wait, we have WalMart here now, too. :) Actually a couple of the grocery stores are also WalMart owned, so if you want to avoid the entire brand check that as well.I just feel horrible that Wal Mart has exported itself to Honduras now.....Unbelievable. Rob

gimmethesimplelife
12-31-12, 6:59pm
I don't shop at Walmart. I did buy my bicycle there in 2009. I've had it fixed and maintained since then, and it should last for several years. It was only $79.00.

I just don't shop much at all anymore. I've found just about everything that I need at the Salvation Army.Awakened Soul, I hear you there about the Salvation Army. Here in Phoenix they have dollar day on all clothes under $7 on Wednesdays and half off anything above seven dollars that day. I have been able to avoid Wal Mart (and other retailers too) by shopping thrift stores and this helps charities sometimes too so talk about win/win, plus in Arizona there is no sales tax when you shop somewhere like Salvation Army. For things I don't care to buy secondhand, I can find out online where things are cheapest and where the sales are and avoid Wal Mart that way. I don't like how they squelch small businesses and I don't care for how they treat their employees. I personally am better off not subsidizing them as far as I am concerned, even if I do pay a few cents more somewhere else. Rob

ctg492
1-6-13, 5:06am
What an experiment or live style change this short time has been for me, it has progressed far beyond the No WM thought. I am amazed at how this has taken on a life of it's own. I am now checking every thing I look at. I have made a hobby of sitting and Pretending I need to fill a room or drawer, So I start surfing the web to find american content/manufactured first then or a a country with a democracy that is acceptable if not american. It is almost a fun hobby now, shopping yet not buying. At the Hallmark shop yesterday, husband needed a gift for co worker, I wandered as he was shopping. You know where everything was made for the most part. My over all thought so far into this project is, I can get most consumer goods( no electronics) made in the USA. The biggest hurdle for society is the cost. Example mens briefs, sale priced $10 each at the best price. Socks $12-$23 a pair. I did order a mens Made in the USA belt yesterday, the site stated This belt will last to be handed down to your grand children. We have evolved in general to a society of quantity over quality. The big stores have proven that. I wonder if people under 30 know items used to not be disposable, that socks were worth darning or underwear did not stretch out after a short period of time. Double sided blade, if we bought less since it lasted, the economy would suffer more.
This weeks usa purchases were wall outlet insulation and a bumper sticker.

SteveinMN
1-6-13, 9:56am
Periodically, big-box home-improvement chain Menard's has a "Made in USA" sale, in which (almost) all the sale items are pictured along with their city of manufacture. Interesting notion and one that -- inadvertantly -- disguises how little American product some big companies (like Stanley Black & Decker) offer.

Several years ago I made a conscious decision to buy American-made shoes. What I've discovered is that several companies -- New Balance and Red Wing among them -- sell lower-priced lines made in you-know-where and other low-labor-cost countries but make their best stuff in the U.S.A. OTOH the stuff made in this country is built to be repaired. My latest shoes are from a Wisconsin company called Thorogood. They're actually sold as steel-toed work shoes, but they look sufficiently casual and they don't cost any more than Timberlands or Dunhams made in China.

I've also found a place that makes blue jeans in America -- Texas Jeans -- that cost about the same as Lands' End or mid-line Levi's/Lee jeans.

None of these products are what I would call "cheap". The Texas Jeans at $30 don't seem to be made significantly better than the $15 Chinese/Macau/whatever Wranglers I was buying at Target. But the U.S. is not (yet) a low-labor-cost country. So long as the quality is competitive and the price reasonably so, I'll buy American. But sometimes it certainly is not easy to find the goods. I laud your effort.

ctg492
1-6-13, 3:18pm
SteveinMN, Yes I found New Balance has a few american running shoes on the site. I need to running shoes, am afraid of buying without trying those on first. I am going to my local running store which does carry New Balance and seeing what they can do or fit me or, then compare with what I have usually worn Mizuno.

Tussiemussies
1-6-13, 3:42pm
We bought all new Maytag appliances for our new home as we are re-doing the kitchen. Maytag is partially made in the USA. I figure some is better than none. So far the refrigerator works wonderfully!

Tussiemussies
1-6-13, 3:43pm
This thread is great. I am really admiring the posts I am reading and am inspired. Thanks!

AnneM
1-6-13, 4:06pm
I have purchased jeans online from www.pointerbrand.com. Their clothes are 100% made in the USA, and seem to be lasting quite well after 2 years and lots of washing.

ctg492
1-12-13, 6:23am
I have found I am having no difficulty in my quest as of today. I feel no need to enter back into the big land of WM. ( I kinda wondered how I would do this in the beginning) I have found this to be a multi bladed sword for me the consumer including cost factor, country of origin, quality, ease of shopping for purchase of an item. I have found to shop online is the easiest to find all the answers to the above factors. ( I shop online mostly anyhow) I do not shop much, but have been "pretend" shopping on line for an item I think of to see what I can find. I bought online two pairs of sandals,man's belt and two pairs of socks all very happy with. These would have however been difficult if not impossible to purchase at any store I have near me. The cost was far greater then say a pair of socks from WM, yet these I fully believe will last years and they even have a two year guarantee. Here is an ah ha moment, duh the manufacturers make a cheap item like cheap socks to sell at WM that have to be replaced every few months or a year, so we keep buying mindlessly. SO they keep having sales/profit. It becomes an endless cycle with so many items.
SO I have found it can be done. DO I think most have the time, desire to do this when they want a pair of socks or other items, probably not. Yet most will say bring the jobs back here. Again the multi sided consumer blade.

ctg492
1-17-13, 12:45pm
Today I needed a new shower curtain liner after the tub refinishing event. I never thought I would find one made here. Surprise what appears to be a nice one I ordered today, made here.
I went to the Aquarium shop today to look at filter system options. Without saying anything on the topic, the fellow says the do not carry Made in China products. This one he was showing me was made in Germany. I giggled as I left thinking do I have NMiC stamped on my forehead?

ctg492
1-24-13, 11:35am
Today was a let down. I wanted new shower curtain hooks for the liner mentioned above. I went online and found a few Made in America, I also read that KMart had a style made in America. So I thought well I will try them and see. I went to KMart and nope all were made in China. It progressed from there. The bubble bath was MiC as was the every singe item I picked up. I did not buy but two items I needed that were food products made here of course.
I felt defeated after all my successes thus far. I had not been to a large store so far either.
So bottom line this short time into the year of NMiC, it would be very difficult for the hurried shopper who was rushing to purchase an item and look for the Made in America product. We follow along like sheep with out even thinking on most purchases, tossing the disposible item in the cart.

SteveinMN
1-24-13, 1:47pm
We follow along like sheep with out even thinking on most purchases, tossing the disposible item in the cart.
ctg, what you're doing is work. This ain't the supermarket, where just about everything is clearly labeled with a country of origin. You have to ferret out that information and (having done it myself several times) I know that isn't easy. Your policy has already lasted longer than many New Year's resolutions, so at least a pat on the back from me for getting this far! :+1:

I think you are seeing, though, that corraling country of origin and availability and price into a product you want to buy is involved at best and impossible at worst. Given the number of people out there who avoid mental heavy lifting whenever possible, it's easy to see why shoppers don't even bother looking and just drop the item in their cart.

ctg492
2-15-13, 8:10pm
Still working on my project.

ctg492
2-18-13, 10:50am
SO last evening I went to WM. I needed 4 items only and buy in bulk, all USA products,,,if that made me feel better. The person going to the store with me wanted to go to WM, I cringed but justified it to myself. So not feeling total failure, but I did give into the frugal mind and knew the Toilet paper was far cheaper in bulk there then the local market. Other then that I feel I am holding well with my goal for the year.

ctg492
2-22-13, 4:48pm
So feeling like I am accomplishing my goal and understanding how difficult it is when in the past just running into a store and grabbing it and zipping out compared to now searching online, comparing and debating. Buying made in the USA is a job, fun but seems like a job.
Anyhow an F150 down the road has the back window covered with a vinyl sticker that reads (in really large letters) "If you are driving a foreign car you F***ing S***" This bothers me on so many levels. One I personally find it offensive to the point I want to file a police complaint. I figure however the truck is all over town so the police have to have seen it and it must be OK. Second I want to stop and ask the fellow where he shops? does he buy all USA products? Where are his clothes made? Would he drive a Lamborghini or Benz if he could? and such questions. I probably already know the answers. My sons tell me to leave it be as the guy is surely a red neck and I would be starting a wasted argument.
Does freedom of speech allow this word to be in everyones face like this? I know a vacation city up north it is not allowed to be said with in hearing range of others on a side walk.

SteveinMN
2-23-13, 3:30pm
Does freedom of speech allow this word to be in everyones face like this? I know a vacation city up north it is not allowed to be said with in hearing range of others on a side walk.
IMHO it fits in with the general coarsening of conversation around the world. In that same vein, I'm tired of seeing on Facebook repostings by friends of stuff shown on sites with names like "I f---ing love science!" or "S--- Happens". Not that I'm a prude; I've been known to use those words. When someone hears me say it, they know I'm not happy. But using the All. The. Time. devalues them. Or maybe already has.

As for the truck driver, I just keep driving my stupid German diesel which sips fuel so he can stop at gas stations every 150 miles or so to tank up. If it weren't for those of us driving stupid German diesels and Korean econoboxes, he'd be paying $5-6 a gallon. And probably parking his rolling bumper sticker.

ctg492
6-2-13, 5:28am
Well it is now June, the 6th month, 1/2 way through the year. How am I doing? I am happy with how my personal project has evolved and how my views and purchases have changed.
It is a natural thing for me to view every single item to see place of origin, content now. Can I personally be 100% local or USA only, no not the way I live today. I was very hard in the beginning on myself which was a good thing as it made me very aware and educated me on my purchases. I still fully believe it is 95% attainable and maintainable. But hard. I have shopped Walmart about 4 times this year being very observant of what I bought. Again as I have said, clothing is the hardest thing. I know it is possible to shop only USA, but it is next to impossible for me personally to overcome the clothing cost and various choices available.
I have purchased far less then any year before this, just for the fact I study most every item now. This helps in more areas then just USA made. It helps being greener, trash, cash, health and more. I came to a place in my mind that I have been striving to reach for a long long time and this project helped. That I can change no one or their ideas, only myself. My family does not follow my ideas of this project. That's ok, it is about me. I am content with how I am doing and feel successful! I can not see myself ever not being observant of where an item came from, how it was made and the effects of those ever again,so knowing that I am happy.

SteveinMN
6-2-13, 10:26am
Congratulations, ctg! You have formed what essentially is a new habit -- and that can be hard after years of doing things differently. Good on ya for persevering, too, especially without the support of your family.

ToomuchStuff
6-2-13, 11:22am
A book I read a couple of years ago, pretty well proved to me that our lifestyles (even the simple ones here) are not possible with only made in the USA. The book is: A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by Sara Bongiorni

It might interest you, or seem similar to what your facing.

ctg492
6-2-13, 8:18pm
Yes thank I skimmed it before starting my project. Cell phones and electronics pretty much impossible, unless you really do not use them. Not something I could do without.

Mrs.B
6-6-13, 5:44pm
I would love to read the book on "no China" a number of years ago I was so angered by their human rights issues, that I swore I wouldn't buy anything "made in China" WOW what an eye opener. America is made in China!! I can't remember now how long I made it before shoes or something came up.
I have gone a year without buying anything new, I've gone a year without clothes purchases. And I've long detested Wal-Mart for many of their practices.
Each one of these challenges (many done with the folks here at simple living) have expanded my mind, made me think outside the box, and also allowed me to share some of my beliefs with friends and family when asked why I wasn't doing "whatever".
So thank you Simply Living for challenging me to be a better person.

ctg492
7-24-13, 6:26pm
Update, to actually keep me focused;)
I have found for my shopping basics that reviewing all labels is the best thing I can do. If I so wish to purchase a needed one time item, I research my options on the net.
Over all I am happy with my choices and learning this year so far. Not bad for a news years resolution.

redfox
7-24-13, 6:35pm
I've shopped at Mal-Wart exactly once, at least a decade ago. Never, ever again. And I have everything I need!

SteveinMN
7-25-13, 9:45am
ctg, you've done very well for a New Year's resolution! :+1: It seems as if you're finding your way among largely-uncharted land.

mnmlz
7-26-13, 11:11am
<<>>You can live without Wal-mart in your life<<>>

Not where I live. I do not have other options. Well I do buy as much as I can online or from Azure Standard Co-op but I am two hours from options besides Wal-mart. I just cannot regularly drive two hours to buy groceries! As it is I drive on hour to Super Walmart. I would love to boycott Walmart but it seems impossible for me at the moment.

SvenV
7-26-13, 2:01pm
I really can support this boycott! And I think when more and more people make that they really must change something! So keep going...

pony mom
7-30-13, 9:42pm
Several years ago I made a conscious decision to buy American-made shoes. What I've discovered is that several companies -- New Balance and Red Wing among them -- sell lower-priced lines made in you-know-where and other low-labor-cost countries but make their best stuff in the U.S.A. OTOH the stuff made in this country is built to be repaired.

Both Bass and Eastland shoe companies make USA-made quality shoes. You'll pay much more, but they can also be repaired.

Tiam
7-30-13, 9:45pm
WalMart or Meijer.
For the last many months I have cut back on my shopping at these stores for many reasons of my own. Today it hit me, I would go one year of neither of these stores. I then typed this topic in under A Year of No Walmart. Geeze pages of blogs and articles on the topic for many reasons. Guess many people have done the same thing.
This style of shopping at the local markets will continue to fit more inline with my being as car free as possilbe this coming year. Of which I have been doing very well at the last many months. I will give this a very good try and post along the way how I am doing or why I had >:( to shop there.


I support it. But I confess, to having gone there this weekend for flea product for the animals. It's so expensive and WalMart is cheap. And while I was there I picked up the cheap, Made in China house slippers I use. My third pair. Mea Culpa.:|(

ctg492
11-6-13, 7:37pm
Ok here is my update for close to year end, drum roll...
No excuses, just my justification for my failing the last month and rest of year:|(
Relocated to a new city for two years, did not move our possessions other then a couple trunkfuls. Needed everything from toilet paper, dog food, silverware, furniture. I was whipped, drained and tossed the towel in. Frugalness, lack of energy to hunt down every single item for a house, huge new city with 4 walmarts"........
I did very well till this unexpected life event. Could I have done this without walmart, kohls, overstock.com yes but it would have been far more then I could handle. So did I fail, suppose so, but I gave it a very good effort. I still feel the same and will now return to my plan as best as I can. I put a "Made In Detroit" sticker on my car today, to make myself feel good.

SteveinMN
11-7-13, 8:07am
ctg, you got through nine months of the year without Wally World. That's a .667 average. If you were a hitter in baseball, you'd be on top of the world. Good on you for fighting the fight!

ctg492
4-10-15, 4:43pm
I have moved back HOME and away from the World Of Walmarts! (See my post two above)Today I visited WM for the first time since returning and was so angry with myself for going that I re looked up this post to get back on track. I even researched why the clientele was like it was today there.

Really that was the last straw for me with WM.

I have been going to Whole Foods again in ANN Arbor once again, I get this happy feeling entering the store, smelling the wonderful smells, the happy friendly people there. It is like a world away from what I experienced at WM today.

SO though I strayed I am back on course.

sweetana3
4-11-15, 6:34am
Almost any store is better than going in a Walmart. We had a new one open and it was ok for awhile and then devolved into a messy chaotic noisy store. I finally stopped entering when the smell of the Subway at the entrance was so strong and "bad' that I just left. I would rather be careful in my purchases elsewhere than ever enter a WM again.

I just cannot pay Whole Food prices but their pizza is fantastic and their stores are a joy to be in. The WF wanna bes are pretty good around here, Fresh Time, Fresh Market and Earth Fare.

SiouzQ.
4-11-15, 9:04am
ctg492: you should stop by and say hi to me one day, if you are in my store (the newer one in A2)!