Starting today until the 31st, I am going on a self-imposed Walmart boycott. Just to see if I can do it.

Living in a small city, if you can't find it at Walmart, it is an hour drive each way, or online buying.

I am doing to mostly see if I save money (no major impulse buys) by not shopping there, plus to see if I can actually live without shopping there.

Besides Walmart, we have a JCPenney, Sears, and 3 grocery stores that I can shop at.

Wish me luck - I'm gonna need it!

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"Yesterday my life was duller, now everything's technicolor!"

Good luck! I, too, haven't been grocery shopping at Wal-Mart now for probably about 2 months. I honestly can tell a big difference in my grocery bill -- It's lower! No more impulse buying. And I don't dread grocery shopping like I used to when I shopped at Wal-Mart. I absolutely HATED to go grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. It takes so long and really it was out of my way. But I had it in my mind that I was 'saving' money. Now I shop the ads and use my coupons much more efficiently.

My grocery store of choice now is Kroger or Food Lion. Usually Kroger because I'm finding their 10 for $10 is really good!

Well good luck :-)

I did it and you can too, for me the straw that broke tha camels back was that on May 1 ( I remember the date very clearly ) they refused to take my coupons claiming it was ONLY 1 per customer not 1 per purchase as all the coupons say so since I had 4 of the same they only took 1 and I asked for manager and still the manager agreed with the cashier.

I was very upset I almost walked out leaving more than 100.00 in already bagged groceries, but I had my elderly mom with me and we had shopped for her as well and I just felt awful, so right then and there I decided my business would go elsewhere and I have not set foot in a walmart since I really want to stay away from them and will continue to try as hard as I can. I also understand about having limited shopping places to go to I live in a small town but I am making do just fine and YES there is life without a walmart :-)

You can do it! Good luck!

I stopped eating lunch out at work to save money and lose weight. It is working! I have lost about 6 pounds in 2 weeks.

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

The hardest part will be, I think, pet treats, beef jerky, and HBA stuff. That stuff is expensive at a grocery store!!

Thanks for the well wishes! I appreciate them!

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"Yesterday my life was duller, now everything's technicolor!"

I haven't shopped at Walmart for probably 5-6 years and never will. I think the store is disgusting and when I look at all the the plastic junk in there it makes me sick. Meijer is just 2 doors down and I love, love going there for everything except meat.

Good Luck on your boycott and I think you will continue it long past the 31st of the month. You can do it.

If you have any dollar stores (Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar), that stuff is so cheap at them

*sigh* I love Walmart. But, I know not everyone shares my sentiments.....

I wish you luck in your endeavour. It can be done, it may just take some diligent work on your part w/ couponing and hitting the sales.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Good luck ! I rarely shop there..today was an exception. I think they are trying to resemble Target with their remodel.

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Live, Love, Laugh

You can do it!

I go to Wal-Mart maybe twice a year or so and then I only go when I have a bunch of good coupons to use or if I've looked everywhere else for something and can't find it. It's my store of last resort.

Last time I was in there, I paid close attention to the prices of many things and much of the time the prices weren't that much better than the regular grocery store and I can do MUCH better on many prices by going to double coupon stores. It also seemed that the variety of things was shrinking, not as much to choose from.

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Jesus SAVES by shopping smartly and using double coupons!

I haven't been there in about 8 years and I don't miss it at all. I'd be careful about buying edibles for you or a pet at a dollar store. It always seems to be the dollar stores that get the tainted food/toothpase from China.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

I don't shop there either, although I have lots of other choices - but you can do it! If you have cvs or walgreens, look into register rewards or extra care bucks and roll them to cover many of your HBA needs. Beef Jerky - how about trying amazon? They frequently run specials on various knds of jerky. Using coupons and other venues, you'll never have to step foot in Walmart again!

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Well, so far, so good. I know for a fact that I am saving money, as Walmart makes it so easy to pick up extra things.

I did go to Dollar Tree because I wanted to get a jump start on Christmas wrapping paper, etc. I walked out spending $38 (we have tax too, so that was included) but got a ton of stuff, including 10 packs of the special tape strips that go in the wrist holders (I have the wrist holder already, but that tape is expensive, and so convenient).

It has been a bit interesting though, when I needed to get an extra set of puppy steps for my dog (she has a bad back and the pets have taken a liking to the fluffy chair I got at a yard sale for $5). I searched all over town and couldn't find them. So I ended up ordering them online. They should be here today.

It is not as hard as I thought it would be. And it helps that Safeway has had sales on stuff I normally get at Walmart. (HBA, Cleaning supplies)

But I definitely know that my checkbook is looking good because of the boycott (thank goodness, as we have an emergency tooth extraction for our dog tomorrow..... $$$$)

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"Yesterday my life was duller, now everything's technicolor!"

Walmart's prices on their "great value" line has gone up significantly. I know a lot of the generic cookies and crackers used to $0.88 - $1.12 and now they are over $2 just in the last couple months. Things like trashbags, aluminum foil, ect. are smaller amounts for the same price. I went in while they were switching over and they had the old boxes of 75" foil and the new boxes with 50" of foil for the same price. I do much better getting the basics at Aldi's and sales and coupons at Kroger.

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Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

I know!! I remember when the garbage bags I love (Walmart brand 30-gallon size) were only $1.50. Now they are around $3 for a pack of 20.

However, I really don't like the Safeway brand of garbage bags I got. The plastic is "krinkly" and it feels like it may slice down the side. With the Walmart brand, they are pure stretchy plastic, and rarely break. I just opened the Safeway bags though, so we shall see.

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"Yesterday my life was duller, now everything's technicolor!"

I salute you. Other than the 3 Bushnell weather monitors I got for the far, I haven't been there in eons. Money talks and we have to walk the walk - by staying out.

dl

I hate the crowds and much of the clientele that shops there ( www.peopleofwalmart.com ). therefore, I don't go in there much at all.

Today, I was going to go in there and grab some fake leaves for a project we are working on at school.....and got to thinking..... ugh, I hate that store.....and went to Michaels instead.

I think it just takes being creative, and thinking outside the box, and also realizing what we truly "need", to make this type of plan work.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

OMG thanks for the link I am LOL with some of those pics they are so funny

Although I must admit one of those could have been me

No worries its the one called Holy cat lady and only because its a pic of shopping cart full of Tidy Cat litter and back in my day I would buy that many with coupons of course

anyway thanks for tha laugh I sure needed it

I did it!! I managed to go a month without shopping at Walmart!

Yay!!

I do need to take my son there today, and pick up paper towels and price "diet" foods for DH, but honestly, I think I will probably do more shopping at "grocery" stores. Especially since I am going to need to buy more veggies and fruits, and our Walmart is just a plain old regular Walmart.

I am pretty shocked that it was not too hard not to shop at Walmart. I did do a lot of online shopping throughout the month of October though.

Yay!!!

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"Yesterday my life was duller, now everything's technicolor!"

One of my new fave stores is Dollar General. I can spend $10 & walk out with 2 bags of stuff..like tylenol, paper towels, etc..& the best part, the lines are NEVER more than 3 people ! I shop right before I pick up my son from school, around 2ish...the store stays open until 8 pm. I also went to a place in my town called Family discount. I got drain cleaner for a buck, a floor mat for $5, trash bags for $1 ( 20 brawny ) etc. I despise walmart !

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Live, Love, Laugh

I swear half those photos are taken at my walmart !

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Live, Love, Laugh

It's easy! You can do it! Glad to see that they are others like me out there I won't walk into a WM or Sams. I drive over an hour to Costco when Sams is 10 min away

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I actually opted to go to our local grocery store (Shaws) yesterday. I hadn't been to Shaws in a while, and instead shop weekly at Walmart. After five minutes in Shaws, I realized why I do shop at Walmart. Shaws prices were insane! Other than the buy one get one items, I was shocked at some of the prices. My usual items, Fiber One Bars, were over $1.00 more for a box, Sara Lee packaged lunch meat was almost double in price, Campbell soups were almost double. Even with using my double coupons, I still paid more for most items. I do wish we had other options in our area, but for now.....I will have to stick with Walmart. I may occasionally go to Shaws for the bogof items, but I cannot afford to do my weekly shopping there. Wish I could...

Wow!

After strictly grocery store shopping, Walmart was almost a culture shock today.

I was happy to get my paper towels, beef jerky, and Splenda at a good price.

But on a Sunday, FIRST of the month, at 9am, there were ***2*** cash registers open.

Totally CRAZY!! And there were 5+ people in line for them.

People were complaining. And making comments about people being in the "quick check" line (which our Walmart does not have... there IS an area by the cigarettes that is normally shorter) with more than a few items.

I will be definitely shopping the grocery stores more. Maybe going to Walmart once or twice a month for stuff like jerky and paper towels and Splenda.

Being on a hiatus made me totally realize the difference. The grocery stores are so much cleaner and thrive on customer service.

With people complaining about the line, the cashier was telling them that there are no other cashiers and that if they wanted to they could do the self-checkout (which nobody wanted to do).

I bought an extra toy that I collect, as I was unsure if I had it or not. I will just donate it to Toys for Tots, rather than go back and return it (and wait in a line for a half hour).

My experiment was definitely an eye opener. I am glad I tried it!

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"Yesterday my life was duller, now everything's technicolor!"

I'm sorry to hear that you had a "relapse" in your Walmart "addiction".recovery....but, really, they are just part of the recovery process...lol....I say keep it up! What's a little extra for jerky, Splenda and paper towels??

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips