We love Whole Foods But Shop At Wal-Mart. Where do you groc

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Replies

  • k011185
    k011185 Posts: 320 Member
    Safeway and Trader Joe's for me. Our Walmart is insane, I don't care if they were giving groceries away, not worth he crowds!
    There were a couple things I needed from there last month, so I decided to go really early, went in at 5 am and still had to wait 20 minutes in line.

    Produce and dairy I get at a local Farmer's Market, can't beat their prices.
  • Cold_Steel
    Cold_Steel Posts: 897 Member
    My wife is the shopper ... Walmart has VERY deceptive pricing. Always check elsewhere. Staters / Vons/ Albertons (Southern California) always have like 3 for 9.99 sodas or 1.99lb meat specials and in comparison to Wal Mart- Wal Mart is oftentimes way more expensive. They rarely have sales on the common items and tend to drop prices on stuff that doesn't sell so it does sell.

    Wal Mart is funny that way - I knew someone in their marketing and basically what they do is in order to maintain their pricing they always meet or beat prices on items that are sold in other stores meanwhile they JACK up the prices on items that are not commonly found until they are not selling then they drop those prices and replace with another item that is not sold elsewhere.

    You also have to be cautious of the Wal Mart brand "Great Value / Equate" stuff as well like in paper towels and tp, compare prices usually Sparkle / and other companies will be way lower but they usually tactically place the Wal Mart stuff so it appears to overwhelm you and that is all they have....
  • quietasariot
    quietasariot Posts: 198 Member
    Depends on where I am/what I am doing. If it's a planned grocery trip, Safeway is my best bet. Foodmaxx and Raley's are nearby but generally run about the same prices, same with Lucky - but I don't like the Lucky here, it's pretty cramped.

    I like shopping at Trader Joe's sometimes... but yeah, my mainstay is Safeway.
  • angielautenbach
    angielautenbach Posts: 119 Member
    Winco. It is actually cheaper the Walmart! Use to shop at Walmart till we moved to a city that had a Winco now we go there.
  • ezramedic
    ezramedic Posts: 119
    I'm military and I do my groceries at the Base Commissary - I love fresh produce - but for everything else, Commissary. It beats Walmart on price, the meat is excellent quality, and it's huge - the selection is excellent :-)
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    I'll get frozen dinners at Walmart, but that's my limit. Their meat and produce is gross.
    Prefer my local grocery for meat and produce - even over whole foods.
    only go to whole foods for stuff I can't find usually.
  • ScottyNoHotty
    ScottyNoHotty Posts: 1,957 Member
    I suppose I would shop around and compare prices..however, I do not have that option. Walmart is the cheapest and best stocked store for within 45 miles of my house. Although. I do raise my most of my own veggies and harvest some game animals.
  • shannoninBC
    shannoninBC Posts: 345 Member
    If I could afford it I would shop at Choices (similar to your Whole Foods) but majority of groceries come from Superstore or Walmart. It boils down to price and convenience.
  • Frisky_CoastalNative
    Frisky_CoastalNative Posts: 140
    I shop at a store here I think may only be in AZ called Sprouts Farmers Market. It's a whole foods store and they best prices on nearly everything. It's a comfortable shopping enviroment. They run ads and continual specials that aren't in the ads, so on so forth. I compare them with other store ads, they are competitive. Their produce is top notch, organic without the organic prices and thier meat taste like it is supose to without any fillers. I do go to Kroger for paper products though. MFP doesn't have them in the data base so I just use what is "close enough." They have all the vitamins, protein bars and whey protein a person could ever ask for as well.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I shop at Walmart because it's about 50% cheaper than anywhere else. I don't like shopping there. I do prefer a more traditional grocery store. But money is the bottom line.

    There are a few things I can't find there, so I go to Publix (traditional grocery for those who don't live in the Southeast), Earth Fare (kind of like a Whole Foods, but smaller chain) or a co-op grocery we have here. I get my bulk stuff at the co-op and it's the only place that has yogurt I can eat. There are a few things Earth Fare has that I can't get elsewhere, plus it's less than a mile from my house.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    I live pretty rurally, not even in the city limits. The only close available options are Walmart and Food Lion. I could drive a bit further for Harris Teeter. But what I've noticed is the SAME item, same size, same brand, same exact thing is WAY more expensive everywhere else. If it's the SAME item, it should be similar cost. But some things are nearly twice the amount, just across the street! For the SAME thing.

    I loathe shopping at Walmart. It's not pleasant. My friends make fun of my spreadsheet grocery list. But it helps me get in and get out in the shortest time possible.
  • steadk
    steadk Posts: 334 Member
    I shop at Aldi, and they have healthy options. I buy my meat on sale elsewhere though, simply so I can buy in bulk.
  • kiawya
    kiawya Posts: 73
    I actually kind of hate that I HAVE to shop there. I am feeding 3 men plus myself, and we spend over 800.00 a month! I've tried other grocers, but always end up spending more!
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    Lately just TJ and Costco. I love WF but I get sucked into buying stuff I don't need and either it goes bad or my roommates it eat.
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 866 Member
    I live in a small town, so all that we have is Food World, Piggley Wiggley, or Walmart. That's it. And, I have 6 kids...so I buy at Walmart because of price and convenience.
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    I wish there was a Whole Foods near by, or a Trader Joes! I mostly shop at Super Target then Hy-Vee. Every so often I do shop at Walmart but Target's prices are about the same, sometimes slightly more or less but they have a much better variety.
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    I REFUSE to shop at Walmart. I have a tiny bit of a grudge against them because my mom worked there several years ago and they were horrible to her. She had seven separate back surgeries that caused her to not be able to do her job as well, so instead of firing her so she could get on Disability, Walmart put her on unpaid leave of absence... for a year and a half. My dad is dead, and my brother and I weren't old enough to drive, let alone get jobs of our own. So, there we were for a year and a half, high and dry with no income other than what my mom got from Social Security from having kids, which most of that went to the rent. So that left us with very little money to buy food, which usually we just had to deal with eating cans of peas because they were $0.40 at the dollar store. Yeah, I have a lot of hate for that company.

    That is heartbreaking.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I wish there was a Whole Foods near by, or a Trader Joes! I mostly shop at Super Target then Hy-Vee. Every so often I do shop at Walmart but Target's prices are about the same, sometimes slightly more or less but they have a much better variety.

    That's good to know. They just expanded our Target to include the grocery, so maybe I'll try there next trip.
  • gehlerc
    gehlerc Posts: 651 Member
    I used to shop WalMart and Sam's Club all the time, rationalizing to myself that they seemed to have better prices. Then I started finding out more and more about the way that corporation does business--treats its employees, uses its money to influence politics in the sole interest of its bottom line, etc.

    As others have posted on here, I now refuse to shop at WalMart and Sam's Club. I have found that I can still save money and shop elsewhere with a much clearer conscience. I just refuse to give WalMart my dollars to do things that I consider unethical and in many ways work to my detriment and the detriment of those I care about.

    Everyone has their own choices to make for their own reasons.
  • the_journeyman
    the_journeyman Posts: 1,877 Member
    Our local Wal-Mart is fine for basic stuff. However, I will not buy meat & veggies there. We have a great local Ingle's store that is well managed. The butcher is a local hunter and does a great job, and the produce section is top notch. We do most of our grocery shopping there. We only get groceries at Wal-mart if we're there for something else and happen to need something.

    JM
  • charityateet
    charityateet Posts: 574 Member
    We have one grocery store in town - it's a Saveway (no, not Safeway - lol) and it's super expensive, .like someone else was saying at least double for most common items.

    I am fortunate to drive a lot with my job and go to towns like Boise with much more variety. My husband and I coupon - and we have a fairly large stockpile, so we can be really picky as to if we "need it or not". If the prices are GREAT, on sale and with a coupon - we buy a bit.......

    I use Bountiful Baskets (bountifulbaskets.org to see if there is one in your location) and get our produce, tortillas and fresh herbs every two weeks for $16 average.

    I get the majority of my meats from my work.....lucky enough to have a job that is food related.

    We used to spend maybe $400+ for the 2 of us, but since we got our stockpile and started couponing we spend maybe - and I mean MAYBE $200.
  • ashreynolds09
    ashreynolds09 Posts: 257 Member
    I shop at Quality Foods - its a locally owned grocery store in middle-of-nowhere-Nebraska! I used to do Walmart all the time, but the town I live in won't allow it here! (thankfully) However, I'll be headed to Walmart this weekend and I'll stock up on things like Clif bars and Luna bars simply because a)they have it and b)its cheaper. There honestly isn't a 'whole foods' kind of grocery store anywhere near me -- I'd have to drive 2+ hours and deal with an annoying person to get there. No thanks!
  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
    Whoever is cheapest gets our business.
    Looking forward to trying the just-opened Winco across town.
    Right now it's Walmart, Smiths (Kroger/king Soopers)
  • babybluefire
    babybluefire Posts: 100 Member
    Its walmart or giant. I live in hilly billy hell so there is no such thing as trader joes or whole foods or an Asian market.
  • TRediess
    TRediess Posts: 5 Member
    Wal-Mart is not the worst store in the world, and they do have some fair-trade Organic options now. I know it is a pain, but when it comes to grocery shopping I do what my grandma used to do. I only buy two weeks worth of food at a time. I spend half the day shopping,and the other half of the day prepping my food. I take food very seriously. Some of my favorite places to go are community markets where vendors come in once a week and sell. I usually bring $40 and walk away with two or three bags filled to the brim with vegetables, cider, bread, and cheese. I also like to keep an eye out at the smaller grocers. For example at Green Earth grocery in Edwardsville IL you can buy farm fresh, local eggs for $1 a dozen. Nobody has become sick from them, and they are a good, cheap source of protein! Finally anywhere that sells bulk items like legumes and beans is a safe bet. I never spend more than $150 every two weeks fro myself and my roommates. I hope this helped!
  • TRediess
    TRediess Posts: 5 Member
    Right there with you! I have to drive about 45 minutes to get to my stores...
  • CarolinaGirlinVA
    CarolinaGirlinVA Posts: 1,508 Member
    I buy most of my groceries at WalMart. I have 4 boys (when everyone is home), plus a husband who has a big appetite and awesome metabolism. I do buy meat at the commissary and some produce, the selection is better. Recently we found a local meat market, and I have started to buy my meat in bulk. Once I get home I freeze it according to meals planned. Sometimes I will text hubby at work and have him pick up milk or bread at the commissary on his way home because their prices are better for those items.

    About a year ago I made my grocery list and then priced everything at the commissary, then again at WalMart. I found based on what we buy it is cheaper for most items at WalMart. But for bread, milk, produce and meat...commissary wins. (yeah, I had more time on my hands back then) :tongue:
  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
    I do NOT shop at Walmart for food - i think their meat is horrible and their produce is never fresh. I shop at the following

    1. Costco - dog food, frozen items and produce. Can't go as often as a I like due to distance
    2. Sam's Club - produce and frozen items
    3. Aldi's - produce, basics (milk, eggs, cheese)
    4. Giant Eagle - anything I need during the week or sales
    5. local butcher - 2x per year for a steer and pig. Chicken is an excellent buy (boneless/skinless breasts for $1.79/LB if you buy at least 35 lbs) Venison and pheasant round out our meat.
    6. Trader Joe's - again, the distance is an issue, but I like to stop if I'm in the area. TJ's has the BEST little cucumbers that I can't find anywhere else.

    No Whole Foods within a reasonable distance - I'd love to go there at least once.
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
    I don't shop at walmart because the nearest one to Boston is like 40 min out. There's a Whole Foods less than a mile from my house, so I'll go there if I need to go somewhere quick. I also buy things like bulk items (spices, oats, nuts, flours, beans)..
    If I have the time, I'll go to Trader Joe's because that's my favorite place :)

    Sometimes I buy some things at Shaws but not often. Trader Joe's is worth the money, and when I compared, they're not often more expensive than Shaw's.

    I am looking to stop at an Aldi soon tho for some staples, I hear they are cheap. Also we have Market Basket's that are a little further away but they are a little cheaper. They have awful produce sections though.

    I buy my meat at either whole foods or TJ"s because I don't trust meat from anywhere else unless it's a butcher shop.
  • TerrJohns
    TerrJohns Posts: 80 Member
    I shop at Walmart for the most part, along with Shop Rite and Stop & Shop. Warehouse buying @ Sams or BJ's.

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