Live Frugally or Ethically?

I try to be both frugal and ethical but I too have fallen into the Walmart trap. I try not to shop there but I end up doing it at least once a month. Im not sure that there is a right answer. Every business is out to grow larger and make more money just like Walmart. If we stopped shopping every where that we shouldnt we would only be left with the options of making it our self or trading.

yes, i hear about people that hate walmart, but then i see at walmart that its packed everytime i go. its ashame that people bash, and then still shop there. i always shop there, and will continue to do so. I think because sam walton has become a billionaire from the bottom to top., and is an american, i totally am proud of him.. many other companies in this country are doing the same thing,.. we just don't hear about it. when the bottom line drops, the reason we purchase is because they are cheaper,, no different than any others. maybe the unions dont like it, because they survive whether or not someone is backing them. even the stock market hedge funders hate walmart.. its because they just cant get enough of walmart.. so shop wherever you want.. all of our money goes to other countries anyway.

I think it comes down to doing the greater good or at least the lesser evil. I know this will be an over simplification of the issue but I think it gets the point across. If you had to buy food and clothing for your children on a small budget you could either buy cheap clothing and food from Walmart thereby getting more and ensuring your children were provided for or you could go to a more expensive place, get fewer items and not quite meeting your childrens' needs. By going to the expensive store you'd be hurting your children and supporting a money hungry industry that charges what they want for goods because they know people want quality and are trying to avoid places like Walmart. If you go to Walmart, your children are provided for and you have supported an industry that would continue to exist with or without your support while also contributing in a small way to families who a fw dollars a day makes a difference for. When one person boycotts a store like Walmart there are a hundred more ready to buy there. There merchandise you don't buy will be bought by someone else...and if it isn't it will be clearanced off at an even lower prices meaning even less money going to those workers. To me that makes buying at Walmart the lesser evil. And that is how I feel is the best way to solve the conflict between ethics and frugality.

Yes, I have noticed that all my baby's clothes were made in China and many of my clothes were made there or in India. It is well known that companies like Asda owned by Wall Mart employs child labor. This is very unkind, the children should be at school not work. I imagine hard work and long hours in a factory for many employees of factories making clothes for people in my home country. It is expensive to buy British made clothes because premises are costly and there is a minimum wage for people in the UK. I like to buy fair trade bananas and get shampoo that is not tested on animals and has natural ingredients. I saw a book about how to be frugal and i thought it looked interesting. It is wonderful to get a bargain but I tend to steer towards what is ethically right when I can.

Good question and I think it's one without a correct answer. When one is trying to make ends meet, there really isn't much of a choice- WalMart helps stretch paychecks with their lower prices and much of the time people don't have a choice. I would love to have the money to buy elsewhere, but I buy for 2 growing boys and it really makes little sense to spend a lot of money on clothes they will soon grow out of or ruin with their rough playing. It's not just WalMart with the child labor issues or union-busting tactics. Target and K Mart aren't much better, they just don't receive the negative publicity that WalMart seems to attract. As often as I can, I buy handmade... they seem to be the new made in America products!

Wow! That certainly is a tough question to answer. I guess it depends on what you feel is the right thing to do at that point in time. For me, on one hand, I am sure there are other warehouse sales where you can get cheap (maybe not necessarily cheapest) stuffs allowing you to buy with a free conscience. On the other hand, our not buying from Walmart will not stop child labour worldwide. Plus, the children might really need the money they are earning. So, in a way, I am in a dilemma myself on how to judge this..hmm. You got me thinking. Anyways, have a Merry Christmas! :-)

Personally, I shop at WalMart because I like having extra money to do things like take my son to a movie. The local grocery stores charges 2-4 times for the same item as WM does. The grocery store by my house charges no less than $4.30 a box for cereal that you can get at Wal-Mart for just over $2 and at Whole Foods for $2.50. What is up with that? Talk about robbing the consumer! Thos stores should be in hot water for robbery. There are ways to still live frugal and not shop at wal-mart or sams club. Buy all your fruits and veggies from local vendors/only buy produce that is in season, get your clothes from thrift stores or garage sales, buy food at dollar stores or go to grocery stores that have double coupon days, for go your daily cup of coffee or brown bag your way to lunch.

Actually, when it comes to buying Clothes, actually there are a lot better places with more comparative prices than WalMart with sizes of Clothing that actually fit you better. I know I get Great deals from time to time at places like JC Penney, and even Macy's with the clothes fitting better when I watch the Sales, and clearance sales. There are a lot of times I refuse to shop in stores for various reasons. For me personally, I try to avoid Target, and feel they need to be banned from a lot of people's lists as last I knew they did not Celebrate Christmas and do not allow Salvation Army Bell ringers there even. To me, then what is their purpose? As for WalMart, I am not with a Union, so I go there, but I know there are a lot of things there that make me cringe to where you could never pay me enough to want to work there though.

Well, I guess it often depends on the situation as to which is "better" to choose. Although, in this case, I can help you out. The cheapest clothes are not at WalMart, they are, in fact, at thrift stores. Often, the clothes you find second hand are of better quailty than what you would buy at Walmart anyway. I've almost always find name-brand jeans (Hilfiger, Gap, Levi's) that have hardly been worn for under $8 when I go to my regular thrift store; can't beat that at a regular store, even on clearance. The trick is to find a good thrift store that sorts its clothes and doesn't put out things that are worn out or ripped. Chains like Am-Vets and Goodwill usually have better quality control than smaller stores. Then, not only are you getting nice clothes for cheap, you are also supporting worth-while organizations at the same time. How's that for being frugal and ethical? :-)

I would go for ethics over frugal. If you buy something from someone who's stance is the opposite of your's, you won't feel right about it. So the cheaper price wouldn't be worth it.Everytime you went to wear the clothes, you wouldn't feel good about it.

Well, first it is a personal choice. For example there are many things that are actually in conflict if you want to look at it: the coffee and diamond trade (economics). Most of the time they higher child labor, don't provide a fair wage. Therefore, even if you shop somewhere that is union, they could have products that were obtained by using child labor and/or unfair wages. Therefore, I go with "it is my choice where I shop and which products I buy. If I don't agree with what is in the product, how the product was made then I won't buy the product." Therefore, if you don't want the product you won't buy it. I would suggest making it your choice to buy the products that you think are done fairly. Pablo

I go with ethics. If I can't feel good about something I'm doing, then that will gnaw away at me. Feeling bad is not worth the few bucks I would save-- or any amount of money for that matter. For instance, I was invited to a purse party and the hostess said the designer Coach purses were "hot" (meaning stolen). Obviously I didn't go.

no matter what you buy, it probably comes from china or other country wal-mart does not employ children. it does not bust unions - there are no unions in the retail industry for it to bust. wal-mart DOES sell products from other countries. so does target, kmart, best buy, footlocker, your grocery store, the dollar store, your cable provider, your cell phone company, possibly even the very gas station you use to fill up your car with, and hundreds of other stores all over the country... the only way to live ethically is to move to the middle of nowhere with nothing, build a log cabin by hand, raise sheep for wool, cotton for clothes, fruits & veggies for food, maybe a horse & buggy for transporation. You could not even go to a doctor, since some of his supplies might be manufactured in another country. So, to be frugal - shop for the best price wherever it is. To improve ethics, contact an appropriate legislative body and vote for a candidate who realizes this growing problem. I hope you do not think i am being critical...you ask a very good question that i wish more people would think about a little more

I guess the answer would depend if you believe that Wal-Mart is unethical. Wal-mart as a corporation does a lot more. The truth is ethics is a luxury in economically robust areas. When you are starving, you'll work at Wal-mart.

When I can't afford to go somewhere else and pay more, I go to Walmart. There is not always times that we have money to do so. I do try to hit dollar stores or our hardware store if at all possible.

I don't think Wal-mart is the only company with that problem. Production is done worldwide now. Your electronic gadget has many different parts and the company you bought it from has a lot of suppliers worldwide providing those parts for them. Now these suppliers also have a lot of subcontractors world wide for producing the part they sell to that company. Not to mention, that these suppliers also have suppliers some where in the world supplying the part to them. And so on and so forth. These suppliers and subcontractors can be sweat shop, or union busting, or no union policy, or low-paying, employee-abusing company somewhere in the world. Or they could be a very good company with high standards and high regard for their employee. You will never know.

That's tough. I feel the same way about WalMart, but I do shop there sometimes, because the alternative is to pay more somewhere else. Paying more means I have to either go without some things, and I've already cut my budget down about as far as I can, or I need to go back to work. I am a stay at home mom. Going back to work would mean putting my son in daycare. To me, that is worse than shopping at Walmart. That may sound selfish because I am thinking of myself and my family over any people who may be hurt by Walmart's practices. But I have to look out for my family first- it's my job. If I can get what I need from a different store at a price I can afford, I do it.

We need to stop insisting that other countries follow our rules. Many of these children working have to work to help out the family. Some even have children of their own to care for. Walmart hires those who have no chance of getting hired elsewhere. I know discrimination is against the law, but companies DO discriminate against the disable and elderly. Walmart hires these people. My daughter among them who is eligible for full employee benefits as a part-time employee. Few companies offer benefits to part time help.