Due to my recent move I needed to acquire a few household items. Being a Tight-Fisted Miser I didn’t want to pay any more than necessary for them. Therefore I checked out the dollar store and was able to find a few things I needed there.
The best deal at the dollar store is probably the shower curtain. It is $1 for the curtain and another $1 for the rings. This would be about $10 at a big box store. The quality probably isn’t as good but the shower curtain does its job and I haven’t had one fall apart on me yet.
Another good deal at the dollar store is kitchen items. I bought a can opener for $1 and it works fine. I also have a small frying pan that I bought at the dollar store several years ago that is still working fine.
Perhaps my best dollar store deal was a large laundry bag that I bought a couple years ago. When I went hiking I used this to store my backpack when I checked it as baggage for my flight. Many people buy large duffle bags to store their backpacks in which generally cost at least $20. (If you don’t store your backpack in another bag the various straps and buckles on the pack often get caught on baggage handling equipment causing major damage to the pack.) I figure the laundry bag saved me at least $19 and I still use it as a laundry bag as well.
Cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products can be good buys at the dollar store but I usually get these for free or almost free from playing the drugstore game.
I suppose some of the food might be a good deal but I just don’t trust food from the dollar store.
Do you get any good deals from the dollar store? What products do you not recommend getting from the dollar store?
I avoid the food, too. Most of it is so highly processed that there is meager nutritional value anyway.
Dollar Tree is my personal favorite. I can buy the Sunday paper for half price (I play the drugstore game myself so I need the coupons!). They also have these soap scour pads that are 10 for $1 and work wonders. Every now and then I’ll buy a book and be able to resale it on Half.com at a profit. This doesn’t happen too often, though as others must be privy to the deals and drive down the price I can sell it for. The Awesome cleaner at Dollar Tree is good stuff, too.
Our Dollar Tree has a frozen food section and I get frozen berries for $1 per pound. Sometimes there are just strawberries, but sometimes they have mixd berries with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. These aren’t processed, just berries. The shelf food I don’t touch, though.
I try to stay out of $1 stores but you can find edible food at the $1 Tree on occasion. Often they have rolled sausage, turkey bacon or ground turkey & it’s not questionable brands either. One time they had bags of local apples. We have a $1 Tree right next to where I shop anyway so it’s no biggie to go look for treasure.
Another place to find food sometimes is Big Lots if you have one of those near you. They don’t take coupons but I find the same canned goods in the grocery store cheaper there, even if I were to use a coupon to buy the one at the grocery store. And if you hit a clearance sale at Big Lots on canned goods, you can really make out.
Also try googling “Discount Grocery Outlet” to see if there is a grocery outlet near you. There are deals to be had there(not everything, but some things). I even found 1 that also took manu. coupons for some brands they sold, which made those items even a better deal.
I love our Dollar Tree… I have gotten food from there with no problems at all. It is sealed & not out of date so why not buy it? I get all my Easter & Halloween candies there. Their brand of pop is good & the kids enjoy it & I enjoy paying so much less there then the big stores!
Before using personal hygiene products purchased at the dollar store, I would double check expiry and country of origen. I am reluctant to use personal hygiene products like toothpaste or lotion that originate from China/India because I’m concerned about their manufacturing processes for these items. THere has to be a cost in shipping stuff from India/China and if it’s selling for $1, costs are being cut somewhere.
There’s a guy who makes meals from the dollar store. Some of it looks yummy actually. Check out his blog http://the99centchef.blogspot.com
Due to the nature of my work, I have spent a lot of time in warehouses that house everything from automotive parts, recycle paper and non-perishable food. I don’t know the name of the company that was storing the food, but I know it was a discount chain. I can’t speak for every warehouse in America, but based on what I’ve seen there, I would NEVER buy food from stores that seems to have different grocery selection every time you go there. At the warehouses, I saw animal dung, urine, and foot prints on boxes. In the winter, animals find their way into anywhere that is warmer.
Be frugal, but be aware! 🙂
I hope to urge people to not support buying cheap crap from China (or any other country) as much as possible. Try to buy from your own country, as this will encourage jobs here.
An alterantive from a cheap shower curtain, is to buy a secondhand one. It doesn’t matter what country it comes from, because the store is not restocking it. recycling is also better for the economy. There will be times when this will not be possible, but just being more aware will help.
Sometimes the cheapest price, is not always the best price.