Okay, so we are just a little broke right now and I think so is most of the country. The economy still isn’t great and as I have discussed before a lot of us are recovering financially from the holidays. One local resource for savings that is often overlooked is the dollar store. A lot of people brush off dollar stores as places that sell cheap stuff for cheap people and in part that is correct, but there is a lot of wonderful discoveries you can find if you just go in with the right attitude.
Like shopping thrift stores, dollar stores are places where you need to go in with an adventurous attitude and be ready to find a great deal. You can either shop a local store near your home, a large chain dollar store or shop online, however you plan to approach the dollar store, there are amazing deals to be found.
What are good things to buy at overstock/discount stores? Well, dollar stores are great places to find cleaning products, canned goods, party supplies and decorations, and paper products. Actually after shopping at regular stores for similar items you may get a sense of being ripped off, if you see how inexpensively you can buy these same items at a dollar store. Here are a few samples of items you can find.
THE DOLLAR TREE
http://www.dollartree.com/home.jsp
This national store chain with many locations throughout the United States, what is really great about this store is that they also offer an online store, so you can still get great savings without leaving the house. Here are some of the deals that they are running today.
A set of 12 drinking glasses are $12, thats a great price @ a dollar a piece.
With Valentines Day coming up, how about throw a fun party with these red table decorations. Each order comes with 24 packs of 20 plates, what a great deal if you are throwing a bash for teenagers or a group of friends. They also have great deals on candy and other valentines oriented products.
99 CENTS ONLY STORE
Another national dollar store chain is the 99 Cents Only Store that has locations all over the United States. This place is great because they offer fresh produce, a frozen and refrigerated food aisle, canned goods, baked goods, seasonal products, toys, make up…you name it, all for, yep ONLY 99 cents. As you see how much your grocery bills add up each week, if you have a tight week were you are low on cash flow or are simply just trying to cut costs, having produce and good quality food products at the 99 cent store can really be great for a tight budget. This way you know that you are still providing healthy food for your family, while also staying on budget.
The other great thing about this dollar store is that they too have an online bulk commerce site for part planning or bulk shopping. Here are some of the great deals they offer on their Club 99 site:
http://www.99only.com/club99/kitchen-place/food-storage/5-piece-stor-ware-round-food-container-lid
They have disposable containers in bulk priced at $48 for 48 packages of 5 each, so if you are big on making things and giving them away or freezing stuff or just like to have a lot of containers around this is a really good deal.
KOLE IMPORTS
This site has a great selection of cool imports and stuff for really great prices. It is another bulk shopping site, but it is easy to use and also has some great prices. Here is one of the deals that I found.
A pack of pails with shovels for $18.96, that is a great summer party gift and for a dollar each, what a steal. The only downside is there is a hundred dollar minimum order, but if you are buying in bulk to stock up, a hundred dollars adds up pretty fast and in the long run, you have saved a lot of money.
While shopping online at dollar stores, seems to only be for wholesale items, these savings can be helpful if you are stocking up or planning for a party or charity donation.
If you want the most immediate savings, then shop your local dollar store.
Just one word of caution, make sure you check the expiration dates and also look at the packaging to make sure that nothing is too off, like mispelled words on recognized brands, because this could be a tip that it is counterfeit.
Have fun out there and find a great deal!
