I have talked to many people in regards to saving money, and many believe that the best way to save money is to purchase stuff from the dollar store. This may only be true in regards to certain items, but there are some terms we need to address:
There are two types of dollar stores:
*Small Grocery Stores, such as Family Dollar, Dollar General, and a few others, where there are many items for a dollar, but most items are not.
*Actual Dollar stores, like Dollar Tree and 99 Cents Only which actually sell items for exactly 1.00 or less.
I will be talking about both in relation to saving money, and how they can either be a good or bad idea in relation to the best deals.
There are two types of dollar stores:
*Small Grocery Stores, such as Family Dollar, Dollar General, and a few others, where there are many items for a dollar, but most items are not.
*Actual Dollar stores, like Dollar Tree and 99 Cents Only which actually sell items for exactly 1.00 or less.
I will be talking about both in relation to saving money, and how they can either be a good or bad idea in relation to the best deals.
Dollar General/Family Dollar
Imagine a smaller version of Walmart. That is what contributes this version of a dollar store. The selection is often limited to more junky foods, but there are healthier food options if you are willing to cook.
Dollar General is a place where I worked at for a year, so a lot of what I have to say about it comes from the fact that I was employed there at one point in time. But in terms of grocery shopping, they often pail in comparison to the bigger grocery stores on many aspects. Price is certainly one of them. While Clover Valley vegetables are usually about 60 cents a can, Psst brand is still less, at 49 cents even when not on sale.
Family Dollar is even worse, with their prices often being much higher than even Dollar General. But in terms of prices for necessities for meals, such as pasta, pasta sauce, rice, beans, etc, these dollar stores are not a bad place to go to for some savings over that of typical brands. But they are far from being the place to go when in search for the LOWEST prices, or saving money as a whole.
Dollar General is a place where I worked at for a year, so a lot of what I have to say about it comes from the fact that I was employed there at one point in time. But in terms of grocery shopping, they often pail in comparison to the bigger grocery stores on many aspects. Price is certainly one of them. While Clover Valley vegetables are usually about 60 cents a can, Psst brand is still less, at 49 cents even when not on sale.
Family Dollar is even worse, with their prices often being much higher than even Dollar General. But in terms of prices for necessities for meals, such as pasta, pasta sauce, rice, beans, etc, these dollar stores are not a bad place to go to for some savings over that of typical brands. But they are far from being the place to go when in search for the LOWEST prices, or saving money as a whole.
Dollar Tree/99 Cents OnlY
Stores like Dollar Tree rarely give you a legitimate deal over that of a grocery store product on sale. In some cases this may be true, such as purchasing poptarts, which is often more expensive at Food4Less or Family Dollar. There is a difference, in terms of buying store brands at Dollar General, you can often get Toaster Pastries for the same price as you would get them in a dollar store, which is often a much better deal than name brand.
Most of what you would buy in these dollar stores are really small amounts of stuff for a dollar, or really iffy small-brands for a dollar. For example, there is a reason why Chef Ernesto's veggie patties are 1.00$ for 2, while Boca is a little under 4.00$ for 4. Chef Ernesto's veggie patties are more cheaply made, and don't apply the nutrients and protein one would receive from Boca or even Morningstar. Or how Westsoy 1 dollar soymilk just pails in relation to Kroger brand soymilk
Many of the products you might find also pails in comparison not just by quality, but often by size. You can buy Frozen vegetables for a dollar for 10 oz at Dollar Tree, or for 1.00 on sale for 16 oz at Food4Less. You can buy canned green beans for a dollar at Dollar Tree, or for 50 cents at Dollar general.
The biggest gap in prices you might find would be in medicine. You can get Off-Brand Aleve at these stores for 1.00$ for a 15 count bottle. Or you can go to Kroger or Walmart and get a 100 count bottle for about 5.00$. You are not saving any money when it comes to buying dollar store medicine.
In terms of electronics or similar things, I suggest you don't even bother. The main, and probably only, decent discounts you will find would be on specific food items, such as Poptarts, or on harder to find food items, such as vegan specific snack foods
Most of what you would buy in these dollar stores are really small amounts of stuff for a dollar, or really iffy small-brands for a dollar. For example, there is a reason why Chef Ernesto's veggie patties are 1.00$ for 2, while Boca is a little under 4.00$ for 4. Chef Ernesto's veggie patties are more cheaply made, and don't apply the nutrients and protein one would receive from Boca or even Morningstar. Or how Westsoy 1 dollar soymilk just pails in relation to Kroger brand soymilk
Many of the products you might find also pails in comparison not just by quality, but often by size. You can buy Frozen vegetables for a dollar for 10 oz at Dollar Tree, or for 1.00 on sale for 16 oz at Food4Less. You can buy canned green beans for a dollar at Dollar Tree, or for 50 cents at Dollar general.
The biggest gap in prices you might find would be in medicine. You can get Off-Brand Aleve at these stores for 1.00$ for a 15 count bottle. Or you can go to Kroger or Walmart and get a 100 count bottle for about 5.00$. You are not saving any money when it comes to buying dollar store medicine.
In terms of electronics or similar things, I suggest you don't even bother. The main, and probably only, decent discounts you will find would be on specific food items, such as Poptarts, or on harder to find food items, such as vegan specific snack foods
Are They Worth it?
It depends on what you go in there for, but if you are going to use Coupons, the best deals are in Dollar General and Family Dollar. I recently got 5 full size bottles of shaving cream for 75 cents each plus tax. so about 90 cents each when you include tax. I won't have to purchase shaving cream again for a LONG time. Plus they have store coupons often for 5$ off 25$ or more and other deals, so you can get at LEAST 20% off your grocery bill, even more if you use coupons.
When I worked at Dollar General, I had people who used coupons to get a lot of items for extremely cheap. They also have great sales as well, which Dollar Tree simply doesn't have. You can use coupons on Dollar Tree, but rarely will you find a coupon that fits an item, and many Dollar Tree's are iffy with the use of coupons.
Certain and specific items can be bought for the best price at Dollar Tree and the 99 cent store, but for the best savings, on most items, just shop the Dollar General/Family Dollar route.
When I worked at Dollar General, I had people who used coupons to get a lot of items for extremely cheap. They also have great sales as well, which Dollar Tree simply doesn't have. You can use coupons on Dollar Tree, but rarely will you find a coupon that fits an item, and many Dollar Tree's are iffy with the use of coupons.
Certain and specific items can be bought for the best price at Dollar Tree and the 99 cent store, but for the best savings, on most items, just shop the Dollar General/Family Dollar route.