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The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

11 Dollar Store Bargains You’d Be Crazy to Buy Anywhere Else

By Mikey Rox

dollar store 2How do I love the dollar store? Let me count the ways with these mega bargains that you’d be crazy to buy anywhere else!

For control purposes, I compared Dollar Tree items side-by-side to similar products at Walmart. Your shopping habits will probably change after this. Take a look, and then tell me in the comments section what you like to buy at dollar stores for big savings.

Greeting Cards

Birthday, anniversary and other special occasion cards cost a fortune, with run-of-the-mill greetings typically clocking in at between $4 and $10; and premium cards, like the hand-assembled pop-up cards from Love Pop, command $15 or more. That’s a lot of money for something usually ends up in the recycling bin. Dollar store cards are just that: a dollar.

Party Supplies

I have a hard time reconciling the cost of anything disposable. I try to avoid supplies like plates, cups, and plastic wear in favor of their reusable counterparts, but that’s not always ideal. So instead of spending $3 to $7 for a pack of less than 30 paper or plastic plates elsewhere, I head to the dollar store where just-as-sturdy supplies are only a buck for two dozen.

Candy and Snacks

If you’re buying snacks at the movies, you’re doing your wallet a disservice. I’m all for supporting the arts, of course, but $5 bags of Reese’s Pieces is insane, not to mention the amount of calories one consumes if the entire sack is eaten in one sitting. You can pick up theater-style boxes of candy which contain a reasonable amount of sugar and happiness for just $1.

Wine Glasses

Single stemless wine glasses are a buck apiece at Dollar Tree. Walmart only sells them by the set, the cheapest of which works out to about $1.48 a glass. I’ve always bought my stemless wine glasses as singles because when you buy a set and you break one, you have to replace it with another set if you want them to match. That’s more trouble and money than it’s worth. Regarding the Dollar Tree versions, one of my friends called them “big, heavy and indestructible.” If I weren’t sold already, I would be now.

Celebration Balloons

Go anyplace else besides the dollar store for your mylar celebration balloons and you’ll fork over $3 to $4 each. You can cut costs drastically by buying the balloons and having them filled with helium for four quarters.

Light-Use Kitchen Tools

Basic kitchen utensils and tools aren’t expensive at Walmart, but they’re even cheaper at Dollar Tree. I decide where to buy these items based on how much I’ll use them. I buy the better, pricier pieces that will get daily use at my primary residence at store with a higher-quality selection, but for wares I’ll only use occasionally, like at my beach house, the Dollar Tree offerings are more than acceptable.

Plastic storage bags

You’ll pay $4.46 for a 152-count box of Ziploc sandwich bags in-store at Walmart, but only $3 for three 65-count zipper sandwich bags. That’s $1.46 in savings, with 43 more bags to boot.

Pregnancy tests

I haven’t had any personal experience with pregnancy tests (thank ya, Jesus!), but a few of my female friends have told me that a dollar store is the go-to establishment for these little bearers of good — or bad — news; they say the cheaper versions are just as accurate as the national brands. Dollar Tree sells their pregnancy tests for $1 each, while Walmart’s Equate brand offers two for $7.07 or roughly $3.53 each.

Mouthwash

Keep your breath minty fresh with 16.9 ounces of mouthwash from Dollar Tree for a buck; that’s a 46-cent savings versus Walmart’s Equate mouthwash in the same quantity.

Aluminum foil

I recently had to buy aluminum foil, and I was legit shocked at how expensive it is — and that was the store brand, which, frankly, was a steal compared to the outrageously-priced Reynolds Wrap. Thirty-square-feet of the latter goes for $2.43 at Walmart, but just $1 for 40-square-feet of unbranded foil at Dollar Tree.

Travel supplies

Travel-size toiletries are a racket at major retailers. You’re being robbed blind when you compare travel-size per-unit pricing to traditionally-sized versions, which is why you should always go to the dollar store for these items. Or, ya know, just get them for free when you arrive at the hotel like I do.

Photo Credit: Steve Snodgrass

December 27, 2017

Comments

  1. 1

    DT says

    Dinnerware. We go to a lot of parties where everyone brings something to share. I get serving plates and bowls at Dollar Tree because it doesn’t matter if they get left at the party.

    I also furnished a beach house kitchen with dishes from Dollar Tree. If they got broken, it was ok. When we sold the beach house, the dishes were one thing the new buyers wanted. They are durable and reasonably attractive.

    • 2

      Len Penzo says

      Thanks for sharing those tips, DT. Another item that wasn’t on this list that I would have included is razor blades.

      • 3

        andy says

        Yeah, my last shave was the day I got out of the Army in 1975. Imagine what I’ve saved on razor blades….ahahahaaa.

        • 4

          RD Blakeslee says

          Jawohl on the razor blades, andy.

          I use an Oster electric hair clipper my poodle bequeathed to me when he passed to the other side.

          Observation on all the low-cost stores, Dollar General and WalMart for examples: The goods they carry are tailored to local demographics . Some of the stores seem to take advantage of a naive clientele and their goods and pricing are not always bargains.

        • 5

          Len Penzo says

          How long is your beard, Andy?

  2. 6

    andy says

    I keep it fairly short….wife clips it along with my regular hair shearing on the kitchen stool…….another savings…haven’t been to a barber in many years.

    Guy I used to go to retired, he was amazing. Never went in his one man shop that there wasn’t 3-4 people ahead of you, but never waited more than 20 minutes either. Guy had you in the chair and out in 4-5 minutes, including razor cut around the ears with a hot towel. Smart guy I thought….he was charging 6-7 bucks/head (this was 20 years ago), and I figured he was doing 10 heads/hr minimum…and all cash (heh-heh)…..pretty good living for a guy.

    Tried a couple others after that, couldn’t stand the 20-30 minutes they would take fussing with a clip here, cut there, stop to jabber…..JEEZ man….GET ‘ER DONE already !

    • 7

      RD Blakeslee says

      Another similarity!

      I figure I’ve saved fifteen hundred bucks for haircuts since I married my hair cutter.

      • 8

        RD Blakeslee says

        But I have to sit backwards on the commode …

  3. 9

    Ramona says

    Stationary. We have such stores here and it saves a lot of money not having to pay premium prices for this stuff.

    A happy new year to you all, guys!

    • 10

      Len Penzo says

      That’s good to know, Ramona. I’ll have to remember that one! And Happy New Year to you too!

  4. 11

    Paula says

    Gift bags, wrapping paper, etc. are a must at the Dollar store.

    My family assembles a couple of gift boxes of toys for needy children through Samaritan’s Purse each Christmas. We purchase a nice doll or stuffed animal at Walmart, but use the Dollar store for little items like balls, coloring books, colors, jacks, airplanes, etc. to help fill the box. One other idea – instead of ordering an adult meal at Sonic, order a Wacky Pack (kid’s meal). Besides being cheaper, it comes with a toy. Set the toy aside and use it in your Christmas box or as a stocking stuffer.

  5. 12

    Harry Meyen says

    Alkaline AA and AAA batteries. Dollar tree has 4 packs of these for $1. Other stores are $4 and up. Unfortunately, they only have C and D cell in “Heavy Duty”

  6. 13

    Michel says

    I totally agree. Miscellaneous kitchen utensils are a great dollar store buy. My kitchen is full of them!

  7. 14

    Nicholas Yioves says

    I dont think those dollar store batteries are as good as Duracell. Most of the time they will get the job done however. I have some in my tv remote and they seem to do ok. X box controller are low batteries status and they were relatively new. Also, when I bought a safe for my precious metals and it had a touch pad that was battery operated, I tried using the dollar store batteries and They didnt have enough power to unlock it. When I called the customer service number they suggested Duracell 10 yr which were an Arm and a leg at rite aid but at least they opened up my freakin safe!

Trackbacks

  1. Black Coffee: The Lost Fortunes of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Len Penzo dot Com says:
    January 27, 2018 at 4:16 am

    […] 11 Dollar Store Bargains You’d Be Crazy to Buy Anywhere Else […]

  2. Black Coffee: The Lost Fortunes of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Len Penzo dot Com says:
    July 5, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    […] 11 Dollar Store Bargains You’d Be Crazy to Buy Anywhere Else […]

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