The Store Less Traveled
Have you ever set foot in a dollar store? Apparently more and more of us have. Citing ACNielsen data, the 10/22 issue of the Chicago Tribune noted that two-thirds of all Americans shopped at a dollar store last year. The article said dollar stores not only offer good prices on a lot of items, they've also come a long way from their somewhat dingy, disorganized past. The national chains, including Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar, typically operate clean stores, offer brand-name merchandise, and some even sell fresh produce. The article noted that dollar stores are especially good places to buy decorations, cleaning supplies, inexpensive toys, school and office supplies, and snacks.
Matt's View
I recently compared prices between a mainline grocery retailer (Jewel), a "value" retailer (Aldi), and two national dollar store chains (Dollar Tree and Dollar General). Aldi had a version of everything I shopped for at Jewel and, in most cases, offered the best prices. However, most of its "brands" were unfamiliar private labels. Dollar General had more of the items found at Jewel than Dollar Tree as Dollar Tree focuses more on non-food items. Dollar General also had the best price, by far, on laundry detergent: $3.96 for 200 ounces.
If you generally shop at just one or two stores for most of your groceries and other household items, check out some of these deep discounters. You'll be surprised at how far they'll help you stretch a dollar.
This article filed in: Spending
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