Do You Shop at the Dollar Store?

i stay in the dollar store even when i'm not pinching pennies! they have this stuff called "Awesome" that cleans EVERYTHING! and whatever else i see i might want. little plates and cups for the kids, coloring books. candles whatever!

I wouldn't qualify myself as a frequent shopper, but I do stop in every month or two. Some of the items I like..
hair brushes
hair accessories
tooth brushes (like having extras for friends, or when the girls go to camp)
seasonal decorations - great for halloween
plastic table cloths
activity books

Not exactly the answer you were looking for but I caution dollar store frequenters to look for deals elsewhere. I can often find better deals on paper goods, health and beauty and most of the food is such poor quality (mostly corn syrup, enriched flour and salt). Some things that you can't beat are pregnancy tests, and kids activities.

I can tell you that if you go to every store and wrote down the prices of what you buy regularly you will find that Wal-Mart is across the board going to save you the most money. Every store has something drastically reduced. i won't buy my reading glasses anywhere but the Dollar Tree, why spend more than a dollar for a pair of glasses that I will most likely lose. I have spent hours comparing prices for activities at church and knew exactly how many cups of flour I needed, down to the last leaf of lettuce and I bought some things at other stores because they gave me things at cost since it was for a church but I almost always did the bulk of my shopping at Wal-Mart.

For instance, comet is $1.00 at the Dollar Tree but it's $!.09 at Wal-Mart. If I am going to the Dollar Tree anyway I haven't wasted any gasoline or time driving and getting there. But if it is out of my way and I am rushed then it costs me more to go there to get it.

As for store brand stuff. I can tell you from many years of arguing with my partner in my child care business, you get what you spend in trash bags, zip lock bags, etc...if you buy cheap you end up cleaning us spills from torn bags and have to use more bags to double up. Buy a somewhat good brand and in the long run you'll save money.

Take a day and compare. Take a note book with a list of several items, make columns going down for each store. Put their price for the comparable brand. When you get home look and see how much it really costs.

Take into consideration parking, convenience, time to shop and check out, how long it took to get around the store, what they have to offer besides what you re getting, you may find it costs more to go there or it may save you a ton of time and effort.

Gift wrap stuff (it's like buying future garbage!) and kids activity books (math, reading workbooks) I don't buy too much there it's like China, Inc.!

if i ever just feel like shopping for the heck of it, no better place to ''splurge''.

I buy alot of my kids books, coloring and art box stuff in the dollar store. I buy almost all my gift wrap stuff, party supply stuff, candles, seasonal decorations and I also love Awesome! I scrub my floors with it to! I buy some of the boxed and canned food there, mostly the pastas as well. I have tried and like most of the cleaners, the only thing I didnt like was dish soap. I tried it 4 yrs ago and cant remember why I didnt like it, only that I didnt! You could also try Aldi's, if there is one in your area.

Greeting cards and gift wrapping stuff, toys, cheap holiday toys [Easter basket, Halloween treat bags, and stocking stuffers], other seasonal decorations, birthday party favors and decorations, balloons, candles, cheap kitchen tools, tin foil, batteries, sunglasses, winter mittens, toothbrushes and hairbrushes, diaper baggies, picture frames, and stickers. Dollar Tree even has some scrapbooking materials I used to buy when I did scrapbooking.

The only thing I've ever been disappointed by was their ice trays. They cracked after only a couple of uses. Otherwise, I love the Dollar Store!!!

1. ziploc baggies
2. cleaning stuff
3. broom
4. school supplies
5. liquid soap
6. coloring books
7. tin foil sheets

I like to buy my house hold items like cleaners,paper plates,plastic forks/spoons/knives,party supplies,and toys to keep my kids from driving me crazy in that store(they do tend to break about 5 mins after they leave the store, but I only paid a dollar so its not the end of the world).

I used to for party supplies and picnic supplies, however once I found out who owned the store and to what country the money was being funneled to I stopped as well as others ad eventually it closed down. Hopefully, he doesn't open up and taken advantage of other Americans.

I like to buy dishtubs or plastic bins to store toys in. I let my son buy a few cheap plastic toys with his own money. (They're no worse than prizes or favors he gets from other places). My husband likes to buy greeting cards and computer cables.

Diapers! I buy the large 60 pks (the same size as the huggies or pampers boxes) at the dollar store for $9.50, we also buy all our tolietries there

I got coloring books there and a few other things, but I found that some of the items are 2nd quality, even if they have a name brand. Like plastic storage containers that the tops did not seal on--i had to throw those away, and bubbles--I thought I got a great deal on them for bday party favors, but a bunch of them were missing wands. I would go there to save money for party decorations or stuff where quality is not priority.

You bet! I shop at the Dollar Store but not regularly. Probably in a similar way that you do. I have noticed that many food items are less expensive, cost less, and are of good quality. Others are appear to be of poorer quality based on the appearance of their packaging. I buy the name brands or I should say the brands I recognize.

Because I can't buy everything on my grocery store list, I don't shop regularly at the Dollar store due to time constraints. And....lol....I do sometimes end up spending more because I see other bargains I just cannot pass up.

It's the same with shopping at Grocery Outlet. If you have one of those in your area, I would recommend shopping there. Their prices are lower, too. They don't carry specific brands or many items consistently but I do spend less and can for the most part do all of my shopping for the moment in that one place.

Mostly, I use shopping at The Dollar Store with my grandkids. I can give them $10 and they walk out feeling like a million dollars with their 1 or 2 bags full.

Regarding school supplies. This reminds me that The Dollar Store does carry some items that you can purchase else where for less. Fred Meyer has many school supplies this month for less than $1. Spiral notebooks are 25 cents each. One reason I don't shop so often at The Dollar store is that I'm not confident that I always get the lowest price. Takes too much thinking. But if I went regularly and compared prices with those elsewhere I'd feel more confident.

I too love the Awesome all purpose cleaning spray! It really is "Awesome"...just be sure to dilute it accordingly. It works on everything, from the laundry, blood, bathroom & kitchen, outdoor, car...EVERYTHING! It's the only thing that cleans up my stainless steel appliances without streaks too! Sounds like you have a list of great favs...our local 99cent stores usually have great frozen and refriderator items at times.

Party supplies, stocking stuffers, pregnancy tests, hair brushes, dryer sheets, and coloring books are all things that I find to be great quality at the Dollar stores, especially Dollar Tree. :)

I shop dollar stores and here is what I do buy there. alunimun foil, zip lock bags, hair brarrettes some food cookies but not like cream of chicken soup cause its cheaper at the grocery store. and for the record I hate wal mart and will pay more money else where to avoid that store. sometimes you can get great big bottles of soy sauce for a dollar. but unless the cooking oil is a great big bottle its not worth it at the dollar store. you pay less money for a bigger volume at a grocery store. the baby wipes I will not use and I agree with buying name brand trash bags or you spend more money doubling your trash sacks you actually don't save any money it cost you more in the long run.

I buy the wrapping paper and such. paper towels and toilet paper I only buy angel soft so it comes from grocery store or dollar general. so use your head and you will make a wise choice the cokes are alot cheaper at the dollar store and taste is allright but not great and dollar general I love.

I buy cleaning products and food (non-perishables) toletries, household things and baby products at the dollar stores . It saves us so much money.

My kids go through a lot of shampoo and body wash too but I usually get them for free or pennies using coupons. Same for pasta, candy, cereal, etc. I use: http://savingsangel.com/amember/go.php?r=29513&i=l8 and get lots of stuff free or super cheap by combining coupons with sales.

I buy gift bags, wrapping paper, tissue for wrapping gifts, party supplies, plastic containers and things like that.

I don't do food items.

Personally, I like Big Lots because I can get the name brand I usually purchase for less on Pine-Sol, laundry HE All, plastic storage boxes, laundry baskets, party supplies.

EDIT: Someone mentioneed Wal-Mart. Check Wal-Mart out online. You will see the financial reports where they take advantage of all their suppliers, and "pass the deal" to consumers which is NO DEAL because the products they sell are NOT THE SAME name brands. They demand cheaper products from suppliers. I will go out of my way to stay away from any WalMart or Sams. They don't save you $$, they destroy the US.