ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

5 Smart Ways To Shop At The Dollar Store

Updated on March 10, 2015
Dollar Tree, a chain dollar store
Dollar Tree, a chain dollar store | Source

The Smart Ways To Shop at the Dollar Store

This article deals with the economy in the last two years, and how the number of people that shop at dollar stores has gone up more than 500%. Although this is a good thing for dollar store, shoppers need to beware that not everything in the store is a good deal. There are 5 tips the article gives when shopping at the dollar store that will save you time and money!

Save your money!
Save your money! | Source

Examples of Dollar Stores

  • Dollar Tree
  • Big Lots
  • Dollar General
  • General Dollar
  • Deal$
  • Family Dollar
  • Five Below
  • Fred's

If you do decide to shop at the Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Big Lots, Five Below or any other similar dollar stores, keep these useful shopping tips in mind.

Watch the Cost Per Serving

First, in one study, it was found out that only 23% of items at the dollar store (like Five Below) are actually a dollar or less, and many items such as snacks or small boxed cereals actually cost more per serving than a big box from the grocery store. If you wanted to find out the real price of the item, find out the cost per serving, and compare that to the grocery store price per serving.

Source

Don't Impulse Spend

Next, since everything in the store seems cheap and easy, it’s more likely that shoppers get distracted by the low prices and begin to shop with the ever famous impulse spending mentality. If you can, keep a vague grocery list with you to stay on track. Do not make your grocery list too specific, since the merchandise in dollar stores is never too sure to be there next time, but stick to the essentials such as: canned foods, or shampoo, instead of something very specific.

Check The Ingredients Label

In addition, read the ingredient list, many dollar stores in order to deliver low prices, sacrifice quality, and sometimes the main ingredient, like even milk, in a dairy product. Many products out of overstock also contain additives and artificial fillers.

Source

Don't Buy Fruits or Vegetables

Also, keep fruits or vegetables off your grocery list at the dollar store since they are at the bottom of the receiving list. Do not shop for these products here because this means that they only get fruit delivered after the supermarkets have taken their pick, then grocery stores, and then the gas stations. So naturally the fruit there is more likely to be in bad shape by the time it hits the shelves.

Source

Check Expiration Dates

Lastly, always check the expiration date on canned products. Since dollar stores buy from closeouts and overstock, the products they purchase are more likely to have been sitting in factory warehouses for days on end before they are bought and shipped to the store. You may only have a few days sometimes before the product expires. (Once again, this is due to overstock, because items are often in the warehouses for a really long time). Also check for any packages that look dented or bent, because this is a sign that the product might already be in very bad condition inside the container.

Five Below

Five Below Store. Everything is $1-$5
Five Below Store. Everything is $1-$5

Why Do You Shop?

Do you shop at the dollar store, if so why?

See results

Some More Ideas on What to Buy at the Dollar Store

If you found this article helpful please remember to:

Vote it UP!

Share it.

Leave a comment or question.

-Thank you!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)