In the midst of all of the advertising we’re bombarded with on a daily basis it’s easy to let the ads do our thinking for us… I just did it the other day.
I needed envelopes and instead of thinking where I could get the best deal, I just ran out to Staples where I picked up a 125 pack of security envelopes for about $13 after tax. I thought the price was about double what it should be but needed the envelopes and figured I just had to bite the bullet… so I did.
The next day Betsy made me stop at the dollar store for something she needed and guess what I saw… security envelopes… for a dollar. There were only 40 in a pack, but that’s still 4x cheaper than Staples, for the same product. Why so much cheaper? It’s thanks to all that advertising that made me think of Staples before the Dollar Store!
Luckily I hadn’t busted into the pack of envelopes from Staples yet, so I purchased the Dollar Store envelopes and plan to return the envelopes to Staples next time I’m out running errands.
Moral of the story? We can’t forget to rediscover our Dollar Stores, and to cut through all the advertising and think for ourselves!
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Good reminder! One thing that keeps me from stopping at my dollar store is I’m not sure if they’ll have what I need. But with something like envelopes, you’re pretty assured that they’ll be there.
Yeah, another thing to note is that different dollar stores oftentimes have very different products offerings. Betsy has done a lot of shopping around to find the best dollar store in our area. The store we now frequent stocks many everyday items for much less than the big name stores.
Although you do have to be careful because sometimes the dollar store has similar things to regular stores, but it costs a dollar instead of 50 cents or so.. Of course in that way you only lose a few cents, where in your example by not shopping there you would have lost several dollars.. The moral of the story, look for certain things you KNOW you can get cheaper at the dollar store – there.
Thanks for the link!
We are grateful to have several shopping choices within a short distance from our home. A bump and dent grocer, one large chain and one small chain supermarket and two dollar stores. A good way to compare prices is to start a price book. A pain to keep up in some ways, but a real money saver.
After a while you see what place sells a particular item at the best price. For example, our local Dollar Tree offers 15 oz. jack mackerel for $1 a can. The regular grocers offer it at $1.89. It’s a decent substitute for tuna in sandwiches. A 5 oz can of tuna normally runs 69-89 cents in these parts.
It’s the disciplined things like keeping a price book that can be foundational in financial success. Good idea and nice work Olivia.
I’ve just come across your blog and as a recent college graduate I can’t get enough of it. I LOVE the dollar store idea too. I hadn’t even thought of that. Probably because of all the other advertising like you said. Thanks for all your insight. It’s very helpful.
I often forget about the dollar store, and your reminder came well-timed. I was mailing out a few packages this morning and needed some bubble wrap. Much cheaper at the dollar store than at the post office! Thanks for the reminder 🙂