In theory, the dollar store seems like it might be a one-way ticket to paradise.
What could be better?
Most Americans seem to agree.
Still, its important to distinguish real dollar stores from their mere imitations, of which there are many.
By this spring, they declared once again they would raise their maximum price to $7.
Other businesses like Dollar General and Family Dollar mightsoundcomparable, but they just sell their items for less.
Dollar Tree was the last of the major behemoths to embody the true ethos of a dollar store.
Still, well leave you with a silver lining here.
When we say crunch the numbers, we mean compare prices.
We cant ultimately decide which option will be best for you based on location, access and products.
But we can tell you which will give you the most bang for your buck.
But those dollar items can really add up.
Need some extra cash for a dollar store trip?
What I Bought (and How Much It Cost)
Our methodology is simple.
Heres what we found:
1.
Toilet Paper
2.
House Cleaner
3.
Body Wash
4.
Canned Vegetables
5.
Pasta
Can You Survive 10 Days of Budgeting?
Spices
7.
Laundry Detergent
8.
13-Gallon Trash Bags
9.
Coffee
10.
Cereal
So, Which Dollar Store Is Best?
Here are our grand totals, bearing in mind that these arent exact product comparisons.
Which is best ultimately depends on the kind of experience and items you hope to find.
But that also means you have limited options.
Instead of a name-brand body wash, like Dove or Suave, youll find SpaSoap.
In general, the sizes are smaller and dont come in bulk, like the 10-oz.
Gain laundry detergent or the 3.5-oz.
If your goal is tostock up for a veritable army, then Dollar General is likely your best bet.
At the Dollar Tree, some of the items are much smaller.
Lets take a quick look at how much these items would run you at Walmart and Amazon.
That, of course, doesnt include shipping or an Amazon Prime membership.
Its easy to get lulled into the ease of Amazon, but the prices arent alwaysactuallycheaper.
What we have shown is the practicality and the cost-savings of the dollar store.
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Her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Smithsonian Magazine and the Tampa Bay Times.
