Do you shop at the .99 store?

[Nodak]

Wow! What a drive. At 55 mph, that would be almost 3 hours of driving. And then, there's the gas, not to mention wear & tear on the vehicle.

If it was me, I'd lean towards buying online and foregoing Arby's.

The 150 miles is a round trip and ND interstate speed limit is 75 so I make the trip in about 2.5 hours. I buy a few things online but it's just nice to get out of town now and then. I only put about 11,000 miles a year on my car; most of that is a couple of relatively long trips in the summer.

 

[NW-Bound]

I shop about twice a month at the 99 Cents Only store. Our local ones have have many name brand items that Safeway carries only their regular prices are the "sale" prices at Safeway. Our local 99 Cents Only have great prices on produce and even some organic produce and other organic grocery items.

We shop mainly at Costco, 99 Cents Only store and Grocery Outlet and our grocery bill is now less than half of what it used to be for the same or probably even healthier food than when we shopped at Safeway or similar retail type chains. I wish we would have realized the price differences for the same food years ago. Grocery Outlet shows the corresponding retail price for items so last week I spent $128 and saved $149 off retail prices. We also supplement some items from Trader Joe's.

We have Grocery Outlet stores here, but ran across several along the West Coast in our past RV treks. They do have excellent prices, and the reason for that is that they buy overstock or liquidated items that are close to expiration dates but are fine if you consume them right away. In some cases, the expiration date does not mean much, and you can go quite some time past the date. For example, I got a big container of Italian dry herb mix for a couple of dollars, and the truth is that I have at home some dry herb that are even older than that.

Anyway, back to 99 Cents Only Stores, we like to buy yogurt there. They offer overstock Dannon, Yoplait, or Chobani for 99c, no matter if that's a 2-pack, a 4-pack, or occasionally an 8-pack or even a 12-pack box! Of course those super deals are a bit rare, and their limited quantities do not last long, because shoppers are not stupid.

As we are lactose intolerant and cannot drink milk, we eat a serving of yogurt everyday to get calcium and I cannot remember the last time we bought yogurt in other stores.

 

[NW-Bound]

We have Grocery Outlet stores here, but ran across several along the West Coast in our past RV treks...

Meant to write "We do not have Grocery Outlet stores...".

I am making mistakes like this more and more. Damn old age!

 

[marko]

When I was working we apparently were the only fools buying everything at full price.

What a surprise to learn that for 25+ years we'd been getting ripped off soooo badly.

I never knew that you could get a decent sweater or jeans at Costco/BJs for $19, a nice set of pliers or wire strippers at the Dollar Store for $3 or a decent set of sunglasses for $5 at the Job Lot store.

We're not too keen on "buying junk for low cost's sake" but just some mild shopping around--nothing too aggressive-- has put about $2-3K per year right to the bottom line!

 

[REWahoo]

When I was working we apparently were the only fools buying everything at full price.

Don't feel too bad. I had a good friend (now deceased) who didn't learn until his late 40's that you didn't have to pay sticker price for a new car...

 

[outdoorgirl02]

I go to the dollar store every few months. Typically we get gift bags, office supplies, craft stuff, a few dog toys, and sometimes holiday decorations. My DD thinks it's the best store ever since her $3/week allowance gets her 3 things.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Besides selective groceries at the 99 Cents Only stores, the items I buy from the dollar type stores are glow sticks, decorations, greeting cards, hangers, Halloween candy, gift bags and decorative rocks. I got rid of all the wrapping paper in our house this year and now just keep a stack of assorted, resuseable, all occasion gift bags in varying sizes. For last minute gift needs that always come up throughout the year I keep a stock of wine from Grocery Outlet and pretty wine bags from the dollar stores.

I bought some hankies at one dollar type store and they were so chintzy they were less robust than gauze, so some of the stuff is not worth the price. But for items like gift bags they seem to be the same quality as the retail stores.

DH was concerned this year because I waited to buy candy until Halloween day, but my procrastination paid off. By waiting the candy was marked down to half price to 50 cents a bag at one of the dollar stores. I used to spend $40 on Halloween candy at the local grocery store, but this year we had extra candy and several boxes of back up cookie packs we ate or gave away to friends for under $10 total.

 

[NW-Bound]

... For last minute gift needs that always come up throughout the year I keep a stock of wine from Grocery Outlet and pretty wine bags from the dollar stores...

As my wife does not drink I am in charge of getting my own wine, and I have to say that I did not see good prices on wine at the Grocery Outlets I visited in our RV trips. Perhaps it is better than prices at chain grocery stores, but I get better deals at Bevmo and Total Wine.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

As my wife does not drink I am in charge of getting my own wine, and I have to say that I did not see good prices on wine at the Grocery Outlets I visited in our RV trips. Perhaps it is better than prices at chain grocery stores, but I get better deals at Bevmo and Total Wine.

I will check out Bevmo and compare. We don't have a Total Wine close by.

 

[ABQ2015]

It's good to know that Dollar Tree is considered the best of these stores (we don't have the .99 cent store in my area) as that is the only one I have been to recently so will not bother to check out the others. I didn't care for the Dollar Tree because most of the cosmetics, food items, and office supplies were generic brands and I am picky. But the greeting cards, gift wrapping items, etc. looked like a deal although I buy very little of that stuff. Also the Valentine's Day items were on display and there were parents there buying stuff for their kid's entire class so probably a good deal. I do shop at Costco and Sunflower Market and plan to do more comparison shopping once I retire and have the time.

 

[easysurfer]

+1 about Dollar Tree as tops. There stuff really is a dollar instead of other places where prices vary. I don't go dollar store shopping as much as years past. Now, only to like, stock up on boxes of dish washing powder .

 

[NW-Bound]

I will check out Bevmo and compare. We don't have a Total Wine close by.

It's hard to know what a bottle of wine should cost, and of course I do not think a higher price guarantees that you will like it more than a less expensive bottle. And there are so many wineries and different labels out there, it's confusing.

It just so happened that I spotted some exact bottles at Grocery Outlets that I recently bought and paid less at the other stores. Of course, YMMV.

 

[ERD50]

It's good to know that Dollar Tree is considered the best of these stores ...

It's the only one that I've ever checked out, and it's close to other stores we frequent, so I can pop in to just look around.

AA alkaline batteries are as cheap/cheaper than Costco, and I can buy a 4-pack (for a buck! ) instead of 48 from Costco that sit around getting old.

Then I browse a bit, sometimes pick up some little toys or party favors, or other incidentals. It's also the only place around here that I can find soda in 3L PET bottles. I wish they had regular soda-water in them, I end up dumping the soda, but I do re-use the 3L bottles to 'bottle/keg' some of my beer. I've developed my own DIY tap system for the 6L PET bottles that are used for home-brewers (Tap-a-Draft jugs), and the 3L soda bottle take the same cap.

Purchase - SturmanBG, LLC

-ERD50

 

[FI by 2024]

But for items like gift bags they seem to be the same quality as the retail store.

I was going to say the same. I also like the gift wrap because it comes in small rolls. Not much of a cost savings but I like them because I don't end up having to use the same pattern for 5 years like to do with a regular size roll for $5.

Another item I like is the assorted plastic bins for $1. Great for organizing and they come in all sizes from little ones for on top of your desk all the way to laundry bins.


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