The local Dollar Tree store may not be the first thing that comes to mind when I say “the place to be,” but it has really become a favorite spot of mine (and some of my frugal friends) when we’re looking for something that is inexpensive and we need it in a hurry.

The dollar store can typically save time and money for those on a budget, and for a lot of us even when we have money, time isn’t necessarily something we have to spare. I say that because it will only take five minutes to run into the “everything’s a dollar store” to get something that would take you at least half an hour to get from Target or Wal-Mart.

I personally think that the best time to go to the Dollar store over another store is when you are throwing a party like a wedding or baby shower.

Recently, I wanted to throw a friend of mine a baby shower. All the decorations for the shower came from the dollar store. It might sound like a “cheap” thing for a friend to do, but when it comes to streamers, balloons, and other cheap novelties, is there really a difference between what you will get at the dollar store for a buck and what you will get from Target for three? For $30 I was able to decorate my house, wrap her gifts from us, and also buy the ingredients to make the food (I didn’t buy the cake mix and stuff at the dollar store though). The best part is that everything turned out great.

I have found some pretty interesting things at the dollar store like name brand makeup, glass picture frames, drinking glasses, and dog toys. I think I’ve purchased all the cutting boards in my house from the dollar store.

I would really suggest for anyone trying to save here and there to check it out if you haven’t already. The stores really do have a lot more than plastic bins and off brand toothpaste. They have actual items that you can use.

Again, the key to being frugal here is to make sure that you actually use these items instead of just deciding that you need it while you’re there. Even a list for things that you need at the Dollar Tree can actually help you save a couple of dollars here and there.

Are you going to slow down on spending this year?

Question:

Christmas and the rest of the holiday season is just around the corner. Do you plan on spending less this year than last year?

Answer:

I am likely not going to be buying as much this year as last year. I was considering giving family members cookie tins rather than gifts they may or may not like. I also find that homemade cookies are a bit more thoughtful than a cheap gift set of bath fizzies from Target or Wal-Mart could be. I am investing my time into the cookies rather than mindlessly shopping for a “coverall” gift.

A week or so ago, there was a story about how Walmart, Amazon, and Target were in a price war over books. Best sellers were getting the most attention and were selling for a lot off of the cover price of the book. While this price war between the retailers is still going strong, there is a new price war that is heating up.

Now the retailers (the exact same three: Walmart, Target, and Amazon) are trying to find out how low can they go on DVD prices.

Target started by lowering the price on 10 DVDs which include the newest Star Trek movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood, Prince, and Julie & Julia, all for $10. These were some of the summer’s hottest movies that are now well under what everyone was paying for the same movies just a few weeks ago.

Walmart followed suit by lowering prices on the same highly-anticipated movies to $9.98. Amazon is also offering the movies for $10.

Of course, the prices are simply promotional prices rather than actual long-term prices. The retailers are certainly paying more than $10 for each DVD (new releases anyway). Typically a new release DVD costs between $15 and $20.

At these prices I would be more willing to pick up the movies that I really want. I always shy away from DVD purchases because I don’t watch them often enough to justify paying $20 for a DVD when I can rent it at RedBox for $1 per night.