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10 Things You Should Buy at The Dollar Store to Save Money

Nowadays, dollar stores have a lot to offer, but it’s sometimes hard to know what products are a good fine and well, which products are worth a dollar to help simplify things for you. We’ve identified 10 of the top things that are worth buying at the dollar store or dollar tree in your area.

1. Greeting Cards

Why pay $4 or more for a single greeting card when you can choose from a wide variety available for a buck or less at the dollar store. Many of the holiday ones are even two for a buck at that rate. After you put on a stamp and mail your card, all you’ve spent is about 99 cents to tell someone just how much you care. Now, there are some really weird ones, but you can find many great ones too from birthdays, holidays, condolences, oh and a lot more. Greeting cards are by far one of the most recommended and purchased items at dollar stores.

2. Store Brand Ibuprofen

When it comes to medicines like ibuprofen, you’ll find brand names like Advil, but they’re typically only available in packs of six. For the same price, you can stock up on store-brand ibuprofen and get a 40-count box with the same active ingredients. The only difference other than the price per pill is that the coating on Advil tastes a little better, but you know, if you swallow quickly, it doesn’t matter anyway. Just be sure to check out the dosage amount and the expiration date.

3. BANDAGES

Most growing family’s need a stocked first aid kit around the home, with bandages.
Bandages come in assorted sizes with soft non-stick pads, you can buy name brand bandages from Band-Aid and curate in 10 packs for a dollar or go with the store brand that has two to four times as many bandages for the same price regardless of brand, they’re all sealed and sterilized for your protection. So why not go with the assorted pack for more variety and better value? At the time of this writing, they also have these emoji bandages available. It’ll add some flair to your wounds.

4. PREGNANCY TEST

Here’s an interesting one. For those of you in the market, why pay $10 or more for a pregnancy test when you can just pay a dollar for the results that you can trust with over 99% accuracy. Plus, we do hear that they’re easy to use and they reveal results in about three minutes.

Rumor has it that this product is used in many clinics and convenience stores as well. Now, it might not write out the words pregnant, but it gets the job done. Granted, they are not the highest quality, but they’re reportedly the second most accurate pregnancy test on the market. Oh, and a top seller at dollar stores with an average rating of 4.8 out of five they sure do deliver positive results.

Oh, one more thing. According to some guy named Robby that we met outside the store, the at-home drug test is very accurate as well, humping in at 98% accuracy and reportedly well worth a dollar.

5. BRAND NAME COSMETICS

Believe it or not, Dollar stores do sell name-brand cosmetics, which makes it the perfect place for people who are experimenting with new looks and don’t want to drop a load of cash. As a rule of thumb, you’d probably want to stick to the brands you recognize and shy away from the ones you don’t.

On that note, you’ll also find lip balm from Blistex, Chapstick and Carmex, which I’ll start at about three to five a pop elsewhere or if you’re really on a budget, you can get twice as much lip balm from off-brands like or labs chat bites. Look, winter’s coming, so get your anti chap lip balm cheap.

Speaking of budgeting, I’ve partnered with Swagbucks to you all. Another way to save even more money, If you’re all about money-saving hacks, Swagbucks is a great place to earn extra cash and gift cards online by watching videos, taking surveys or buying things that you already wanted. Just click the link in the description to check it out. Right now, they have a promotion where you get $10 back if you spend 25 on anything you want through the site. I’ve been using Swagbucks for a while and there are tons of rebates and offers to choose from, so the savings start to add up again. Just click that link in the description to get started and happy saving.

6. CLEANING SUPPLIES

Dollar stores should be your go-to place for cleaning supplies such as dish soap, surface cleaners and even bleach. Consumer reports determined that a teaspoon of Dawn washed 19 dishes while a teaspoon of dollar store brand washed only six the same 12.6-ounce bottle from the dollar store is typical $3 or more at other stores. 

No matter what size bottle or brand you buy, you won’t find a better price per ounce than the dollar store. This cleaner degreaser in inspire remover is an awesome bargain for a dollar. The bottle includes directions for 43 different types of surfaces. You can buy a 20-ounce bottle with a spray nozzle or get an even better deal with the 32-ounce refill bottle. 

If you don’t have your spray bottle to fill, just buy both bottles for two bucks. You’ll still save 10 by not buying this popular cleaner elsewhere. When it’s time to clean serious messes, you’ve got to reach for the bleach. You’ll find 16-ounce bottles of Clorox bleach at your local store as well as one-gallon jugs of generic brand bleach with the same active ingredients. However, before reaching for the larger container, know that the concentrated Clorox bleach has the same number of uses per bottle just with less water and packaging to reduce the product and its environmental footprint.

7. MOVIE CANDY

If you’re on the fence about buying food at the dollar store, you could always start with something from the candy aisle. Consider this movie theatre candy can cost more than the tickets themselves, but not at the dollar store. Just stop by first, pick up a few boxes for a buck each and stash them away for a much better deal.

8. PARTY SUPPLIES

If you’re throwing a little soiree, then the dollar store is the one-stop-shop for your party supplies. In addition to wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbons, balloons, and tablecloths, you can also snag paper plates, plastic ware, drinking cups and much more for those backyard barbecues or special occasions. At only a dollar each that’s a huge discount compared to other retail stores that charge four to five times as much. So, label your party B-Y-O-B and hit the dollar store for cheap party planning.

9. SEASONAL DECORATIONS

If you haven’t been to a dollar store recently, you’d be surprised by their extensive selection of seasonal and holiday decorations. They have Christmas stockings, ornaments, candles, and more.

And for this time of year, quite a selection of festive Halloween decor. Now, a lot of it’s only intended to be used once anyway, so even if they’re not built to last, you still got a bargain and can change up the way you decorate next year. Where else can you find that kind of stuff for a dollar less?

10. BREAD

A lot of dollar stores sell name-brand packages of bread, bagels and more for just $1 per loaf. If you go to the grocery store and you know these things normally sell for two to $3 each, for example, busy Baker’s a Safeway brand that can be found at dollar stores. Keep in mind that these items may be nearing their expiration date within a few days or a week. So, consider freezing them or storing them in the fridge until you have a bread party.

All right, I know that was quick and fast and we probably missed some obvious items, so let us know in the comments what you think the best buys at dollar stores are.

 Thanks for reading this article, and watching the video and if you enjoyed it your comments are always welcome.

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