Shoppers Turn to Dollar Tree for Groceries as Inflation Costs Hit Hard

Yahoooooo Finance ^ | November 29, 2022 | Josephine Nesbitt

[dakine]

When my Mom lived with me - a weekly trip to the $ store.

She loved buying their $1 packs of Windmill Cookies.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“You pay more for less product.”

In some cases, yet. Read labels. Check weights/ounces of products.

I compared the two items I found today (Tuna and Teriyaki dipping sauce/marinade/stir-fry) to Walmart prices for the same size products and brands and saved 20-cents per can on the tuna and $2.14 per bottle on the sauce. (Sugar free, 3g carbs)

It takes some time to read the labels, but in my book, when you find a deal, make the most of it! And dig around on the bottom shelves. They like to hide the good deals down there, just like a regular supermarket. Making Money, 101. ;)

We also weren’t planning on it, but when we went to look for a turkey, (not at Dollar Tree!) we found pork loin for $1.99/pound, so bought the 10# slab-o-meat, sliced it and packaged it ourselves with the Food Saver and now there are 15 pork dinners in the freezer for under $20.00.

Even in Hard Times, is this a great country, or what? :)

[Vendome]

Ha!

Same thing here in Gilroy, CA

[adorno]

It still shop at Walmart and Target and Winn-Dixie and Publix...

but...

Been shopping more at Aldi and other lesser known supermarkets...

and...

I’m buying a lot of off-brands and store-brands, rather than the nationally known brands.

And, most of all, my family doesn’t miss those famous brands, and we’re still surviving.

‘Brandon’ introduced my to a lot of off-brand products, and the companies like Coke and Pepsi, are (for now) gone from y shopping list.

Those national and famous brands should be thanking Biden and democrats for making shopping lists more ‘diversified’.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Windmill Cookies.”

Do you slather the flat side with butter? Those were my Grandpa’s favorite cookies, too. :)

[aMorePerfectUnion]

—> I really dont get why people buy $10 bleach at retail when it only costs $1.29 for the same big size at 99C store.

The $10 bleach is much bleachier

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I LOVE Aldi. When I had three teen boys, a husband and a BIL who practically lived with us, they really helped make my food dollar go a LOT farther.

And the boys knew NOT to touch my ‘Aldi Quarter’ that was in the car ash-tray, or there would be h#ll to pay, LOL!

(I used to buy a name-brand box of crackers or cereal or whatever, then keep re-filling it with the Aldi Brand, LOL! What did they know? They thought food just mysteriously showed up in the fridge or the cupboards, anyway!)

My nearest Aldi is about 30 miles away, so I go maybe 2x a year. We are checking out Costco this week to see if a membership there would be worthwhile for just the two of us.

When it comes to buying food I am, ‘Sworn to Fun, Loyal to None!’

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“The $10 bleach is much bleachier.”

Gets your Crime Scene cleaned up real well, too! DNA Evidence? What DNA Evidence, Officer? ;)

[Freedom56v2]

I have found many great deals at our dollar Tree...Cards, wrapping paper, gift bags etc.

I also like the toiletries...and OTC meds.

Have not bought a lot of food there—did get some cracker/tuna packs for travel/bug out.

[punknpuss]

The Aldi’s nonfat greek yogurt is superior to the Fage greek yogurt. Their small kosher dill pickles taste better to me than Mt. Olive or Vlasic. I like their classic hummus too. There are many items that I buy at Aldis that I find to be a cut above. I split my shopping between Walmart, Aldi’s and Food Lion (a local grocery store.)

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Sounds accurate!

[JesusIsLord]

Shoppers Turn to Dollar Tree for Groceries as Inflation Costs Hit Hard

Yep - did some shopping at the Dollar Tree ($1.25 store) this morning for some essentials that cost 2-3-4 times more at other stores.

[nuconvert]

Bought a jar of pickles there a while back...they were made in India. I was hesitant, but they weren’t too bad. And I’m still alive. Don’t think I’d buy them again though.

[catnipman]

“The $10 bleach is much bleachier”

yeah, but is it EIGHT times more bleachier?

[higgmeister]

From Google on https://www.wallstreetprep.com

How do you calculate same-store sales?

In order to calculate the same store sales metric, a store's sales in the current period are divided by its sales in the prior period. After that, the result must be multiplied by 100 to express it in percentage form.

[Osage Orange]

I live near a one grocery store town....

I shop at DG and Dollar Tree...too

I can afford to shop elsewhere,..but I can get what I want..and some cheaper at those places.

[BBB333]

I purchase Gossner Foods Premium 2% Milk from Dollar Tree, 1 quart boxes.

It used to be in stock @ $1.00 and I would purchase four at a time.

Last time I paid $1.25 each and had to buy a case of 12. No shipping charge, just pick it up at the store.

I hardly ever use milk for anything other than my morning coffee and this milk lasts longer than a $1.29 16 oz. milk bottle...And we always have it on hand when a recipes calls for milk (Thanksgiving mashed potatoes for instance). It’s always great to give to the food bank as well.

The unfortunate thin is that our Dollar Tree is only paying $13.00 per hour when grocery stores are paying $16.00 per hour for ‘baggers/cart wranglers’ and $18.00 is the entry wage virtually everywhere in town...Target and Walmart are at $20.00.

Naturally when I picked up my last shipment of milk I was 15th in line...only one cashier.

[CFW]

I went to the grocery store today. Prices have gone up again. We are retired and pretty set in our ways so pretty much buy the same things each week. The grandkids are here at least once a week, so I make sure to buy the things they like so that is one of my major costs. At least blueberries were on sale today (one of their favorites). However, my grocery bill has doubled from what it was two years ago.

[Openurmind]

Yep, Dollar General, Family Dollar, and the 99 cent stores are scamming everyone hard. I am a very frugal shopper and grew up in a grocery store. I know them from the bottom to the top including acquisitions and bidding on product.

And when the 99 cent store wants $1.25 for an almost expired can of beans and Walmart only wants $.85 cents for a can that will be good for four years there is something wrong. And I just can’t believe people are stupid enough to not figure that out.

Foolish consumerism... Brainwashed...

[adorno]

My nearest Aldi is about 30 miles away, so I go maybe 2x a year.

We have like 10 Aldis within 10 miles of me, the nearest one about 2 1/2 miles, and the next closest about 3 1/2 miles, and another one on my way to my daughters house each weekend. Guess I'm lucky (I live in Tampa, btw).

We are checking out Costco this week to see if a membership there would be worthwhile for just the two of us.

My wife and I checked out Costco this year, for the first time. We paid $60 membership fee.

Costco is not less expensive than Walmart or Target or any other supermarket around us, so, we stopped shopping for food there.

But, we more than made up the membership fee with their low-cost gasoline, which is normally 30 cents or more less than the neighborhood gas stations. In fact, we more than made up the membership fee through the low-cost gas, which is, btw, still higher than BB (Before Biden; get it BC, AD, BB?). Last gas fill-up was for $2.92 per gallon, compared to the neighborhood price of around $3.34. We'll keep renewing Costco membership just for the gas. We've saved over $130 on gas since we got the membership 5 months ago.

Good luck.