Dollar Stores Not A Dollar Anymore
It was a year or so ago when The Dollar Tree made the announcement of no more $1 per item. It's now $1.25. They kept that price at $1 for quite some time, and I appreciate that. For the last more than a decade, I've made use of that store on many occasions. It's been a lifesaver for me.
The value of The Dollar Tree and stores like it is immeasurable for people who are living month to month with the money they have. I recall when I was struggling to hold on to my home of 30 years. I had a very tight budget. In fact, my budget was so tight that when I'd go to The Dollar Tree, I'd literally have to pick which $1 items I would get and remove a couple at the end of my selection process.
You can get microwavable stuff there, enough ingredients to make things like spaghetti, breakfast and sandwich supplies, toiletries and things for your hygiene. It really does come in handy when you can buy something there for $1, or now $1.25, versus buying the same thing at a grocery store for three or four times that in some cases.
I was prepared when The Dollar Tree raised their prices. They held out for as long as they could, but eventually they had to go after that extra quarter to keep them going. Nobody can fault them for that. It's still a good deal. You just end up getting 16 items instead of 20 for your $20 of spending.
99 Cent Only Stores are another matter. Somewhere along the way, these guys decided they would start offering things for as much as $5 or $6. I'm not sure what the rationale was behind that. With a name like 99 Cent Only, people are walking in there thinking that's what they are going to get.
It all honesty, those higher priced items are frequently still cheaper than you're going to find them at other places, so they're still giving you a deal in that sense. It's just that if you go in there with the mindset that you're getting that deal and start looking at the price tags, it can be discouraging.
The 99 Only Store near me has its issues. For one thing, the store front is run down and they get their share of questionable characters hanging around out front. They've had people come into the store and steal things and even harass the customers. That in itself is enough to make people not want to shop there, so they keep security well staffed.
I had the unfortunate occasion of being harassed by an employee a couple of times. He signaled me out for harassment. In the second case, he misgendered me intentionally. He wouldn't even apologize, and I took out a complaint ticket with the corporation. In the end, I backed off because I felt bad for the guy. I wasn't trying to cost him his job, I just wanted him to be more sensitive to the language he used.
Another problem with a store like 99 Cent Only is they need to do a better job of marking their shelves. My problem with this store is they don't designate what's more and what's $1.29. I think I know, but I don't want to walk up to the cash register and find out they've changed the price on something. Then, you have to go through the trouble of saying take this out or whatever. I shouldn't have to do that.
These days, people are trying to save a buck everywhere they can. Stores of this nature are important to us when we're living dollar to dollar. Today, for instance, I just spent $45 on about 30 items. I definitely got a better deal than I would have at any other store, and it means I get to eat.
That's the other thing. At times I feel bad about my position in life. However, I passed a couple of different people today who were sleeping just off the sidewalk. That's happening in this town now, and I'm sure it's happening in towns all across the country. Count your blessings, people. If you think you've got it bad, there's always somebody who has it worse. Be grateful for what you have.
