Article: 200 Things I Would Never Spend a Dollar On...

**Nada.Leona** · 07-22-2006, 03:17 PM

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/...tightwad/86790

Anything here you can't get for his/her price? Or anything you disagree with?

**Lori Biever-Launder** · 07-22-2006, 05:28 PM

Kid's books. Books are THE most important thing in educating our kids. I have rarely spent more than a couple of dollars, but htey are well worth the money IF I can't get them at the thrift store or library.

**danni** · 07-22-2006, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by Lori Biever-Launder

Kid's books. Books are THE most important thing in educating our kids. I have rarely spent more than a couple of dollars, but htey are well worth the money IF I can't get them at the thrift store or library.

I agree we usually borrow from the library, but I will buy books for gifts. Sometimes I get them from school book orders(there are always sales so you can get them for a couple $'s), but usually I get them from thrift stores and garage sales.

**halloweenfreak** · 07-22-2006, 10:59 PM

dang i wonder where they shop! i spend way more then a dollar for most of that stuff.

**Nada.Leona** · 07-23-2006, 12:41 AM

I'd love to know where they're getting yogart, yeast, batteries, cheese, pain relievers, vacuum cleaner bags and vinegar for less than $1.00. I know the local dollar stores sell most of that stuff for a $1.00, but come on! Yogart?! Cheese?!

**Daisygirl** · 07-23-2006, 07:52 AM

Yeah, I would like to shop where they do too! I cannot get any of the health products for anywhere near that price. Another thing that stood out in my mind was vacuum cleaner bags -- mine are generally $2-3 each.

Interesting concept though and one I think I will employ. I should make my own list of things I can regularly acquire for $1 or less, based on availability and prices here.

**Droppedonmyhead** · 07-23-2006, 09:52 AM

Reminds me of a book called, "How thin people eat for $1 a day". Of course, it would cost you $12 to find out how they do it. . lol. Really though. Where does this person live that items can be purchased that low?

**halloweenfreak** · 07-23-2006, 01:09 PM

makes me wonder what cheese that only costs a dollar tates like...

**brainyblonde** · 07-23-2006, 02:21 PM

Our local Dollar Tree has a small refrigerated/frozen food section. Yes, they have cheese slices, and they have a pretty good taste. (I bought cheddar and monterey jack.) They are sliced very thinly in 4 oz pks and are difficult to separate, but I cut them in strips for chef's salad so that doesn't matter to me. I also bought a bag of frozen chicken nuggets that my kids' said were very good. I usually buy 1 or 2 products from the section each time I go to Dollar Tree just to try them out.

**Kimberlina** · 07-23-2006, 03:07 PM

Interesting article. Some of this stuff I just wouldn't buy to begin with (mostly convenience foods like tater tots, toaster pastreies, etc or aspirin, pain rub, etc) but of course, that is personal preference.

If she is paying anywhere near .50 or $1 per blank CD, that is just way more than I am willing to pay. I won't pay more than about .30 per blank cd or dvd, and that isn't even all that great a bargain. DH has a supplier that we can get them for less from.

Many of the things I have noticed on the list do fr, though, I can definitely get for $1 or less, but there are two factors that aren't being equated in the article, and those are SIZE and QUALITY.

Sure I can get batteries for $1 or less. As a matter of fact, I do buy uber cheap batteries for my MP3 player, because they seem to last just as long whether cheap or expensive. But when it comes to some of DD's toys, for example, I don't want to have to be changing the batteries all the time should I choose to use cheap ones.

Also, take the yeast for example. No, I don't buy mine for less than $1, but what size are we talking about? I pay $2.50 for TWO POUNDS of yeast, and immediately put one vacuum package in the freezer. The other (the one I am going to use) goes into the fridge, and they last me a VERY long time.

And I agree with Lori about books. We go to the library once or twice a week and get many books from there, and many other people buy DD lots of books, but I also buy her books. She loves books and learns a lot from them. I usually buy them from a small used book store nearby, and don't usually pay more than $1, but I recently bought two wonderful educational but FUN books for DD that were either $2 or $2.50 each. We read them on the way to or at the beach, and she learned about space and the sea and had a good time doing it. I'm sure we'll get a lot more use out of them, and when we are done with them, we will either donate them to our library or sell them.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of times people like this author look at price alone and not value. (I'm not saying she actually did this, but it looks like this MAY be the case.) I mean, you actually have to compare what you are getting. You might be able to buy plastic wrap at the dollar store when you only have $1.12 in you pocket, but how much are you paying per square foot? These are the things we need to look at, as well as the quality of the plastic wrap- if you can't work the box properly or the stuff tears too easily, is it worth the perceived savings?

Okay, I'll step down off my soapbox now. I'm a big proponent of VALUE over simple COST as the determining factor when making many purchases. I can't always afford to be so choosey, but when I can, I am. (Not to say I don't buy inexpensive things from the dollar store and love them- I am VERY happy with some of the cleaners I get there, and also little things to keep DD busy in the car sometimes, as well as other occasional great finds.)

Very interesting article, Nada. Thanks for sharing. Haven't been to that site in a long while and will be looking around a bit, I'm sure.

**Kimberlina** · 07-23-2006, 03:09 PM

Oh, and I don't think I could actually MAKE lemon juice for less than I could buy it unless I lived in Florida.

**Kimberlina** · 07-23-2006, 03:11 PM

And more- again, it is about size- I can EASILY get individual cups of yogurt for less than $1. Much less. But I prefer to buy larger (less environmentally wasteful) containers that cost more. Wonder what size she is referring to?

I promise I'll stop now, lol.

**halloweenfreak** · 07-23-2006, 04:00 PM

yeah i got to thinking about that sitting on the couch talking to the hubby about it. he said everything they bought was probably the trial size versions.

**halloweenfreak** · 07-23-2006, 04:04 PM

i just now read this part

"These items are things that I generally buy in bulk. By purchasing in bulk many times with these items you can pay much less per pound or ounce than you would by buying indvidually."

so that doesn't necessarily mean she "actually" paid 1 dollar for some of those things.

**Kimberlina** · 07-23-2006, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by halloweenfreak

i just now read this part

"These items are things that I generally buy in bulk. By purchasing in bulk many times with these items you can pay much less per pound or ounce than you would by buying indvidually."

so that doesn't necessarily mean she "actually" paid 1 dollar for some of those things.

Exactly, so I guess the trick is in knowing what size she is talking about.