What I have learned from Dollar Stores

I love shopping at dollar stores. Everything is a dollar or under. No need to check price tags or ask how much something is. It’s really easy to go crazy in them though. I have been known to come out with 13 rolls of double sided tape or other random items that they sell. They always seem to have that hard to find candy like Now and Laters or Ring Pops. Throughout my many years of dollar store shopping I have learned some things I thought I would share with you all.

1. Just because it is a dollar doesn’t mean you have to buy it just to buy it. I have stopped doing that now. I used to find things I thought I would want and then never ended up using like picture frames.

2. Everything looks so much cooler in the dollar store. I think it is the lighting but once you purchase something and get it home or out in the sun it loses it’s wow appeal and you realize that wasn’t as cool as you thought.

3. You can find some really cute stuff sometimes at the dollar store. When Noah was born or heck I might have been pregnant with him I went to the dollar store and bought a package of plastic squeaky whales. They are some of Noah’s favorite toys. I have many pictures of him when he was a baby chewing on them. I wish I would of bought more.

4. The merchandise is always changing and varies from location to location. If you go and look for something and find it, it might be a good idea to get it while it’s there.

5. Just because it claims to be a dollar store, that might not be the case at all. There are stores out there that say they are dollar stores like Deals but not everything is a dollar. I classify stores like Deals, Dollar General and Family Dollar as discount stores. So, be careful when you go in to a store that claims to be a dollar store. It’s better to get clarification and know what you are getting in to. I didn’t do that the first time I went in to Deals and I looked like an idiot. So, I am saving you my disgrace.

6. This is the most important one of all. All dollar stores smell the same. They have their own Dollar Store odor. It is as if it is pumped in through the vents like an air freshener. It stinks. It doesn’t matter how old the store is, it can be the store’s grand opening and it still smells that way. It doesn’t matter if they are a Dollar Tree, a Dollar palace or a Mom and Pop locally owned Dollar store. It doesn’t matter where it is, even in other states dollar stores stink. Even the ones in malls. I have no idea why that is. It’s weird. I could be blindfolded and have on ear muffs and I would still know if I were in a dollar store.

I hope my post about what I have learned from Dollar stores will help you on the next trip you take to one. I think I will start wearing nose plugs because the smell gives me a headache. I remember my old best friend and I would go to the dollar store all the time and before we went in we would take a big breath of fresh air. If you have any other dollar store tips I would love to hear them so leave me a comment!

Strangers with Candy

One of my favorite shows is Strangers With Candy. It used to be on Comedy Central in 1999 to 2002. I would stay up late just to watch it. It was hilarious. I have all three seasons on DVD and I have the movie too. I still enjoy watching it. I had bought the movie without watching it and I didn’t really like it for a number of reasons.

Strangers with Candy is about a woman named Jerri Blank who was a 46 year old high school freshman. She was a boozer, a loser and a user. She even stole the TV. She decided to go back to school and although the faces have changed the hassles are just the same. It is a ridiculous show that I think is so funny. It’s supposed to be parodies of those “After school Specials”. They can get pretty raunchy but I love it.

Some of the running gags are Jerri’s dad is never seen moving, when you see him he is in a weird frozen pose. The art teacher and the history teacher are secretly in love. There are always funny things on the marquee sign in front of Flat Point High. Everything is about things that teenagers go through.

My favorite episodes are the two part episodes where Jerri joins a cult. She goes to the mall with her friend Orlando and she meets this girl named Rebecca who is selling flowers. Since Jerri is a social outcast she gets talked in to going to Safe Trap House and joins the cult. At first it is really hard to break Jerri to where she accepts being in the cult but ultimately she falls under Father's spell and her friends have to go rescue her.

The idea of Strangers with Candy is based on a woman named Florrie Fisher. She looks almost identical to Amy Sedaris’ character of Jerri Blank. Florrie Fisher used to go on tours and talk to high school students in the 70’s about the dangers of drugs, and prostitution. The resemblance is pretty scary. I watched one of her speeches called The Trip Back on YouTube. Florrie Fisher ended up disappearing and never being found as did Jerri Blank.

So, if you want something hilarious to watch that really doesn’t have much of a point. You should check out Strangers With Candy. It stars Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and Gregory Holliman. You will be entertained. I thought I was the only person in the world that loves Strangers with Candy but I found out my friend Victoria loves it too.

Why buy something when you can get it for free?

I find most books really helpful with learning new things. There are books on practically everything. I think books are important but I also think that the internet is a valuable tool as well. You have millions of different types of information at your fingertips. Of course I still love books and the internet doesn’t replace them by any means but I don’t know how people will write books about stuff that you can search online for free, especially when it comes to frugal tips. These little tidbits can be found for free by typing in frugal tips or tips on making your own baby wipes in the search engine of choice. Who needs to pay 10 to 12 dollars for a book that is essentially many other people’s ideas that you wrote down and claimed as your own? I don’t think it is right to make a buck off of other people’s ideas without giving them a cut. In my opinion, I believe it is wrong.

I have lots of respect for those authors that come up with their own content and do their own research. Those are the books you should be reading and buying. They are honest writers that put in a lot of hard work. I don’t think it is a good idea to buy such a book. It is the equivalence to me searching say Food Network’s website and writing a cookbook about it using their recipes. That example reminds me of an episode of Saved By the Bell where they start selling Screech’s Secret Sauce and they find out the recipe was from the Betsy Crocker cookbook. I am kind of shocked that the publisher even published it. It seems like it would be a law suit in the making in my opinion. Unfortunately, plagiarism is everywhere, even some of my blogging friends are getting their content stolen.

I was on Amazon earlier looking at books and I came across a book called, Instant Bargains: 600+ Ways to Shrink Your Grocery Bills and Eat Well for Less, I was reading through the description and the reviews and the book seems like it would be a total waste of money in my opinion as I said before, You can search the internet for anything. Instead of 600+ ways you could have 600,000 from the internet.

I personally think I will save my money and continue to search the internet for all things cheap. I guess my thinking is…If you are cheap why would you pay for something that is free? It kind of defeats the purpose in my opinion. If anyone wants to throw away their money please email me and pay pal it to me instead. I am sure I can put it to good use.