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11:15:12 Ten Great Buys at Dollar Tree

I'm a big fan of Dollar Tree stores for consumer value. As a rule, if I can buy something there, I figure I'm saving money.

Dollar Tree, of course, carries thousands of items, but my quick list of ten great buys would be as follows:

1. Max Gray men's socks. Cotton natural blend 75% cotton/25% nylon. I buy all my socks here. Made in Turkey.

[E-Z Squeeze]

2. Kendale Farm 1-quart Chicken Broth in TetraPak carton. What's notable about his chicken broth is no added MSG. For chicken broth without MSG, expect to pay at least $2 to $2.80 elsewhere.

3. E-Z Squeeze for tubes of toothpaste. The newer toothpaste tubes of plastic don't roll up, so you need this nifty plastic rolling aid. Insert the bottom of the tube into the E-Z Squeeze roller and you'll use essentially all toothpaste in the tube.

4. Assured Allergy medicine, 36 tablets. Compares to Benadryl (tm) Ultratab with Diphenhydramine HCl 25 mg. A mere fraction of what you pay for the name brand. This is generic medicine of great value.

5. Sunbeam light bulbs. Sadly, the 100-watters have been phased out by the Feds (read my post here), but Dollar Tree still has plenty of 40-watt, 60-watt (and in one store, 75-watt) bulbs. Three for a buck and worth stockpiling, unless you really want to go green with mercury-spiced fluorescents!

6. Reading glasses in various corrective strengths (+1.00 to +3.25). A variety of attractive styles. These will work if you have the same correction in both eyes. For a lot of people, a price less than street parking at the local optometrist!

7. Christmas gift wrapping paper. This is an outstanding seasonal bargain. Choose from a variety of holiday-themed papers and get up to 40 square feet for a dollar.

8. Sunbeam alkaline button batteries (4 to a pack). I'm currently seeing only AG4, AG10, and AG13s, but I've seen other sizes in the past. If you go to Radio Shack or elsewhere for these batteries, you might as well open your wallet wide.

9. DVDs in blister pack. Some Dollar Trees carry more DVDs than others. Still no huge selection, but these are new and at a buck, far cheaper than the $5 a DVD you see at dump bins elsewhere. The other night I watched American Splendor about the life of graphic novelist Harvey Pekar. An entertainment dollar well-spent.

10. Westsoy Plain Low Fat Soymilk Drink in 1-quart TetraPak carton. Made with organic soybeans, this goes on my oatmeal mornings. The identical soymilk costs at least a dollar more elsewhere, albeit in fancier packaging.

11:15:12 Ten Great Buys at Dollar Tree

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