Why Discount Stores Make Ideal Places to Find Survival Supplies

shopping at the store

The key to maximizing the survival cache potential of discount stores is to go often and take the time to peruse their products as they can change with no notice.

The prices make the sacrifice of time well worth it and best of all, if you shop smart, you can free up cash for purchasing other survival kit or cache items!

Double-sided tape – You can get 130 inches of this tape at the dollar store. This is a shorter tape than the 450 inch roll for $4.79 at Staples, but it is still 1/5 cent cheaper per inch.

Cotton swabs – A box of 170 Q-tips at CVS is $2.79. The same amount at the dollar store is… well, a dollar. It’s not the Q-tips brand, but I see little difference.

Wax paper, Parchment Paper & Tin Foil – These are hard to compare price-wise because the square footage is different in the boxes at the dollar stores than the boxes in the regular grocery stores. However, there are still cheaper per inch. Plus, I don’t use these items that much, so I don’t want giant rolls taking up my limited drawer space in the kitchen. I also really like the pre-cut pop-up foil sheets that are huge frustration savers.

Shaving Cream – $2.59 at CVS. I also look for quality homeopathic remedies while I am in the health aisle. I once found a very expensive holistic expectorant in the dollar store and grabbed up several boxes.

Plastic utensils. Reader Dawn says: I always buy plastic utensils at a dollar store for parties. That way I’m not worried about my good stuff getting thrown away.

Pens and paper.

Locking plastic baggies. Reader Linda says: I also always buy the off brand of zip lock sandwich baggies at the Dollar Tree.

Scotch tape. Linda says: But ONLY when they have Scotch: never the off brand of tape as it doesn’t work as well. Carrie cautions against dollar store double sided tape: Also, I no longer purchase the double sided tape after I made a picture display for my father’s wake. I used the dollar store double sided tape to put pics on poster board and it did not last more than a few hours. That was a very inconvenient time to realize their tape did not work.

Watch batteries. Gene says: I got 3 of those flat watch type batteries for $1.

Bleach.

Benzoyl peroxide (Dollar General).

Dental floss.

Toothbrushes.

Small flashlights.

Goo Gone.

Packing tape.

Tissues.

Wipes. Katie says: My favorite thing by far though are the handy wipes. I keep them in the glove compartment of my car and use them to clean up spills, wipe down my desk, wash my hands when I’m on the go, I’ve even used them to remove make-up in a pinch.

Microfiber cloths (Dollar Tree).

Medicated powder in the yellow box.

Toothbrushes.

Hand sanitizer.

Petroleum jelly.

Discount stores like The Dollar Store or Dollar General serve a particular need in most of the communities where they are located – provide inexpensive alternatives to purchasing at regular retail stores.

They also serve a purpose if you are building a survival stock on a budget or if you just like saving money; you have to shop often and be careful, but you can get a lot of the supplies you will need in any survival situation for much less than if you “shop regular.”

To see other items you can find at these types of stores, please visit The Bargain Babe.


3 Comments

  1. Kathy Stevens Austin said:

    Generic Neosporin, bandages, gauze, alcohol, tuna packets, bottled water, vitamins, pain relievers, buckets/totes, cough syrup, antihistamines, generic Immodium, feminine products, toilet paper, paper towels, foil bakeware, much more.

  2. Craig McMahan said:

    I love taking new peppers to dollar tree and going down the aisles showing them different uses for items that are only $1. No excuse for not being prepared.

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