Ok, So I made a trip to the 99 cent store today, I have actually never been to it in my adult life. I thank my mother for that :) I love you mom. We were 99 cent shoppers growing up, it was just me and my mother, as my father had passed when I was very young, and my mom had me at 16 so things were tight. My mother's work was babysitting children that went to my school or that lived in our apartment building. Until we moved to Las Vegas when I was 11. We had everything from food and produce to my toys from the 99 cent store. So when I got older I vowed never to step foot into the 99 cent store....until today.
When I walked in, it was jam packed! People searching to for items they can use from there instead of buying the pricey version from any other store. So I though to myself "Could the things really be that great?". Well I answered my question at the check out when my cashier told me the amount of money I owed. A grand total of $12.95.
I strolled down the isles looking and patiently looking for an item to pop out to me and scream "GOOD BUY", I bought everything from produce to all of my cleaning supplies. Most of the things I bought weren't even 99 cents, alot of what I bought was 59 cents per item. Four pack of toilet paper, paper towels (the same brand buy at wal-mart for $2 more per pack)
When I got home, happy with my purchases, my husband asked me "How much did you spend?" and when I told him he kind of looked confused, looking at me and my bags. I asked him if there was something wrong, and he said "your serious?" I smiled, "yes hun I am serious." It seems he was just as happy as I was.
Then I did some research on the internet, and found a great thing, "The 99 cent cookbook" It gives you gourmet recipes from items you buy at the 99 cent store, Rachel Ray even featured the book on her show.
Here is the article I read.
One of America’s favorite daytime cooking show hosts, Rachael Ray, introduced viewers today to “The 99-Cent Only Stores Cookbook.” This method of cooking with items that the author found at a 99 cent store introduces multiple ways to make money.
Author Christiane Jory says she started making gourmet meals from stuff she found in 99 cent stores after she got sick of a college diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Great finds at the 99 cent store
In her segment on the Rachael Ray show, Jory pointed out some of the “finer things” she found at the 99 cent store. She bought Shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers and even wine at the 99 cent store.
She also pointed out that the 99 cent store has a full offering of spices. “Come here for your spices,” she said. “It’s ridiculous not to.” She has a good point. There’s no reason to blow a secured loan on groceries when you can get the same stuff cheaper.
99 cent store stigma book Jory says that many of her friends turned their noses up at 99 cent store cooking. She has also made delicious meals that her friends loved, and she only told them afterward she had made it with things from the 99 cent store.
Jory points out that the quality of the ingredients at the 99 cent store is just the same as it is at the grocery store. For instance, with the wine, she explains, it ends up at the 99 cent store because it only has six months left on the shelf before the manufacturer has to throw it away.
Great food, great bargains
Thanks to “The 99 Cent Stores Only Cookbook,” you can be armed with hundreds of recipes that only cost a few dollars each to make. Furthermore, the book only costs about $10 on Amazon. There are some used copies for as low as $7.
So in all, if you like to save money for other things like that big Hawaii vacation or the down payment on your yacht :) Then start shopping at the 99 cent store, it really is a smart housekeepers secret to success.
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