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Americans are struggling right now, thanks to sky-high inflation and a very unreliable job market. Food prices are higher than ever and a lot of people are having to get creative and find new ways to keep putting food on the table.
However, if you listen to the incoherent ramblings of Joe Biden, his economy is the greatest of all time and Americans are dancing in the streets, overcome with glee.
But reality paints an entirely different and much bleaker-looking picture.
According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, four in 10 Americans indicated that their financial situation has worsened since Joe Biden was installed as president. This figure is the highest in ABC News/Washington Post polls going back 37 years. In this poll, Biden had poor performance ratings and poised to be in a tight re-election bid with former president Donald Trump.
Americans are now trying to find ways to stretch their dollar in order to feed their families. And many people, including folks earning 6 figures, are turning to their local dollar store to save money and get more “bang” for their buck.
[…]… dollar stores are seeing more high-income shoppers — which the survey describes as people with income greater than $80,000 — who are also switching to save. The Numerator survey found that dollar store sales are up by about 14% versus a year ago.
“As the cost of everyday goods continues to rise, consumers are shopping around to find value,” Eric Belcher, CEO of Numerator, said in a press release. “Many of these shifts, including high-income households trading down to dollar stores, are unexpected.”
Dollar General rivals are also noticing the change. In August, Dollar Tree CEO Mike Witynski said that the majority of the chain’s new customers have an annual household income of more than $80,000, according to a transcript of an earnings call.
There’s no doubt that the dollar store craze is sweeping the nation. There’s a very popular TikTok account that makes meals using only Dollar Tree ingredients.
Watch:
@dollartreedinners Dollar Tree Dinner $10 Cheeseburger Casserole #dollartreedinners #casserole #tendollardinner #eatingonabudget #feedinglargefamilies #cutgrocerybill #cheapdinner
Make no mistake, this is a very good account and the woman running it does a great job providing recipes to needy people. Her work is valuable and she receives many accolades and great feedback for helping less fortunate Americans put tasty, filling “Dollar Tree” food on the dinner table.
However, she has also faced a good deal of pushback for highlighting unhealthy, processed foods that are high in fat, carbohydrates, fillers, preservatives, sugar, and sodium. Her response to that criticism is fair. She explains that for people who live on very limited budgets, feeling “full” is usually the first and sometimes only priority.
But this begs the question – are there healthier, low cost food alternatives available at places other than dollar stores?
Furthermore, is the hype over “dollar store” savings just a clever marketing scam?
Let’s explore this by taking a closer look at a couple of grocery products offered at many dollar stores across the nation.
For starters, we all know that honey can be very costly. It’s not uncommon to spend in upwards of $10.00 for a jar of raw honey. So you can imagine the excitement when people see a bottle of “honey” at the dollar store that only costs a $1.25. They probably feel like they’ve hit the food lotto.
However, if you take a look at the label, you’ll find there is very little actual “honey” in this concoction. It’s actually a syrup blend of corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup and an ever-so small dash of honey. Also, for what it’s worth, this product is made in India.
Many would argue that it makes more health and money sense to spend $6 bucks for the Walmart “Great Value” brand and get 12 ounces of real raw honey, versus 8 ounces of corn syrup.
Another example of this type of scam is the Dollar Tree’s “Home Style Select” guacamole-style dip. “Style” being the operative word. The ingredients are frightening, and you don’t even see the words “dried avocado” until more than halfway down the list – long after seed oils, and preservatives.
On the flip side, Walmart sells Haas avocados for .78 cents each. Mash that up with a few squeezes of a .68 cent fresh lemon and some salt, and you have a delicious, healthy dip.
But there’s more to the “dollar store” scam.
Another “marketing trick” that some dollar stores pull on the public is in the packaging, In some cases the amount of food you’re getting is far less than what you’d buy at a “regular” store. So, those “great buys” may appear to be a better bargain than they actually are.
In many cases you’re paying more per serving at the dollar store than you would at a “regular” market.
Quick: how much does a typical bag of flour from the grocery store weigh? Don’t know the answer? Well, all you need to know is that it probably weighs more than a bag of flour at the dollar store.
Dollar stores, while selling goods for only a dollar, oftentimes have their own sized items for sale. In the case of flour, dollar store bags are usually two pounds, while a normal-sized bag at a typical grocery store or big box store weighs in at five pounds and may cost less by weight. Milk, too, is another popular culprit of the smaller size scam. You will typically get 16-ounces of milk at a dollar store for a dollar, while for only slightly more money – oftentimes only a dollar or two more – you will get 128 ounces (better known as a gallon). In other words, to get a gallon of milk at the dollar store, you’ll be paying around $8 — not the deal you thought you were getting.
So, with all of that said, let’s see if we can create a healthier version of the TikTok “Hamburger Casserole,” for around the same price, shopping only at Walmart.
All prices for this experiment were found on Walmart’s website:
Heathier Hamburger Caserole Alternative:
1 pound 85% lean ground turkey $3.68
Lower sodium tomato soup 26 oz: $1.82 (leftovers)
Shredded cheddar 8oz $2.22 (leftovers)
5 pound bag russet potatoes $3.27 (leftovers)
Pickle relish: $1.67 (leftovers)
Mustard: .98 cents (leftovers)
TOTAL: $13.64
The TikTok meal was $10.o0, so we’re not too far off, but if you look closer, ours is actually a much better deal for several reasons.
In the video, the TikToker used Dollar Tree “Extra Value” beef patties as one of the foundational ingredients for her casserole. This product is rumored to be extremely salty, and has an ingredient’s list that’s a mile long.
Here’s the ingredient list:
Beef, Water, Beef Hearts, Textured Vegetable Protein (Soy Flour), Process Cheddar Cheese ([Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Water, Milk Fat, Sodium Phosphate, Cellulose Powder (Anti-Caking), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Salt, Artificial Color), Soy Protein Concentrate, Seasoning (Natural Bacon Flavor [Maltodextrin, Flavoring (Contains Soybean Oil), Natural Smoke Flavor, Bacon Fat], Torula Yeast, Less than 2% Silicon Dioxide Added to Prevent Caking), Salt, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Natural Flavors, Extractives of Turmeric.
She also relied on Hungry Jack potato mixes as the other foundation of the meal. And as you can imagine, that product is also filled with a rather long list of questionable ingredients:
Idaho® Potatoes (Dry), Corn Starch, Whey, Cheddar Cheese and Blue Cheese Powder [(Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Reduced Lactose Whey, Maltodextrin, Canola Oil, Salt, Disodium Phosphate, Nonfat Milk, Artificial Color (Yellow 5 and Yellow 6)], Salt. Contains 2% or less of: Imitation Bacon [Textured Vegetable Protein (Soy Flour, Caramel Color, Red 3), Soybean Oil, Water, Salt, Artificial Flavoring (Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy, Wheat Protein, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean/Cottonseed Oils, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Dextrose, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate, Artificial Flavor), Sugar, Natural Smoke Flavors, Caramel Color, Corn Syrup, Maple Syrup], Modified Corn Starch, Powdered Romano Cheese Blend made from Cow’s Milk (Part-Skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Sodium Phosphate), Disodium Phosphate, Garlic, Onion, Spice, Citric Acid, Cooked Bacon Fat and Bits [cured with Water, Salt, Sugar, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbate, Sodium Nitrite], Salt, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Soy Protein, Wheat Gluten, Torula Yeast, Natural Butter Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Soy Lecithin, Bleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour. Freshness preserved with Sodium Bisulfite.
In the new version, the preservative-packed/high sodium Hungry Jack potatoes are swapped out for real potatoes. The bag of Walmart russets is 5 pounds and holds approximately 13 potatoes. That means you can easily get another meal preparation out of that bag.
The Hungry Jack seasoning/thickener packet found in the box is swapped out for lower-sodium tomato soup to mimic the “sweetness” of ketchup.
The TikTok recipe used 1 pound of the beef patties. In the updated recipe we swapped that out for ground turkey. The ingredients are listed as follows:
Turkey, Rosemary Extract.
In her recipe the TikToker used 4 ounces of Dollar Tree cheese. In the newer version the “Great Value” Walmart cheese is an 8 ounce bag. So, 4 ounces can be set aside for another meal.
In this new version, you can top the casserole with dill pickle relish and mustard, to achieve that “hamburger” look and taste.
So, for an additional $3.64 you can not only feed your family better quality food, but you can also have leftovers to make other meals.
That’s a truly good deal.
While dollar stores help a lot of people, and are great for many items, when it comes to food and feeding yourself and your family, it pays to look beyond the hype and check the ingredients, and the quantity that you’re paying for.
Times are tough, but if you put some thought and a some energy into your meal plans, you can find good deals at the grocery store and in turn, make higher-quality food for your family.
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