Thursday, February 24, 2011

Dollars And Sense








I put a dollar in one of those change machines. Nothing changed.
George Carlin


I bet you're wondering what the deal is with my header. It is the newest Dollar Store that just opened in town. We live in a very small city, and at one time, there were at least six dollar stores all within about two miles. This one makes six again. Dollar stores are a very big deal now. I just read a large article in the paper saying that they are going upscale, with lawyers and such shopping there now. More than a third of our population now shop in dollar stores. I guess they are kind of the replacement for the old five and dimes back in the 50's. This is Ella with our toy cash register, she loves to play with it. Her mom asked her one day if she knew where mommy and daddy got their money. She said yes, they get it at the Dollar Store! And in a way, she's right. It only makes sense.


"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away."




1 Peter 5:2,4

27 comments:

Regina said...

We've had a few here too. One is in our only mall on this side of the island. It's still their as far as I know but I haven't been in for some time? They give me a funny feeling inside (lol)..I'm picturing where it's all made right now and think Walmart's bad enough! I want quality darn it..not underware that unravels and pink wash cloths that color my tub everytime I scrub! Walmart's gotten cheeper and raised their prices to boot! (grin). We have a Macy's, Ross & Walmart! Borders just closed..There is more selection over on the West side of the island..(I just cut my rant short)..I like the quote by Carlin.

SquirrelQueen said...

Getting dollars at a Dollar Store makes perfect sense, Ella is very wise.

We only have one Dollar store on the other side of town. I have only been in one time and was not impressed. There were very few food products or household goods, it looked more like a novelty store. I'm sure some of the other Dollar stores are better quality.

Anonymous said...

Loved Ella's answer!! An enterprising businessman did start the Dollar store here too but it failed to take off. I like going to what's called Big Bazaar (there's a nationwide chain)where the prices, the discounts, are worth every trip to the store!

From the Kitchen said...

I've recently read that Dollar type stores are causing Walmart a run for it's money. It's a good thing! And now I'm off to the Dollar Store to get some money.

Best,
Bonnie

Melanie said...

Ella is just so cute. I remember Katie had one of those when she was little. She had lots of fun with it.
Have a great weekend! :)

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I had two of these cahs registers, and for a long time, I had kids come to my house to my playgroup. These machines were a hit with the kids like your grand daughter. Your two grand daughters can set up a shop and you can be the customer.

Aotearoa is the most widely known and accepted Māori name for New Zealand. It is used by both Māori and non-Māori, I don't know if we have long clouds, but this is the legend that the Maoris saw the clouds and they were led to this place from the Pacific Ocean
Hawaiki, the legendary homeland of the Maori peoples

George said...

I wonder if I could get some money from Dollar General, which is the chain we have in our neck of the woods. A new Dollar General store opened in Crossville a couple of years ago, but I can't tell that they've put much of a dent in Walmart's business.
Ella is definitely a cutie.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Dollar Stores are a good thing.We all need to be careful how we spend what we have.I am thankful that by eternal life is not dependant on how much money i have,but on what God has done for me.
Have a fabulous day.
Blessings,Ruth

MadSnapper said...

we have 6 dollar generals and 5 family dollars and 2 dollar trees but not a lucky dollar, YET. this is great and we are all being forced to shop to find dollars, you are right, if we shop cheaper we are getting dollars from the dollar store. ella bella is getting so tall and thin, growing like a weed and so adorable. i used to love fake money as a child and it makes me feel good it is still around

Shug said...

Good Morning Ginny..
Ella is a little doll!
Our small town has two dollar stores.
Family Dollar and Dollar General.
What I don't find at one, I can always find at the other. I refuse to pay the high prices of cleaning supplies that our local grocery store charges. Dollar Store brand is good enough for me! I recently purchased a battery operated candle at target and paid $4.00 for the thing. A few days later I stopped in at the dollar store and the same candle was .99 cents! Big difference!
Have a Great Day!
Hugs to you....

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Ginny, Your clock on your Blogger system is wrong... Go to your settings sometimes and re-set it. It says that George commented here at 5:03 a.m. --which would have been 4:03 our time... Don't think so!!!!!! We didn't get up 'til after 6 a.m. OUR time.....

We have Dollar General here and a couple more Dollar stores, including Family Dollar... Dollar General is more like Walmart, and is not one of the stores where everything costs a dollar!!!!!!

I used to love the old 5 & 10's... Remember Woolworth's????

Have a great day.
Hugs,
Betsy

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi---I posted at 8:43 a.m. which should say 9:43 on your blog which is Eastern time.... BUT--for some reason it said 6:43 a.m. Maybe you don't have Eastern time zone set right on your settings.....
Hugs,
Betsy

Anonymous said...

Hi Ginny, I love 99 Cent stores or dollar only type stores (Yes, Chinese items abound but that is the trade-off for 99 Cents or a dollar). Playing store is a great way for kids to learn math and real world problem-solving, by the way (you already knew that though). Have a fantastic day today!

DawnTreader said...

I'm not 100% sure what is meant by a dollar store - does everything cost exactly a dollar?

I love that quote... Another one that would not work in Swedish translation.

photowannabe said...

I could use one of those stores that Ella talked about.
My kids always said Just write a check Mom. That's how they thought it worked.
Upscale Dollar Stores. That seems like a oximoron.

Remington said...

Ella looks like she is a pro!

Unknown said...

Ginny, I love the post, and George Carlin God rest his soul. I love the pitures, dollar stores are big upstate in N.Y as well and now they atre carrying groceries. I miss Woolworth's my friends and I use to eat french fries at the soda counter..Thanks for the flashbacks and your prayers and support...God Bless and may He continue to hold you in His loving embrace...Patricia

Chatty Crone said...

I think this says a lot of the state of our economy - and the thrift stores are booming too.

sandie

Ann said...

I've never heard of Lucky Dollar. We only have a dollar general and a dollar tree. I love the dollar stores though.
Our small town only has 1 dollar store and folks around here refer to it as the mall. The only other store in town is the grocery store and convenience store/gas station.

Bobbie said...

We have quite a few dollar stores in this area too. Now, is everything in the store $1? We have one store that is like that, and the rest just have really cheap stuff. We also have an Ollie's that is great.

Ella looks like she's having a real good time with that cash register. That's so cute... she thinks dollars come from the dollar store... ahhh.. adorable.

RoeH said...

We've got 99 ......Hey! There's no cent sign on the typewriter anymore. Where'd that go?!

Anyway....We've got 99cent Only stores here and they are better than the Dollar Stores. I think they're out of California but I may be wrong. I buy Clorox there all the time. And other things.

srp said...

These days I am almost exclusive at Walmart and Petsmart. That's about it. Trying to arrange trips to doctors and such with trips to grocery and other places to get them in as few days as possible. Other days we just stay in.. and away from the gas pump.

Regina said...

I didn't even say a word about how cute Ella looks!! I'm sorry..and the cash register- Maybe if I had one of those I'd be better at math? Hands on right??

Yasmin said...

I used to have a toy register like that when I was a child, it was alot of fun - but because it was old, alot of the buttons didn't work.

Thanks for commenting on my most recent recipes, Ginny, I'm sorry the photos were so delayed; my internet has been playing up.

SR flour = Self raising flour
golden syrup, i think, is pancake syrup. It is a sweet syrup (like honey) made from sugar cane.

Mary Bergfeld said...

We have one here but it is at the other end of town and not easy to get to. I'm not a shopper but I'm a great looker. I look indiscriminately. I can have as much fun in a dollar store as I do at Bloomingdales. I just love to poke around. I hope you have a great weekend. Blessings...Mary

Doris Sturm said...

I believe that, we have two of them here, a Family Dollar and a Dollar General that sells more grocery items and I love shopping there for paper goods and cleaning supplies, but you still have to be careful, so me of them sell everything cheap, but it comes in smaller containers, so you could find a better bargain in a larger container at WalMarts or such...I guess it's always consumer beware, but all in all, I go there frequently. A Dollar saved...

Yuni Murharjanti said...

This is my favorite. Makes me feel very excited! Beautiful and funny!

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