Dollar General vs. Family Dollar: Two Popular Discount Stores Compared

Everyone loves to save money. Whether you are shopping for food, hair care products, cleaning supplies or clothing, finding great deals is exciting and can save you a ton of money. That is why the popularity of discount stores are increasing among Americans. Two of the most popular discount retailers throughout much the Eastern and Midwestern states are Dollar General and Family Dollar.

Dollar General gives the impression of a small neighborhood story. Their motto is "save time, save money." Dollar General has over 7,600 stores spread from New York and down the cost and all the way out to Texas. Dollar General has also recently started expanding into Arizona and New Mexico.

Dollar General believes that customers enjoy shopping in a smaller and more convenient setting. One thing that I personally love about Dollar General is that all of their items are clearly marked and never leave you wondering what their prices are. For products that they carry all the time, each shelf has a brief item description, a picture and the price label. Dollar General also prices their items at nice even numbers to keep everything simpler for the customers. For example instead of pricing an item at $4.99, Dollar General will often have that item priced at $4.50.

Dollar General carries a large amount national name brand products at their everyday low prices. If you were to compare many of these items at supermarkets or other department stores, you will generally find that Dollar General offers the best deal. A few examples of the name brand products are Suave, Old Spice, Degree, Mr. Clean, Pine Sol, Tide, Arm & Hammer, Huggies, Johnson & Johnson's, Alpo, Nine Lives, Febreeze, Lysol, Campbell's, Pepsi, Banquet, Betty Crocker, Quilted Northern, Bounty, and more. Dollar General also provides as fairly large assortment of family clothing. The amount of clothing carried usually depends on the size of the store. The large the store, the more clothing they will carry. Each store, no matter what the size, will carry socks and undergarments for the whole family. Dollar General also sells clothing for infants, boys, girls, men, women, and plus sizes.

Another aspect of Dollar General that I enjoy is their private label brands. These brands are often offered at a lower price than the national brand. Dollar General must be aware of the fact that many people like to stick to national brands because they know the products will taste good or work, because they offer a hundred percent money back guarantee on all of their private label products. I will admitted that I was a little bit leery on trying their brands, but after comparing ingredients and realizing that I had nothing to lose, I tried them. I am now an avid shopper of Dollar General and their own products.

If you are interested in shopping at a Dollar General store near you, most normal store hours are nine in the morning until eight at night, Monday thru Saturday, and on Sundays from ten to eight. It is recommended that you call your local store ahead of time, due to the fact that some stores have different hours of operation. If you are wondering if there is a local store in your area, you can find out by visiting Dollar General's website to use their store locator. For more information on Dollar General, please visit their web page at www.dollargeneral.com or by contacting your local store. Most Dollar General stores currently accept cash, checks, debit cards, EBT cards (in some locations), and Discover credit cards. Dollar General also accepts all coupons for the products that they carry.

Family Dollar also gives the impression of a small neighborhood store. Family Dollar currently has over 5,700 stores located in 44 different states. The location of Family Dollar stores range from Maine all the day down the coast and out as far as Arizona and Idaho.

Family Dollar carries many of the same products that Dollar General does. A few examples of the products carried at Family Dollar are Suave, Crest, Arm & Hammer, Tide, Nine Lives, Coca Cola, and much more. One important differences that I noticed between Dollar General and Family Dollars is that although Family Dollar may not have the wide product selection of Dollar General, they do offer some different items. For example, no matter what the size of a Family Dollar store, they will have a wide selection of clothing for the whole family. Like Dollar General, they carry socks, undergarments, and shoes; but, Family Dollar also carries purses, and "trendy" teenage clothing. Family Dollar carries infant, boys, girls, men, and women's clothing. They are well known for their low cost trendy clothing, especially around the back to school time.

Both stores operate in a way that they will carry certain products all the time and other products are referred to as "special buys." If you were interested in purchasing bedding for your home (sheets, comforters) or curtains, Dollar General would only carry these items in the store as a "special buy." This type of item is not guaranteed to be in the store at all times. Family Dollar always has a wide selection of home linens raging from matching sheets and comforters to shower curtains and standard curtains that they will carry all the time.

As with Dollar General, the Family Dollar chain likes to keep things simple for the customer. They try and provide as many items as possible to have an even dollar price. As far as I can remember, Family Dollar does offer some off-brand products, but I have not seen a hundred percent satisfaction guarantee label on them before. If Family Dollar carries a certain item all the time, they are likely to have a price label on the shelf or item. Recently I have been having problems finding prices for some of their products and generally end up having to ask a sales associate.

If you are interested in shopping at your local store, you should call ahead to verify stores hours. All store hours depend on the store's location. If you are interested in shopping at a Family Dollar, but are not sure where your closest store is located, you can use the store locator found on the company's web page. For more information on Family Dollar please contact your local store or visit their website at www.familydollar.com. Family Dollar accepts cash, personal checks, and certain stores will accept debit cards.

Whether you decide to shop at Family Dollar or Dollar General, you are sure to get a great deal. Since they both have few differences, I think the better store depends on where you are located. Both stores are fairly similar with their items and prices; therefore the main decision on where to shop basically depends on the cleanliness of the store and the customer service that each store presents. If you do not have a Family Dollar or Dollar General in your area, keep your eyes open because both companies are continuing their plan to expand.