Good Things Come in $1 Packages

I recently read on Washingtonpost.com that the Dollar Tree, the nations third-largest deep-discount retailer, is one of the few retailers that is making gains in this tough economic market. Surprising? I think not.

The Dollar Tree rocks! Where else can you know your total cost just by counting the number of items in your cart?

Here’s a list of some the BEST things I’ve found at the Dollar Tree stores. What are your favorite scores at dollar stores?

Conditioner (use it as a moisturizing shampoo)

Gummy Bears (movie candy...hello!)

Cleaning supplies (buy in bulk)

Birthday cards (buy a batch of them for the entire year)

Picture Frames (get crafty by painting them or dressing them up with beads and crystals)

Don't Go Broke Going Back to School

When I was a school/college kid, saving money on school supplies meant covering my books with paper bags. Real talk. It meant ripping the pages out of barely-used notebooks from last year and reusing them. Oh yeah, and it meant no Trapper Keeper, the holy grail of school supplies (and the most expensive item on the supplies list). A new back-to-school wardrobe? Fuggetaboutit. If it fit from last year, I was good.

Today, back-to-school sales are starting early...way early. Blame it on soaring gas prices or plummeting stock, but these deals seem even more significant than years past and much too good to pass on (even if you’ve been saving paper bags for months!). Lucky kids.

Here are my favorite sales going on right now:

- Now through September 8, OfficeMax (officemax.com) will offer 1-cent products and special penny bundles of key school supplies.

- Walmart (walmart.com) is currently offering school uniforms for as low as $6!

- Students who by a MAC computer from Apple (apple.com) before Sept. 15 will get a free iPod Touch or iPod Nano.

- Spend just $50 on school supplies and uniforms at Target.com and get free shipping.

- Get a Dell (dell.com) laptop with free 2-day shipping for as little as $499!

Calling All Kitchen Beauticians...

I tried making soap a few years ago. The idea itself was solid–I’d create pine scented, antibacterial soap for hands that I’d wrap up pretty and dole out as holiday gifts. The end product was a disaster. It wound up smelling like toilet bowl cleaner. Ack! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when my soap-making days ended.

I know that some of you may have kept at it. You might even have a really innovative product/concept on your hands – an idea that may be a hit with your friends and family, but one that you don’t have the funds to market to the masses. My suggestion: If you’re a beauty entrepreneur ready to take your product to the next level, submit it to Breakthrough in Beauty, a company that searches for novel beauty innovations and then markets them for you. If you win, Breakthrough in Beauty takes your undiscovered idea, incubates it and provides it with growth opportunity and guidance.

They’re currently looking for the next big thing in color cosmetics. Still, all submissions – from foot butters to bar soaps (the bars that don’t smell like Pinesol!) – will be accepted.

For more information visit breakthroughinbeauty.com.