Danger of the Dollar Spot at Target

Every time I go to Target, I end up spending at least $100. I don’t go there that often, as I purchase a lot of baby stuff on Amazon and Diapers, but the Dollar Spot, the section where everything is $1, is where I become vulnerable.

I don’t know why the Dollar Spot is so enticing – it’s similar to the Japanese Dollar Store with interesting, curious and unnecessary items. But those dollars add up, especially if you buy 25-30 items. Last week, I found some cute felt bags that were a perfect party favor bag for my daughter’s birthday.

I bought 17 of them, but discovered a bunch of meaningless stuff that once again made the bill creep up. As I left, I wondered if I should buy more of the felt bags. I wasn’t sure how many kids were going to be attending, and it was likely not all of them would be able to attend so I decided not to worry about it – I could always stop by and get more. But then in the middle of the night, I forgot about all the siblings and knew I had to buy 7 more.

A few days later on another Target run, I told myself all I needed was to buy 7 more felt bags. That was it. I didn’t need to look at anything else. The bill would be for $7 plus tax.

As I perused the Dollar Spot section for more bags, I noticed some cute pencils. Would these be good for the goody bag? And then there were Hello Kitty socks and notebooks. You can never have too many and they were only $1.

As I checked out, the lady behind me asked about the cute felt bags. “They are only a dollar!” I said, adding that they were going to be given away at my daughter’s birthday party. We started talking about birthdays, and the cashier interrupted by telling me the total of purchases: $95.59. My $7 trip went over budget. This has become an expensive party – and the party hasn’t even gotten started.

-Eunice Park