I knew that inflation was going to be a serious problem for us when it affected two of the most affordable stores for all consumers. No matter how you want to view it, the blessing of Dollar Tree was amazing, but no longer exists. Dollar Tree was the only store in the country that we could count on everything costing exactly $1 or less, now inflation has raised that price to $1.25. This change was made to offset the losses of the last couple of years and gain profits, but I don't think it's working.

As 2024 continues to roll on, there seems to be a new business that announces closures around the state, country, or world every week. Everyone has fallen prey to the closure bug as we have seen big names like Macy's, Shell, and Rite Aid close stores along with the mom-and-pop shops as well. Illinois has plenty of bargain shops to use but the state will still be largely affected by the closing of Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Stores.

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Within the last couple of weeks, executives of Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar after winning a bidding war against their competitor Dollar General, will be closing 600 stores before the end of 2024. The closing will not stop there as they are planning to close another 400 stores between the two brands in the next few years.

Dollar Tree has not announced all of the locations that will be closing but they are only closing 30 Dollar Tree stores this year, the remaining 570 stores that will close will be Family Dollar locations. There is still a lot of uncertainty on which stores will be closing before 2025 is upon us, but there are a few in Illinois that have been confirmed to be on the closing list.

Dollar Tree says that the following Family Dollar locations in Illinois will be closing but there may be more in the future:

  • Peoria, Illinois: Two Family Dollar stores are preparing to close their doors for good, according to the Peoria Journal Star. Going- out-of-business banners hung on the stores' exteriors indicate that "everything must be sold."

If you are unsure about the closure of your local Family Dollar or Dollar Tree, ask the employees as they may have heard some more clarifying information, if not, continue to check online to stay up to date as Dollar Tree releases more closing location details.

Here are the best and worst things to buy from a dollar store:

10 Items You SHOULD Buy at a Dollar Store

If you are looking for a good deal, Reader's Digest recently shared a pretty in-depth list of items you should NEVER buy at a dollar store. To put it simply, you can get a better deal somewhere else. However, there ARE a few items that are amazing deals at a dollar store.

Gallery Credit: Jessica On The Radio

Do Not Buy These 13 Things at Dollar Stores

A Reader's Digest article says Dollar Stores are great for saving you money on some things, but there are other products that may not be the best to buy there.

Gallery Credit: Chris Rollins

Items Cheaper at the Dollar Store Than Walmart

If you're wanting to save an much money as possible, here is a look at items that are cheaper at the dollar store than they are at Walmart stores.

Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins