Buck doesn't buy much today

One-hundred pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes, four quarters. \nNo matter how you add it up; a dollar is a dollar and these days and it doesn't buy much. \nIn Bloomington, with restaurants and stores on every corner it's hard not to spend a buck or $20 on a daily basis. With a perceived sliding economy and prices rising faster than paychecks can be saved, thrifty buying is becoming harder these days. Nothing, it seems, can be bought for $1 anymore. \nFor example, a "tall" cup of coffee at Starbucks costs $1.59, plus tax.\nEven without the designer name, a cup at Mac's Convenient Store is only 43 cents cheaper, putting it at $1.16. You can't find a dollar price tag there. \nIf you want a bagel with your coffee you can't get one cheaper than $1 -- Bloomington Bagel Company charges $1.29 without the $.06 Indiana sales tax. Again, no dollar price tag. \nCooking at home generally proves to be cost efficient, and Kroger can sometimes be a poor college student's dream with the "Kroger Plus Card" and the store's newest "Dollar Days" promotions. Each item chosen to be sold during "Dollar Days" retails for $1 -- plus sales tax. It's not a true $1 price tag, but pretty close.\nThe alternative is shopping at a store full of items retailing for only a dollar, such as Dollar Tree, 2614 E. Third St. Loaded with everything from dish towels to Little Debbie Snacks to VO5 Shampoo, dollar stores have nearly everything -- for cheap. \n"You can get so many things for so cheap," said Dollar Tree Assistant Manager Katie Carr. "There are a lot of good deals if you keep your eyes open. Everything's a good deal, there's nothing that's better than anything else I don't think. Everything's a steal."\nAnd for students on a budget, dollar stores and other bargain shops can be a place to shop while trying to split pennies between bursar bills, rent, utilities and other college expenses. \nSophomore Jennifer Seidel said she shops at Dollar Tree for cards and decorations for friends' birthdays, while still sticking to a budget. \n"I pay my own way through everything so I'm definitely a bargain shopper," Seidel said of her trip to Dollar Tree. "The dollar store is the place to be, it's just more economical." \nEconomics professor James Self said purchasing things for a dollar price tag doesn't always mean you are getting the best deal. \n"Ask these questions," he said. "'Is this product worth a dollar to me?' and 'Am I willing to spend a dollar to obtain this product?'" \nIf the consumer can answer yes to these questions then the product is worth purchasing; if the answer is no -- it's not worth even the dollar price tag. \n"Think long or less depending on what type of budget you have," Self said. "The judgments you make are tradeoffs to the budgets."\nBut for some thrifty student shoppers, a great product and a low dollar price tag can be the only thing needed to make a mad dash to the cash register. \n"I don't think you can get stuff like this anywhere else for a dollar," said junior Ashley Browning. "Like this stationary, it's a dollar! You can't find that anywhere else for a dollar."\n-- Contact Senior Writer Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.