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Does Dollar Tree Accept EBT Payments?

Dollar Tree

At the moment, inflation is up more than it has been in the last 40 years. People that have traditionally been financially comfortable are now struggling to make ends meet. It's gotten to a point where something as simple as purchasing groceries has become almost impossible for some families. For others, it might be doable but it's still a struggle. As a matter of fact, people are turning to virtually any type of solution that they can realistically turn to in order to help pay for things like groceries and other necessities. If you're struggling to pay for staples that should be in your kitchen cupboard, then there are a couple of different options available to you. You can either find a local food bank or you can apply for food stamps, sometimes referred to as EBT benefits. The question is, are you going to be able to shop at places that are known for high savings such as Dollar Tree if you end up getting EBT benefits?

You Can Now Use EBT Benefits at Dollar Tree

Fortunately, you can use your EBT benefits at places like Dollar Tree. This is extremely beneficial to a lot of individuals because Dollar Tree is well-known for providing some significant savings on a lot of different types of foods, especially some of the food that it has in the cooler as well as canned goods. It's not uncommon to shop at the store and find basics such as flour, sugar and pasta. In some of the larger stores, you can even find beans and cans of tuna fish. You certainly aren't going to find fresh meat or vegetables at most Dollar Tree stores (if any), but they do provide many important options for people who are trying to save as much money as possible on groceries. If you utilize the store to purchase some kitchen basics and then use other locations for things that you can't buy at Dollar Tree, you might be able to make your EBT benefits stretch for the entire month. Anyone who has ever been on these types of benefits knows that it's not always easy to make them stretch for an entire month. In some cases, it's hard to make them stretch for a week or two. Depending on how much you're getting, you may have to get creative when it comes to finding ways to make ends meet. Now that Dollar Tree takes EBT cards, it's one more tool that you can use in order to do exactly that.

Things You Should Know

In addition to knowing that you can use your EBT card at Dollar Tree stores, there's some other things that you need to be aware of, too. The most important thing is that you should utilize extreme caution when you go to pay for your goods because you have to designate whether or not you want to use an EBT card or something else when you make your payment. This is important because Dollar Tree officials say that they cannot change the type of payment once you've already selected it. When you pay by card at most stores, you can cancel the transaction if you realize that you've chosen the wrong option in error and start again. As odd as it might seem, Dollar Tree says that this is not a possibility when you shop there. For the most part, it has a lot to do with the system that they use. When you first go to check out, you have to select whether you're paying with an EBT card, a credit or debit card, or something else. Once you select that option, you are more or less locked in and you can't go back and change it, nor can you get out of that particular transaction in order to make corrections. If you want to pay with your EBT card, make sure that you pay attention and hit the right button. Otherwise, you might be forced to pay for your purchases out of your bank account or as an alternative, abandon the entire purchase altogether. By the same token, make sure that you don't click on the EBT button whenever you make a small food purchase and you want to pay for it out of your bank account. As opposed to being able to simply cancel the transaction and start again, your EBT card will be deducted for the purchase. This isn't really a deal-breaker for shopping there, but it is something that's interesting to know. It's also something that confuses a lot of people, which is understandable. However, Dollar Tree operates a rather unique system because they're trying to save as much money as possible. That means that they don't typically operate the same types of payment systems that stores capable of making more money do. You can still get some good deals there and you can use your EBT card to pay for your purchases. You just have to be very aware of how you want to pay and which buttons you are pressing on the screen when it's time to pay for your items.

Cash Back

You may be surprised to learn that you can also get cash back on your EBT card at Dollar Tree. Most people are not aware that this is even an option. Furthermore, most people don't really get enough benefits for it to matter. The reality of the situation is that many individuals don't have enough money on their EBT card to pay for all of their grocery purchases throughout the course of a month anyway. However, it is possible for you to get cash back if you have other options available to you, such as visiting a food bank, and you desperately need that cash in order to pay a bill, purchase a prescription, or put gas in your car so you can go to work. It's good to know that you have such an option available to you and that stores such as Dollar Tree will honor that option just in case you need it. Hopefully, this will make it easier for some who are struggling to get back on their feet. At the very least, it’s one more choice available to them.

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Dana Hanson

Written by Dana Hanson

Dana has extensive professional writing experience including technical and report writing, informational articles, persuasive articles, contrast and comparison, grant applications, and advertisement. She also enjoys creative writing, content writing on nearly any topic (particularly business and lifestyle), because as a lifelong learner, she loves to do research and possess a high skill level in this area. Her academic degrees include AA social Sci/BA English/MEd Adult Ed & Community & Human Resource Development and ABD in PhD studies in Indust & Org Psychology.

Read more posts by Dana Hanson

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