Sorry em ty - I haven't been to Michigan in several years so I have no idea about the prices there. My best advice to to make a list of all the nearby thrift and Goodwill type stores - we got some amazing deals in Florida but it's always a hit and miss situation. I shop thrift stores wherever I go.

That's a great suggestion! I'd been thinking of Walmart and the like, but I'm going to see what I can scrounge there.

I like hitting them here, but I've found Value Village a little pricy for what you get at times.

I found that most of the "Thrift stores" are jacking up their prices, in some cases "new" retail rates.

The Salvation Army store I went to was huge, but I was hoping to pick up another pressure canner, to no avail. I ended up just buying some books and was going to go back and spend some time looking for work wear, but I didn't get a chance. The clothing was pretty good price-wise, $1-2 for quite a few things and much cheaper than Value Village here.

I got a bunch of socks at JC Penny at a great price, along with some shirts and shorts. Macy's had some great sales too on T-shirts and a belt, and I picked up some running shoes at a great price too. I don't buy much stuff and was almost out of socks, so I figured I'd buy a bunch at $4 for 6 and $5.60 for 12.

I picked up children's tylenol (generic brands) for about 40% of the best price I can find here, and some allergy pills too. I basically stocked up on stuff I'll use over the next year at least 50% less than I'd pay here.

I really prefer to buy local but I drove my parents down and they paid for the hotel, so it worked out well for me. I can't see it being worth it, though, unless you're buying at least $400 worth of stuff if you're paying for a hotel and food. Dick's sporting goods store did have some great prices on camping stuff, though.