Some of the best bargains are often found in out-of-the-way locations. (Check out SPOT.ph's Guide to Thrift Shops in Manila.) But there are also a lot of cheap-but-good picks in easy-to-find places. SPOT.ph lists (in no particular order) 10 spots that are absolute havens for cheapskates who want to get to their choice shopping spots without getting lost.

MY DOLLAR STORE

Ground Floor, Gift Market Section, Market! Market!, Taguig (with branches all over Metro Manila)

Click to see photos of My Dollar Store products.

Product line: The store is like a giant balikbayan box. Goods made in the US, China, Italy, Mexico, Japan, and other countries are sold in the store. Junk food, sweets, personal care products, vitamins, pet paraphenalia, and other knick-knacks abound. Contrary to what some people may think, the goods are all in good condition and are nowhere near their expiration dates.

Choice picks: A large pack of Animal Crackers goes for P99, a Duke's Dog Leash for P99, a 80-sheet pack of Cuddles Baby Wipes for P79, a pack of Vanilla-Almond Cookies for P79, and a box of Witchcraft Herbs Chamomile Tea (100 tea bags) for P99, and so on. Shampoos, lotions, and liquid soaps in family-size bottles (from P49 to P99) are also guaranteed to attract bargain-hunters.

Store vibe: The store attracts the kikay crowd, as well as moms who are looking for imported goods that are cheaper but just as good as the ones sold in supermarkets. The store is not too popular (yet) so you can look around--and hoard--in peace most of the time.

BOOKSALE
Lower Ground, SM Megamall Building A Julia Vargas corner EDSA, Mandaluyong City (with branches all over Metro Manila)

Click to see photos of Booksale products.

Product line: Booksale showcases reading materials in all shapes, sizes, and kinds for every kind of bookworm. There are coffee table books, technical books, textbooks, self-help and inspirational books, novels, magazines, comic books, pocketbooks, and children's books. There are also school supplies available like notepads, pencils, pens, and crayons.

Choice picks: Back issues of magazines for only P65 and up? Why not? And the back issues don't spell ancient times (just a year or a few months late) so don't worry. Be patient enough to go through stacks   of magazines and you might just spot a Rolling Stone, Vogue, Esquire, Vanity Fair or People magazine with your favorite celebrity on the cover. Fiction fan? Grab bestselling fiction novels for P100 up. Children's books start at P20. Meanwhile, rabid bookworks have reported absoulte steals like Milan Kundera's Unbearable Lightness of Being for P15, Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex for P20, and A.S. Byatt's Possession for P40.

Store vibe: Booksale is like a mini library with a colossal collection. Moms, dads, kids, grandparents, college students, teens, and tweens all come to Booksale for cheap reads. Most Booksale outlets are quite small but the bookworms sure aren't complaining.