Dollar General HACKS- INCLUDING Finding Penny Items!

Dollar General has hit it big with shoppers who love to save money and offers plenty of ways to help customers old and new save and save BIG. From clearance events, digital coupons, one day deals, and instant savings; Dollar General has it all, but with so many ways to save, it can be a bit confusing.
Lets start with coupons.
Dollar General accepts manufacturer coupons whether from your Sunday inserts from the paper or ones you have printed. Dollar General does not limit you on the number of identical coupons or total amount of coupons that can be used.  But, if the coupon itself has a limit (Ex.  “Limit 2 Identical Coupons Per Shopping Trip”), they will honor that limit.
On top of accepting manufacturer coupons they offer plenty of other ways to save too that can be used in conjunction with manufacturer coupons!  Here is what you need to know to save BIG at Dollar General:

Dollar General Store Coupons:

  • Store coupons: Sometimes you can find Dollar General store coupons in your Sunday newspaper inserts. They will also randomly print at the bottom of their store receipts. Make sure to also sign up for their text coupon program by texting the word SAVE to DGTXT.  You can also check out their Facebook page for coupons too!
  • Digital coupons: Create a Dollar General account to have access to hundreds of digital coupons (it’s free to create an account!). You simply “clip” the coupons you want, and they are saved to your account.  At checkout, simply  enter the phone number connected to your account, and the coupons will automatically deduct. Please note that not all digital coupons are store coupons. Some of them are manufacturer coupons. The coupon will let you know whether it is a manufacturer or store coupon (look for the yellow and black DG in the corner or a “M” to signify if it is a store coupon or a manufacturer coupon)
  • $5 off $25 coupon: This Dollar General coupon is released almost every Saturday, and is good for one day only. It can be obtained by either making a purchase in the store, and it will print at the bottom of your receipt or you can simply login to your  Dollar General account and “clip” it. The BEST part of this coupon is that it is BEFORE manufacturer coupons :)
  • $3 off $15 Survey coupons: These coupons print at the bottom of your receipt after you make a purchase. Simply call the number and complete the survey to get your code for $3 off $15. These are limited to 2 survey coupons per account per month.

Dollar General GIVES Overage!

What the heck does that mean? It means if you have a coupon for an item that exceeds the value of the item, you can end up with overage. Many stores will manually change the price of the coupon so you get the item for free, but prevent you from gaining “overage.” Dollar General does not do that. Although they will not give you cashback, if you have items in your order to cover the overage, it will be applied to your other items.
For example, a few weeks back, Garnier hair care was on sale for 2/$3. We had a coupon for $4 off 2 which would give you $1 overage. In order to get overage, make sure you have another item in your order, and that $1 overage would be applied to those other items :)

Stacking Coupons: 

With so many different coupons available, did you know you can “stack” them for even more savings? That means you can use a Dollar General store coupon along with a manufacturer coupon on the same item for even more savings!
This even includes “stacking” of the $5 off $25 that is offered on most Saturdays, or the $3 off $15 survey coupon (Note- these 2 coupons cannot be used together). These are considered a “category coupon” meaning it does not attach to a single item. This is a store coupon and attaches to everything in the category. The Category being “$25 or $15”. That means you will not be able to use any other Dollar General store coupons, BUT you most certainly CAN use manufacturer coupons to lower your cost. Remember, the $25 (or $15) is BEFORE other coupons :)
Here is an example:

And, don’t forget to get your smartphone set up with the rebate app Ibotta as well. Not only can you save with coupons in store, but you can then submit your receipt to the cashback rebate app Ibotta to get “cash back” on top of all the savings you already have in store! Just for signing up and redeeming your 1st rebate, Ibotta will give you a $10 Welcome Bonus! You will see a bunch of deal ideas weekly for the sales at Dollar General and some of them will include the rebate, so make sure you are prepared to rock & roll and get the most savings possible!

Dollar General In-Store Promotions:

Clearance Events:

Not only does Dollar General has their regular aisle of clearance that you can find on a daily basis, they also have HUGE clearance events that are run a few times a year. These events happen towards the end of seasons and after holidays.
They start with an additional 50% off the lowest ticketed price. Seasonal items can hit 75% off AND end of summer clearance will hit 90% off where you can score items for as little as $0.10! Items do sell out quickly during these events because their prices are just so awesome.
P.S. If your clearance event happens to be running on a Saturday, you can totally use your $5 off $25 or $3 off $15 survey coupon to save even more! Make sure to follow us for news of these upcoming events!

Instant Savings:

On top of all the different coupons that Dollar General accepts and their insane clearance events, Dollar General also offers deals called Instant Saving. There is no need for a coupon to get the savings, it just happens automatically at the register when you complete the promotion. These are advertised in the weekly flyer and should also be tagged in the store. The best part is that “Instant Savings” can also be combined with store and manufacturer coupons for even more savings.
For example, Spend $10 on Lysol products and save $2 instantly.

  • Buy: 3  Lysol All-purpose cleaner lemon $2.00
  • 2 Lysol All Purpose Cleaner $2.00
  • Save $2 instantly for spending $10 on Lysol
  • Use: (2) $1/2 Lysol products, SS 08/27
  • Final Price: $6 for everything

Penny Items:

OK, so I might be treading in deep water here mentioning “penny items,” but you seriously cannot talk about DG without at least mentioning them. Penny items are items that have been cleared, and gone past the 90% off mark and still did not sell. They ring up for a penny in order to help the sales associates identify them, and let them know that it needs to be pulled from the shelf to be donated or destroyed.
These items are not intended to be sold and are not advertised for that reason. Stores do have the right to refuse to sell them to you if you happen to be lucky enough to find one. BUT, some stores have no problem selling which means HUGE savings for you!  These items typically pop up AFTER one of the clearance events (mentioned above) is over. But, these items are not guaranteed and can vary greatly from store to store because if you happen to find them, it means that an employee missed it in the 1st place.

Those are the “secrets” to saving BIG and saving like a pro at Dollar General. Get access to digital coupons, manufacturer coupons, take advantage of “overage” and stack with in-store promotions, instant savings deal, and rebates to be able to save hundreds weekly!
Last but not least, a few important pages you may want to bookmark to help you on your Dollar General Couponing Journey

Yes We Coupon
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