Dollar General

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Dollar General Shopping Trip

Did you take advantage of the $5 off $25 coupon available from Dollar General yesterday?  I did!  I hit two different stores and made two different transactions as a matter of fact.  I used manufacturer coupons for most of the name brand merchandise, stacked them with a variety of store coupons, sale items,  and store markdowns to make a good shopping trip absolutely FANTASTIC!  Because I shop so much at Dollar General, I rarely shop at Walmart, Price Cutter, or other local stores except to buy the things that I can’t get at Dollar General.

As you can see, I bought a wide variety of merchandise, but did NOT use coupons for everything and still managed to save 50% on my entire purchase.  There are tricks to great savings though:

  • Buy a variety of products if you need or actually use them.
  • Try new brands for products that you already use, if you have a coupon for the new brand.  You may find that you like the new brand even more.  I normally don’t buy the pictured Dial Soap, but checked and found that I loved the scent and it was the same type as the Dial Soap that I normally purchase.  I used the $2.00 off any (2) TWO Dial Bar Pack  and a $1 off Dial Bar Soap Coupon that I found when I printed the first coupon.  It made the soap $3.50 for two packages.  I now have enough soap to last for the year and only paid $0.25 for every other package.
  • Shop at more than one location of the same store, if possible.  We have two different Dollar General stores within five miles of one another.  Sometimes they have different merchandise, especially different amounts of the merchandise.
  • Sign up for text alerts from your favorite companies and stores.  Text JOIN to 34868 and Dollar General will send you their offer the day before.
  • Stock up on products when they are on sale, especially if you have coupons for it!
  • Look for mark-down merchandise that you can purchase using a matching coupon.  The mixed nuts were originally $4.30 a can.  They were marked down to $2.15 and the $1.00 off 2 PLANTERS Nut Products made them $1.85 each.  SCORE!  I’m going back today for more!
  • Check the dates on those mark-down items.  These mixed nuts are marked with a July 2013 date, so they’ll be eaten well before their sell by date.  Please be aware that there is a difference between SELL BY, BEST BY, and USE BY dates.
  • Compare container and quantity sizes.  The Planter’s Dry Roasted Peanuts were $4 a jar and included 25% more FREE.  I also used the $1.00 off 2 PLANTERS Nut Products for these.  I want the bigger container with the extra amount for the same price EVERY time!
  • Compare store brands and other generics to the name-brand merchandise.  I compared the dry roasted peanuts to the store brand and found that the Planters brand were actually a penny per ounce cheaper when I used the coupon.  The store brand was $0.19 per ounce and the Planters were $0.18 per ounce.
  • Shop the holiday markdowns, many times food items will be included that you can use coupons to purchase.  Think about things like cake mixes, frosting, candy, etc.  Do you think the kids REALLY care about what color those things are?  I looked at the Pillsbury frosting and the red and green candies are in a separate container on the top.  Green frosting can be used for St. Patrick’s Day treats or grass for Easter or ball fields.
  • Think about about gifts for next year.  The dishtowels, hot pads, and mits will be put away in my gift box for a few friends for next Christmas.
  • Have a Smartphone?  Use it to earn rebates on purchases you make.  I’m using the Endorse app to earn 20% back on the SoBe drinks.  All I had to do is snap a picture of my receipt showing the SoBe and submit it. The products change week to week and Sierra Mist looks like it is frequently a rebate item.  Another similar app is Ibotta, but it is store specific.  Get all of the details and current Ibotta offers by clicking Ibotta Grocery Cash Back App $5 Signup Bonus for iPhone & Android
  • Organize your purchases to know what items you have on hand.  Make an actual inventory list if you wish.  I tried, but didn’t keep up with it.  Just keeping stuff where I can visually check it is much easier for me.

Organize your coupons.  Without organization, none of these tips are going to help you.  I use a coupon binder.  It’s the system that works best for me.  You may find that an index card box, shoe box, file box, or some other method works best for you.  Whatever works best for you is what works best!  Need help getting organized?  Check my Coupons & Organization section of my site.  You’ll find LOTS of helpful info and several other sites where you may find additional coupon sources.

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