This post brought to you by Dollar General. All opinions are 100% mine.

Over the past year I have grown more and more fond of my local Dollar General.  Every time I go in I always end up finding deals I didn’t expect and loving the savings.  If you are new to shopping the DG deals, then here are my top 5 tips to help you save more:

1.  Look for special markdowns on specific tagged items.
Most toys, household items and clothing have special symbols on their tags that are colored coded with shapes.  You’ll see a yellow star, blue dot, etc.  They use these symbols to do clearance markdowns.  Look for clearance notes around the store that may have all of one symbol on 50% off clearance.

2.  Holiday & Seasonal Markdowns.
Dollar General needs to be on your list of stores in the days after any major holiday:  Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter and many others.  They mark down large sections of items very quickly, many times bringing those products to a section of the store closer to the front door.  We’ve gotten huge toy sales after Christmas, Christmas decor items for 25¢ each, Valentine’s day candy for 10¢ and many other fun finds.  Also watch for items to be clearanced at the end of summer.  I have a great stash of beach toys that all cost 10¢ each at the end of the summer last year.

3.  Special Weekly Deals.
Many weeks you’ll find fun sales running in the weekly ad.  They do have BOGO deals, and even instant savings deals where you get a certain amount off at checkout when you buy participating products.  Remember, they do take manufacturer coupons.  So watching for these deals and using coupons can make for great prices.  In the past year, we’ve gotten free jell-o, kool-aid, and super cheap cereal with these sales.

4.  Store Coupons.
Before heading to your Dollar General, always check the Dollar General website for store coupons.  They have many coupons off specific items, and also release coupons almost every Saturday for $5 off any $25 purchase.  One thing to keep in mind, is that most stores will require your total be above $25 after all other coupons to use the $5 off coupon.  Pairing in some of the big weekly sales and clearance deals with manufacturer coupons and the $5 off coupon makes for great deals!

5. Milk.
Yep, I’m giving it it’s own category.  I can’t speak for every Dollar General, but in my area milk is at least 50¢ a gallon cheaper than other stores!  Plus… for this mama I want to hug them for putting it at the front of the store.  Don’t forget to also take advantage of apps like Ibotta and Checkout51 that offer savings on milk no matter what store or brand you buy.

Do you have any tips for how you save at Dollar General?

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