Today Dollar General has a $5 off a $30 purchase coupon. Usually each time they have one of these I post several scenarios so you can see how you can best use this coupon to your advantage, you can see last week’s scenarios HERE, or see today’s scenario HERE.
Dollar General offers a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon almost every Saturday. Sometimes, like today, it’s $5 off a $30 purchase, and during the summer we saw several $10 off a $30 Lawn and Garden purchase coupons. For a little while this Spring they even had a $2 off a $10 purchase coupon. The coupon is usually only valid for a certain day and they do not accept rain checks if you forget! These coupons are almost always printed on the bottom of your receipt, or you can find them online at Dollar Generals Website.
Dollar General allows you to stack this $5 off coupon with manufacturer coupons. You can NOT use it in combination with another Dollar General store coupon. There are specific instructions in the fine print actually on the computer, even telling the cashier how to ring it up.
What I like to do is go through my coupons and what is on sale that week, and mix and match sale items and coupons, combine it with the extra $5 off coupon and score some really great deals! It’s very simple how to use this coupon.
Once you have all the items you want and are ready to be rung up at the register, I usually nicely let the cashier know that I have coupons. I will even let them know the specific dollar amount in coupons I have. ”I have $___ in coupons, including the $5 off. My total after coupons should be around $_____.” I just like to let them know. Sometimes the new guy will gracefully bow out and get someone else to help, or if there are a few people behind you it gives them a chance to call another cashier over for assistance before people get all huffy that they have to wait 3 minutes longer than normal. After all the items have been rung up, first and foremost, most important is to use the $5 off coupon first. Always. It even says to use it first on the coupon itself! Once the $5 coupon is scanned or keyed in it will take a percentage off of each item instead of a total at the end. Very confusing, but this is what the register does. Once the $5 has come off, hand over your manufacturer coupons. If the total is different than what you were expecting, it could be that a coupon did not scan. Double check! When this happens to me I get nervous and feel silly and just want to leave. It’s OK. Take a deep breath, always be super sweet, and just go through the items/coupons again. Usually it isn’t even a big deal, one of the coupons just didn’t scan and they can normally fix it right away. If my total is correct, I swipe my card and head home with a bag full of goodies. If it’s not correct, I start crying.
Just kidding.
I really just try to work with the cashier and figure it out. One time it was because I was using a $1 off Carefree coupon, and the Carefree liners were only $1. Because the computer takes a percentage off, the Carefree were no longer a $1 to the computer, they were like $.83. Dollar General does not accept coupons for “Free” items (like “Try a Lance Cracker Pack FREE!” coupon, but the will allow you to use a coupon that makes an item free, like the Carefree example above), so my cashier had to adjust the coupon down to the value of the item. I pointed out that when they did this, I was losing the value of the coupon, and it was not my fault the cash register made the product price down. My cashier understood, and totaled up the value of the items adjusted down and added it onto my total at the end. My argument is that if I am buying an item that costs $1, but they only give me $.83 off because of their cash register, but then they turn around and send that coupon in to be reimbursed for $1, that’s not right. Luckily, my cashier and his manager agreed and adjusted my total to reflect the full value of the coupons, and the $5 off. I have also noticed that the gun works better for coupons than the flat scanner-and the trick with the gun was to hold it at distance.
I have been able to save a LOT of money when shopping at Dollar General and using their store coupons. Their prices are usually within pennies of what I would pay at Wal Mart, only I don’t have to drive across town and spend 20 minutes in a huge store looking for stuff and 15 minutes in a check out line. If you haven’t given it a try yet, don’t be scared too! You’ll be able to save some great money!
Don’t forget to take the coupon policy with you-you can find it on their site HERE.
You can also watch this video of my trip last week. Can y’all hear the country music in the background? Our friends visited us from NYC and were like, “Oh! Country! In a store and Restaurants!!! We haven’t heard that in forever!”
When I’ve tried to combine the $5 off $25 purchase with a manufacturer’s coupon the store wouldn’t allow it. Maybe I’ll try printing out the policy & try again. Our store is always busy though. I’d love to save here like I do at Walmart.
Oh, most def you can combine the $5 off a $25 coupon! It should have those very instructions at the bottom of the coupon in the fine print, as well as in the coupon policy where they accept both coupons on one product. Maybe try having the manager call corporate with you present and see if that helps. I have had to do that in Target when they were being awful to me – just called corporate right then and there.
I tried to use the $5.00 off coupon today at DG, it worked fine, then I tried to use manufactures coupons for the products that I bought and they would not accept them, they told me that I cannot use the $5.00 off coupon with other manufactures coupons, so there I stood in line embarrassed because everyone was looking at me. It should have worked I don’t understand why the manager told me that I couldn’t do it!
Oh NO! It clearly says on the coupon to take the $5 off FIRST, then the manufacturers coupons. Your store has it wrong and I would suggest calling their regional manager or corporate. I am sorry!
I have had the same problem. I just emailed them and am waiting to see their response. Do you know the corporate number we could call?