Let’s be honest. These days, most of us are looking for ways to make our money go a little further.

One of the ways I’ve done that over the years is through Dollar General penny shopping. I’ve spent plenty of time hunting for penny items, using coupons, stacking rewards, and finding creative ways to stretch our family budget. While penny shopping does take some patience and isn’t always as easy as social media makes it look, it can be a fun way to save money and occasionally score some incredible deals.

If you’re curious about how Dollar General penny shopping works, what the rules are, and how to increase your chances of finding penny items, this guide will help you get started.

Dollar General Penny Shopping

In case, you’ve never heard of Dollar General penny shopping, here’s a small run down on how to do it. The first thing you need to know is what items are actually a penny. I have joined several Facebook groups to keep up with these items. Also, there are several YouTubers who create videos for this too. But be sure to check out Crazy 4 Couponing site for the latest news and penny and other deals out there.

Be sure you have your Dollar General app set on the store you’re visiting, and have the scanner ready to scan items. Oh yeah, if you lose cellular data, Dollar General has free Wi-Fi for their customers.

Rules of Penny Shopping

1.) We don’t talk to employees about penny shopping. Technically speaking, they are supposed to have pulled all the penny items within the sales floor. So, in most cases, they will NOT be staring you in the face.

2.) If items do scan as a penny within the store, they are 98% of the time a penny. HOWEVER, watch that register when you check out. If the items scan as a penny, DO NOT let that cashier/manager tell you that it wrung up wrong!

They are NOT allowed to do that. Nor are they allowed to tell you they aren’t able to sell them. Your prices may vary depending on your location that’s why it’s important to scan.

3.) If you don’t find any penny’s at one store or even several stores, try a different area. I know I for one have to travel a good distance to find a Dollar General that has any penny items. In our experience, the messier the better for a penny shopper. BUT that DOES NOT mean you are given the green light to WRECK a store looking for penny items. We are NOT out to make the employee’s jobs a living hell!

4.) That leads me to this rule… if you make a mess you clean it up. Another words, you go through all of the clothes, then you put them back better than you found them. Hang the clothes up, fold the clothes, organize the items…etc. That way when the managers and employees see you coming to raid their stores, they are more inclined to either one give you penny items, help you find them, or not give you any grief about getting them. Yes, there are some managers/employees who welcome seeing us.

5.) When you get items for a penny, you are able to do what you want with the items. You bought them! I’ve seen MANY people make a living off of doing this because they hit Dollar Generals first thing in the morning on Tuesdays and they rack up on all of the penny items in the store.

Through the years, I have not had the pleasure of going and exploring and doing a ton of penny shopping on golden days, but when I do get to go we do find some pretty neat finds. I’ve seen people get items of all kinds for a penny. It is completely unreal! I will say that you have to be prepared to spend HOURS doing it. It’s not as simple as walking in the store and going to that particular area and just seeing them still on the shelf. The reason we don’t mention what we are doing with managers is because the penny items are supposed to be pulled from the shelves before we can find them. I do recommend you get the Dollar General terms and conditions on your phone so you are prepared if a manager tries to stop you from buying them. (To date: I have not run into that issue, but I have seen it happen to others. But I firmly believe how you carry yourself and the activities they see you doing in their stores matters too!)

NOTE: Now other stores are offering penny sales too.

Butterscotch Chip Recipes

However, I did have to find some ways to use up 23 bags of butterscotch chips! So, I recruited the help of some fellow bloggers to share some recipes for us to try.

Low Carb Oatmeal Cookies by Joy Filled Eats

Milk Bar’s Compost Cookies by Mission-Food

Butterscotch Blondies with Eggnog Cheesecake Topping by Babaganosh

Chocolate Butterscotch Crockpot Candy by Glue Sticks Blog

Butterscotch Peanut Butter Marshmallow Confetti Squares by My Kitchen Love

Hay Stack Cookies by The Anthony Kitchen

7 Layer Bars by Salt & Baker

Butterscotch Gingerbread Cookies by Abundance of Flavor

Well, I hope you found a new sweet treat to try out. If nothing else, maybe you’ll join me on the scavenger hunt to find penny items from Dollar General.

Talk to me in the comments:

Have you been Dollar General Penny Shopping before?

NOTE: This post is updated on May 31, 2026 to answer a friends question in more detail. It was originally posted in 2018 on this blog under a different name. 🙂

If you’re looking for other ways to save a buck or earn funds back be sure to check out the below posts:

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