10 Simple Rules to Saving at Target

10 Simple Rules to Saving at Target
1) Price match other stores sales and discounted items at Target.
TIP- check Amazon.com for deals that Target will price match
2) Check out their Weekly Ad to find out what is on sale this week. The ad can be found online at www.target.com or you may find the paper version in your local paper or in the store.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
= $5.00 for 2 bags (savings of $2.00)
3) Use manufacturer coupons. These can be found in your local Sunday paper, magazines, on packaging of products you buy, direct mailers, in the grocery store as blinkies (the red box with the blinking light that you can pull coupons out individually for certain products) and free printable websites (like www.coupons.com, www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com and www.couponnetwork.com & others). You can even order coupons online (for a small fee of course) through insert purchase (my favorite one is www.insertinsanity.com) or you can buy them individually through a site (my favorite choice is www.wizclipz.com). There are hundreds of ways to get coupons and thousands of places to order them online.
TIP - match your manufacturer coupons to sale items for more savings

Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
= $2.50 for 2 bags (savings of $4.50)

4) Use Target coupons. These are different than your manufacturer coupons instead of 'manufacturer coupon' in the block at the top it will say 'Target coupon'. These coupons are only redeemable at Target.There are a few different ways to get your hands on these.
a) Printables - these can be found on the Target website underneath the 'more' tab on the far right of the screen. Click Coupons and just choose the ones you want and print to your heart's desire.
b) Paper coupons - these can be found in your normal Sunday coupon inserts, in magazines, and other places you find manufacturer coupons.
c) Mobile coupons - these are coupons that are sent directly to your telephone via a text message (there is no charge for this from Target but standard text rates will apply). Text OFFERS to 827438 for all of their general store offers for the month. Text UPUP for their offers on Up & Up products. Their will be many other offers that you can text and request. These other offers change regularly. To use mobile coupons in the store simply pull up the incoming text from target and allow the cashier to scan the code. The computer at the register will automatically deduct the coupons that apply to what you have purchased.
TIP - Use Target coupons and manufacturer coupons together on sale items. This will increase your savings. This is called 'stacking' and it is allowed by Target.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
And
Use $1.00 off of the purchase of 2 Beggin Strips Target Coupon
= $1.50 (Savings of $5.50)
5) Use the Target Cartwheel. This is a customizable savings tool unique to Target. It allows you to choose percentages (most are from 5% - 50%) off of the products you are purchasing. The Cartwheel can be found on www.target.com on the far right under the 'more' tab. The Cartwheel allows you to customize your savings on the items you are purchasing. Just use the search box to look for items you will be buying and add them to your Cartwheel. You can either print your Cartwheel before heading to Target or download the app to your smartphone and choose your products while you are shopping in the store. During the checkout process simply allow your cashier to scan the barcode on your Cartwheel to get your savings. it is important to remember the Cartwheel will only take off the percentage after you have used all coupons.
TIP - Use your Cartwheel with store coupons and manufacturer coupons to increase your savings.
Example: Purina Beggin Strips on sale 2 for $5.00 (regularly priced at 2 for $7.00)
Use Buy One Get One Free Beggin Strips Manufacturer Coupon
And
Use $1.00 off of the purchase of 2 Beggin Strips Target Coupon
And
Use 20% off Beggin Strips Cartwheel
= $1.20 for 2 bags (Savings of $5.80)
6) Clearance items. We all know the best deals around are found in the clearance section. These are really good to check after major holidays and seasonal changes. Check these deals out and remember to 'stack' your manufacturer coupons, Target coupons, and Cartwheel to get the most savings!
7) Check couponing websites before you head to Target (or any store for that matter). These sites do the hard work for you by finding the best deals for the week and showing you which coupons to use and how to stack those coupons and use your Cartwheel. Personally, I have to check http://thekrazycouponlady.com/coupons-for/target/ before I ever leave home. Love those Krazy Coupon Ladies! As much as I love them though, I always take a few minutes to check out other sites (such as www.southernsavers.com, www.couponingwithboys.com, www.couponmom.com, www.passionforsavings.com, www.savingwithshellie.com, www.savingmyfamilymoney.com & www.couponingtobedebtfree.com and any others that I can think of!) It is impossible for any one website to have every possible deal out there. The more sites you check the more deals you can find! Be sure to share your deals between sites. It benefits all of us in the long run!
8. Gift Card Deals - Almost every week Target offers a few deals that will give you a bonus gift card when you buy certain items or combinations of items. Check your weekly ad for these deals. The gift cards can be redeemed on your next visit to the store.
9. BYOB -Bring your own re-usable bags. Target will deduct $0.05 for each bag you bring that they use to bag your groceries. (I found the ones I use on Clearance at Cracker Barrel. They are nice big, sturdy bags regularly priced at $1.99 each and I got them 75% off.)
10. Target Red Card - This card is linked to your bank account and is used like a debit card only at Target stores. It will save you 5% off your bill each time you use it at Target.
I sincerely hope you picked up on a few Target shopping secrets. Just writing this helped me remember to make sure I have my ducks in a row to get the most for my money!
The breakdown is simple and easy to remember.
1) Price Match
2) Check Weekly Ad
3) Use Manufacturer Coupons
4) Use Target Coupons
5) Use the Cartwheel
6) Check Clearance Items
7) Check Couponing websites
8) Gift Card Deals
9) BYOB - Bring your own bags
10) Target Red Card
I wish you Happy Savings at Target!
Please leave me a comment if this post was helpful and let me know how much you were able to save!