It is no secret that I love shopping at Target. It is one of my favorite places to coupon and save a ton of money. My store is always clean, the staff is always courteous, and I love that the Target coupon policy is very straightforward and they don’t try to give you a hard time when you use it correctly.
I have some tried and true Target saving strategies that have helped me save thousands of dollars this year. Not hundreds, but thousands!
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1. Get a REDcard
The easiest thing you can do to save money at Target is to get a Target REDcard. You can sign up online or at the cashier in store. You can choose from a credit card or a debit card. There is no fee for either one. I personally have the debit card and the money just comes straight out of my checking account.
When you use your REDcard to pay, you will save 5% off of your entire purchase. Every. Single. Time. You will also get free shipping at Target.com on any purchase and you have 30 extra days to make any returns. This is a very easy way to save 5% on everything without having to use a single coupon.
2. Cartwheel App
If you do nothing else, download the Target Cartwheel app onto your smartphone. The app is loaded with percent off offers on a wide range of items, even clearance items! You simple load the offers you want to your app and then let the cashier scan the barcode and all of the applicable offers will come off of your total.
I check the app everyday to see if any new offers have been loaded. I have gotten offers for up to 75% off an item! You can even print out the Cartwheel barcode from your computer if you don’t have a smartphone.
Just laminate the barcode and keep it on your keychain for easy access. So far this year, I have saved over $734 just by using the Cartwheel App!
3. Price Match with Amazon
Amazon usually has a lot of items at a cheaper price than Target but I can’t use my coupons when I shop at Amazon.Plus, I don’t want to pay for shipping costs either. Download the Amazon App to your smartphone and you can instantly scan an item to see how much it is selling for on Amazon.
If the price is lower on Amazon, take the item to Guest Services and they will be able to match the price. This allows you to use a coupon for the item (if you have one) to save even more.
Even if you don’t have a coupon, it is a very easy way to get the Amazon price and not have to wait for it to be shipped to your house.
4. Understand the Clearance Stickers
There are a lot of numbers on the clearance stickers at Target. You want to look at what the current price is ( in the bottom right corner) and the percentage off ( in the top right corner).
The percentage off will normally be 15, 30, 50, or 70. Most items will not be marked lower than 70% off so that will be the time to grab it. Some seasonal items will go to 90% off but only after a holiday like Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc.
5. Mobile Coupons
Target has mobile coupons that can be sent directly to your phone so you don’t have to worry about clipping any coupons. You can text BABY ( if you want the baby coupons) or COUPONS to 827438 to start receiving the coupon offers. They will usually be sent out every 2-3 weeks.
6. Stack Coupons
The best part about using coupons at Target, is that there are usually at least 2 coupon offers you can use per item. You can use a Cartwheel offer, Target coupon ( either mobile or printable store coupon), and a Manufacturer coupon all on one item!
You can also price match with Amazon or another store. Just make sure you bring in the ad or they can pull it up online at Guest Services. Plus, whenever they have a BOGO sale, you can use coupons on both items!
7. Gift Card Deals
Target has new gift card promotions that go on each week on different products. Check the weekly ad to see what they are offering. It will usually be something like buy 3 shampoos get a $5 Target gift card.
These are great because you can use all of the coupon stacking mentioned above and still get gift cards back. Make sure to check your Sunday newspaper coupon inserts, too. I have been seeing quite a few coupons for Target gift card deals. You can only get them if you have the coupon.
For example, I had a coupon from the paper that said buy any 2 Purina dog food and get a $10 Target gift card. There was already a $5 gift card promo on the Little Bites Purina dog food. So, I got $5 for each bag ($10) total, then I used the coupon for another $10 gift card and I had 2 $4 manufacturer coupons to bring my total down even more!
8. Buy Toys in January & July
The best time to buy toys is during January & July. This is when Target will have the big toy clearance event. Prices will usually start at 15-30% off but if you can hold out, items will be marked down as low as 70% off.
This is a great time to stock up for birthday parties and Christmas. I have been able to get A LOT of toys for 70% off. Make sure you go shopping every week during the event to get the latest markdowns.
9. Check out Goodwill
If during one of these clearance events, you wait too long for a markdown the item will be gone. This doesn’t mean that it was sold, it just means the store got rid of it’s inventory.
Most Target stores will sell their unsold clearance items to Goodwill. You can find a lot of unopened items from Target at a deep discount. If you were looking for something special, you might want to check out Goodwill as a last resort.
10. Know the Markdown Schedule
Target has a weekly schedule of when they do all of their clearance markdowns. This makes it easy on you to know when you will find the newest deals. The schedule is as follows:
Monday: Girls, Boys, Infants, Electronics
Tuesday: Women’s, Juniors
Wednesday: Men’s, Food, Stationary, Health, Laundry
Thursday: Sleepwear, Athletic, Pet, Paper, Shoes, Housewares, Toys
Friday: Domestics, Auto, Scarves, Jewelry, Beauty
I suggest going later that particular day or maybe even wait to go the next day because they usually do all of the markdowns in the mornings and the aisles will be full of employees and carts. It is just easier to shop when the aisles aren’t jam packed.
11. Rebate Apps
Once you are done shopping at Target, don’t forget about all the money saving apps that you can use to save even more!
My favorite ones to use at Target are SavingStar, Checkout 51, and Ibotta. Ibotta even has a whole section just for Target offers so make sure you scan your receipts to get even more money back!
These are my favorite Target saving strategies and I hope they help you save even more on your next Target run. I know this is a lot of information but just do a little bit at a time and don’t get overwhelmed.
Just start with using the Cartwheel app, I think that is the easiest and just add on coupons the more comfortable you get. What are some Target saving strategies you use?
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