4 Ways to Save a Buttload of Money at Target

Target and I have a love/hate relationship in that I love Target but Target hates me. More specifically, Target hates my bank account because it's always taking money out of my bank account. Incidentally Target also loves my bank account because it gets money from it. 

Do you catch my drift? 

No? Fair enough. 

Basically what I'm saying is that I spend a majority of our shopping budget at Target. This is both because I despise Walmart and also because I love Target. 

Since I've become a frequent shopper at this magical retail establishment I've managed to find ways to save as much money as I can so my husband doesn't take my debit card away and never allow me to shop for the "essentials" ever again. (Yeah right, that means he would have to do it and in that case we would never have smelly-good candles and HOW COULD ANYONE LIVE WITHOUT SMELLY-GOOD CANDLES?!) 

Yesterday I was talking to someone about their Target baby registry, suggesting that they add anything and everything to it so they could use the 10% off coupon they get at the end. And they're all, "oh we're getting our diapers from Amazon." Which is awesome, don't get me wrong. But I'm just thinking of all the money I've saved on diapers and wipes at Target and I'm feeling pretty good about my way. 

So I thought that perhaps I would share with my bloggin' buddies how I [easily] save so much mulah at Target! 

[Please note, this is not a paid blog post. I'm just in love with Target. They should pay me, they just don't realize how cool I am yet. Wait for it.]

1.  The Redcard

Okay, if you shop at Target even one time this year, you're an idiot if you don't have a Target Redcard. 

Well, maybe not an idiot...but you're totally missing out. 

Here are the pros of a Target Redcard:

- 5% off of every purchase. EVERY. SINGLE. PURCHASE. Like, just for using the card. So far this year I've saved $119 dollars from my Redcard alone. Please don't calculate how much that means I've spent. My husband will shit a brick.

- Connects to your bank account. Take note - this is a Target debit card. Not a credit card. This baby hooks right up to your regular old bank account, you create a pin, and voila! No terrifying statements at the end of the month that leave you gasping for air. 

- Free Shipping at Target.com. This is a must for the internet shopper in you. As much as I love going inside Target, our store is...well, it's pathetic by Target's standards. It's very small and very much in need of [ahem] SuperTarget status [watch out, ya'll. If I could grocery shop there, too, I would be the happiest woman alive]. So free shipping is great when I need to purchase something online that I can't find in store.

- Easy Returns. If you thought Walmart had easy returns, pump the brakes my friend. I often buy stuff from Target knowing I will most likely return it. Or with the intention of trying it on at home rather than using their dressing rooms [the lighting in those things? yikes.]. Because their returns with the Redcard are easy as pie! You don't have to have a receipt. Just the card. They swipe. You return. Easy peasy. Oh and did I mention that you get an extra 30 days to return the item? Just let that all sink in.

Now, here are the cons of Redcard:

-You have to fill out an application by hand [the HORROR] and remember to bring a voided check with you. 

That's it. That's literally all the cons. I got my husband a card just for him and he thought it was stupid, but one day he will start going to Target instead of Walmart and realize what he's been missing all of his life. 

2. Cartwheel App

For all of you smartphone users out there, this is something you can't miss. It doesn't require any applications or voided checks or annoying e-mails. Just sign in with your Facebook account or E-mail and you're good to go. 

Basically it's a coupon system for Target only. THIS IS WHY TARGET IS SO AWESOME, PEOPLE. They have their own GD coupons! It's kind of like a Dillon's card, only better. Because the savings are much greater and the prices aren't jacked up to begin with. 

To summarize the app, you get an allotted amount of coupons you can add. You can select from different departments, scan barcodes in store to find coupons, or search by keyword.

 Then when you check out, you just select your barcode in the app and the super-friendly Target employee scans it. Let the savings begin!

3. Online Ways to Save
-Go to target.com.

-Go to the bottom of the page where it says "Ways to Save".
-Bask in all of the savings you're about to get.

Here you can select & print off coupons, see online deals and view the weekly ads.

4. Weekly Ads & In-Store Savings

As stated above, you can find weekly savings inside the weekly ad that Target provides in the newspaper as well as online. Here you will see all the delicious deals you can get in-store. I like this for the awesome $5 or $10 gift card options they offer occasionally. I keep an eye out on these for diapers and formula since I can buy them in bulk and know they will get used. Typically you have to get at least two of an item to receive a gift card [depending on the item it will either be a $5 or $10 gift card] so make sure it's something you'll actually use. Otherwise you're just spending money to save money. 

A few extra tips on saving: 

-When you create a registry, put stuff on there you might not think you'll get at a shower. Whatever you don't get, you'll get a 10% off coupon to use when you buy those items that didn't get purchased! You can combine that coupon with others to save even more money!

-Double up Target store coupons with every day coupons from P&G or coupons.com.

-Even if your coupon's expired, they will often take them for a few days after the expiration. This happened to me yesterday, but because I was using so many other saving tactics, the lady thought I was savvy and helped me out! 

-Sometimes if you're nice enough to the checkout person and you've forgotten your cartwheel, they can scan a handy barcode they have hidden away and get you the savings anyway! [This has happened to me before!]

-If you go to the store and didn't expect to buy formula or diapers but they're on sale or have a gift card incentive included, BUY THEM ANYWAY! They don't jack up the prices before they put the sale on them [I've investigated this] so it's worth it to buy it if you're going to use it. 

I spend a lot of money at Target, but I also save a lot thanks to the above mentioned tactics. 

A couple weeks ago, I received baby coupons in the mail from Target [this is something you get automatically when you create a baby registry]. This included diapers, which I was short on. I had a coupon, plus they were offering a $10 gift card and a cartwheel discount. I ended up saving around $15 bucks on two cases of diapers! I felt like I'd struck gold. 

When we bought Addi's first convertible car seat, I had a mobile baby coupon [text "babysale" to 827438] for 20% off any baby item over $100, plus the seat was on sale in store for $20 off the original price, and I had a $10 gift card coupon for spending over $100. I ended up saving about $79 dollars on that stinking car seat! Talk about a deal!!

These are just a few of the awesome deals I've gotten from Target. I think if I can find ways to save money at a more expensive [less trashy] retail establishment, it makes up for it in the long run and I won't have to go to said trashy retail establishment. 

So that's my wisdom, folks. Do with it as you wish, but as I said before; it's EASY. Just a few things you can do to save a few bucks!

Signed, 

the crazy Target lady [Mal]