Week 3, Lesson 1. Target Basics.

I need to confess before I write anything else.

I LOVE TARGET.

Maybe it;'s the Starbucks, or the popcorn, or the red mesmerizing bulls eye. It could very well be the huge clearance signs. Whatever the combination is, I love Target. I have always loved Target, but now with coupons. I really love Target. I picked Target to be second because there are so many ways to save. But it will be one of the harder ones to understand because there is so much to remember. I also find in my area that Target cashiers are better trained than other retailers and have less couponphobia. Their policies are more liberal and cashiers have even cheered me and my friends on. Given the sheer amount of ways to save, I am going to break this into more than one section. This is just the basic overview of how to get Target coupons. I will then tell you how to use them in the next lesson.

Target issues coupons and deals on multiple platforms. The biggest and best resource is Target;'s printable coupons from their website. It is really easy to do, go to Target.com, click on the coupons and there they are! Just like most printable coupons they do have a limit of 2 per coupon, per computer. And just like other printable coupons you will need to download their coupon software. Now some of the coupons on the Target site are manufacturer coupons, and sometimes they will catch you off guard by printing. Target coupons look different so here is a sample:

Once you have printed your printable coupons, you might think you have gotten all the Target coupons and are ready to shop. NOPE!!! Target also issues mobile coupons right on your smart phone! To sign up you simply go Target Mobile Coupons and sign up! You will get a link to coupons in your text. The coupons will come with a bar code. This bar code is yours. And you can only use each mobile coupon ONE time. The register will do all the work, the cashier just scans it and whatever coupons can be used will be. Next time you want to use mobile coupons, it will even tell you which ones you already used.

Sometimes there will be special words or phrases you can text to Target and new coupons will appear! This week I noticed a sign in pets, if you text it to the number your mobile coupons come from, you will get a special set of coupons just for pets. So be on the lookout for those.

You can use one manufacturer coupon and one target coupon per item. You can not stack a mobile target coupon and a printable Target coupon on the same item. So just keep that in mind.

Sometimes the coupon will say a percentage or a dollar amount on it like 15% off or 5$ off of a 20$ purchase. You ALWAYS want to hand those coupons over first. Always. At every store. Because once you start giving over your other coupons your total won't meet that 20$ anymore. You want to get the biggest savings so always hand those over first.

Combining coupons at Target is a great trick but it's just the basics of shopping at Target. Next we will go into additional savings that you can get beyond coupons.