In the previous lesson, I professed my love of Target and explained that they issue their own coupons. Stacking coupons is an extreme couponing skill. It is what makes you go from a beginner to the the next level. Target has added several programs that make stacking look like child's play.
First and foremost Target has their own debit and credit cards, called Red Cards, that save you money. I don't normally preach the values of credit cards and you won't see that here because I think they are akin to the devil. I will say that Target has a credit card, you will save 5% on most of your purchases if you choose to use it. There are other benefits to having a Target credit card, and if you are interested I suggest you check out their brochure at the store.
Target also has a debit card. This, in my opinion, is very different than a credit card. The debit card is linked directly to your checking account, and the money is automatically debited. This does not create any debt, you don't pay interest, and you have no annual fee but you still save the 5% on your purchases and get free shipping from their web site. I like saving the 5%. I like the free shipping. I like my debit card. I don't sell them, I don't get a kickback or anything, I am simply saying that they have one and you can save 5% if you choose. I am in no way pressuring anyone to get one. :-)
Sometimes Target also has promotions that if you buy so many items you get a free gift card. These gift cards are given once you reach the threshold, regardless of how much you spend. If you see a sign that says Buy 3, Get a $5 Gift Card on something for $2 each, and you have three Target coupons for $1 off and three manufacturer coupons for $1 off, you can use all the coupons, get the items free, and still get the gift card. We call this a money maker, and it's freaking awesome!! You can not use the gift card in that transaction but if you are going to do multiple transactions you can roll one gift card to the next transaction.
If you take a daily prescription or members of your family do, and you want to use Target Pharmacy, they have their own rewards program. If you fill five prescriptions with them, then you get a 5% off shopping pass for a day. This is on top of all other ways to save and can be combined with all other savings.
I saved the best way to save for the very last.
Cartwheel.
What is Cartwheel you ask?? It is an amazing new way to save. With Cartwheel, you sign up for their app. You can sign up through Facebook, or you can download through the Apple App Store, or Google Play. What I love about Cartwheel is you pick your deals. You start out with ten spots, you pick the ten best deals for you. I have seen deals range from 5%-50% off an item. You can add and remove deals as you need them. One day you might need toilet paper, but the next trip you might want that spot for a video game. Sometimes they even issue one day flash deals. Last October they had a one day Cartwheel for 50% off costumes. If you can catch it right, you can save some serious cash with Cartwheel. Sometimes you won't save anything or just a few cents. The best part of the Cartwheel app for me is that if you have it on your phone, you can scan barcodes and if there is a Cartwheel deal it will tell you! Then you simply add it! To redeem your Cartwheel deals, you simply have the cashier scan the barcode after all your items and coupons. The register does all the work! And yes, i said after you give them your coupons! You can use one manufacturer coupon, one target coupon, one Cartwheel deal and Red Cards ONE THE SAME ITEM.
For example if I buy a bag of dog food for $5.
I have 1$ off manufacturer coupon, $1 off target coupon, 20% off Cartwheel and a Red Card. I have them scan the dog food, the coupons and my Cartwheel and pay with my debit card it will look like this:
Dog Food $5
Target Coupon -$1
________
$4
Cartwheel 20% of 4$ -$.80
________
$3.20
Manufacturer coupon -$1
________
$2.20
Red Card -$0.11
_________
Total $2.09
I just saved more than 50% on my dog food and only bought one coupon, and only printed one. Not a bad deal!
Now a few things to know about Cartwheel. Unless noted, you can use each deal four times per transaction. If you really like the dog food deal, you can buy four bags in one transaction. If you want to buy more, you can scan the Cartwheel barcode up to six times a day. If the store had 24 bags, and you had 24 coupons, you could do six transactions of four each. However some deals are limited, and it will clearly state that on the deal when you add it to your Cartwheel. The Cartwheel deal is taken off AFTER Target coupons. As I noted in the example above the Cartwheel took 20% off $4, not 20% off of $5 because it took off the Target coupon first. Your Cartwheel bar code never changes, so if you don't have a phone that will download the app, or you want to have a backup, you can print the bar code and have the cashier scan the paper version. Your Cartwheel bar code is different than your mobile coupons bar code so make sure you keep those straight and always scan the mobile coupons first. If you have more than ten items you want to buy, and have a phone with the app. You can do two transactions. Just remove the items you already bought and add the ones you need. If you are wondering if the deal is for an item you want, scan the barcode and it will tell you right on the app. Cartwheel has their own Facebook page, make sure to like it to get notifications of one day deals. They can also answer any questions you have, or you can ask them here or in the group and I will help as much as I can.
Target can be time consuming with all these ways to save but you can save a lot of money this way. If you make a mistake, you can try and go to customer service and redo it. I have done it a few times and they are always really accommodating. Just remember to be nice!!
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