Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Calling Loyal Target Shoppers!

As I have mentioned before, if you ever get the chance, sign up for newsletters, customer loyalty programs ( if free ), etc with every company you come across. Click here to read my original post.

And, the reasons are that you simply get better deals and coupons due to a minute of your time initially invested when you register.

Here is another great example....I am a LOYAL Target shopper. I try to hit their store once a week to hit all their clearance items, and buy for my "annual gift list".

And, if you don't understand what I mean, read this post on how to save by having this type of list. Your list will insure you don't "overspend" just because something is on sale, but also allow you to have everything you need on hand when birthdays, Christmas, baby showers, weddings, etc come along.

Well, I get those nice Target catalogs every few months and included in them is always a money saving coupon. The last one I got included a $5 off $50 coupon that expired on September 9th.

Now, $5 off $50 is 10%, and you know me..every dollar counts towards my savings/earnings for the year. It ALL adds up.

BUT, my problem? I very rarely spend over $50 in one single trip. Since I am only buying items at 75% off, I usually only walk out with a few items each trip, and sometimes nothing.

Today, they had their home fragrances, candles, etc at 75% off, so I walked out with 2 nice candle sets. Both included a fashionable plate, rocks and candles to make a nice arrangement and were normally priced just shy of $20. But, I got them for under $4 each. My sister-in-law just got her first apartment and is moving out next month, so I am excited I found these, as they will be nice Birthday/House Warming gifts for her.

Anyway, back to my problem. As you can see, I got $40 worth of products for $8. But, I couldn't use my coupon and it was expiring.

SOO...what to do?

The answer? Target lets you buy gift cards with the coupon. Unless the coupon is worded otherwise, you can buy $50 worth of gift cards for $45, which is what I did.

Now, when I do my shopping, I will be paying with my gift cards and thus, I am getting an extra 10% off that already 75% off. Crazy!

So, my advice? Don't let those Target coupons expire. When you get them in the mail, keep them handy and if you aren't going to spend that amount in one trip, opt for gift cards instead and enjoy at extra 10% savings on purchases to come.

How do you sign up to get their catalogs? Good question. I called Target to find out for you, and they weren't even sure. The rep I talked to finally went to ask a manager and this is what they said to do.

Click here to register for their weekly ads. ( Please send this to your alternate email account for deals, that I have discussed previously ).

Then, go here to set up an account online. Once it is set up, you log in and need to go in and update and add an address.

Will this definitely work to get you on their mailing list? I am not sure, simply because the rep didn't sound that sure. :-) But, give it a try.

In addition...don't forget that this past Sunday's Target ad had a $10 prescription coupon. It is not the highest coupon for prescriptions around, but they have been far and few between here in Ohio lately, so I went and used it on my Prenatal Vitamins and made a profit of $5. Click here to read my post on how I make money on my prescriptions.

And, for those who want to take advantage of the great Clearance items at Target, too, here is a great schedule that Attention Target Shoppers put out. It lets you know which day of the week each department gets marked down.

The Target schedule is that they go 15% off then 30% then 50% then 75%. And, once they are on their mark down schedule, they mark down again every 2 weeks.

  • Monday - Electronics, Kids Clothing and Stationary, Cards, Gift Wrap, etc.

  • Tuesday- Domestics, Women's Clothing, Pets and food items

  • Wednesday- Men's Clothing, Toys, Health and Beauty, Lawn & Garden items

  • Thursday- House Wares, Lingerie, Shoes, Sporting Goods, Movies, Music, Books, Decor and Luggage

  • Friday- Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware, & Jewelry

And, here is a GREAT site to check daily to see what items Target has marked down or will be soon. Deal Beacon. Remember, Targets are not all on the same schedule, BUT they do all mark down at relatively the same time. So, if something is on this list, you can be sure your Target will be marking the item down relatively soon.....if not at the same time as this list.


Don't forget to enter my September $25 Giveaway. Simply click here to read the details and enter.

3 comments:

Marcie said...

Hi Carrie,
Thanks for the link love. I hope your readers enjoy the list and will visit ATS to see all the stuff we dig up over there to help everyone save. Example: Sunday's Target Coupon Match-up was so large I had to do it in 6 parts.

Anyway - I appreciate the traffic and the link.

Ginger
http://attentiontargetshoppers.blogspot.com/

mom_of2boys said...

What a great idea! I never thought about that at Target. I've used RR @ Walgreens to buy gift cards and ECBs @ CVS to buy gift cards. Next time my coupon isn't going to waste! Thanks for sharing!

Andrea @ Mommy Snacks.net said...

I never thought to buy a gift card with those q's! Great advice, Carrie!!! Oh, and if you were there today, we tootally missed each other! I got some picture frames for super cheap!

 
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