FAQ/Basics

JUST GETTING STARTED COUPONING AT TARGET?

IMG_21012014_181203We were all new to using coupons at one time or another and I can remember just feeling overwhelmed in the beginning. I hope this FAQ page helps to explain things a bit more about couponing at Target, and gets you started on the road to keeping more of your hard-earned money in your pocket.

Saving money by couponing goes way beyond simply clipping a coupon and using it on something you need. The best way to maximize your savings is to wait to use your coupons against a sale or a special deal and to buy several of the item if the price is right.

While I do maintain a stockpile, I don’t believe in letting my stockpile overtake my house. Sales usually cycle around every 3 months, so purchasing enough to last you through to the next sale is a good bet, especially if you are short on space. Be patient- building a stockpile takes time, it does not happen overnight, but little by little you will find yourself being able to grab something from your stockpile when you normally would have to run out for something.

FINDING COUPONS

coupon-insertsNEWSPAPER COUPONS: One of the most popular resources are the coupon inserts that can be found in the Sunday Newspaper. There are 3 main types- the PG- usually put out once a month by Proctor & Gamble, the SAVE insert and the SS or Smart Source Insert both usually found in most papers every Sunday.

OTHER COUPONS: Coupons come from many many sources. Some manufacturer’s place Hangtag Coupons or Peelie coupons found on products on the shelves or Tearpads usually located on a display or shelf near the item. You may even spot coupons in magazines or at the office of your doctor, dentist, pediatrician, vet and more. Once you start looking for these valuable little pieces of paper, you will be surprised at just how many places they turn up!

COUPONING LINGO

We couponers use lots of abbreviations and terms, and you will catch on soon enough, but if you are just getting started- here’s a few terms to familiarize yourself with…

$1/2 etc: One dollar off two items. (1st # = Discount/2nd # = Quantity required to buy for discount)
B1G1: Buy 1 Get 1 FREE, or B2G1: Buy 2 Get 1 FREE and so on
PSA: Prices Starting at
GC: Gift Card (Target offers Gift Cards as a reward for buying specific items, see some of the more popular current ones on my Special Deals Page)
ETS: Excludes Trial/travel Size or , or ESS: Excludes Single Serving
MIR: Mail In Rebate (You can check my Rebates Page to see current offers available)
TMF-Try Me Free. Another form of a rebate or sometimes a satisfaction Guarantee
OOP: Out of Pocket. The amount you actually spend.
Q: Coupon, MQ: manufacturer coupon, TQ: Target Coupon
WYB: when you buy
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary-this means that it may or may not be the case in all instances.
x: Expiration Date of a coupon

ORGANIZING YOUR COUPONS

There are several different ways to keep your coupons organized so you can easily find them. Many people use a binder method- where you can split up your coupons into pages with pockets and organize how it works best for you. Sometimes people organize by item type- ie Frozen, Snacks, Canned, etc, or some prefer to alphabetize. You have to do what works best for you. Some people like to just grab baseball card type album sleeves fitted into a binder to keep them organized. A binder is very nice in that it’s a way to have your coupons with you at all times which comes in handy for Target Clearance- it can be a time-consuming method- but wonderful if you can keep it up.

You can also use a filing system for your inserts. You can use either drawers or a filing box meant to hold the complete insert and file them by date. Since I and other sites you may start to follow usually list where you can find a coupon- it is just as easy to go find what you need and cut when you are ready to shop. So for example – if I list the following coupon as a matchup-

-$1/3; .50/2 Campbell’s Microwaveable Bowls or Soup At Hand 1-8-12 SS x3/15

it means it can be found in the Smart Source Insert in the January 8th newspaper. The different amounts in the front mean that some areas will have a $1 Off 3 and some areas will have gotten a .50 cents off 2. The x followed by the date is when the coupon expires. But finding the best way to organize is a process – and you may go through several different ways before you figure out what method works best for you. Also keep in mind that insert coupons vary by region, so you may not find some of them in your newspaper coupon insert.

TARGET COUPONS

multi_coupon_nobleedTarget can be a great place to save money in several different ways. For starters- Target allows you to stack coupons- this means allowing the use of one manufacturer’s coupon AND one Target Store Coupon AND one Circle Offer on EACH item. This means couponing at Target can save you big! Target Coupons can be found in a variety of places….

TARGET INSERT COUPONS: Target store coupons can sometimes be found in the regular Sunday inserts on occasion. Target Insert coupons are always regional though and not everyone will get them. I do maintain a Target Coupon Page with a list of the available Target Coupons with matching manufacturer’s coupons and Target Circle offers you can stack.

TARGET CIRCLE OFFERS: There’s also a savings program called Target Circle offering even more opportunities to get great deals! You can get as much as an additional 50% off, occasionally even higher, on items at Target including grocery, health & beauty, baby, clothing and much more. You can redeem all offers on your Circle in one transaction and an identical offer can be applied up to a maximum of four times in a single transaction. You are allowed one Circle offer with one manufacturer’s coupon and one Target coupon for triple the savings!

Circle offers usually appear as a % off, but you can also find Target Coupons and Manufacturer’s coupons on Circle as well!

If you already have the Target app, Circle offers can be found and added within the app. Once you have added the offers, and head to check out, just pull up your bar code found in the wallet and all the discounts will come off at once. You can also choose to access Target Circle from your desktop and once you add the offers, you can print a barcode to take with you to the store. Just keep in mind to benefit from Target Circle offers you must have or create a Target.com account.

CASH BACK & OTHER REWARD PROGRAMS

cash-rewardsThere are a couple of great savings apps out there for both iPhone and Android users to earn cash back for shopping in-store. The first one, ibotta, is a fun & easy way to earn extra money while shopping for buying products that most likely you were going to buy anyway. Plus, the Ibotta app offers lucrative Bonuses. The second one, Checkout 51, is also a fast and easy way to earn cash back on the brands you love, yet it also has some unique features and… you do not need to have a smartphone to take advantage of this great app! Watch the blog for new offers and matchups to be posted, plus you can read about each of them in more detail as follows…. for more info on ibotta, go HERE and for more info on Checkout 51, you can go HERE.

GIFT CARD & SPECIAL PURCHASE DEALS

IMG_21012014_180857Another way to save at Target is by taking advantage of their Gift Card Deals where a Target Gift Card is awarded at checkout in return for buying a specified product or products. Gift Cards cannot be used in the same transaction you earned them, however they can be rolled into the next transaction. If you do more than one Gift Card Deal in a transaction you WILL receive both Gift Cards. There are usually several Gift Card Deals in the Target Ad every week, that usually only last that week. However sometimes quite a few Gift Card deals remain unadvertised and extend for longer periods of time. Most Target stores will combine the amount of all gift cards earned in a transaction and put them on ONE physical card.

Target also offers Special Purchase Deals. These are usually a B1G1 Free type of deal or instant savings when purchasing 2 or more of a specific product. Again several of these are advertised each week, but some are not and last for 2 or more weeks. I do my best to keep track of as many unadvertised longer-term Gift Card & Special Purchase Deals as possible on the Special Deals Page. On that page you can find the details, coupon matchups and some Deal Ideas so be sure to check it out.

TARGET’S LOW PRICE PROMISE

Target has a price matching policy which they refer to as a Low Price Promise. This can be another way to save Gas, money & time, since Target will honor local competitor’s ads, however there are quite a few rules and restrictions. You can view Target’s official price matching policy HERE.

TARGET COUPON POLICY

You can find the official Target Coupon Policy HERE. It’s always a good idea to print it out and keep with you when you shop.

387211_10151581781563120_690736138_nTarget will accept printable coupons with a scannable bar code except one that is for a FREE item when no purchase is required. Competitor’s coupon and expired coupons are not accepted at Target.

Target does not give cash back – if the coupon is for more than the value of an item, the coupon amount may be reduced to meet the cost of the item. Plus, Target also has specific rules about using B1G1 coupons so be sure and check out the Target coupon policy for up to date information.

684 Comments

  1. We actually are in the process of redoing our emails, you should get one no later than a week from tomorrow! I Will reach out and let you know when it goes out and send you a new sign up link if you need one! Thanks so much for reaching out!

  2. Hi Judi, We are actually in the process of switching email services, should be up and running soon! I’ll check back with you once it’s in place this week to make sure you are receiving! Thanks SO much for reaching out!

  3. HI Kimberley – in stores I bbelieve there is no limit – however I do think there is a limit of 4 gift cards as payment online. hth!

  4. Hi Kerry. I have a stack of the target gift cards ($5 and $10 dollar ones from buying certain items in store). Can I use them all at once on a large purchase?

    Thanks!

  5. Hi IG – yes sometimes they are only available in certain regions. They changed most of them to show up as exclusives for individual users – however every now and then there will be a cw not marked as sucjh but not everyone will be able to see it. Sorry you can’t see this one.

  6. Kerry, is there such a thing as “regional” cartwheel offers?? The No Yolks offer you posted today does not exist on my cartwheel.

  7. The Target on South Regal in Spokane will not accept printed manufacturer’s coupons, even if they are manufacturer’s coupons printed from the target web site. I spoke with the customer service desk at the store and the customer service rep spoke with her manager via a radio. He said this is a new target policy. I checked with Target on line and the person I chatted with said that was not a Target policy but the individual stores can set their own policy and Target will back up the store. I will not be shopping at that Target anymore which is too bad since it is the closest location to my house

  8. Do you know what the OCT Target Beauty Box looks like? And when exactly does it come out? I seem to always be too late.

  9. Thanks for responding Kerri :=) Well, I went to target today and my total was $52. After coupons, cartwheel and gift cards from last a previous purchase my out of pocket was $34.83. My total gift card received were, $10 for meeting the $50 for the grocery deal and (3) $5 GCs for the purchasing 6 Tyson’s.

    All was well and the cashier was impressed!

  10. Hope someone can help me! This week’s sale is buy $50 in groceries and get $10 GC. There is also a deal on Tysons Chicken for buy (2) get $5 GC. If I purchase (4) Tyson’s plus a few other items to make it to the $50 threshold can I still get a $5 GC for every (2) bags of Tyson’s purchased and the $10 GC for purchasing $50?

    Just want to add that I love your site!! I have save so much and I’m recreating a new stockpile thanks to the previews on this site.

  11. Cashier declined coupon on clearance item a Target. She told me Target does not accept coupons on clearance items. I do not see anything in their policy about this Ay answers?

  12. I have two Catina’s both $2.00 off (15) cans of wet “Purina Beyond” dog food.
    Do have to buy 30 cans to use both at same time or will it take off $4.00 for
    15 cans?

  13. Will Target allow more than one threshold coupon in the same transaction? For example, the $5 off $30 coupon combined with the $1 off $5 market pantry mobile coupon.

  14. Hi Carrie- I know that DFW has been excluded recentyl and I believe they are trying to get DFW back into the fold. HOpefully it will be sooner than later. SOrry that it’s been excluded I am surre it must be a bummer

  15. What is going on with catalinas or lack thereof in the DFW area? I recently realized that I haven’t got any of them in several weeks when I cleaned out my coupons. Last night I asked the cashier about them and she says when she thought about it she hasn’t seen any print out for awhile. I did see your note on some deals where a catalina wasn’t available in several cities, DFW being one of them.

  16. Hi Kobe- unfortunately printable coupons can disappear quickly – especially at the first of the month. There are some $3/1 coupons in this week’s 4-3 P&G, but there are also some $1.50 off printables at the same link as you tried earlier. Not as good of a deal but still a nice savings aftr stack. hth

  17. this is my first time on your page and actually my first time trying to use coupons and on the page with the target special of free $15 gift card with the purchase of diapers/wipes $75 or more I looked at the links for the coupons that could be used with this promotion and saw a $3 off pampers coupon and clicked on the link but not able to find it. Could you please tell me how I could get that coupon.

  18. HI Beth – $150 before any cartwheels MQs or TQs. JUst have to meet the $150 and then the $25 GC TQ comes off first. hth

  19. For the current coupons of $25 GC with $150 in baby how does the $150 in baby sales add up? Is it $150 prior to manufacturing coupons but after cartwheel and target coupons? or $150 prior to manufacturing, cartwheel and target coupons?

  20. FYI. Coupons.com has removed the ability to enter a zip code in order to gain access to additional coupons.

  21. I just got my Target sales paper for 1/31 to 2/6, while almost everything in it is exactly as is listed on the website, there are a couple items (just so happens to be the ones I wanted to buy) where the price you have is not what is in my sales paper. For instance, my paper has sodas on sale for 4/$11, while the online version has 4/$10. Is this a regional thing?

  22. Hi Miranda- I am not quite sure how that would work- but my guess would be that it would take off one or the other. but lmk if you discover differently!

  23. I saw that there are two cartwheel deals available that overlap. One for 25% off all C9 outerwear and one for 25% off mens outerwear. Can I use both if I buy a men’s C9 jacket (or something similar) ?

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