FAQ/Basics

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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

  2. Q: I have an online code for Target pharmacy rewards. Can I use it multiple times in the same day. I know the instore card can be used multiple times on the same day.

    Thanks,
    Nadya

  4. Hello. I have a question… I don’t know if I completely understand the coupon policy. I know that one Target coupon, one manufacturer’s coupon, and one Cartwheel offer can be combined per item. What if I have a mobile coupon? Does that count as my Target coupon, or can I use it with a paper TQ, MQ, and Cartwheel? Thank you!

  6. Wasn’t sure where to post this, but my store had small piles (5-10ish) of coupon booklets at open registers this morning. Store was the Columbia Heights store in DC.

    All q’s expire 8/9:

    $1 off fresh vegetable purchase of $1 of more

    $1 off fresh fruit purchase of $1 of more

    $2 off fresh meat purchase of $20 of more

    $1 off Archer Farms or Market Pantry purchase of $2 or more (excludes dairy items)

    $1 off Simply Balanced purchase of $2.99 or more

  9. I was wondering in order to get gift card with $30 purchase can I get it if total is $29.98 before tax & coupons or does it have to be = or > $30.00 thanks!

  10. Hi Stacey- unfortunately I have no idea what will disappear and what won’t – but I include in my matchups for those who printed. I do print them all – but only for the sake of being able to list details for readers. But personally I always print the ones I know I may use for things I like. For example we love the market pantry string cheese around here- and I always print my max. Ibide my time – hoping for a sale while they are still valid. hth

  11. Hello,
    I was wondering if Target would be doing a B3G1 on up & up like they had last summer? I started doing Target bargains last year and am hoping this is a yearly deal.

    Thank you,
    Michaela

  13. I noticed you stack printable Target coupons that are no longer available in this week’s weekly ad matchups (Market Pantry lunchmeat, for example). How do you figure out what to print ahead of time? Do you just print them all? How do you know when new ones come out so you can get those but not reprint all the others?

  14. In what order should you use stacks? Does it matter if you use man q’s first or should you use mobile or cartwheel?

  15. Hi Jadi – mobile coupons only apply to one item, most cartwheels will apply to up to 4 of the same item in one transaction. So the mobile would apply to one and the Cartwheel would apply to both unless the cartwheel states a lower limit. hth!

  16. Does anyone know if the mobile coupons or even cartwheel will allow you to buy 2 like items and receive the discount on both items? For example if i have a deoderant mobile coupon for .25 and cartwheel has 5% off, can i use those both if i buy 2 deoderants? Thanks for clearing it up for me?

  18. Hi Ray- it is nowhere in black and white and the register will allow it- so prevention is purely human intervention. The only thing the register won’t do is allow you to use a GC in the same transaction you earned it in but it doesn’t sound like that is what you are trying to do. If you have already discussed this with the store manager and he/she has put this policy into effect- you can inquire as to why and call corporate. But even then I cannot guarantee they will be able to change your situation. hth

  19. Hi me and my wife use coupons and combine them with gift card deals to save more. Been doing more than one transaction for months and out of nowhere today we were told that the gift card cannot be used on the same day or next transaction and that it is store policy. I need help in showing in black and white that there is no such policy or is there? Pls help thank you in advance…

  21. Hi Casey – the register needs to see $30 if you are going to use the coupon- add in a pack of gum or something small to use it. hth

  22. Does anyone know if target will accept a $5 off $30 coupon if the item purchased is $29.99?

  24. I am looking to price match a stroller from Amazon.com at Target. Do you know if I can PM even though the Amazon and Target don’t carry the same colors? The product is the exact same, the color choices are just different. Thanks!

  25. I went to target today and used 2 Dove B1G1 coupon, and gave the cashier the $5 off $15, and he said I can’t use the target coupon with the 2 coupons, but I’ve used MQ and TQ together before with no problem.

  26. I was told at my local Target store today they they do not accept coupons.com coupons because they have trouble getting reimbursed. The cashier took the coupons but said in the future they won’t. I’ve used then there all the time so I asked her when that changed and she said it’s always been that way just a lot of cashiers didn’t know so they took them. I don’t see this in the coupon policy but do see they have the right to refuse any coupons. They were legitimate not copies our anything like that. Anyone else had this trouble? I don’t want to go back because I’m afraid I’ll have to abandon a cart of groceries if they refuse my coupons.

  27. How does totally target know the preview for Target weekly ad? How do you get to know the inside info so early?

  28. @Melissa- yes you can
    Target has the right to reserve quantity- but the register will allow it if they do
    just keep in mind T has a limit of 4 identical coupons per shopping trip. hth

  29. If the ad says buy 3 personal care items and receive a $5.00 gift card, is there a limit? Can I buy 6 and get two $5.00 gift cards?

  32. Hi Suba- I have been using paypal for over 10 years- its basically a way of paying and receiving money without having to use a credit card. You need to sign up for an account and then link it to your bank account by identifying 2 small deposits they will make into your bank. Paypal does not draw funds from your bank though unless you actually transfer the funds yourself. You can only spend what you have in paypal. Once you get paid by ibotta into your paypal account- you can then transfer the funds to your bank account thru paypal. hth

  33. Could you please tell me reviews about paypal account ?so that I get my cash in ibotta using paypal.

  34. Could you please tell me the reviews about paypal account ?so that I get my cash in ibotta using paypal.

  35. HI Jessie- I would have asked for a team lead. What you were told s not described anywhere in the coupon policy.

  36. Hi All, buying a crib from target for over $200 for a friend on her registry, any tips on how I could get a coupon for it?

  37. HI Kim- tysm – glad you enjoy the site. re your ?. You can ask ahead of time- or you can just hand the coupon over at the register and see if they will accept it. hth

  38. How can I figure out if my Target allows a MQ on a free item?

    Ex:
    DEAL IDEA: Buy 3 Tone Body Wash 18 oz PSA $2.99 = $8.97
    -$2.99 (one will be FREE with deal thru 6/14
    -$2 (use two $1/1 Tone Body Wash 18 oz+ or Bath Bar 6-pack+)
    = $3.98. ******If your store allows an MQ on the freebie,****** use 1 more
    -$1/1 Tone Body Wash 18oz+ or Bath Bar 6-bar pack+
    = $2.98 for 3 or .99 cents each after coupons and freebie

    Thank you for all that you do… This site is amazing and helpful.
    I have always loved Target but you guys make me love it more 🙂

  39. Did the target gift card and coupon policy change? I was told that I can’t do both coupons and get the gift card when there is a gift card deal. I was told that I can either use the coupon to lower the amount or receive the gift card for that deal but that I couldn’t use coupons and then get the gift card as well. Was pretty bummed out since today was the first time I’ve heard of that at target.

  40. I love getting Target mobile coupons, but am not sure how to see which ones I have used. Can you tell me how I refresh the page or whatever I need to do? Thanks!

  41. Thanks a lot Kerry! I’m just new to couponing and I really find your site very helpful!

  42. Hi Gena – yes- you could use 2 of printable & 1 of insert- you just cant use 3 insert or 3 printable if they have a limit of 2

  43. Thanks a lot Kerry! One thing I am still confused with the “maximum of 2 identical coupons” limit. Does that mean I can use 2 internet printouts and 1 newspaper insert?

  44. Hi Ryan- not true- you should be able to use three. there is nothing in the terms or conditions that prohibits the use of coupons on a gift card deal. hth

  45. Is it true that when target offers a gift card u can only use on coupon with the offer. I bought the kids aqua fresh toothpaste which was buy 3 get a 5.00 gift card. I tried to use 3 coupons and was told because I was getting a gift card I couldn’t use my other coupons. I could only use one.

  46. Hey Ashley- have you tried installing using firefox? I have windows 8 on my laptop and use FF to print TQs. If you’ve tried using FFto install- then try IE. hth

  47. Hello,
    I was wondering if you could help me with a problem. I recently upgraded to windows 8 and I cannot get the Catalina coupon printer to install. Do you have any ideas on how I can fix this? troubleshooting just says it is not compatible.
    Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

  48. Hi Gena- as long as they do not say redeem “only” at Smith’s you should be able to redeem elsewhere, including Target. Ultimately it’s a ymmv- but most stores will accept. hth

  49. Hi! Smiths mailed me some coupons with Smiths logo at the bottom but says manufacturer coupon. I was wondering if you know if I can use it at Target. Thanks alot.

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