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

  1. Kerry-
    I just love following your posts and deals – it is awesome!!! I also feel bad that I never share anything. So I wanted to share something with you. I work in the library at our elementary school and yesterday one of our volunteers shared a site with me that is definitely worth checking out. It is called http://www.1saleaday.com and they offer new deals everyday that are steals. I don’t know if you would be interested or even some of your readers but it is definitely worth checking out on a daily basis! I just found out about it yesterday and have already taken advantage of one deal each of the two days!

    Thanks for all you do to help us keep money in our wallets!

  2. There are several websites (including Target & was just trying to print off CouponNetwork) that won’t let me print coupons. I have a fax/copy/printer & it always says “please make sure that “Print” is set as the default function on your computer.”

    Anyone have any ideas? I have looked everywhere & know how to set the printer I want to default but to set it to default to print… nowhere to be found. I’m hoping I am not the only one who’s been through this. Thanks so much!

  4. Hello
    My question is if you ever have to complain about rude cashiers or even rude managers, who refuse to take your coupons, who do you get in contact with? is there a hotline?

  5. Kerry, are you planning to do a Black Friday section with some of the advertised sales and coupons? I’m just trying to plan my black friday shopping and was wondering if you’d be doing that . . . Thanks!

  6. What is Target’s policy regarding overcharging for products. I have been overcharged on several occassions and I only receive the price difference – not the product free. I hate that as a consumer I am left to check my receipt and that Target isn’t held accountable for their errors – or are they???

    Thanks

  7. I was wondering what I needed to do in order to get the targe coupon books in the mail.I even have a target card and never once have I recieved any coupons from them.Why is that? and what can i do to recieve them in the future?

  8. This is the second time I went to print coupons from the target website that I received a message stating that I reached my coupon print limit. I got the message after I choose the coupons I wanted and clicked on print. I only printed 5 coupons in the past 2 weeks. Does anyone know anything about this?

  10. Not sure how to contact you on here but I got a mailer from pampers today with a new code (for me anyway) worth 50 points 2beginearning50.

  11. Do you have to have fillers w/ coupons at Target? I have both a Target coupon and a MQ for the Colgate that is on sale this week…do I have to get another item so they will go through? Thanks in advance!

  12. I’m a Mac user & I’m having more problems after the “fix”. I now have intermittent problems with pages loading as an unformatted RSS but with red backgrounds. And finally, I registered, but still haven’t received my password.

  14. Jamie…
    They will adjust the price and credit you the difference at Customer Service. I believe there is a time limit of one or two weeks though.

  15. Hi, i am new to couponing and heard from someone before that u need to had the target coupons tothe cashier first and then the manu. coupons is that right? Thanks!

  16. So I’ve had 2 terrible Target experiences within the last 4 days…went to the Chambersburg, PA store–the only one anywhere near me–and none of my $4 game coupons wanted to scan. The manager was very rude and huffy; she came over when she heard me inform the teenage cashier that my coupons weren’t scanning and she was just beeping away not paying attention. After the manager rang them in, I checked the receipt in the parking lot and she missed one. I went back to CS to get my money back ans she was so rude! She gave me my cash back but treated me like a thief. I emailed corporate on that one.

    Today, went back to get just a couple of the sale deals and they argued with me over the $5 Kraft coupon. The manager finally keyed it in, buy while checking my receipt in the lobby, I noticed one of the Target Q’s for the Reveal light bulbs didn’t show. Do back to CS, and the lady was very nice–she went to pull the coupons and saw that i had 2, then told me I couldn’t use both coupons at the same transaction per the coupon. I told her I always use 2 since that’s what prins. She shrugged and said that’s policy, so I told her to deduct one pack off my bill. Then I asked if she could do a new transaction so I could buy the bulbs using the coupon right then and there. I didn’t want to argue so just let it go. I have to go back later this week so I’ll buy them then. But annoying!

  17. How do I go about getting Target HOME mailers? I have looked everywhere and do not see a place to sign up on any kind of mailing list…thank you for your help!

  18. Not sure if I missed this somewhere, but I’m wondering if Target does adjustments on its own prices. For example, I bought a bunch of toddler clothes last week at full price and many are on sale this week (go figure!) If I take my receipt in, will they credit me the difference? I have this week’s Target ad showing the sale items.

  20. HI Kerry, Just want to tell you I had a horrible shopping experience today at my Target in Milltown, NJ..Just about everyone of my Internet Manufac Coupons beeped. I was then told by the cashier and the manager Amy that if an internet coupon beeps then they could not accept it. Also, they wouldn’t price down my tide coupons(coupon was for $1 and trial size is only .97cents) which I know they could price down according to there coupon policy. The manager says that since the coupon says in fine print “redeem only by purchasing the brand size and quantities indicated, the manager says since the picture is a big bottle that she would not allow me to use it even though the coupon says on any ONE tide.) So needless to say, I had to put back most of my order and did not have a great trip today. My father was so embarresed he walked out, so I figured I could vent to you! Thanks for your sight! Its great
    LOri

  21. Can someone out there explain the mfr Q with the Target symbol on it. Can you not stack those with another Target Q. Can you use mrf Q with the Target symbol anywhere? Love the site. Thanks.

  27. I have one of those catalina coupons from Target that is $5 off a $50 purchase. My question is, does the $50 have to be before or after coupons? there is not any print that indicates.

  28. This may already be a question someone asked, but how do you get Target coupons mailed to you? Is there a place to sign up?

  29. Did you see the article on yahoo finance on what to buy @ Target & what not to buy @ Target? I was just wondering what you thought. I enjoy reading your blog for matchup’s, etc.

  30. Today at Target I was told by three different people that they would only accept one of my $1/1 Friskies coupons because they are changing the policy so we can only use one per transaction. They also said it was because “couponing people” are “out of control.” PLEASE tell me they are lying. It was a bad experience at a store I normally love. I was very polite but I cannot believe this is really going to be a policy!

  31. Kerry,
    I gotta a question for you. Where in the Target coupon policy does it state about Target excepting coupons for trial sizes as long as the Q does not state otherwise?
    Lori

  32. Hello Everyone, I just had the worst day ever at Target and yes now they make you feel like a criminal when using coupons. I’m always stuck in line from 30-40 min. And now with the “new computer system” it will not accept a lot of valid coupons. Today I had Crest 3D toothpaste and the system would not accept, get this, the Target coupon. The manager just would not accept so I went to the service desk and ask her to call the Cus Care and after explaining (both the emp and myself), they did nothing, explained how sorry they were and that they could not accept the Target coupon. Everything was according to the coupon. Now, it everytime I go to my Target and unfortunately its the only one in my area. The Empl and Mgrs are constantly misinterpeting the coupons. Now if you have 2 Q and the 2 Items you have to ring them up separately. The system will only let you get one, they say. I’ve been a Target shopper a long time but now it is getting to were it’s not fun anymore. I do agree that we all should be calling customer care and lodging our complaint but is there something else we could do to get them to hear us loud and clear.

  33. I getTarget e-mails and some baby mailers but I don’t get the other home mailers with coupons. Where do I sign up to get home mailers???
    Thanks Melissa

  34. i need help. has anyone else tried to print target coupons and they print out fine except there is no dollar amount on there. i know i haven’t exceeded the print limit so i don’t know what else to do. it is frustrating cause i want to use them. any ideas

  35. I went to Target Germantown (MD) last night and the cashier made me feel like I was ripping the store off, being really snide, sighing and accusing me of mismatching coupons and trying to shortchange the store by using TQ+MQ on the same items.The cashier actually told the older gentleman in front of me only buying one item with one coupon that TQ from the website aren’t real, but that she would let it go this time. The manager actually backed up the rude cashier too! So I called Target corporate this morning and the lady said that they would pass on my complaint but that guests really shouldn’t be using more than about 9 coupons so while rude, the cashier was right- I never saw that in their corporate policy. She didn’t really say anything about not letting me stack coupons, other than I was using too many then. (BTW I had maybe 25 coupons in 2 transactions). Has anyone else had this happen? Also, if a cashier scans the coupon once, but I end up returning the item during the transaction (because it was a BIG price difference when she wouldn’t let me stack Q) are those coupons once again valid? Or are they no longer good? Thanks!

  36. I have a question, if I need a few Target coupons which are no longer available such as Cesar dog treats, where would I look? I know I have to buy them but, where?

  38. Sorry if I missed this elsewhere but is there any way to tell on the Target coupon page whether the coupon that prints out will be an actual Target Web coupon or just a manufacturer’s coupon? Several times I’ve “clipped” a coupon on Targets site hoping to stack with an manufacturer’s coupon but when it prints it is a manufacturer’s coupon. Not a huge deal but I’m trying to conserve paper and printer ink.

  39. Ok, I like the rest of you have been having a problem @ Target. I feel like they should fingerprint me and take a mug shot before I am done. Today, I went in, grabbed a cart and a basket, and put everything I was getting free in the basket. I kept track of the few items in the cart and when I was ready to check out, put the free stuff up in the basket first. I then handed the cashier the goup of coupons by price “these are not $1, they are .97” and “these are not $2 they are $1.94” ect, whilw they beeped and he just maunualy put in the price, I then made him subtotal and finished my order with no problems. As someone has stated, smaller orders do seem better, and he seemed to appreciate the help. Don’t know if he was naturally nice, but it seemed good to walk out without a problem for once. HTH.

  40. Iam in Colorado and I love your site! I always go to Target, my two around here are actually great with my coupons. I might have a grouchy cashier every once in a while, but they still put my coupons through. I was just wondering how to get the mailer, I signed up for Targets emails, so maybe some will come. Did you have to do anything seperate? Thanks for everything you do, I think Target is such a cool store anyway, (much better then walmart) and to have savings on top of it is super sweet.

  41. I love Target, I really, really do but sometimes I get so frustrated with their cashiers and/or managers I just want to scream. I had to leave a Target tonight (same one I ALWAYS have problems with so my own bad) when they wouldn’t take four of my coupons because the item I was purchasing did not look like the photo on the coupon. She called the manager over who agree with her. I just took all my coupons back & left, drove to another Target 15 minutes away. The only problem I had was with the $2.99 Colgate with the coups inside. The manager told me I couldn’t use a TQ cause it was a double tube. Has anyone had to deal with that?
    I don’t know what I keep doing wrong, I swear I follow the rules but I always seem to get the oddest denials on my coups.
    Love your site, Kerry, sorry about all the whining & bitchin’ tonight. Thanks for all your hard work & help. You’ve saved me tons already, over $60 tonight alone.

  42. I am new to the site and I can’t believe what I was missing! I love TARGET, so this site is on the top of my favorite list. Great job! Thanks for the savings

  43. I love your site! I check it every day from my Ipod.

    However, since the Ipod screen is very small, it is hard for me to go between pages. And your website does not have a “next page” and “previous page” buttons on the bottom of the blog page. If you had these buttons, it would be much easier to navigate between the different pages of your blog.

    Thanks!

  44. Have you ever been to the website: http://www.thebreakroom.org? It’s a site for Target employees to basically vent on matters. Check out the one called “Pet Peeves” most of it is so true in the eyes of a cashier. Customers should read these and get an idea what a cashier can go through. We always hear the negative things that cashiers do, so as a cashier myself, it’s also nice to let the customers know that they are not always perfect, either! 🙂

  45. TY for the compliments. And yes, unfortunately there are absolutely variations from store to store inhow coupons are handled. There are really only a few things the coupon policy addresses, and then the rest is left to your store’s discretion (using $ off w/B1G1, using a TQ or MQ on a free item in a sale, etc.)

    but the 2 things that should always be consistent are that your store should allow 1 TQ AND 1 MQ per item unless coupon prohibits, and an MQ legitimately used should be adjusted down to meet the price of an item. One more variation that I frequently get asked about is using multiple identical TQs in a transaction. While some stores do accept more than 1 identical TQ in a transaction, most TQ printables state right on them that it is one identical TQ per transaction, and that wording should be respected if your store chooses to enforce it. (ie Pick your winnable battles 😉

    Unlike TQ printables, most TQ insert coupons do not have this wording and you can use more than one in a transaction. My best advice- if you find a store, cashier, manager etc that you like and seems to be more coupon friendly, try and stick with them. hth.

  46. Kerry,

    I know you can’t control Target. I wanted to send you an email to tell you how much I enjoy this site and appreciate all the good information. That being said, do you have problems or hear about problems with the coupon rules being inconsistent? Have you also heard they won’t take another coupon when you are using a BOGO?

    Thanks for all the valuable information, being a mom myself, I don’t know how you do it~:)

  47. Hey DP- you can contact me at kerry @ totally target .com (remove spaces). While I sypathize with those of you who have issues at their stores, and you can feel free to contact me, I have no control over how the stores handle coupons. I do not work for Target and I am just a busy mom who also tries to help people save money. If you cannot work out the issues with your store manager, you may want to give Target corp a call and see what they can do to help you. Explain to them what’s going on at your store and see if they can offer a solution. 1.800.440.0680. hth- Kerry

  48. @ Rachel,

    I have had problems with them too – It’s getting to the point Totally Target is going to be totally NOT. Does anyone know how to contact Kerri? I am new to this website, but can’t seem to find information/email for her?

  49. Thank you for the coupon policy. I’m printing it out today – I had a HORRIBLE experience at Target this morning. I had all these $1 off coupons and found the items in the sample size bins but since they were priced at $.97 the store wouldn’t accepted any of my coupons. So I brought my receipt to the information desk, manager was called over, and he accused me of trying to rip the store off since I was buying things priced lower than the coupon. I’ve done this before with the Tide $1 off coupons so I just assumed it was okay and the register had always adjusted the price. I was so embarrassed when he said I was trying to basically scam the store, all these people looked at me. I ended up returning my entire bag, getting my coupons back, and left. It was so embarrassing and frustrating!

  50. Jessica, I was about to post the same question. I went to target to get the itch sticks and the first aid bag. My store hasn’t had any first aid bags for 2 weeks (I’ve been calling practically everyday) so I finally went in to custoer service to ask if I could buy the itch sticks today and bring back my receipt if they ever got more of the bags in to get those for free as well. The woman said that should work. When I went to check out the 5/2 coupons scanned as 2.29. The manager got called over, started the whole thing over and it still scanned as 2.29. I asked her if she could just scan them twice, since it should have been taking off twice as much. I showed her a printout of their coupon policy where it says they will adjust coupons down. So she tried scanning the coupons twice but after a few, the register blocked her out with “not enough items.” Even though she tried scanned the coupons twice the whole time she was telling me that target wouldn’t get reimbursed for the second scanning so basically they were loosing money. She made me feel awful. I told her to forget it and take the itch sticks off my order. Then I went across the street to walmart and got the itch sticks there. The coupons worked fine there, taking off $5. This was probably the worst experience I’ve had at target.

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