8 Money-Saving Secrets Every Target Shopper Absolutely Needs to Know

We’ll admit it — we’re a little obsessed with Target.

It’s hard not to be. The store has pretty much everything you need, right in one place.

But don’t be fooled by the prices on the shelf.

If you know the secrets to Target shopping, you can save a ton on every shopping trip! You don’t have to spend all day clipping Target coupons, either.

Here are our favorite ways to save money at Target…

1.Save 5% on Every Purchase With the Target RED Card.

It probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that Target has a branded credit and debit card that offers discounts to customers.

Both cards offer 5% cashback on every purchase you make at the store and online (excluding prescriptions). You also get free shipping on most items if you order online.

There’s no annual fee, so if you’re shopping at Target regularly, this one is kind of a no-brainer. Let’s say you spend $150/week on groceries, that’s $390 in cashback that could go right into your savings account each year.

Plus, if you sign up and qualify before May 20, Target will send you a coupon for 10% off your next shopping trip.

2. Save Your Email Receipts.

It turns out that deleting your emails could be costing you serious money.

Intrigued?

An app called Paribus gets you money back for your online purchases, including at Target.

It’s free to sign up for Paribus. Once you do, it scans your email archives for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from Target or one of the other 17 retailers listed on its website, it will track the item’s price and issue you a refund if there’s a price drop during the return period.

You don’t have to do anything!

3. Use a Cash-Back App.

Did you know that you can get cash-back on your purchase just for taking a picture of your receipt?

Here’s how it works….

1. Sign up for Ibotta here (you just need a name/email address to start).

2. Browse through the cash-back offers in your area and take note the next time you go to Target. For example, Ibotta’s currently paying out 25 cents just for a picture of a Target, regardless of what you bought. Pretty cool, right? Once you’ve reached at least $20 in earnings, you can request payment via Paypal or Venmo. And right now, Ibotta is giving new users a $10 sign-up bonus, just for redeeming their first receipt.

Obviously, you don’t want to buy a bunch of crap you weren’t already planning on purchasing. But, this can be an easy way to get a little cash back for doing something you were already going to do.

4. Use a Visa Card.

Couponing doesn’t have to be extreme.

If you swipe a Visa to pay for your groceries at Target, there’s a tool that’ll automatically find and apply coupons — for free.

It’s called Trim, and you can register for the bot through Facebook messenger.

If you’ve missed a special or coupon the next time you charge your card, Trim will Facebook message you. Opt to activate the offer, and you’ll get paid for what you missed out on in the next 5-7 days with a statement credit.

If you sign up now, you’ll also get $10 off any grocery purchase of $50 or more — and let’s be real, that’s not an uncommon occurrence.

5. Know Your Markdown Tags.

If you do go into a physical store, you’ll need to know the secrets of the Target markdown tag. Check the upper right corner of those little red tags for the markdown percentage. The lower left corner of the tag will tell you the original price.

Also, prices ending in $0.04 usually indicate that the item has been marked down multiple times and will probably not going any lower. But, those ending in $0.06 or $0.08 have a chance at further markdowns.

6. Download the CartWheel App.

Download Target’s CartWheel app on your smartphone so that you can see the latest discounts on everything from clothing to food. This is where the discounts really start to add up, because you can stack these savings with your coupons & RED card cashback.

Download Cartwheel for free on your iPhone or Android device.

7. Scan Your Groceries When You Get Home.

Did you know that the Nielsen company will pay you to scan your groceries each week? Crazy, right?

Once you sign up to become a Nielsen Consumer Panel family, you’ll be asked to simply scan the barcodes on your groceries and send your data off to Nielsen each week. Pretty easy, huh?

If you want to give it a try, you can fill out an application here:

Sign up to be a Nielsen Consumer Panel family here.

8. Stack Sales With Rebates.

Finally, make sure you also download SavingStar & Checkout51.

Like Ibotta, you’ll scan your receipts and earn rebates for stuff you buy at Target.

Also, you can still use coupons on the items you’re buying, so this can be a nifty way to “stack” your savings. In some cases, you might be able to get the item for free.

Pro Tip: Sometimes you can get rebates on the same product across these apps. More savings without spending any more!

Your Turn: Do you know ways to get Target deals we missed?

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