Favorite Thing - Target RED Card

Today, I went on my big bi-weekly shopping trip to Target. I had several things to pick up, such as:

dry goods (paper towel, toilet paper, etc.)

toiletries (deodorant, shampoo,etc.)

Zoe's Easter basket gifts, egg dye, and Easter gifts for my niece & nephew

travel-size toiletries for a drive that Jon's work  is participating in for the homeless

I also make sure to check out the clearance racks for Zoe every time I go. In the last 3 trips that I've made to Target, I have been able to buy her 7 pair of pants to grow into (sizes 18 mo. & 2T) for $2.25 -$2.50 each! That's less than I would pay to purchase used pants from a consignment store. Now that we're settling down here, I can buy ahead whenever I see things for a great deal and just keep them in her closet.

I also happened to be on the phone with my dad (who is a huge discount shopper) while I was checking out the clearance racks and asked him whether or not he thought it would be worth it to buy sizes 3 and 4 pants for her since there were several available for the $2 prices. He gave some good advice. He told me that I should only buy ahead 1 year at a time (unless it's an exceptional deal), because they'll clearance out the same kind of clothes next year that I can buy ahead for her then. I think that's good advice because then her closet won't be full of clothes that she needs a few years to grow into and besides, even though she's little, they may go out of style by then too!

Alright, now for my favorite thing: The RED card. Something that you may not know about us is that we live debt-free. This also means that we are hugely against signing up for a credit card at every store we frequent. However, Target has a store  debit card that you can sign up for. It works the same way that your bank or credit union's debit card works. It's tied to your checking account and the money is taken directly out of it. There are no fees associated with it except for your usual over-draft fees if you use it and don't actually have the money in your account. Anyways, we discovered it in the fall and signed up for one the next trip we made to the store. Since we shop there so much (who doesn't?) we save a lot of money by using our RED card. How much? Five percent - and it really adds up! Today I think I saved $8.00. That's in addition to their already low prices. Don't believe me? Check this article out:   http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/07/news/companies/walmart_target_better_price/index.htm.
No, I am not getting any money from Target for endorsing their card. I just want to share the savings with you!

If you're interested in getting more information about this without reading a pamphlet in the check-out line, here's a link for you:    https://redcard.target.com/redcard/content/rcw_benefits_tgt_rewards. You'll need to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page and click on the card to the left to get specific information about the debit card (yes, there is an actual Target VISA card too, but I don't want to encourage anyone to get it!).

I hope you had a great Saturday! Blessings!

* In yesterday's post, I said that I thought I paid $5 for the Real Simple grocery checklist. Their website stated that it sells for $9 at Target. I checked it out today while I was there and it was, in fact, $9. Again, I'm sure that I didn't actually pay that much for mine. I think I buy them at the beginning of the year when all of their organizational products go on sale. So, if you wanted to get one now, the list I found on Amazon is a much better deal.