The Best Target Cashier I've Ever Had...

Most of you probably know that I try to avoid 3 stores: Target, Walmart and Walgreens. Why? Their employees are usually not very coupon-friendly or educated on coupons. I honestly just get kind of tired of being accused of coupon fraud, theft, and unethical behavior. I don't need somebody telling me that, just because they think it's not possible to walk out of a store with a bag full of freebies. I know that I am an honest and ethical couponer. So I usually stick to my 2 favorite stores - Publix and CVS - unless I really want to get a great deal at one of the other stores.

The ongoing freebie deals have been piling up at Target for a couple of weeks now - deals that I actually cared about. A lot of times the trial-sized freebies aren't worth it for me to deal with the unfriendly cashiers, but I decided it was time to suck it up and go to Target this week...so I did.

This was the Target on US 1, in St. Augustine. My cashier's name was Geyna (I'm pretty sure). Usually I go for the younger males or females, but lately I have not had much luck with them. They are too unsure of themselves and try to tell me I can't use any of my coupons. So I tried a different tactic this time. I went for a lady who looked like she knew what she was doing. I got the vibe that she had been there a while. And you wanna know what? I'm pretty good at reading my cashiers! She was INCREDIBLE.

She did not blink one eye when I handed her 8 coupons that exceeded the amount of the corresponding trial-sized products. She proceeded to price-adjust them all down to $.97! I was shocked. I said, "Thank you so much for being such an informed cashier about coupons. You just made my day. This is the easiest transaction I've ever had at Target with coupons." And she told me, "Yep! No problem! As long as the coupon doesn't exclude trial-sized items, you're good to go!" GASP. FINALLY - somebody who is educated on how coupons work!!!

She was wonderful. I was all ready to whip out my Target corporate coupon policy, but no need to. She knew her stuff.

I got everything pictured above for only $4.66 after tax. I saved $19.28 with my coupons. I think $4.66 is pretty good, considering one of the Sheer Infusion lotions would have been $5.99 + tax just by itself!!

Couple of things I wanted to let you know, also:

• I did not find the Pure & Natural bar soap that was supposed to be on clearance.
• I found the Pure & Natural hand soap pumps, but they were $3.99 (not $2.50).
• I found the suede ottomans. Some were on clearance, others weren't. It was color-specific. For example, the hot pink one was on clearance while the brown one wasn't. The lowest priced one was still $13.98, making it $8.98 with the coupon. Wasn't worth it to me.

Happy Target shopping! And if you happen to be at the one on US1 in St. Augustine, look for Geyna! =)

What About You: Snag any great Target deals lately?

My Walmart and Target Trips!

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know something about me....

I hate going to Walmart. I don't shop there very often. It's so stressful and so crowded (at least the one where I live). I can get almost everything cheaper at Publix or CVS by matching coupons with killer deals.

Once every 2 or 3 months, however, I venture out to Walmart to get a few things. Last night was one of these nights. There were a couple of deals that I have been wanting to get, and my coupons were about to expire, so I decided it was time. I also stopped by Target while I was out.

Here's what I got at Walmart:

(1) package Printer Paper
(2) cans of Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
(2) bottles Welch's Sparkling grape juice

I was so excited about the Sparkling grape juice. The bottles are red and green, and all cute for winter/Christmas with snowflakes on them. I love Welch's sparkling grape juice. It is usually about $3.29 at my Publix. Walmart had it for $2.97 a bottle, and I had $2/1 coupons! So I got each bottle for only $.97! What a steal! I use coconut milk all the time, since I cook a lot of foreign cuisine (especially Indian curries). I had 2 awesome $1/1 coupons for Thai Kitchen that were about to expire as well, so I picked up each can for about $.40!

I also went to Target, and I got:

(5) Glade holiday candles
(2) packages Rayovac batteries
(2) cans Steaz iced tea

I was finally able to do the Glade holiday candle deal. They didn't have the items that I had the best coupons for, where it could be a moneymaker with the gift card, but that's okay. I still only paid $8 for the candles, and got back $5, so that's pretty good. I was really wanting some nice Christmas scents for our home. =) I got the Rayovac batteries and Steaz iced tea for free with coupons.

Overall, with Target and Walmart combined, I spent $15.01 (and saved $20.18) last night. I also got back a $5 Target gift card, so technically I spent $10.01 overall. When budgeting, though, I always count the full amount that I spend out of pocket. Even though I'm getting money back, I'm still having to pay out of pocket up front.

Stay tuned for Super Savings Saturday tomorrow, where I will share my Publix grocery trip for the week, and add up all my spending for the week (including this trip)!

What about you? Have you been able to grab any great deals at Target or Walmart lately???

My Target Run...

Even though it wasn't the best week at Target, I was pretty excited about my trip. First of all, I love taking Smart Ones to work for lunch. They're the only frozen meals that I like, because they have quite a few vegetarian options! Publix has not put them 50% off or BOGO in months. Because of this, I've been having to get them at Target when they run them on sale for $1.88, which is a pretty good price when you toss some coupons in!

Also, while I was there, I decided to check on the Glade candle tin deal. The price was still good at my store, and the tins still had coupons, so I grabbed some more of those!! You can never have enough candles to make the house smell good. I also found some Febreze kits on clearance, and had a coupon.

Here's what I ended up getting:

10 Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen meals at $1.88 each

9 Glade candle tins at $1.66 each

2 Febreze Noticeables Starter Kits on clearance for $4.79 each

Coupons Used:

(2) $2.50/5 Smart Ones

(9) $1.50/1 glade candle tins

(2) $4/1 Febreze Noticeables

Total Before Coupons: $43.32

Coupons Used: $26.50

Total After Coupons: $16.82

Savings (from sales and coupons), according to receipt: $43.17

I also used a $5 gift card that I received from a previous deal. That brought my total out of pocket expense down to $11.82!

***So, I paid $11.82 out of pocket for $59.99 worth of items (pictured above)!!! To put it in perspective, normally the 2 Febreze kits by themselves would cost more than that at their normal price. =) I love coupons!!!

What about you? Snag any deals at Target this week? Share about them below!!!