Simple Savings - Discounted Meats and Produce at Target

I love Target, and not just because it tempts me with clearance sales and seasonal decor. Target is one of my favorite places for saving money on food.  Even though I prefer to buy locally produced foods when possible, that isn't always an option, especially at the end of winter. During these times, I rely on store sales.

My local Target store isn't a super center, so that means the selection is small, but it also means the turn-over is fantastic. I am there 1-2 times a week, and I see the employees working in the grocery department, marking and restocking. They are especially diligent about ensuring meat and produce are fresh, and this is how I find some of my biggest discounts. The meat department offers a variety of beef, pork, and chicken, and the produce that gets discounted is already bagged, so it is clearly marked and easy to grab.

There are three ways to save on meat and produce at Target:

1) Weekly Sales -  When the sales circular comes out for the week, it is worth a glance. There is usually a variety of meat on sale averaging 25% off. This puts prices in competition with other mass chains like Wal-Mart and Kroger. These sales are already in the computers, so there is nothing you have to do besides make your purchase as normal.

2) "Special Today" coupons - These coupons are basically clearance stickers for meat and produce. They identify what products have reached the week of their "Use or freeze by" date so they will move quickly and minimize financial loss for the store. They range in demonstrations of $1-$5 with greater amounts usually given to larger packages and items that are the closest to their "Use or freeze by" date. And the best part is that if a product is already on a weekly sale, the coupon is deducted from the sale price, so you can double dip your savings! There is no limit on how many coupons you can redeem in a trip. Markdowns are done in the morning, so you have to get their early for the best selection. 10 AM has always been a good time for me because everything is marked and there is still plenty available, but this will vary by store, so it may take a few tries to find your best shopping time.

3) Cartwheel app - I never shop without my iPod because it has the Cartwheel app (and Target has free Wi-Fi!). The Cartwheel app allows you to add digital coupons to a single barcode that is scanned at the checkout. These coupons are usually percentages off although some are for dollars and cents. These can also be used in conjunction with weekly sales and "Special Today" coupons for a triple dip. Be sure to read the fine print for each coupon; there is often a limit of 4 uses. 

At checkout, discounts are usually done in the order that I have listed. For example, I once purchased 1 pound packages of organic ground beef that were normally $7.99 each. They were on a weekly sale for 25% off with $3 Special Today" coupons on each package with an extra 15% of on Cartwheel. This meant each package was:
$7.99 - 25% = $5.99 - $3 = $2.99 - $0.45 = $2.54 per package

If you do plan to stock up, I recommend freezing everything as soon as you get home, so make sure you have plenty of room before you shop! And finally, don't forget to compare prices per ounce when you considering different sizes of the same product. It may be to your advantage to buy smaller packages if there are better discounts available, so keep your calculator ready when you are shopping.

I grabbed these pork chops this morning. They were marked $4.99, so after my coupon, they were only $1.99!



This post is hooked up with the ohmyheartsiegirl.com linky party!