As parents we all know that we often hear our own words out of our kids’ mouths.  I have noticed lately that my bargain shopping habits are rubbing off on my kids!  First my mom reported that when she was in a store with my daughter and couldn’t find a price tag on an item, my daughter said, “Well, let’s find a scanner and scan it!” (This comes from the fact that I’m always scanning things at Target to see if they have been marked down). Then I brought her with me this week to the big Target Toy Clearance and she was the best little savvy shopping partner…she kept finding toys saying “Is this one on sale?”, “Look for the red stickers!” and “Nope…can’t get that one…it’s not on sale!”  And it’s not just my daughter that has inherited my shopping skills.  I asked my son recently if he knew what “Clearance” meant and he said, “It is something that is wonderful.”  Ha!  I agree, buddy. When we play “store” at home, my kids always whip out pretend coupons with their pretend money.   I just have to say that I am super proud of my little Savvy Shoppers!  It may just be kind of cute now, but my hope is that they really are learning that saving money can be fun and that paying full price is overrated! 

In case you have been in some kind of air conditioning-induced coma and haven’t noticed…it’s HOT out there!  Here are some ideas for how to stay cool for FREE for cheap! 

• Cool off at one of Kansas City’s FREE spraygrounds!  You can find a list HERE on the KCParent.com site…my personal favorite is the one at Loose Park. 
• I Scream, You Scream…how about some ice cream?  Use this printable coupon for Buy 1 Get 1 free ice cream cones at Baskin Robbins!
• Head over to McAlister’s Deli for FREE Tea Day on July 29th and get yourself a tall glass of that delicious sweet tea for free!  (So sad that they closed the one close to me…I will miss those big ol’ teas!)
• Catch a movie (cool & dark…perfect place to be in the heat of the day)!  Cinemark has $1 movies for kids all summer every weekday.  Go here for more information!  (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” is playing at 11:00 a.m. all week at Cinemark on the Plaza).
• Try out one of McDonald’s new fruit Smoothies or a cool Frappe and use this coupon to get $1 off through August 15th!
• Check out the Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit at Crown Center…it’s totally free (and air conditioned).  You can use the money you saved to treat the kids to lunch at Fritz’s, my kids’s favorite place to eat in Kansas City! 
• In the event of an official heat advisory, many YMCA locations across the metro open up their pools to the public for free.  If a heat advisory is declared, call your area YMCA to see if they are participating and what the pool hours will be. 

Whatever way you choose, stay cool!  (I may or may not be staying cool this week at Target while I stalk the toy clearance deals!)  

Wouldn’t it be nice if all of us savvy shoppers just had unlimited time to hunt for deals?  Sadly, that is not the case, and bargain hunting can eat up a LOT of time if you let it. Whether we are dealing with a full time job, kids home for the summer, crazy school schedules, or just everyday life…sometimes there aren’t enough hours in the day to take the extra time that you need to get a deal.  But don’t let that stop you from trying to save a buck here and there!  Here are some ideas I have for anyone out there who feels like they don’t have time to be a bargain shopper!

You don’t have to get EVERY good deal. This one was hard for me to learn when I was first starting to use coupons.  Just because there is a hot deal out there doesn’t mean that you have to drop everything to go snag it.  Not only will you be spending a LOT of time shopping, but you will also likely be spending too much money.  Pick and choose the deals that you want to take advantage of based on how much you need the product, how great the deal is, and how much time it’s going to take you to get it done.  Driving across town to get a pair of shoes you don’t need for 25% off?  Maybe not the best idea.  Stopping by CVS on the way home from work for FREE shampoo?  Do it!

Use those spare minutes.  Use that 10 minutes you have between school and dance class to stop in to Walgreens.  Use your lunch hour to run to Target to check out the toy clearance or just sit at your desk and clip coupons!  Print out coupons in the evening while you watch your favorite TV show.  Run to the grocery store in the evening after the kids are in bed.  Shop online to avoid the drive to the store.  Just because you don’t have a whole afternoon to shop, doesn’t mean you can’t get it all in!

Give yourself permission to save a little (not a lot).  Don’t feel bad if you don’t have the time to track down 5 coupon inserts, clip the coupons, go through 5 grocery store ads, make lists, and drive around town shopping.  Just do what you can, even if you will only save a little. Take your coupons with you to the grocery store even if you didn’t have time to research the deals beforehand. You will probably find some deals as you are flying through the store. You may not be saving 75% on your groceries, but even if you save a dollar or two on something you needed, that’s something!  A little bit each week adds up! 

By Sara Keenan, www.sarathesavvyshopper.com

Target’s summer toy clearance is right around the corner, so I wanted to share with you a “tutorial” on what the toy clearance is all about and how to make the most of it to score some cheap toys!!  It’s pretty lengthy, but hopefully full of valuable information for you savvy shoppers! 

What is the Toy Clearance? Target is a wonderful place for many reasons, but one of those reasons is that they have a very specific “formula” for their clearance, unlike Walmart and other big stores. When they decide to clearance items, they will start at either 15 or 30% off and place a pretty red sticker on the package. (Toys almost always start at 30% off). The items then move to 50% off about 2-3 weeks later, then on to 75%. There isn’t an exact time frame for how long each item stays at each level (that we shoppers know of), but one thing you can count on is that if it gets marked down to 30% off…it will almost certainly end up at 75% off unless someone buys it first. That is what makes the toy clearance so awesome. There is no wondering “Will I find this cheaper or should I buy it now?” when things are first marked down because we all know that YES it will get cheaper!

Why on Earth Would I Need More TOYS?! I know what some of you are thinking…why would anyone buy TOYS right now when my house is filled with toys that are barely played with?  Most of us are buying toys for NEXT Christmas and all of the birthdays in between. In addition to my own kids’ birthdays and Christmas, I buy for birthday parties, rainy day surprises, and some to donate. Many people also buy a few extra things to sell on Ebay or Craigslist for a profit. That is a great idea, but do your homework first. Not all toys are going to sell for more than you paid for them, so figure out what will and look for those items.

The Timing. Target has two big toy clearances…one at the end of July and one at the beginning/middle of January. They also clearance toys throughout the year, but the BIG ones are always during these two times. This is when you will see full aisles of toys on clearance in addition to endcaps.

So that is the general timeframe, but how do you find out the exact DAY these toys will end up being 75% off? Well, that is a little more tricky. Since we can narrow down the clearance to a couple of weeks, we know when to start looking. We also know that almost all Targets have a “markdown schedule.” They mark down certain areas of the store on certain days of the week. Most Targets mark down their toy section on Wednesdays or Thursdays. So…we know that we need to check first thing Wednesday and Thursday morning for a new markdown.

The Big Day. Once the big day arrives and you think that things are going to be 75% off, you need to make sure to get to the store that morning. Sure, you may find things the next day, but the best selection will be gone by then. However, going the second the store opens MAY not work in your favor. Some Targets don’t have their markdown team start until a little while after opening, so you may end up waiting around for a while for them to get their work done or worse…you may think that they aren’t marking things down and miss it entirely. I usually try to go around 9:30 or so. I have found that the markdown team at my stores is finishing up by then or at least they are started. If you are desperate for a few big items, though, I would go as early as you can and just wait it out. Yes, it’s a little stalker-ish, but it will be worth it when you can give your kid the toy of their dreams and know that you only spent 25% of it’s value!

The Scanners are Your Friend. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…the scanners are your friend! Do NOT believe the signage on the shelf and/or the red stickers on the items. When in doubt…scan it! There are little red scanners spread throughout Target that you can use to scan your item to see the actual price. If the markdown team is still working in the toy area, you may be able to very politely request that they scan an item for you to see if it will be marked down further if it’s not already marked at 75% off. I have found that if you are polite and patient, they will do this for you. Just remember that they have a job to do and it is hard for them to get it done if you interrupt them 20 times. If I have 2-3 things, I just wait for a good opportunity and ask them to do it all at once. You may find that some employees won’t do this and that’s okay. Just wait around until they get to the item you are wanting.

Which brings me to another point. The way that the markdowns work is that the markdown team has to scan the item for the new price to take effect. But, they don’t have to scan each and every identical item. If there are 25 playdoh sets all marked at 50% off, all of them will immediately be 75% off when they scan the first one. So, you don’t have to worry about them scanning your item and putting the red sticker on, as long as they have already scanned one like it.

Getting Your Deals. It’s totally overwhelming to be there on the day of the 75% off markdown. There will be other people there filling carts (I’ve seen people FILL a flatbed cart) and there are (hopefully) just SO many things. Instead of deliberating over everything, I throw everything I think I MIGHT want into my cart. Then, when I have perused the entire selection, I will go through the cart to narrow things down to what I REALLY want and what is within my budget. There is nothing worse than passing up an item because you aren’t SURE you want it only to see it in someone else’s cart after you decide that you do want it.

Play Nice. This whole thing is kind of a fun game…and it’s a little competitive. But no deal is worth being rude to your fellow bargain shopper (not that any of you lovely people would ever be rude)! I try not to be greedy…if there are 4 of something on the shelf, I always try to leave at least one there for someone else unless I absolutely must have all four. If you are buying to resell on Ebay or Craigslist, don’t clear the shelves. I will not forget last year when I was roaming the aisles and asked a lady where she found the Snow White costume she had in her cart (I was going to see if there were any more). She said, “It was the last one, but here you go…I don’t need it!” I loved that attitude! Sure, there are items on my list that I will absolutely grab and hold on to if I see them. But when it comes down to it, there are going to be things that I like, but that someone else might LOVE. And I’ll be willing to part with them!

So, there you have it! Your very lengthy guide on how to make the most of the Target Toy Clearance. I hope it helps you feel prepared to get some great deals!

I originally wrote this post for my personal blog and included a little bit of extra detail, so if you want to know more, check out that post HERE.   Also, I post updates on my blog when the toys get marked down to 75%, so if you are interested in “stalking” the big sale along with me, make sure to check it out!