Black Friday savings

I’m not a big fan of Black Friday simply because, for the vast majority of people, they aren’t really getting deals. Most people are simply paying less for something they wouldn’t have otherwise purchased at full price, and when you buy something you didn’t plan to buy only due to the price, you’re wasting money, not saving it. The one time you do save money is when you purchase something you were already planning to buy for a price lower than you would have regularly purchased it for.

For those who regularly shop at Target during the year, there is one Black Friday deal the store has shown as part of their Black Friday Preview consumers should take full advantage of. It’s not sexy like a big screen TV or some other type of electronic gadget, but it’s guaranteed to save you 10%, which is a great return on your hard-earned money. What you want to do is take advantage of the Black Friday Target gift card 10% off deal.

There are some restrictions, unfortunately, to the deal or it could be even better. Here are the basics:

• The deal is only available at Target stores from 6 am – 12 pm local time.
• The deal is also available online at Target.com from 6 am – 12 pm central time (so you don’t have to actually go to a physical store if you don’t want to).
• Quantities are limited and there are no rainchecks, so you want to secure yours as early as possible
• Target GiftCards purchased can’t be used the same day (Friday). They can be redeemed beginning Saturday, November 29.
• There is a $300 limit per household

If you know you spend $300 at Target during the year, taking advantage of this deal is a no brainer. You’ll get $30 off of purchases you would make anyway, giving you a 10% return on your money. It also appears you can take this a step further and add an additional 5% savings to the deal. Target is also offering 5% off for all purchased made with their Target RedCard. There’s nothing in the advertisement that says you can’t do this, so if you purchased the Target GiftCards this way, you will get them at a 15% discount over their face value. There may be additional ways to save money at Target if they happen to have items you were planning to purchase as part of their Black Friday deals as well.

The key to making this a true savings is to spend those $300 in gift cards on products you would normally buy when at Target during the year. If you end up using them to splurge on something you wouldn’t normally have purchased just because you have them, you won’t save any money. If, on the other hand, you use them to make your everyday purchases and needs while at Target, you guarantee yourself 10% more savings on them.