How to Save Money at Target...and Everywhere Else

I manage to find myself in Target multiple times a week, picking up shampoo, printer paper, or Western groceries. Given my husband's recent career transition, we have been trying to cut back, and I'm happy to have found another way to stretch our budget without affecting our quality of life.

For any chain stores we patronize regularly, I try to buy gift cards at a discount on the secondary market. Cardpool and Plastic Jungle both sell below value gift cards.* The balance on the gift cardsis verified by the seller, and they ship out quickly via USPS.  I have used both sites extensively without a problem (and they aren't paying me to write this.) I usually check both sites, and purchase from the one that offers the high discount on a particular vendor's card. Currently, I buy Target gift cards at 6% off face value to stret our grocery budget. Since CodeMonkey frequently uses Starbucks to work or meet clients, I buy their gift cards at 15% off and transfer the balance to his Starbucks account. If we were in the position of needing to buy either of us a large work wardrobe again, I'd definitely look to these sites first, as certain clothing store gift cards seem to go for 20% off face value. When you combine that with sales and discount codes, the savings can be substantial.

*If you have unwanted gift cards lying around the house, they'll buy those too, at a percentage below face value.