I’ve always been a fan of having money. Not so much on saving it. Mr. FullCup is quite the opposite. He likes the idea of having money and loves the idea of saving. I’m sure if he had his way we would never spend a penny. We would instead save it all for the illusive rainy day, and on that day he would declare it too wet and rainy to go anywhere to spend anything. We would I’m sure be living on the street somewhere with our pockets bulging with money.

Well maybe not our pockets. Maybe our bank account. I can almost picture him dumpster diving at McDonald’s for breakfast.

“LOOK, dear! And it only has one bite out of it!!!”

All in jest. Yes, all in jest. He wouldn’t do that in a million years. We would live in a house and purchase the bare necessities, and the rest would be socked away never to be seen or heard from again.

I have come a long way in our relationship. I’m no longer as diametrically opposed to saving.  I’m also much more apt to choose not to spend the cash in my wallet.  I get excited when I can see a considerable savings in my purchases. My girls know my mantra on the clearance rack, “Oh. That’s CUTE!” quick check of the price tag, “Too bad that price isn’t good enough.”

My favorite store is Target. I love it. I know, I know, they’ve gotten a bad rap in the past. But I’m still a fan. I am most decidedly not a fan of WalMart. I can’t actually remember the last time I was in our Walmart store.  I can remember my last visit to that store, but not when it was. I remember the day quite vividly, the cashier angrily informed me I was stupid.

I recently found out about an app for those shopping at Target. It’s available for both the iPhone and android. The app itself is FREE!!!

Target’s Cartwheel app is the perfect shopping tool for saving money. You can load their discounts to your account, and they just scan the barcode straight from your phone.  You initially can pick 10 items to save $$ when you purchase. They do have an expiration date, so you’ll want to plan ahead. The more you use it, the more items you can have saved to purchase.

We saved money this morning on: Emergen-C (it’s that time of year), Up&Up brand wet floor cloths, Disinfecting Wipes, eggs, oatmeal, kleenex, items from the dollar section, and dish soap. You can combine with Target coupons, manufacturer’s coupons, and clearance prices!   And! If you purchase multiples of the same item, you save the % on each item! For example, they had eggs on sale, 2 dozen for $3. I bought to, but because I used the cartwheel app and had the eggs in my list of purchases, I got each dozen for $1.42. We made 4 purchases from the dollar section, and saved 20% on each item. (Typically you can save 5-40% per item. And the percentage is listed on the app.)

To do a not quite so shameless plug, Target also gives you a $0.05 discount for using your own bag. I always carry my large utility tote from 31 with me. I put it in the cart, load my purchases into it. Then when I’m ready to check out, I take the bag out of the cart, they take the items out, and replace them.  I put the bag back in the cart and away I go.  (You can purchase a large utility tote through my website http://www.mythirtyone.com/vgarrett)

What is your favorite way to save money?