Best (and worst) at Tar-zhay

I don't normally do stuff like this, so if you're thinking this post is a little out of the ordinary you'd be correct. I read a quick article I found on MSN today that I found interesting and worth sharing.

I'm a huge fan of Tar-zhay - pretty much do most of my shopping there for everything from clothes to toilet cleaner. So when the title of an article is "Best (and worst) buys at Target", my curiosity peaks and I read on.

Best buys:
- Kindle: Apparently Target is the only store where you can go and buy a Kindle in person for the same price as you can online. I've never had an interest in buying one, but thought this was good to know in case my preferences changed in the near future.
- Green cleaning products: These days all you hear about is 'going green'. I haven't jumped on the band waggon completely yet, but I'd say I have at least one arm on it.
- Groceries: Seriously? Target is an awesome place to pick up banana's and milk? Tis true. Most of the Target stores in my area just recently went through a huge remodel to include more grocery items. I keep getting coupons for free grocery stuff in the mail which tempts me even more to try out their expanded grocery sections. What I didn't know until I read this article was that prices are at least 10% to 20% less than a regular grocery store. (side note from my experience: I know target will allow you to combine one of their coupons with a regular newspaper coupon, but I'm sure you can still get a better deal on some items in the grocery store when places offer double and triple coupon deals, especially if those items are in their weekly circular sale).
- Cosmetics: Yes, I buy a lot of my cosmetic items at Tar-zhay (make-up, shampoo, soap) if I can't get it at one of the big discount retailers in bulk. I have found that Target sells a wide variety of brands of cosmetic items, which is always a good thing.

Not so good buys:
- Furniture: Duh! Why spend $100 on a book case now that will crumble to pieces in one year, when you could spend $200 on one that will last you 10 years? Also - Wal-Mart isn't a smart place to buy furniture either, you never know what kind of wood they make their products out of, if you can even call it wood.
- Movies, Books, Music: Save your mulah and shop online at Amazon.
- Exercise equipment: If you are serious about exercising, and want quality equipment, to go a sporting goods store.
- Plastics, including some toys: The article says that Target is still putting toy's on it's shelves that contain PVC. Since I'm not a mom (yet), I actually had to look this up...which might be admitting my stupidity some, but too late now! Apparently PVC is hazardous from production to disposal - PVC's life cycle uses and releases highly hazardous chemicals which children, particularly infants are extremely vulnerable to. Just look for the recycling symbol with a number '3' in the middle of it - put the toy down, and slowly step away.

I felt a little at ease after finishing the article knowing that Tar-zhay isn't my go-to place for items on the 'worst' list. But I was hoping to find out some insider shopping secrets from the article and was a little disappointed in that fact. By the way, the article does go on to discuss best/worst buys for drugstores and Wal-Mart but since I don't frequent either I didn't think it was worth re-posting.