You can know everything there is to know about coupons and still scratch your head over all the coupon lingo out there! Here’s my comprehensive guide to that confusing coupon lingo!
Happy Friday! It’s been awhile since we’ve had a couponing post around here so I thought I’d share, arguably, one of the most helpful one for you today! If you’ve already started checking out some of the great couponing resources out there {and I really hope you have} you’re probably looking at all those abbreviations wondering “what in the heck does ‘oop’ mean?”
When I first started I actually thought a whole bunch of people kept misspelling oops. Until finally I googled. Then I thought “ooooooooooh”. Total lightbulb moment. So I’m saving you from having to google all those terms. Aren’t I nice? {The answer is ‘yes’}. And I’m compiling the most popular terms in this post.
If you haven’t read my Couponing for Beginners Series yet make sure you check it out! Who doesn’t want to save hundreds of dollars at the grocery store every month?
On to the list. Save it. Print it. Memorize it. Just kidding. Sort of.
CW – cartwheel. Cartwheel is a free app from Target that allows you to save 5% to 50% and sometimes more on items you already purchase at Target. Download the app and sign up with your Facebook or Google+ profile (which provides free advertising for Target and the app) and get instant savings at checkout on things you buy every day including milk, cheese, flour, and more!
BD – breakdown. Lots of people will post this underneath a picture of someone’s shopping trip haul. It means that they want to know what you bought and how much the coupon was that you used. I posted a breakdown of back to school supplies at the beginning of August that you can read here just to see what I mean.
Blinkie – This is a coupon that comes out of a little machine with a red blinking light. They’ll be attached to shelves near the product they apply to. Remember your coupon etiquette and take only one per member of your family!
BOGO/B1G1 – Buy One Get One. This means when you buy one product you get a second product for free. There are lots of variations of this with the same idea. Some might include B2G1 {buy two get one free}, BOGO50 {buy one get one 50% off}
Catalina – These are slips that print out at the register. They’re longer and skinnier than regular coupons. Sometimes they’re store specific but usually they’ll say “manufacturer’s coupon” on the top. They can be anything from dollars off of your next order to coupons for a certain product. One of my regular stores prints coupons for a local craft store! Score!
Double Coupons – Some stores double coupons. It depends on the store and region. Some double up to $0.50, some up to $0.75 or even $0.99 like my favorite store 🙂 This means that a $0.50 coupon will double to $1 and a $0.75 coupon will double to $1.50.
ECB – ExtraCare Bucks. ExtraCare Bucks is a rewards program at CVS. Several sale items each week will produce ExtraCare Bucks which print at the end of your receipt like a coupon and are good on your next purchase.
EXP – Expires or Expiration date. This abbreviation will often follow a coupon that you see on a database. It tells you what month, day, and year the coupon will expire.
GC – gift card. Stores like Target offer gift card deals that require you to buy a certain number of products and you will receive a gift card. For example: Buy 3 Secret Deodorant and get a $5 gift card. The best part is you can also stack manufacturer’s AND Target coupons on top of these gift card deals and end up paying almost nothing!
Inserts – These are the little booklets of coupons that come in your Sunday paper. Smartsource, Redplum, and Proctor&Gamble are the 3 most common. Smartsource and Redplum will generally show up every week while P&G comes once a month either at the very end or the very beginning of the month.
ISO – in search of. You’ll see this all the time on social media. I love to trade coupons instead of purchasing them so I’ll put up a post saying I’m “ISO xx coupon” and if someone has this coupon they’ll reply and we can set up a trade.
MM – money maker. This is when an item you buy is actually putting cash back in your pocket either through a gift card deal, ECB’s, or RR’s. An item is a money maker when your cost is a negative net value.
MQ or ManuQ – manufacturer’s coupon. This is just what it says, a manufacturer’s coupon. You’ll clip these from the paper and print them online. They will ALWAYS say “Manufacturer’s Coupon” somewhere on the coupon.
NLA – no longer available. This means that an internet printable coupon has reached its printing limit and can no longer be printed.
One Coupon Per Purchase – A lot of people confuse this with one coupon per transaction. A purchase is whatever is stated on the coupon. So if your coupon says $1 off 1 box of Cheerios cereal you can buy 2 boxes and use 2 coupons.
One Coupon Per Transaction – A lot of people confuse this with one coupon per purchase. A transaction is basically everything that would be included on a receipt. Lots of stores, like Target, and some coupons, like P&G, generally have a transaction limit of 4. So if you have 8 coupons and 8 items while shopping at Target you would need to do 2 different transactions.
OOP – out of pocket. This is the amount of money you took out of your wallet and handed over to the cashier. People sometimes use this incorrectly. If you use shopping apps or get back gift cards from a purchase they should not factor into your out of pocket. You’re getting that money back {and that’s great!} but you still spent what you spent.
P&G – Proctor&Gamble. This is one of the coupon booklets or inserts that comes in the Sunday paper. You will only see this at the very end or very beginning of the month.
Peelie – This is a coupon that is taped to the front of a product and has to be peeled off. There are different opinions on the type of etiquette associated with these. I will often peel off a few even if I’m not buying the product that day others say this is bad etiquette. I’ll leave it up to you as long as you’re not taking more than one per member of your family! 😉
PP – paypal. Lots of people sell and buy coupons on social media. So someone who is “PP Ready” knows they will have to pay for what they are looking for and is ready to pay you via paypal for your coupons.
RC – rain check. A rain check is something you request from customer service for a product that is currently on sale and out of stock. It will allow you to come back and purchase that product at a later date for the sale price listed on your rain check. Rain checks NEVER expire. However, not all stores give rain checks. Target, for instance, rarely writes rain checks and usually states in their circular that rain checks are not available for sale items.
RR – register reward. A register reward is one of two rewards programs at Walgreens. Several sale items each week will produce register rewards which print at the end of your receipt like a coupon and are good on your next purchase.
RP – Redplum. This is one of the coupon booklets or inserts that comes in the Sunday paper.
SS – Smartsource. This is one of the coupon booklets or inserts that comes in the Sunday paper.
TP – Tear Pad. These coupons are similar to blinkies. You’ll find them near the product they apply to but they’ll look like a notepad. Remember your coupon etiquette and take only one per member of your family!
TQ – Target coupon. This is pretty self explanatory. You print these coupons from target.com/coupons and you can sometimes clip them out of the paper as well.
UFT – up for trade. This is another thing you’ll see on social media a lot. If I’m looking for a coupon or I’m ISO odds are I’ll also list a few coupons I’m willing to trade for what I’m looking for.
YMMV – your mileage may vary. This means that this deal is either region or store specific. Could apply to clearance, sales, coupons, store policy, anything that is likely to vary from place to place. People will generally use this when they’ve found a deal they think is probably just specific to their store or area.
Know of some other popular terms I forgot? Let me know in the comments or email me at cookcraftloveblog{at}gmail{dot}com!
