If a person went to France, he or she would likely assume that they needed at least elementary understanding of French in order to communicate even on a basic level. By contrast, however, many people believe that they should be able to walk into the couponing world and just get down to work without having to learn new terms by which they can better understand what they are undertaking. It's just not true. You can clip the coupons, but if you can't talk the talk, you won't be able to best understand how to use them or how to get help when someone begins to talk couponese to you.
In that vein, in order to make a successful start at couponing there are several things which you must first know and understand about the language of couponing.
Coupon Terms
You will want to keep this page book-marked so that you have a reference for your use in the future. Each of these terms you will find either on my website or on other similar websites. Most of these are acronyms for words or phrases which would mean something to you if you only knew what the letter stood for. I will give you the acronym, it's translation, and the meaning of the translation.
BOGO or B1G1 – Buy one, get one free
Blinkie – a coupon dispenser usually on a grocery store aisle that blinks at you as you pass.
CAB – Children's Activity Book (found at Walgreens)
Catalina – A coupon dispensed by the register for money off a future transaction.
CRT – Cash Register Tape – this is a coupon usually printed on the back of a receipt.
ECB – Extra Care Buck – These are at CVS, and they can be used like money at CVS. For the week of April 11,2010, printed in the CVS circular was, “ When you purchase Dove Shampoo or Conditioner for $4.49, you'll earn a $4.49 Extra Buck. It's like getting it free!” So you take your Dove shampoo to the cashier. The cashier scans the item and your coupon (if you have one). You pay the difference, but you'll get a coupon at the bottom of your receipt for $4.49 off a future purchase. This coupon is called an ECB or Extra Care Buck.
FARR - Free After Register Rewards – Register Rewards are covered later in this list. FARR means that once you buy an item, you'll receive a Register Reward equal to the price which you paid for the item.
Filler Item - These are items which cost very little. This usually comes into play mostly at CVS and Walgreens. The purpose of these items is two fold. The first being to either enable you to use all your coupons and Register Rewards. The second being to bring your total to a level which will enable you to use all your coupons at CVS.
IVC – Instant Value Coupon – these usually refer to coupons printed either on an ad itself, on a coupon page, or even in a coupon book. These are usually store specific.
MM – Money Maker – Oftentimes especially at drug stores, but sometimes at other types of stores, you will 'earn' a catalina by purchasing an item(s). When the money you pay after coupons is less than the amount of the catalina, you have what is known in coupon world as a “Money Maker” because by buying a specific item, you make money on the transaction. In April of 2010, I walked into a local grocery store. I purchased six Pillsbury containers of refrigerated biscuits. After coupons, I paid $2.40 for all six, but I got a $4 catalina back for a future purchase. I “made” $1.60 by buying biscuits. Hence the term “Money Maker”.
MQ – Manufacturer's Coupon – This is a coupon on which the words “Manufacturer's Coupon” is printed.
OOP – Out of Pocket – This usually refers to the amount of money you have to pay after coupons, but before catalinas. In the above scenario with the Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits, I had to pay $2.40 OOP (out of pocket) before I “made” my $4. Sometimes it refers to the end result of a transaction after catalinas and coupons when you still have to pay. In April of 2010, I headed to Walgreen's to purchase some CoverGirl make up. After discounts and coupons and catalinas, I still had to pay $1.50 for each of the Simply Ageless foundations (usually $11-$15!). I still had to pay, so my OOP for that transaction was $1.50.
Overage – This is what occurs when your coupon value is greater than the price of the item which you are purchasing. If your coupon is for $1 off toothpaste, but you find a tube of toothpaste on clearance for $.50, the difference between the $.50 you owe and the $1 that your coupon will take off is called 'overage'. The amount of overage you 'earn' will generally be deducted off of other items in your cart.
PG or P&G – Proctor and Gamble – They have a monthly coupon insert in the weekend paper. Proctor and Gamble make such products as Pantene, Bounty, Cascade, Pampers, and many others.
Peelie – A coupon found attached with adhesive to a product which you are purchasing.
psa – Prices Starting At – In some of the circulars, they won't list how much every item of a certain brand of items on sale costs. Instead they will say “prices starting at. . .” so that you have a basic idea what is the least you'll have to pay for an item. In a recent CVS circular, if you purchased $20 in items from a specific list you earned a $5 ECB. They didn't list the prices of each Nivea or Tone product. Instead at the bottom of that page in the circular, you saw prices starting at $4.99.
Q – Coupon
RP – Red Plum – They have an almost weekly insert in the weekend edition of the paper.
RR – Register Reward – This is from Walgreen's. This is a coupon for money off a future purchase when you buy specified items each week. Last week Walgreen's had Nature's Bounty vitamin D vitamins on sale for $5. After the cashier scanned the item and your coupon, I paid any money due. After the cashier closed the drawer, a Register Reward for $5 printed off of a special printer next to the cash register. I can use that on any future purchase.
SS – Smart Source – They have an almost weekly insert in the weekend edition of the paper.
Tearpad – A pad of coupons from which you can tear one or more coupon sheets off. These are usually found on grocery store aisles.
wyb – When you buy. Sometimes you'll see a coupon that says, “Get a free product “A” when you buy product “B”. Oftentimes people on coupon websites will abbreviate it “Get product “A” wyb product “b.”
YMMV – Your Mileage May Vary. This is a fancy way of saying, that “my store did it, but your store may not. Don't expect them to work out the same.” In February of this year, Toys R Us had a one day BOGO sale on “My Little Pony's”. I had read about the sale that some stores were not allowing people to use a BOGO coupon with the sale. Websites would read YMMV. In other words, I got both of mine for free, but some people are having trouble and you may not be as fortuitous as I was.
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