Tuesday Tidbits & Tips: A Little Bit Of Coupon Lingo!

You may have noticed that I try very hard NOT to use any coupon lingo that you will not understand. One of my main goals with this blog is to make it as beginner-friendly as possible. Nothing annoyed me more when I first started couponing than reading coupon blogs and having no earthly idea what in the world they were talking about. For that very reason, I try my best to spell out the weekly deals in an easily understandable way - even to the beginner.

With that being said, there are still a few common phrases that get tossed around frequently. Many of you have asked me questions about these, so I thought I'd clarify a few misconceptions...

One coupon per purchase - This means one coupon per ITEM purchased. Pretty much every single coupon out there has this written on it in the fine print. If the coupon is $1/1 and you have 8 of them...you are allowed to use all 8 of them as long as you are buying 8 items.

One coupon per transaction - This means exactly what it sounds like. THIS is the coupon that means you can only use one of them per transaction, no matter how many items you buy.

"Double" Coupons - I mention this quite often in my Publix posts. Doubling coupons is when a store takes the face value of the coupon and doubles the value. Many grocery stores do this in different regions. For example: $.50/1 becomes $1/1

"Do Not Double" - Going along with that same thought...a lot of coupons say "do not double." This means that the face value can not be doubled. It DOES NOT MEAN that you can not use two of them in one transaction (many people think this when first starting out).

Stacking Coupons - Stacking coupons is a term used often to describe pairing a store coupon with a manufacturer's coupon on one single item. The store coupon is a coupon that the store puts out. The store is giving you the deal. A manufacturer's coupon is like most of the ones you find in your Sunday newspaper or printable coupons online. They have bar codes and say "manufacturer's coupon" on them most of the time. The manufacturer is giving you the deal. I always try to specify when a coupon is a store coupon, as opposed to a normal manufacturer's coupon. Most stores allow stacking with no problem. Occasionally, you'll run into a problem at stores that are not coupon-friendly (Walmart *cough* Target *cough*).

Peelies - These are coupons found on the outside of products that peel off, hence their name. One point of confusion that I have come across with many readers -- Peelies ARE indeed manufacturer's coupons. So if you go to a store with a manufacturer's coupon in hand, and then you find a peelie, you can not stack these. That would mean you are trying to use 2 manufacturer's coupons on one item. Not legal. The only time you can use a peelie with another coupon is when it is a "stacking" situation with a store coupon, as I mentioned above.

Blinkies - Coupons that pop out of little machines in the stores. Same as peelies - almost always manufacturer's coupons.

Tearpads - Coupons that are on pads in front of products. You can tear off a couple of coupons to use. Sometimes they're manufacturer's, other times they're great store coupons. It just depends! Keep an eye on what type of coupon it is, though!

Overage - This just means that your coupon value exceeds the price of the item you're buying. This happens a lot of times when you are stacking coupons as mentioned above. Some stores allow it. Other stores do not and will simply price-adjust the coupon value down to make it free. You should always know the coupon policy of the specific store you shop at. We would never want to be doing anything that is against the rules. We are ethical couponers, remember!? =)

BOGO - Buy one get one free. I'm sure most of you know this, but I just wanted to clarify since this is a lingo term I use quite frequently.

ECB - Extra Care Bucks. Part of the rewards program at CVS. Read CVS basics for more info!

RR - Register Rewards. Part of the rewards program at Walgreens. Read Walgreens basics for more info!

PG, RP, and SS - Proctor & Gamble, Red Plum, and Smart Source. All 3 are types of coupon inserts that come in Sunday's newspaper. These are the 3 main types of coupon inserts you'll be using regularly. See couponing basics for more info!

WYB - "When You Buy" I try not to use this kind of lingo often, like I said. But occasionally this one might slip out. =)

OOP - "Out of pocket" This is the money you end up paying after all coupons.

PSA - "Prices start at" Again, one that I try to never use, but just in case!

Rain Check - When a store is out of a deal that they advertised, you can usually get a "raincheck." It is basically a pass to come back and get the deal at a later date when the item is back in stock. It enables you to get the advertised sale price at a later date, in a nutshell. CVS even gives rainchecks for ECB deals! It's awesome!!

IE/FF - Internet Explorer and FireFox. These are 2 types of internet browsers. I refer to them with these abbreviations at times when I give you 2 different links to printable coupons.

$1/1 - $1 off of 1 item

2/$1 - 2 items cost $1

I hope that helps some of you out, especially those of you who recently came across this blog and feel a little lost. Feel free to e-mail me any time for help or questions that you have!

What About You: Was this post helpful to you? Learn anything new??

Want to see other great Tidbits & Tips? Be sure to go HERE to read all of them from the past weeks!