Posts made in April 2011

Last week I started a series here on My Sweet Savings called Spring Into Couponing. I think it is very important that we as couponers understand how to properly use coupons as well as the basics of Couponing in general. If you missed last week’s post on Where to Find Coupons, you can read that HERE.

Today’s topic is all about Couponing Lingo for the Bargain Enthusiast. Did you know that we couponers have our very own language?

I will never forget when I first started couponing and bargain-hunting several years back. I would search online forums and discussion threads, but not understand some of the abbreviations and terms that people were talking about regarding coupons. What in the world is BOLO or OOP? I thought it would be fun to make

a list of these terms and abbreviations to see just how much you know!

BOGO– Buy One Get One Free

B2G1– Buy Two Get One Free

BOLO– Be on the Lookout *be on the lookout for a certain coupon or product.

OOP– Out of Pocket *after all coupons are accounted for this is how much you use of your actual cash.

WYB– When you buy (for example: I recently found a TP (tear pad) coupon for FREE eggs WYB 2 Kellogg’s cereals)

WT– Wine Tag

NWP– No wine purchase necessary *some of the wine tag coupons that you will find, do not require you to purchase wine!

GC– Gift Card

MIR– Mail in Rebate

OOS– Out of Stock

YMMV– Your Mileage May Vary *this is saying that the deal may vary by location.

POP– Proof of Purchase *many rebates require this!

TMF– Try Me Free *this is like a rebate incentive. You usually have to mail in a proof of purchase with your receipt to receive your refund.

CO– Cents-off coupon

FAR– Free After Rebate

HT– Hang tag *many bottled items will have these types of coupon around the neck of the bottle.

PSA– Prices Starting At *many times in advertisements you will see this in the fine print. It is just letting you know that the prices for that deal start at a certain amount.

AR– After Rebate

AC– After Coupons

UPC– Universal Product Code

RC– Rain Check *if your store is out of a certain item for the week that you really would like to purchase, I find that it is always best to get a rain check! There may be some awesome coupons that come out at a later date for those items! I have often gotten an even better deal on an item that I had a rain check for than when the sale was going for that item!

WSL– While Supplies Last-*no rain checks can usually be issued for these items. They are first come first serve items!

IP– Internet Printables * refers to Internet Printable coupons

DND– Do not double *unfortunately, I don’t have to worry about this as my state does not double coupons; however, many states do double! If you see this term it just means that particular coupon cannot be doubled.

EXP– Expiration

NED– No expiration date *it is rare to find a coupon with no expiration date, but I find that many times when you contact a company they will send you coupons with no expiration date. I love these coupons!

GDA– I love to this term! It means Good Deal Alert or heads up on an awesome deal!

B&M– Brick and Mortar * when you see this term, it usually means that you have to go to the actual (brick & mortar) store to get the deal.

CRT– Cash Register Tape *these are the coupon that print off of your receipt at places like CVS.

SS– Smart Source *this refers to the Smart Source insert coupons found in your Sunday newspaper as well as www.smartsource.com IP coupons.

RP– Red Plum *Sunday insert coupons. You can also print coupons from www.redplum.com

P&G– Proctor and Gamble *insert with coupons for Proctor and Gamble products. This particular insert can usually be found in your Sunday newspaper once at the beginning of each month.

CAT– Catalina *this is a paper coupon that prints from a machine usually at places like Walgreens, or many different grocery stores.

OYNO– On Your Next Order- *many of the CAT coupons that you receive will say that particular coupon is good for your next shopping order.

RR– Register Rewards *these are the paper-like coupons that you receive at Walgreens when you purchase certain advertised items. RR’S print from the Catalina machine and you can use them on most everything at Walgreens! You may also hear these referred to as CAT’s or Catalina coupons.

ECB– Extra Care Bucks *these are the paper coupons that print on your receipt at CVS. You can earn these when you buy certain advertised products. ECB’s are like money that you can spend on pretty much anything at CVS!

Stacking– When you hear this term in coupon world, it means that you are taking a store coupon and pairing it with a manufacturer’s coupon to double your savings! This is one of the best ways to get items for FREE or for pennies on the dollar! Some of my favorite places to stack are: Publix and Target!