Couponer's Lingo

Here is a small list of acronyms for 

couponing blogs and sites to help you understand 

what we are actually talking about! 

$/$$ - dollars off when you buy x amount of dollars
$/x - dollars off when you buy x number of items
Blinkies - In-store Smart Source coupons (come from little machine next to product)
BOGO/B1G1 - Buy one, get one free
Catalina - coupon printed from a special machine at the register after a purchase
CNP - Coupon Near Product–usually a coupon found in the store next to the product.
Competitor’s Coupon - A store coupon that is used at a competing store.
Double Coupon - Coupon that the store doubles in value.
ECBs - Extra Care Bucks (from CVS stores)
FAR - Free After Rebate
GM - General Mills (newspaper insert)
IP - Internet Printable
K - Kellogg’s (newspaper insert)
MFR or MQ - Manufacturer’s Coupon
MIR - Mail In Rebate
OOP - Out of Pocket
OYNO - On Your Next Order
P&G - Proctor & Gamble (newspaper insert)
Peelie - A coupon attached to a product that you can use immediately
Q - Coupon
RP - Red Plum (newspaper insert)
RR - Register Rewards (from Walgreens stores)
SCR - Single Check Rebate (rebate system at Rite-Aid)
SS - Smart Source (newspaper insert)
Stack - to use multiple (store, competitor, manufacturer) coupons for a single item.
Store Coupon or SQ - a coupon published by a specific store to be used at that store.
Tear Pad - a stack or pad of coupons or rebates located near a product in the store
UP+ - Up Reward (Rite Aid Stores)
WYB - When You Buy

Understanding the Fine Print on the Coupons

Limit Per Purchase: The number of coupons you can use per item listed on the coupon. If the coupon is for cents off one item, you can use one coupon for every one item. If the coupon is for cents off two items, you can use one coupon for every two items.

Limit Per Transaction: Every time you make an exchange with the cashier and get a receipt, you are completing a transaction. The limit of coupons you can use per transaction refers to the number of coupons you can use on one receipt.

Limit Per Shopping Trip: This piece of fine print means that you are only allowed to use one coupon every time you enter the store. If you wanted to redeem more than one coupon like this, you’d have to return to the store later and make a second “shopping trip” to redeem it.

Limit Per Customer: This technically means that you may only use one coupon to get one deal. In practice, this is rarely enforced because if you come back the next day for the same deal, there’s not much chance anyone will notice. Ignoring this rule probably won’t interrupt your order at all, but it is a questionable ethics practice because using coupons they way they were intended to be used is important.

Limit of “Like” Coupons: This refers to the number of identical coupons you can use in one transaction. Generally, you can use the same amount on another transaction on the same day. This is a popular bit of fine print for Proctor and Gamble coupons.

Limit of Like Products in one Shopping Trip: This means that you can only purchase a certain number of the items on the coupon in one trip. So even if you use coupons that are not identical but refer to the same item, you can only purchase a certain number.

Do Not Double: This is another tricky coupon area. Many coupons say “Do Not Double” but are still automatically doubled at the cash register. Any coupon that says “Do Not Double” should be assumed as a non-doubling coupon.