Common Terms in Couponing

Using coupons in today's less than stellar economy can mean a huge savings in your household budget. Learning the abbreviations used by experienced couponers will assist you in finding the best deals in your area, resulting in more money that stays in your wallet. Here are a few of the common terms found on coupon sites such as Hot Coupon World, and the definitions of each of these terms.

Coupon Doubling: Some stores will double the face value of a coupon; this varies widely by region, and is usually limited to grocery stores. Check with your particular store to see if they double coupons, and if there is a limit to what they will double. For example, a common store practice is to double coupons whose face value is 99 cents or lower. Some coupons state that they are not to be doubled, so be sure to read the fine print.

BOGO: aka, "Buy One, Get One." This simply means that the advertised item is buy one at full price, and get the second like item for free. This type of deal may also ring up in the register as 50% off each item, which means you only have to purchase one item to get the sale price, but this varies from store to store.

B2G1: aka, "Buy Two, Get One." Similar to the BOGO, this deal requires that you purchase two items, and then you will get the third item for free.

Catalina: A catalina is a coupon that prints from a special printer, usually located by the cashier's register. A catalina can print from a manufacturer, such as printing a coupon for a specific company or brand. The catalina may also be store specific, such as a coupon for $1.00 off your next order. You can receive multiple catalinas with each transaction if you are purchasing qualifying items.

Blinkie: A blinkie is a coupon that is found in a small box that is usually found attached to the front of store shelves, and gets its name from the small red light that blinks on the box. Generally blinkies cannot be doubled, so be sure to read the wording on the coupon for correct usage.

Peelie: A peelie is a sticker that is put directly onto an item, usually by the manufacturer. The peelie has a barcode on the back of the sticker, and can be scanned just like a regular coupon. Be sure to read the peelie before removing it yourself; occasionally there will be wording that requires the peelie to be removed by the cashier in order to be eligible for the discount.

ONYO: aka "on your next order." This is a coupon that is usually in catalina form, and is good to be used on your next purchase at that store. Note that some items may be excluded from this deal, such as tobacco products or lottery tickets, etc.

ECB: aka "extra care bucks." This is a term used exclusively for the system used by CVS stores. By using your CVS loyalty card, you will earn extra care bucks back on advertised items, which can then in turn be used as cash to purchase other items at CVS stores.

RR: aka "register rewards." Similar to the extra care bucks, the register rewards system is utilized by Walgreens. You earn the register rewards by buying items advertised in their weekly ad, and a catalina will print for the register rewards, which can then be used as cash at Walgreens.

Stockpile: This is when couponers will purchase multiple quantities of the same item. By combining sales and coupons, expert couponers learn to stockpile items at a very low cost so that they will not have to spend full price on a later date for that item.

Inserts: The inserts are coupons found in the newspapers, generally on Sunday editions. The three main inserts that you can find are put out by SmartSource, Red Plum, and P&G.

DND: aka "do not double." This term is found on some coupons, in order to tell stores not to double the face value of that particular coupon; it can also say "do not triple."

Internet Printable: This is a coupon that is printed from your computer, from sites such as the one found here. Internet printables, sometimes abbreviated as "IP" can be available directly from a manufacturer, or can be available in the form of a specific store coupon, such as those available at Target. Some stores do not accept internet printables, so it is important to ask before using them.

OOP: aka "out of pocket." This is a term that you will see when couponers are discussing the great deals they have found; the object is to pay the lowest oop (out of pocket) price possible. This is achieved by combining sales and coupons, and taking advantage of any catalina deals available.

Learning to use coupons to save money on buying grocery items and beauty products will certainly help to stretch your dollars and cents further than you can imagine. Learning the lingo that couponers use will help you to spot deals in no time.