Couponing 101: Lingo

Last time in my Cutting Your Grocery Bill series, I talked about where to get coupons. Starting in November, I will be regularly posting about printable coupons again every Thursday and some Sundays.

Onto Week Two: Coupon Lingo and a Few Tips & Tricks

As coupon inserts in the newspaper are one of the main sources for coupons, I wanted to go over abbreviations for these categories.

Sunday Newspaper abbreviations:

GM = General Mills
PG = Procter & Gamble
RP = Red Plum
SS = SmartSource

*Date for insert is typically in very small print on the spine of the insert.

CVS and Walgreens lingo:

ECB = Extra Care Bucks – CVS in-store credit/money
RR = Register Reward – Walgreens in-store credit/money
IVC = Instant Value Coupon – found in the monthly Walgreens Easy Saver booklet (you can find those in store)

Other Money Saving terms:

B1G1 or BOGO = Buy One, Get One Free
B2GI = Buy Two, Get One Free
DND = Do Not Double
EX or X = Expires On
FILLER = Item Purchased to Reach a Minimum Total in Order to Get a “Deal” (used for Walgreens purchases)
MC or MQ = Manufacturer’s coupon
Printable Pennies = Internet printable coupons
STACKING: Using Both a Store Coupon and a Manufacturer’s Coupon on One Item
UPC = Universal Product Code – Those black straight lines with numbers under them

Remember, in getting started with coupons, pick one or two stores to use coupons at and get to know them. Walmart is a good place to start as they take most coupons and even give cash back if the value of the coupon is more than the product!! (I’ll write a post about Walmart’s coupon policy specifically later.)

I would also advise that you start with getting coupon inserts only on Sundays in which the P & G comes out (only once a month) – this reduces how many coupons you start off with and help you to not be too overwhelmed.

Thirdly, I would suggest you only print out coupons if you already buy that product to begin with.

Next Saturday I’ll be talking about how to organize your coupons!