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Coupon Lingo Quick Reference Guide

by Tara Kuczykowski on December 27, 2008 · 49 comments

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Probably one of the most frequent emails I receive is in regards to all those abbreviations that we “couponistas” use when posting store deals, so this list has been a long time in the making.

Sunday inserts:

P&G = Procter & Gamble Sunday insert
RP = Red Plum
SS = SmartSource
V = Valassis

2009 Coupon Insert Schedule

When I list the store deals and refer to a coupon from a Sunday insert, the information on where to find the coupon is in parentheses. For example,
(SS 12/14/08) would indicate that a coupon came from a SmartSource insert that was distributed in the 12/14/08 Sunday newspaper.

Coupon lingo:

$1/1, $1/2, etc. = One dollar off one item, one dollar off two items, etc.
2/$1, 3/$2, etc. = Two items for one dollar, three items for two dollars, etc.
BOGO = Buy one item get one item free
B2GO = Buy two items get one item free
Blinkies = Grocery/drugstore coupon dispensers with blinking lights
Cat = Catalina coupon, prints from a separate machine when your receipt prints
CRT = Cash register tape, usually used when referring to CVS coupons that print with receipt
ECBs = ExtraCare Bucks, CVS loyalty rewards system
ESRs = EasySaver Rebates, Walgreens monthly rebates program
FAR = Free after rebate
IPQ = Internet printable coupon
IVC = Instant Value Coupon, Walgreens’ store coupons found in ads and ESR booklet
MFR = Manufacturer
MIR = Mail-in rebate
OYNO = On your next order
OOP = Out of pocket
Peelie = Peel-off coupon found on product packaging
PSA = Prices starting at
RRs = Register Rewards, Walgreens’ Catalina coupons
SCR = Single Check Rebate, Rite Aid monthly rebates program
UPC = Universal Product Code, bar code on a product
WT = Wine tag, no alcohol purchase necessary to use these coupons
WYB = When you buy
YMMV = You mileage (or manager) may vary, some stores may allow you to do a deal, some may not.

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{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }

1 momstheword December 27, 2008 at 3:40 pm

I have to admit I have never done the deal shopping at Walgreens that a lot of you seem to be doing. That is one of the things I want to look into this year. I don’t buy a lot of stuff they sell but I do want to see if it would be worth it for me to shop there.

I do most of my shopping at Costco and Winco, and Costco doesn’t take coupons and Winco only takes manuf. coupons, not internet.

We are planning on going on a sort of financial “diet” in order to meet some goals so I will definitely be doing a whole lot more planning and looking into things like this!

2 Laurie March 31, 2009 at 5:02 am

Does anyone know if it is “legal” to use a manufacturer coupon in addition to the “save $ now” peelies found on certain items? Are the peelies considered manufacturer “coupons”? My example was a $3 off Q for an item that had a save $2 now peelie- so should I be able to use both, or just one or the other?

3 Deal Seeking Mom March 31, 2009 at 7:33 am

Laurie, they’re both manufacturer coupons, so you can only use one or the other.

4 Sarah April 21, 2009 at 8:12 pm

I keep seeing the V for Valassis, but I’m not sure what it is. Is it a separate coupon insert? I went to their website and they mentioned Red Plum. Are these the same? Thanks for your advice!

5 Tara Kuczykowski April 21, 2009 at 8:18 pm

Yes, Valassis and Red Plum are the same thing.

6 Sarah April 21, 2009 at 8:30 pm

Thanks for your help!

7 Jenny May 14, 2009 at 1:07 am

can anyone tell me what “Teal Quick print on right side bar” is?

8 Tara Kuczykowski May 14, 2009 at 1:24 am

Jenny, in the far right sidebar under the Printable Coupons header is a teal-colored widget that you can print coupons from. Sometimes it just shows up as a Coupons.com ad, so I know it can be confusing.

9 cheri May 31, 2009 at 1:24 pm

Can you get more than one of the same RR producing product in the same transaction and still get all the RR’s? The Ecotrin is $2, I have 5 of the $2 off q’s – can I get all 5 in one shot, and get $10 back in RR’s? Or will it only give me $2 (for the first one)? Thanks so much.

10 cheri May 31, 2009 at 2:06 pm

The above post was in reference to walgreen’s, and I think I posted it in the wrong spot…sorry!!! I reposted under the weekly ad it actually applies to.

11 Laurie June 1, 2009 at 3:52 am

Hey Cheri,
At Walgreens, you can not buy all 5 in one order or only 1 RR will print for that particular item. BUT, if you hit a few different RR deals (ex. an ecotrin, a toothpaste, a haircolor, etc.) in the same transaction they all will print their respective RRs (as long as the items aren’t from the same mfr.- gotta watch that too!). Hope this helps. :)

12 Donna June 4, 2009 at 8:47 am

If a coupon says “one per purchase” is that one coupon per transaction or if you have 2 or more of the same coupons and are going to purchase that amount of the same items you can use each coupon? Some stores only allow you to use one coupon others as long as it scans they don’t care.

13 Tara Kuczykowski June 4, 2009 at 10:37 am

One per purchase is essentially saying one per item. The only time you would be limited to using a single coupon in a transaction is when they explicitly state “one per transaction” or “one per person”.

14 Peggi Clark June 4, 2009 at 7:29 pm

I do not understand them talking about stacking coupons at Target, is that using more than one on an items. Can you do that? Someone please explain

15 Tara Kuczykowski June 4, 2009 at 8:34 pm

Peggi, you can stack a Target store coupon and a manufacturer’s coupon on one item. A store coupon is offered through the store and is basically like a sale price. A manufacturer’s coupon is obviously offered through the manufacturer.

16 JerryK June 20, 2009 at 1:57 pm

I see numerous references to using multiple coupons from the SS or RP inserts; i.e. “use three $1/1 coupons” on a particular savings opportunity. How does one obtain more than a single coupon without buying multiple newspapers? These are not internet coupons that may be available in quantities of two each or more, if printed from different computers.

17 Tara Kuczykowski June 20, 2009 at 2:03 pm

JerryK, you can find a list of resources for obtaining additional newspaper insert coupons by clicking on the Coupons tab at the top of the page. Here’s the direct link:

http://www.dealseekingmom.com/coupons/

18 Tara Andrews June 22, 2009 at 9:27 am

Can you get past editions of coupons online? For example, can you get a Smart Source coupon from the first week of June? I tried finding them on their website, but couldn’t find how.

19 Tara Kuczykowski June 22, 2009 at 10:15 am

Tara, you can’t get past printable coupons, but you can get past newspaper insert coupons. There’s a list of resources here:

http://www.dealseekingmom.com/coupons/

20 Ana June 27, 2009 at 3:09 am

Are all the inserts (P&G, Red Plum , Smart Source) in one Sunday newspaper? Or is it one or the other?

21 Tara Kuczykowski June 27, 2009 at 10:46 am

These inserts all come in the Sunday paper, but not all inserts are available every week. You can see a list of scheduled inserts at the following link.

http://www.dealseekingmom.com/coupon-insert-schedule/

22 rea July 4, 2009 at 8:58 pm

Does CVS accept expired coupons? Do you know of any retailers that do take expired coupons? If so which ones?

23 Tara Kuczykowski July 4, 2009 at 10:51 pm

S0me CVS stores will accept expired manufacturer coupons. I recommend asking the manager at your favorite stores what their policy is. You might be surprised at who will accept them.

24 Traci Caple July 6, 2009 at 12:41 pm

How do you get the SCR’s at Rite Aid? Are they printables from an internet site or forms available somewhere at the store?

25 Tara Kuczykowski July 6, 2009 at 12:47 pm

Traci, you submit for them on the Rite Aid website, and then they mail you a rebate check once a month.

26 Mary Furr July 7, 2009 at 11:32 pm

Tara, I signed up online for Rite Aid SCR’s……even if I forget to mail them in, Rite Aid sends me the SCR check anyway.

27 Emily July 15, 2009 at 10:03 am

Do coupons need to be printed in color or would a b/w print be ok?

28 Tara Kuczykowski July 15, 2009 at 10:18 am

Emily, it varies by store. I know they’re more likely to take them if they’re printed in color, but it’s not a requirement.

29 Betty Edmnds July 27, 2009 at 7:29 pm

My checked coupons didn’t print off

30 Amberly July 28, 2009 at 7:35 pm

I didn’t see any poptart coupons on redplum.com

Help?

31 claudia August 6, 2009 at 10:49 am

can you please tell me what FLIP in the food lion post stands for?

32 judi drummond August 7, 2009 at 11:39 am

I’m with claudia (last post on 8/6 at 10/49 am)…what does FLIP mean? thanks

33 Kaylia August 10, 2009 at 3:19 pm

Hey what news paper do you guys buy, i live in brooklyn and bought the daily news yesterday and it was a waste of money there was only the redplum insert and it had more pet food coupons then anything else

34 Tamara August 19, 2009 at 11:34 pm

I have a question most of the of the examples I understand. However this one I don’t think it was done right:
Eggo Pancakes (14.1 to 16.4-oz.), $2.79
$1/2 Eggo Frozen Product, exp. 9-27-09 (Kellogg’s/Keebler Insert 8/2/09)
$0.89 ea. after coupon!

Ok the coupon was to be used for 2 items so how is it .89 that is the price for one?

35 Tara Kuczykowski August 20, 2009 at 12:07 am

Hi Tamara – it depends on the store that you found this particular scenario on. It could be that the item is on a BOGO as the Publix deals often are.

36 Tamara August 20, 2009 at 12:15 am

Thanks so much for the quick response. This was for the Food Lion post and I did look @ the ad and the waffles are on a BOGO deal, thanks for helping me get the most out of my shopping.

37 jackied September 22, 2009 at 9:12 pm

If I have a mfr coupon for $1/2 Hellmans mayo and I get two , can I use a second mfr $1/2 Hellmans mayo, since I have two of the item? Or is it a one coupon limit when it says it’s for 2?

38 Tara Kuczykowski September 22, 2009 at 11:52 pm

It’s a one coupon limit because you have to purchase 2 items to get the discount.

39 Jackie Daniels September 23, 2009 at 8:59 pm

Thanks Tara!

40 kristen September 28, 2009 at 10:54 pm

If a coupon says like one dollar off when you buy two, do you have to buy two? or can you just buy one item and still get the coupon savings?

41 Tara Kuczykowski September 28, 2009 at 11:02 pm

You have to buy whatever amount is specified on the coupon, so in that case you’d need to purchase two.

42 Glenda October 11, 2009 at 9:42 pm

Hey guys, I’m just starting ….any great tips on getting going on this couponing?

43 Anna October 11, 2009 at 10:47 pm

Can you give me a list of where a cvs market might be located

44 Amy October 12, 2009 at 10:20 pm

Tara thanks for all of your help! I REALLY appreciate it! Do you know if Meijer stacks their coupon with manufacture coupons like Target does?
Thanks Amy

45 Donna October 12, 2009 at 11:25 pm

For the person who wanted to know where to locate a CVS. You can call 1-800-ShopCVS or go on line to CVS.com. You also can print coupons from their website to be used at the store. Remember when you first go there to sign-up for an extra care card. It gets you all the sale prices and earns you extra bucks. After you get your extracare card then go back to their website and register your card and they will send you more coupons. I get them every week usually on Friday. Also they give you alot of helpful health info. If you need more info about CVS let me know I not only work there but before working there shopped there all the time.

46 elizabethlilly October 14, 2009 at 2:23 pm

I can’t get the coupons to print out on my personal coupon box. I clicked the print button and it just lists my coupons and doesn’t do anything else. Any ideas what may be wrong? I can print the other coupons on the website. Thanks

47 Tara Kuczykowski October 14, 2009 at 2:45 pm

Which coupons are you trying to print, Elizabeth? Not all of the coupons in the coupon database are printable. A fairly large portion of them are from newspaper inserts. If you have a printable coupon in your PCB that won’t print, it likely means that it’s no longer available. The PCB is meant to be used to mark coupons that you personally have in your possession. If you use it as a bookmarking tool to print coupons later, they may have already reached their print limit and not be available.

48 Kim November 4, 2009 at 6:06 pm

I was wondering if you can use one coupon to buy multiple numbers of the same product. Like the 2/$1 campbells soup coupon, can I buy a whole case of soup using the same coupon?

49 rose austin November 9, 2009 at 8:11 am

what does regional mean

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