Hi and welcome to our coupon 101. Here you will learn everything you need to know to help you get started on your money saving journey. I know that starting out as a new couponer can be overwhelming. Thats why we have put this coupon 101 together to reach as many people as possible on how to get started. Saving money is a lifestyle, once you have mastered it you will never look back. Are you ready?! Lets jump right in!
First things first, lets go over coupon lingo you may commonly see with couponers:
MQ = Manufacturer coupon
Q = Coupon
TQ = Target coupon
IP = Internet Printable
SS = Smart Source insert
RP = Red Plum insert
P&G = Proctor & Gamble insert
RA = Rite Aid
Wags = Walgreens
CVSQ = CVS coupon
ECB = Extra care bucks (CVS rewards)
IVC = Instant Value Coupon (Walgreens)
RR = Register Reward (Walgreens Rewards)
BR = Balance Reward (Walgreens Rewards)
CAT = Coupon that prints from the Catalina machine next to the register)
CRT = cash register tape (aka your receipt, we also commonly use this phrase when referring to CVS coupons that print from the red box)
GC = Gift card
PM = Price match
PP = Plenti points (Rite Aid rewards)
DEAD DEAL = Deal no longer valid
STACKING = Using both a store coupon and a Manufactuer’s coupon on one item
OYNO = On your next order
WYB = When you buy
YMMV = Your mileage may vary
OOP = Out of pocket
RC = Rain check
TRU/BRU = Toys ‘R’ Us/Babies ‘R’ Us
HTH = Hope that helps
NLA = No longer available
BOGO = Buy One Get One
TEAR PADS = A pad of coupons on display in a store (manufacturer coupons)
BLINKIES = Coupon that comes out of a machine on a display in store (these are usually manufacture coupons but once in awhile can be a store coupon)
PEELIES = Coupons on products that can be peeled off (manufacturer coupons)
HANGTAGS = Coupons hanging on a product
Stick with us for an hour or 2 and you will be ready to hit the stores! Now that you have learned the coupon lingo lets talk about how to get coupons. There are so many ways to get coupons. Mostly we get them from the sunday newspaper and we call those booklets inside the paper “inserts”. We recommend starting out with 4 papers a week to get you started and not feel too overwhelmed. You can also get internet printables online HERE , HERE and HERE. These are all great sites to get manufacturer coupons. You can often times find coupons in store as we mentioned above in the coupon lingo.
You will find in our breakdowns that we include where to find each coupon. For example “5/15 SS = May 15th Smart Source”. We organize our inserts in a small filling cabinet and label each set. We go to our filing cabinet and find 5/15 SS, pull it out, and clip, and put it back.The only downside to this is you won’t have all your coupons for clearance or unadvertised deals. Some people use the binder method which is clipping all their coupons and putting them into baseball card holders into a binder. That to be honest was very stressful for us and time consuming to cut ALL those coupons but you can pick whichever way works best for you.
Now that we have covered how to get coupons and how we organize them lets move on to manufacturer coupon limits. Some coupons, not all, will actually have a limit on how many you can use per household per day. Make sure you read each coupon and follow the limits on each one.
Let’s talk really quick about catalina coupons aka cat. There are 2 types of catalina coupons that print. Some are actual coupons $3/1 on huggies (could be a manufacturer coupon or store coupon). There is also national and regional deals through catalina that will print $3 on your next order, $4 off your next order, etc.
Moving onto stores, woohoo! We recommend printing out a copy of each stores coupon policy to familiarize you with each store. This is also helpful if you are getting trouble from an employee, then you can refer straight to the policy. I want to start off with our personal favorite store, guess which?! TARGET! I think everyone loves target. am i right or am i right? To head to the Target 101 click “coupon 101” and then click “Target”….