Friday, November 13, 2009

Setting the Table for Savings: Step #5

Coupon Lingo/Coupon Etiquette

When I was first starting out on this couponing adventure I was so confused. I found all these deals, but I couldn't understand any of their shorthand. Somebody would write that there was a good deal on Peanut Butter, if you had the MQ from the 11/12 RP and if you bought 3 you got a cat for $2 OYNO. Wow, like I wasn't overwhelmed and confused enough already! When I started doing this I didn't know ANYBODY who did this, so I was completely on my own. You are lucky, you can just get all your info here!!! So, I want to go over all these common abbreviations so you aren't as confused as I was.

Q-Coupon
MQ- Manufacturer Coupon
OOP- Out of Pocket
BOGO- Buy One Get One
YMMV-Your Mileage May Vary. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
TQ-Target Coupons
MM-Meijer Mealbox Coupons (Meijer Store Coupons)
SQ- Store Coupons
BC-Before Coupons
AC-After Coupons
WYB-When You Buy
CAT-Catalina, the coupons that print out when you buy certain things.
PEELIES-Coupons that are stuck to items around the store.
BLINKIES-Coupons that come out of dispensers in the aisles.
RP-Red Plum (coupon insert in the Sunday paper)
SS-Smart Source (coupon insert in the Sunday paper)
PG-P&G (coupon insert once a month in the Sunday paper)

OVERAGE/MONEYMAKER- When your coupon value is worth more than the item's purchase price. Some stores allow it and some stores adjust the coupon down to the price of the item. If they allow it, the money comes off the rest of your order. Example: This week at Meijer I purchased a dozen eggs. The price of the eggs was .88 and my coupon said FREE eggs (up to $2 ). The coupon took off the whole $2, so besides getting free eggs I got an additional $1.12 off my order. Awesome, isn't it! You can use overage to pay for things on your order that rarely have coupons. All I can say is, I am all over the moneymakers, right Dad??? (sorry, inside joke with my dad! He laughs at me because I get so EXCITED over the moneymakers!)

My first moneymaker was a funny one, and one that I don't use by the way. It was for Preparation H wipes. I didn't need them, but it was a moneymaker so naturally I got all I could. The deal was at Walmart, and I made at least $1 on each box I got! I was so excited, and not the least bit embarrassed by purchasing them. I bet the cashier thought I had terrible hemorrhoids considering I went through the line just about every day with a few boxes. I would just throw in something for a couple bucks in with the wipes and I walked out for free every time! I did use 1 box for a funny Christmas gift for my Grandparents. They always made fun of me for getting all this free stuff, SO...I made them a gift basket of all sorts of things I had gotten free that year! Just for Men, Preparation H wipes, toilet paper....to name a few. (After my 2 aunts saw what I got free they immediately became hooked on this couponing thing, now they are crazier than me!)

Limit one per purchase/Limit one per transaction-There is a big difference between these two terms! It is very important that you know the difference because many cashiers don't and they will try to tell you that you can't use your coupons. Each item you buy is a purchase. If you buy 2 frozen pizza's, that is 2 purchases and you can use a coupon for both of them. Your whole grocery order is a transaction. If the coupon says 1 per transaction, then you can only use 1. I have run into this many times. I just explain to them that a purchase is 1 item, and usually that works. If it doesn't, you can kindly ask to speak to a manager, and they will explain it to them.

Double Coupons-Kroger has unlimited double coupons up to .50, everything above .50 will double to $1. For instance, if you have a .75 coupon it will take off $1. Meijer also doubles the same way, but they will only double up to 2 of the same coupon in one order. If you have 4 of the same coupons, just make sure to put them in two different orders so they both double. It is a pain, but I want my coupons doubled so I do it!!!

Let's say you have two coupons for peanut butter, one is .50 off 1 and the other is $1 off 2. Which one is better??? They appear the same, and they are if you are at Walmart of Target or someplace that doesn't double. If you are at Kroger or Meijer the .50 off 1 is more valuable because it doubles. So it is really worth $1 off 1. It is important to remember that when you are shopping!

Coupon Etiquette-Just don't be rude! That is why a lot of people are put off by couponers. I have dealt with some pretty RUDE couponers, and nothing frustrates me more! Here are my two biggest pet peeves about couponers-
1. Shelf Clearers-Simply put, don't take everything the store has. If it is a good deal and you ordered 50 coupons for laundry detergent, that is fantastic, but don't take all 50 bottles the store has. Make several trips to get them all. The store doesn't want you to buy that much at one time anyways. Sometimes I will order 20 coupons online, but I try and space out my purchases.

2.Rudeness at Checkout-One time CVS had a big sale and these two rude ladies were going to check out and they each had two cartfuls of stuff. I mean CARTFULS, and they each split it up into about 20 different orders each. I stood there for 30 minutes or more waiting to get my four things. I was furious, to say the least. They saw me, and just kept going and going! When I finally got to check out the cashier said they do that every week! Now they should know better than to do that! I just ask that you would use common courtesy, or you may recieve some not so nice words from someone, as they did from me!!!! When you go to check out just make sure that you have all of your coupons together and are ready to go. It will save a lot of time if you are organized.














4 comments:

cherielynn09 said...

Crazy...huh???

Crazy like a fox!!! LOL :-)

Hugs,
Cherie

Anonymous said...

Don't know if you have coupons for this but Walmart has Swanson chicken broth for 45 cents
a can and cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup for 58 cents a can. Better stock up!

Katie said...

Cherie,

Yes, you are crazy. Don't worry we are crazy together. Ha Ha!

Love Ya!!!

Katie said...

I will have to check and see what coupons I have for the broth and soup. I think I already have about 60 cans of cream soups; how many cans does one girl need? Although, that would be a great thing to donate to Reach Out Lakota!

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