Coupon Terminology - Learn the Lingo

BOGO, B1G1 - stands for Buy One Get One, Buy One Get One Free. Retailers will offer items as BOGO, and there are many manufacturers coupons for BOGO items that can sometimes be used in conjunction with BOGO sales at stores for two free items! (depends on the store's coupon policy)




BLINKIE - Blinkies are the coupons that are located in the grocery aisles in the little coupon "boxes" that sometimes have a red blinking light on them. I always collect a couple each time I go to a store because I never know when the item they are advertising might come on sale.

BTFE - Box Tops For Education - Labels found on General Mills products. These are used by schools to earn products.

CATALINA COUPONS - (you may see these coupons referred to as simply "cats" on many blogs/forums) - These are the coupons that print out when you make purchases at certain stores. In my area, the stores that offer catalina's are:

Ingles, Walgreens, and Kroger. These coupons are triggered by certain items that you buy, and can be for either a certain dollar amount off your next in store purchase, or they can be regular manufacturers coupons for cents/dollars off of certain items. Walgreens calls their catalinas "Register Rewards".


COUPON - any $ or cents off offer - sometimes abbreviated as: Q, C/O, cpns, etc .. you will see many different abbreviations for coupons.




DD - Dear Daughter

DH - Dear Husband

DS - Dear Son

ECB - Extra Care Bucks - CVS store coupons that can be used like cash at CVS. The coupons print at the bottom of your receipt.



FAR - Free After Rebate.

Hang Tag - (sometimes abbreviated HT) - Coupon found hanging on the neck of a bottle, or around the lid of a jar, etc.




HTH - Hope That Helps - abbreviation seen in blog/forum responses when someone is answering a question or providing information


Internet Printable - (IP) - Manufacturers coupons that can be printed from sites on the internet. Most sites only allow two coupons to be printed. However, if you have more than one computer linked to a printer, you can print two coupons per computer.


Instant Value Coupon - (IVC) - Coupons found at Walgreens. They are store coupons and can be used in conjunction with manufacturer's coupons for the same product. They are found in Walgreen's weekly ads, some of the Walgreen's brand children's coloring books, and in special coupon books that can be found at different locations throughout the store.
ISO - In Search Of - this abbreviation appears on forums and tells you the coupons that a particular person are looking for. There are lots of coupon trading sites and most people list the coupons they are "in search of", so if you have those coupons you may be able to work out a trade for a coupon that they have.

NED - No Expiration Date - Coupons that do not expire. There used to be lots of coupons like these, but they are rare today.

OOP - Out of pocket - The amount of cash you actually have to pay for an item.




OYNO - On Your Next Offer - These are catalina coupons that print for a dollar amount off of your next order. In my area, Kroger and Walgreens offer ONYO coupons.

Peelies - coupons that are to be "peeled" off specially marked packages and used towards the products.


RAOK - Random Act of Kindness - abbreviation used on blogs/forum when someone offers something as a gift





RP - Red Plum - The name of one of the weekly coupon inserts. Prior to 2008, they were known as Valassis.



Register Reward - (RR) - Catalina coupons printed at Walgreens. They are triggered by certain items that you purchase and can be used like cash towards Walgreens purchases.


SMP - Specially Marked Packages - Packages of products that have certain offers either written on them, or attached to them.




Smart Source - SS or S - Maker of weekly coupon insert found in most Sunday papers.


Tearpad - a pad of tear off coupons found near products.








Try Me Free - (TMF) - Coupon or tearpad located on/near product that allows you to mail in a form to the manufacturer and they will refund your purchase price for the product.




UPC - Universal Product Code - This is the "barcode" found on most all products. The UPC code is used as a proof of purchase in lots of refund offers.





Wags - abbreviation for Walgreens stores





YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary - This means that your store may have a different policy, and the deal may or may not work for you

Blessings,