Couponing 101

Couponing 101: The Very First Things You Need To Know
FAQ’s Start Here…

What the heck does all those super secret codes mean, Grandma Juice? B1G!? OOP? $1.00/2?? Stacking??

Breathe in…. breathe out… Let me teach you the secret code words and you’ll be in the cool kid’s club in no time!

First, the easy one – B1G1. This means if you purchase 1 item, you get a second identical item with it. Think about the ad’s on TV for say… Payless Shoes and their BOGO… they are saying the same thing. Buy 1 pair, get a second. Dollar wise, this in reality means you get 2 at 1/2 off, but doesn’t it just sound so much better to say “I bought this and got this 1 for FREE” ??? Yeah, I think so too!

$1/1, $1/2 etc…  When you see this, the first number with the $ sign means how much you’ll get off a specific item. The second number means how many items you’ll need to purchase to get that first number (dollar amount) off. In the first example of $1/1 it mean you’ll receive one dollar off one item, the second example means you’ll receive one dollar off two items, etc. See? In general, you’ll like to see the first number next to the $ sign way higher then the second number all by it’s lonesome. That’s a better sale price. $5/1 again using the shoe shopping analogy, means you’ll receive $5 off 1 pair of shoes. And you don’t need advanced math classes to know how to spot the better bargains… easy math! 🙂

OOP… This stand for “Out of Pocket”. Basically, your TC (stands for ‘total cost”) before discounts, coupons etc is $x.00… after your friendly cashier subtract any discounts, coupons etc. you end up with your “OOP” cost… this is the number you want to be as LOW as possible! For example, last night Grandpa & I went to Target to get the rest of our Xmas shopping done and a few items for him to bring to stash away for snaking on at the fire department when he’s not playing life saving, computer fixing super hero (he won’t wear a cape, I’ve asked) Anyways… our cart was PACKED full of toys, sports drinks, snacks etc. We got to the register and the super sweet cashier rang up our haul. It was $237.84!! (my TC was $237.84) Well… I whip out my coupons and the $35.00 worth of Target gift cards I won farting around playing ‘click here’ buttons (more on those later) and after the cheery young girl did my amazing subtraction by couponing math our OOP cost was $107.18!! SHAZZAAM!!

Still following me?

Q… this is what online bloggers use as an abbreviation for ‘Coupon’… yeah, I don’t know why either. It is what it is.

Stacking… this 1 is important. It’s how you can save the big bucks! (like I did at Target!) this is where you take a store’s coupon and combine it with a manufacturer’s coupon and use it ON THE SAME ITEM!! (2 on 1 is always better odds in a wrestling match, same applies to lowering your cost of that item!) Let’s use my Target example from above. Target’s website allows you to print coupons for use on items in their store only. You go to their website, scroll all the way down to the very bottom and look for the very teeny tiny print that says “Ways To Save”, under that, you’ll see even smaller print that says “Coupons” CLICK THAT. (No, they do not make them easy to find now do they?) This takes you to their own ‘store coupons’… print those babies out! They are usually good for about 30 days. When you find an item at Target you need/want, use their coupon AND you can also use a manufacture’s coupon you’ve clipped from the paper or printed online from my link HERE . That $15.00 18 pack of super soft Cottonelle toilet paper now has a $1.00/1 Target coupon AND a $1.50/1 manufacturer coupon lowering the price by $2.50 and you have a $12.50 pack of super soft Cottonelle toilet paper! Now, just think what your OOP cost would be on that pack if it were on sale for $12.50 to begin with and then you played coupon math!! (starting to feel me here now aren’t ya??!!) Stacking is your friend!

DND… If you live here in the *Southwest, it’s ALWAYS DND, but those of your lucky enough to live elsewhere, this mean “Do Not Double”. Some stores actually DOUBLE the value of what’s printed on the coupon. !!! I know, right!!! Your .50/1 coupon actually becomes $1.00/1 in those places. However, some manufactures will put a note on some coupons that do say DND, or some store ad’s will say DND coupons on this specific sale etc…

*living in the Southwest, by default means it’s highly unlikely we will EVER be on the show Extreme Couponing… First, they don’t double here, which obviously takes huge chunks off your total, also, we have tax where in some states, there’s no state sales tax. The reality of  ‘couponing’ VS extreme couponing is that for the average person you will not roll out of the store with 12 carts full of food and pay $2.37… aim for a 50% savings in your budget and you’re doing JUST FINE!!! After all, any savings is a win! That’s my goal each shopping trip… 50% over what I used to spend pre-couponing… and honestly, it’s really EASY!

Coupon Abbreviations:

    • SS – Smart Source (comes in your Sunday paper)
    • RP – Red Plum (depending on your region, comes in your Sunday paper)
    • GM – General Mills
    • PG – Proctor & Gamble
    • IP – Internet Printable

Ok, that’s the basics. Did it help clear some of the confusion up for you??? Let me know if you’re still seeing thru foggy lenses… I’m a good helper!!