LOVE bagging a bargain? You are not alone. As a nation, we save a whopping £11billion a year by hunting down deals and using discount vouchers.
But we could double that by shopping even more savvily and making sure we always pay the lowest price.
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To get you started, we spoke to deals queen Vix Leyton, a consumer finance expert at hotukdeals.com and host of money podcast False Economy.
She said: “With the current cost-of-living crisis, it might feel like there are no cuts left to make to push your household budget a little bit further.
“But there are still some tricks to try that can save money in minutes.
“From bundle deals you might not know you can get, to hitting different aisles in the supermarket, those pounds have the power to add up to meaningful savings.”
1 . Seek out hidden perks: Check your mobile, bank or insurance contracts for hidden perks.
With O2 Priority you can get free cinema tickets, three months of free Apple Music or free tickets to events. Check their websites and look through your emails for any offers you might have missed.
2. Stacking up offers: Before you buy anything online, always check deal-sharing sites for discount codes.
Found more than one code? Try them all to see if they “stack” for multiple discounts or free delivery.
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3. Leave items in your basket: Pop any item you want to buy in your basket, then leave it and wait. Retailers will see that you are interested and will often send an email after a few days offering a discount to encourage you to make the purchase.
4. Do the “grocery go round”: Sign up to online grocery shopping using different accounts and a new email each time to get the “new customer” discount. Sainsbury’s offers £15 off your first £60 and Iceland has £5 off a £45 splurge.
5. Stay alert: Set alerts on shopping sites for items you want to buy, so you are first to know when the price falls. You can do this for free in the Hot UK Deals app.
6. Eat and drink for free: Download apps for popular fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s, KFC, Greggs and Subway where you can get exclusive offers, including discounted meals and even freebies.
If you use the new McDonald’s reward scheme on the app, you can get a free cheeseburger or vegetable deluxe. The KFC in-app discounts include a ten-piece family deal for £13.99.
7. Be disloyal with loyalty cards: Sign up for schemes at all the shops and use them each time you’re in store.
Tesco Clubcard holders get access to hundreds of discounted deals each week, including the original £3 price for the now more expensive Meal Deal. Sainsbury’s Nectar scheme offers £2.50 off your shopping for every 500 points.
And scan the Lidl Plus app at the checkout each time you shop to get instant savings.
Other supermarkets, such as Morrisons, M&S and Waitrose, offer different rewards tailored to the items you tend to buy most, so it won’t cut costs so much on a weekly shop. But all those points add up over time so keep collecting.
8. Discover birthday treats: Sign up for retailer loyalty cards to get discounts on your birthday.
Ensure you sign up all your family members, including the kids and pets, so everyone’s big day is covered. H&M offers a 25 per cent discount, House of Fraser gives you bonus points in your birthday month and Superdrug will offer you a treat on your birthday.
9. Shake up your supermarket circuit: In bigger supermarkets, check out the world food section for cheaper options on your cupboard staples.
There are great-value options on essentials such as tinned tomatoes, kidney beans, rice, chickpeas, herbs and spices. The baby aisle offers low-priced beauty buys, such as body creams and cotton wool.
10. Give to get money off: High Street stores can reward you for recycling your old clothes and beauty products. At H&M you can get a £5 voucher towards your next purchase for handing in old clothes.
At Boots you can get 250 Advantage points for old beauty, health and wellbeing packaging. You can also get £5 off a £35 spend at M&S for taking clothes to an Oxfam store.
