I've been checking how much I have earned in Tesco vouchers over the last few months. It's easy to do on their web site. If you have lost any vouchers you can print them off and they will be accepted in the store. I found I had too many vouchers because I didn't destroy them after I had spent them online. I've had a sort out, shredded the old ones, and my current balance stands at £24.50. I think this is not too bad considering I spend very little in the store on my food shopping. Some of my points are earnt through using my Tesco credit card, which is mainly used for buying petrol, or the odd food spend in other supermarkets. I still get my points even when I shop in Morrisons or Sainsbury's. The credit card sometimes gets used when I stock up on cat food special offers, whichever store has the best price. As you can guess the balance on the statement gets cleared every month.
The vouchers I get from Tesco are a bonus, yes I had to spend the money to collect them, but I spent it on things I need, things I buy all the time, every week or every month. These vouchers are different to the ones you can print off from the voucher web sites. I've been having a look around these sites to see if I am missing out by not using them. If you go to their home pages and click on an offer you might be interested in you have to first register, something I am not keen on doing as I don't want to be bombarded by sales emails. No thank you, I don't want my 'in box' clogging up.
It strikes me that the voucher sites are simply shop windows, displaying their wares, to tempt you to buy. There are loads of them, they seem to have sprung up all over the place. Businesses are desperate for customers, so they use these voucher sites to increase their sales. I suppose if you are looking to make a large purchase it makes sense to go through a voucher site, to get the best price, but what a headache to trawl through a couple of hundred sites to knock a few quid off.
I have had a look to see if there are any vouchers which would be usefull to me, but do you know I can't find any which will knock £1 off a bag of spuds, or 50p off a cauliflower. I've checked out Shopping Vouchers.co.uk, My Voucher Codes, Savoo.co.uk, Latest discount vouchers.co.uk, Do2voucher codes.co.uk, and drawn a blank with all of them.
This made me laugh.....on Shopping Vouchers.co.uk promoting a Tesco offer.
If you find yourself buying endless bottles of wine throughout the month, then you either need to get some help or start buying by the case! We suggest the latter and that's why we like this Tesco discount code that saves you £10 off when you spend over £50. Ha ha, if you are buying endless bottles of wine every month you definately do need help, maybe AA, or your doctor. Perhaps I've got it wrong, maybe they mean you need help carrying it.
Did you know there is a 3 for 2 offer on at Homebase on bathrooms. Now I don't know if that means whole bathrooms or bits of bathrooms. Perhaps a builder doing a total refurb on a block of flats might benefit from this offer. A lot of the vouchers for eating out are for two or more people, so no good for me then.
I'm going to have to give up on the voucher search, I can't find anything I need. I would be interested to know if anyone uses them successfully. Do you browse them in the hope of finding a bargain or two, or do you look for a voucher for a specific purchase you want to make? I suppose they must work for some people. Toodle pip.
If you bought an endless bottle of wine,you'd only ever need to buy one...because the wine would never end!Sounds like a bargain!
ReplyDeleteJane x
I'm a member of a freebie site. Have had a few small tubes of toothpaste- good for holidays and samples of tea/coffee etc. Most things are not worth the effort. Just like the voucher sites.
ReplyDeleteI tried to find a good deal recently, but most of the vouchers on those sites are all expired!! I just checked, but I don't have any Tesco vouchers that I didn't know about, apart from the ones that must still be in the post for this month! :)
ReplyDeleteWe were treated to lunch out today, and I looked online before we went to find there was a free glass of wine with every main meal" voucher to print off. So four people had a free glass of wine- thank you very much - for the cost of the ink and paper to print it out!
ReplyDeleteJan here.Sorted my Tesco vouchers out today.Rarely use other vouchers but have one from a local garden centre with an offer on a plant that will make a decent Christmas present.They have a really good offer to get you in,then expect you to spend loads on over priced stuff.I'm not in the least bit tempted.Don't think I'm the kind of customer they're looking for!As for wine by the case,often wonder who actually buy's that.We started making our own last year on a fairly small scale but it's been very sucessful.I was surprised,memories of the Good Life T.V. programme,where the offer of their homemade could clear a room.We had some of the kit given to us,jars and such like,plus an ancient book off a neighbour.We've picked some fruit for free and had other stuff on offer,like parsnip's,which made a very potent wine.I got laughed out of a grocers when I asked if I could have some plumbs at a reduced price for making wine!The shops closed since.Always worth a try isn't it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I made wine, I used to make pea pod wine when they were in season. It used to make a lovely wine that tasted a bit like Cinzano, lovely with lemonade and of course, no waste as you could still eat the fresh peas afterwards.
DeleteI never even knew about this online voucher thing. Oh well, doesn`t look like I missed out on a lot, then.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the online voucher sites are mostly shop windows and ways to tempt people to buy things they don`t really need. The only ones I use are those from an Italian restaurant chain. When I get together for a meal with friends from my former workplace, it is good to be able to save something between us all.
ReplyDeleteSainsburys give vouchers at the check out - usually about £5 off your next shop if you spend £20 - they just go in the shredder too, 'cos I never spend £20 on food in one go ! the other options are money off top of the range goods, again I never buy them so they're no good.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest spends are cat food and petrol.
I used to save coupons and use them as cash for shopping, but the supermarkets stopped that, too many people were getting trolley loads of food for pennies. Now you have to buy the product to redeem a voucher.
I stick to yellow labels now - if it doesn't have a yellow label, I don't buy it.
No, not found much use in vouchers either, you usually have to spend load in one go (which I don't often do) or they are for stuff that I would never buy, really just promotion I reckon.
ReplyDeleteI have a bit of a love hate relationship with vouchers. You'll be pleased to know I can quite happily chuck the Boots discount vouchers in the bin (they send them through the post every now and then). I used to love these but all they did was make me want to go and buy something, making me feel like I was being savvy (blush). Honestly it's never for anything that I really need, or I can't get cheaper elsewhere. They are quite clever in making us think we are getting a bargain.
ReplyDeleteBTW Morrisons are taking other store vouchers now. Used an Aldi one last week with no problem.
I don't think you have done bad at all . I feed a family of 4 - 8 sometimes and I only came out with £40 from Last November to this!. Thats with spending an average of £70 a week. Can't work that out at all lol. A friend of ours saves his and spends it on trips out by the 4x multiplier exchange. Keep up the good work Iona love reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteI have to be anon as I don't have a blog but my name is Sue how do you do lol.
I am in the US, so I am not sure what vouchers are. I see so many good deals, coupons, and discounts. I just cannot use them, even if I want to. Here, there is a grocery chain that offered a free turkey when you spend a certain amount each week for the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and the same for Christams. There is no way I need the amount of food I would have to buy. It's just me to buy for. Even if I could afford to buy the amount to get the free turkey and then keep the extra food in the pantry or freezer, the prices at that store are so high that there would be no savings. Buying a turkey full price would be cheaper in the long run and in the short run.
ReplyDeleteHi! Do check out their Rewards. I use them for thing like Magazine subscriptions for family gifts, or for their days out vouchers. My dad had always wanted to visit Hampton Court Palace and we used the vouchers to visit for free.You may find some local attraction on one of your trips that you could use them for. Handy to keep in your ourse, and if you don't use them in the time limit if you return them they recredit to your account. I think they can also be used for a Youth Hostel subscription. Might be useful for you. I don't often comment on here but I do check your blog everyday and love to read about your exploits
ReplyDeleteyes I agree tesco's is best, (magazine subscriptions make lovely presents for family) the NHS discounts site looked good, but have to buy vouchers in bundles of £100 to get up to 4% off - so I haven't used. MSE is good too. Enjoying you site, Paula
DeleteHiya,I look for voucher codes and coupons before I open the safe (purse). I have had a small success. Often manage to knock £'s off my bill.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone heard of Quidco? it is on line. Going through quidco and then into a shop online saves quite a bit in cash back.I must save about £100 ish a year. Cash back gets paid into my bank account every month.
I use my Tesco rewards to get subscriptions for magazines. Sometimes as gifts.
I like to plan my shopping trips and write a food list.
Take care...
Hi Anon, yes I agree magazine subscriptions are a good buy with Tesco vouchers. Thanks also to Paula and Karen for that. There is a lot of choice in the Tesco Rewards magazine and on site, and as you already have the vouchers it's common sense to get the best out of them, and not just hand them over at the till in part payment for your shopping. That's unless they have an offer to double the value, and the goods you buy are already on offer at a lower price.
ReplyDeleteYes I know about Quidco. If you have a definate purchase in mind, something you need, then you might be able to get a discount if you buy through this site. Don't fall into the trap however by just browsing on the off chance you might see something you fancy. This is what the site relies on to bump up it's customer base. If you hadn't planned on buying anything, then you are being taken in by their sales hype, just like seeing goods in a shop window which might draw you into the shop.
PP, a voucher is the same as a coupon, they are all marketing tools to get you to buy more. My Tesco vouchers are what I've earnt, I've already bought the goods I need so these are a bonus. Most coupons and vouchers are given freely to anyone just to get you to open your purse and make a purchase.
There are millions of online vouchers floating about Sarina, but they are not money saving if you weren't considering a purchase before you found the voucher. Fostermummy used a voucher for her wine because she was already going out for a meal anyway.
Jane and Chris, yes, incorrect use of words there, silly advertising people.
I often check the coupon sites just in case something is useful. Often there is nothing I would use. Occasionally you can strike lucky and there is a good offer in one of the supermarkets for say, cheese, and there is a coupon as well. Doesn't often happen though, but it is wonderful when it does : )
ReplyDeleteI found when I signed up to these voucher sites that I now get a load of advertising emails, (wish I'd thought about it earlier Ilona) so I'm gradually deleting my details & memberships.
ReplyDeleteTesco vouchers I DO use, as I spend the money all through the year. I was a bit disappointed when they reduced the amount of points you get by half though. Last year I had £60 saved in vouchers to spend for Christmas, this year I only got £25.50. Most of the stuff I buy with them are treats like a tin of chocolates and tins of biscuits, something I only get at Christmas, but they were much cheaper at Sainsbury's when I looked, so I used my Nectar points for them. Then I saw that you can get frozen food with the points at Tesco, the offer was spend £5 worth of points, get £10 value of food. With this in mind, I've now stocked the freezer with meat and frozen veggies for the new year. Last year I managed to go from Christmas to the end of March without buying anything but eggs & milk. I'll challenge myself to do the same this year!
All housekeeping saved will go into my holiday fund.
I do coupons and use them in the stores/shops that double them and on the sale price items. I don't however use them if you have to by large numbers of items that I don't have room for...I do like to find a good sale on coffee which are usually almost $3 -$4 off per pound then I will buy many ....groceries are getting so expensive I compare and bargain shop as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteI rarely check on voucher sites any more as I've had so little success. I have always found that the available discounts are for things I don't to or don't buy and don't want or need. I do sometimes check, just in case, if I am buying something but I'm don't do much shopping so that's rare! The only thing I have found the sites useful for is eating out - we hardly ever eat out but on the odd occasion we do - be it a treat or a family anniversary meal or something - I check out deals and those are worth it. The last two times we got a free main course at one place and £10 off the bill at another so worth doing. Other than that, I think it's a waste of my time searching!
ReplyDeleteI agree Louise, it's like traipsing round a shop with no idea what you are looking for, or if you have an idea it's like looking for a needle in a haysrack.
ReplyDeleteSomeone had an idea for a website business, I know, let's build a site to encourage people to spend money. Let's get big names on board and we can have a cut from all the extra sales that we provide for them. Voucher sites are middlemen and have to be paid, now there are thousands of them all jumping on the bandwagon.
What we should be doing is cutting out the middlemen and do our own haggling direct with the company we are buying from. But of course we all know that buying in bulk gets you a better deal, so people use the sites because not everyone is confident enough to haggle.
I very rarely check vouchers sites as I tend to think most offers are a con, as they are items I would not normally buy.
ReplyDeleteTescos are very good with their vouchers and I use them all the time. Infact this year by using their exchange scheme, it has bought my nephew's Christmas present.
I did download a £10 voucher for Frankie and Benny's last week. Buy 2 main meals and get the £10 off. But you have to watch them as there are restrictions. I checked before even sat down and was quite prepared to walk.
The Chap and I used it last Wednesday. He had a Philly Burger and a bottle of beer. I had a pizza and a glass of tap water. Using our voucher the total was £13. I will do this again this month, as it means it is a cheap date for us.
In general, though 20p off a branded product is still more expensive than a supermarket's own.
Just not worth the trouble.
Regards
Abigail
We used our Tesco vouchers to visit Legoland in Windsor over the summer. It would have cost us around £140 for a family of four but the vouchers paid for our day out. We also took in our drinks and packed lunch and only spent money on four lolly ices as it was a very hot day in July!
ReplyDeleteHi i use my tesco vouchers for my breakdown cover for my car which is in there deals booklet.Something i do need which is expensive. I work for tesco so i also get 10% off and have a clubcard plus account which for every £1 you spend you get 2 clubcard points. Theres only me so i dont actually spend that much per week probably £15 to £20 at the most, but those vouchers are worth keeping and using in the deals booklet rather than instore.
ReplyDeleteHi i use coupons. You have to be clued up on when to use them. I only use coupons if i would by the product anyway or if its on offer at a special price. So far this week ive had 2 x £1 off coupons for a branded toilet roll, it was on offer for £1.20 so i used both vouchers and bought two for 40p :) Also this week ive found vouchers for a branded soup which was for 50p off one tin. One supermarket is selling the soup 3 for £2 so i used 3x 50p coupons which meant i got 3 tins of soup for 50p!!!
ReplyDelete