Discounts

Let’s start very simple and right at the very beginning. Spending less money but getting the same stuff. A lot of you will already do this. Some of you will do it all the time, some of you will do it some of the time and occasionally the odd one of you won’t dare ask for a discount as it may hurt their pride. If you are the latter then I suggest you think about this. Retailers know that consumers are more likely to buy discounted products and so often inflate normal prices meaning you’re paying over the odds if you pay ‘RRP’ and what it’s actually worth at discount price. I’m not here to judge you but I’d say you look more silly if you’re not using the discount. Nobody thinks you’re cheap. Nobody cares. Use the voucher.

So now where to look for discounts? If you are out and about there might be sales on, discount stores such as B&M, Home, Bargains, Aldi, Lidl, TKMaxx, outlet stores and outlet centres such as Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet or McArthurGlen Designer Outlets York. If you are entitled you can also try to get a Costco or Company Shop member for further discount shopping. Just be careful as, especially if you’re like me, the lure of the discounts can sometimes mean you end up spending more than you would have done if you’d gone to a regular shop!

If you do go to a supermarket, it is worth checking if they have a loyalty scheme to get you a discount. Other loyalty benefits will be discussed in a separate article. If you shop at Tesco, don’t forget your Clubcard (or app) as you can get significant savings on some items when you scan it at the till. Similarly with your Nectar card at Sainsbury’s and with the Co-op Membership Scheme. Once you are in the supermarket look for yellow discount stickers on things you will use as you’ll likely get a heavy discount.

It’s also worth checking if you are entitled to a discount due to your profession or otherwise. For example, many places do student or NHS discount but you might need to ask about them as they are not always advertised. Domino’s do 50% off pizza for NHS staff with a valid ID badge if you collect but you have to know about it. It’s worth googling these things too. Local eateries may also offer discounts for specific things. My local pub does 20% off for hospitality workers on Monday and Tuesday.

If you are a student it is worth signing up to Unidays or Student Beans.

If you work in health services or other key worker roles it’s worth checking if you’re entitled to sign up for a Blue Light Card. There is a small charge of £4.99 for two years but there are plenty of discounts to take advantage of. Health Service Discounts is another place to check for NHS discounts or NHS Staff Benefits.

If I’m buying something online I always check if I can find a discount code somewhere first. Often if you visit a site for the first time it will offer you a discount on your first order for signing up to their mailing list. You will get hounded by emails so you might want to consider setting up a specific email address for this purpose. If this isn’t an option or you accidentally miss it, try opening in a private or incognito window, or with a different mailing address to see if you can get the discount. After the sign up discounts it’s then worth checking if there are any discount codes available elsewhere online. You can just Google this although you might be subject to a fight with a thousand pop-ups. Apps like Voucher Codes are a good place to start and they have just released a browser extension which automatically looks for relevant voucher codes when you check out. I don’t have any experience with this so far as it is very new but Honey by PayPal has a very similar browser extension which I have been using for some time. When you check out through your browser (not shopping apps) it will look for any vouchers and apply them at checkout. It won’t replace any vouchers applied by the shop itself if they are of higher value. They also do a loyalty point scheme where you collect coins with each purchase and then can exchange for vouchers later. You can sign up to this through my referral link here http://joinhoney.com/ref/ta75152

Another way to get discount is to see if it is offered if you meet certain criteria. For example 10% off when you buy two or more. Just ensure you actually need two and you aren’t spending more than you would otherwise.

One discount I find incredibly useful is Subscribe and Save on Amazon. I will buy my cat food, toilet tissue, soft drinks etc etc for regular delivery and get 15% off each delivery which are already cheaper than most places. Some other places will do similar discounts. In terms of pet food I know Zooplus do subscribe and save and also do a savings plan where you pay a small annual fee but then get 3% off each order. They also have a loyalty scheme where you can exchange points for goods.