Coupon queen mum-of-three has got £2,000 worth of luxury Christmas presents for just £20
Aimee Moore, 43, managed to bag the Christmas food, booze, and presents including the latest kids’ toys, for only £20 thanks to her love of coupons and cashback deals
A MUM-of-three has revealed how she spent only £20 on a luxury Christmas, from presents, drinks, decorations to her family’s entire festive feast.
Aimee Moore, 43, got £2,000 worth of food, booze, and gifts including the latest kids’ toys, thanks to her love of coupons and cashback deals.
It's estimated that the average British family will shell out over £1,149 this Christmas, but the savvy coupon queen from Scarborough has spent the last year building up her festive haul.
She's been taking advantage of special offers and amassing thousands of pounds worth of free cashback to give her family the ultimate Christmas.
Aimee – who is mother to sons Isaac, 9, Dexter, 7 and Bertie, 2 – said: “Christmas used to be a very stressful time of the year for me.
“In the run-up to the big day, I would be worrying about how I could afford everything. And by Boxing Day, I would be fretting about my card bills.
“But now with couponing and cashback apps, everything from the must-have Christmas toy to the turkey on the table costs me next to nothing.
“So now when I see my kids’ faces light up as they open their presents or as they enjoy their lovely festive meal, I feel proud.
“I know I’ve worked hard for that all year and I made it happen. And most of all, I’ve got nearly everything for free!”
The self-described "cashback queen" makes the huge savings on her festive bill by finding special offers throughout the year, using coupons for free products and cashback apps.
How Aimee did it...
CHRISTMAS FOOD AND TRIMMINGS
- Cards, wrapping paper, crackers and decorations – usual price £40. Aimee paid: £9.
- Christmas pyjamas for the whole family – usual price £45.
- Drinks, including ten bottles of wine, 102 cans of Heineken, ten bottles of Shloer, 24 bottles of Hooch, four bottles of Fanta , four bottles of Pepsi – usual price £288.80.
- Christmas snacks, including six Tesco party food selections, ten bags of KP nuts, 12 multipacks of Kettle Bites, 36 bags of popcorn and ten boxes of Mikado chocolate – usual price £142.64
- Christmas dinner, including turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pigs in blankets, parsnips, Brussel sprouts, gravy, two cheeseboards and crackers, mince pies and cheesecake, usual price £200.
- Food and Trimmings usual total: £716.44
CHILDREN’S GIFTS AND TOYS
- Step2 Deluxe Art Master Desk – usual price £129.90.
- Lego Ninjago Dragon’s Forge – usual price £74.99.
- Lego Ninjago Vermillion Invader – usual price £24.99.
- Lego City Volcano Explorer Base – usual price £84.99.
- Playmobil City Action Police with Horse and Trailer – usual price £14.99.
- Vtech Toot Toot Drivers Super City – usual price £39.98.
- Pokemon Cards Tin (RRP £17 each) x 3 – usual price £51. Aimee paid: £11.
- Playlearn Bubble Tube – usual price £59.99.
- Lego Duplo Fire Truck – usual price £19.99.
- Lego Duplo Town Blackhoe Loader Building Kit – usual price £21.84.
- Lego Train Accessory Set – usual price £21.51.
- Fisher Price Code-a-pillar – usual price £54.99.
- Two Disney’s Frozen Crayola Wonder kits – usual price £15.52.
- Thomas The Tank Engine Henry Engine – usual price £8.99.
- Star Wars Awaken Kylo Ren Bumper School Pack – usual price £8.95.
- Gruffalo Pencil Case – usual price £14.79.
- Orchard Toys Alphabet Lotto – usual price £17.19.
- Star Wars Character Encyclopedia – usual price £6.99.
- Leapfrog My First Book: Good Night Scout – usual price £13.
- Light Up Strobe Bar Toy – usual price £19.99.
- Orchard Toys Three Little Pigs Game – usual price £8.
- Lego Ninjango Storybook Collection – usual price £17.40.
- The World’s Worst Children 2, by David Walliams – usual price £6.99.
- Lego Star Wars in 100 Scenes Book – usual price £13.78.
- Christmas DVDs x 4 – usual price £40.
- Advent Calenders (RRP £2 each) x 3 – usual price £5.
- Star Wars Stormtroopers Book – usual price £20.40.
- Paw Patrol Sea Patroller Vehicle – usual price £55.99.
- Playmbol City Action Police Headquarters – usual price £59.99.
- Duplo Deluxe Train Set – usual price £99.99.
- Children’s gifts and toys usual total: £1032.12
ADULT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
- Lynx Gift Sets x 3 – usual price £45
- Soap And Glory Giftsets x 6 – usual price £108
- Cadbury Chocolate Boxes x 10 – usual price £60
- Adult Christmas presents usual total: £213
GRAND TOTAL: £1,961.56 – but Aimee paid just £20
Through that, Aimee has been able to get a staggering £1,960.57 worth of Christmas items for just twenty quid.
Aimee explains: “I start planning for the festive period in January. If you make the time to do so, you can buy things like luxury Christmas crackers and wrapping paper for virtually pennies.
"As well as looking for offers and checking prices throughout the year, I also use coupons which offer products like wine and even champagne for free.
"And I’ll save these under the stairs or in the attic ready for December.
"But perhaps my biggest trick is cashback apps which give you money back whilst you shop.
"I use a variety of different apps on my phone – some like Shopmium and Greenjinn which offer cashback in money and others like Topcashback, MobileXpression and Quidco that provide it in the form of Amazon or Tesco vouchers.
"Whilst I use the money from cashback apps on various household things during the year, I save up my cashback vouchers so I can spend them on my Christmas shopping.
"They cover everything I need, from high quality presents to delicious food for the family! It’s amazing and really so simple once you get the hang of it."
Aimee's top five bargains
Here are some of mum-of-three Aimee's best Christmas bargains:
- Drinks including 10 bottles of Jacobs Creek wine, 102 cans of Heineken, 10 bottles of Schloer, 24 bottles of Hooch, 4 bottles of Fanta, 4 bottles of Pepsi and fruit juice. Usual price: £288.80, Aimee paid: Free
- Christmas snacks including Tesco party food selections, Kettle Bites and three bags of Waitrose mights fines Honeycombe Bites. Usual price: £142.64, Aimee paid: Free
- Christmas dinner worth £200, Aimee paid: Free
- Pokemon cards tin x 3. Usual price: £51, Aimee paid: £11.00
- Two Disney's Frozen Crayloa wonder kits, Usual price: £15.52, Aimee paid: Free
- Orchard Toys Three Little Pigs Game. Usual price: £8, Aimee paid: Free
Aimee started couponing in 2013 and runs the . It's success meant that she was able to quit her job as a warehouse supervisor.
She said: "Three and a half years ago, we were skint and struggling as a family.
"But through couponing and cashback, I’ve been able to save thousands on our bills per year and eventually I was able to become a stay-at-home mum to my kids.
"I was getting lots of messages from friends asking me how I was saving money so it seemed easier to just put all my money-saving tips in one place.
How do I sign up and get cashback?
IT’S easy to start earning casback on your bills and purchases. Just follow these simple steps:
- Sign up to a cashback website. Topcashback.co.uk and Quidco are two of the best. Click the ‘Join now’ option and enter your email address and password
- Make sure you click the free / basic membership option, otherwise you’ll be charged. If you want premium membership, both websites charge £5 a month for this. The premium membership will reward customers with bonus cashback, ad-free shopping and quicker payouts
- Find a deal that you want to purchase, whether that’s a home insurance policy, a new laptop from Currys, or a Tesco grocery shop. Instead of going directly to the retailer, you can access the shop through a link in the cashback website, and any purchase made will be registered with the cashback site.
- You still receive your item directly from the retailer, and the cashback earned will be added to your online account. Once it’s there, you can withdraw it and transfer it to your bank account, or you can turn your cashback into a gift voucher or code to spend at a retailer.
- Bear in mind that it can take a few days or even weeks for the cashback to appear in your account on the website.
"I was shocked and pleasantly surprised when I started racking up thousands of followers on my Facebook page every month with my couponing advice!
"One woman even came up to me in Asda and said ‘Hey, you’re the cashback queen!”
SAVVY SAVERS Always using cashback, shopping for reduced food and buying gift cards on the cheap, six money saving bloggers share their ultimate festive tips
"Couponing and cashback is definitely my passion and I love helping others get a bargain too.
"It really is so easy to save money as long as you follow a few simple tricks and it’s also very rewarding.
"And next year when Christmas comes round, you can give yourself a big pat on the pack when you realise how you’ve saved a fortune too!”
Aimee isn't the only mum who's managed to bag a bargain this Christmas. We reported how Hollie Gregersen has got a free Christmas by winning competitions.
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