Where to get free vouchers to save HUNDREDS off your supermarket shopping bill
Coupon websites, smartphone apps and cashback deals can all help you save a fortune on your weekly shop
WE'RE all feeling the squeeze when it comes to paying for the every day essentials.
And with more than half of Brits not having a significant pay-rise for more than three years, it's no wonder that the average shopper now spends a third of their salaries on their weekly shop.
But if you're fed up of seeing your wages go to the major supermarkets, then don't worry - there's lots of ways you can slash your shopping bill.
Read on to see how you can make savings worth hundreds of pounds.
Use your coupons
Ask any savvy shopper how to cut food costs, and they will always mention coupons.
Sadly, for most of us, collecting useful money-off vouchers can often be challenging if you don’t know where to look.
However, you can find codes on The Sun Vouchers, and websites such as , and .
Going direct to the brands can also pay dividends.
With , for instance, you can find loads of Procter and Gamble brands such as Always, Febreeze and Venus.
Here you can choose and print as many as 30 vouchers in a month.
While Johnson and Johnson’s discount site, Caring Everyday, means you can save up to £25 a month on their goods with brands such as Calpol, Aveeno and Neutrogena.
Make the most of price guarantees
Competition is rife at the supermarkets thanks to the growing popularity of the smaller discount retailers.
As a result, the shopping giants are pulling out all the stops to get you through their doors.
One tactic is price guarantee schemes – and if you know how to use them, you could be quids in.
For instance, if you are a regular shopper at Asda, using its price guarantee policy wisely could save up to hundreds a year.
The Asda Price Guarantee means that if your shop isn’t 10 per cent cheaper than the main rivals – Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons or Waitrose - then they’ll give you the difference.
To use it is simple: before you start shopping, use the comparison tool on MySupermarket.com to compare prices across all retailers to help your build a basket with the most discounted products.
If you were after a 15-can case of Guinness beer, for instance, you’d find it selling for £15 at Asda.
But a quick look on the website shows that Morrison’s has the same product on offer for just £12.
Here's how to cut the cost of your grocery shop
SAVING on your shop can make a big difference to your wallet. Here are some tips from Hannah Maundrell, editor of Money.co.uk, about how you can cut the cost of your shopping bills:
- Write yourself a list – Only buy items that you need. If it isn’t on your list, don’t put it in the trolley
- Create a budget – Work out a weekly budget for your food shopping
- Never shop hungry – you are far more likely to buy more food if your tummy is rumbling
- Don’t buy pre-chopped veggies or fruit – The extra they’ll charge for chopping can be eye watering
- Use social media – follow your favourite retailers to find out about the latest deals
- Be disloyal – You may want to go to different stores to find the best bargains
- Check the small print – It’s always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you’re making a like for like decision as a bigger box won’t necessarily mean you get more
- Use your loyalty cards – Don’t be afraid to sign up to them all. They all work slightly differently – work out what bonus suits you better and remember to trade in your points for additional rewards
Using the Asda Price Guarantee, Asda would need to sell the beer for £10.80 to be 10 per cent cheaper than at rivals.
As Asda is not 10 per cent cheaper, the retailer will give you the £4.20 difference via a voucher.
Each household can only claim a maximum of 10 vouchers per calendar month, or a maximum value of £100 in vouchers per calendar month.
Use smartphone apps and cashback sites
For Faith Archer, who runs the money saving blog , hunting for cashback on her smartphone is the best way to reduce her supermarket spend.
“I always try to snap up cashback on food shopping from the Shopmium app and TopCashback Snap & Save, both of which pay out fast,” she said.
Unlike when you use cashback sites to shop by clicking through, here the cashback is earned after you have paid for the products.
To make the most of the offers, check the apps from the shop floor to see the different promotions, shop as normal and claim when you get home.
Each app works slightly differently, but they all require you to select the offer you are claiming and upload a photo of your receipt.
“Just make sure you buy the exact product and pack stated, and get around to scanning and sending your receipts afterwards,” says Archer.
Cash back is paid directly into your bank or PayPal account.
And of course, if you don't mind waiting, cashback websites are still worth looking at too.
Don't fall for supermarket tricks
Further add to your savings and beat the supermarket at their own game.
Every product in store is placed there for a reason – to get you to buy it.
If you know how the encourage you to spend, you can save serious cash.
Retailers price the same goods at different prices, depending on where they are placed in the store.
If you are buying snacks such as nuts or dried fruit found in the snack area, they will be much more expensive than in the baking products aisle.
While cotton buds can much cheaper in the baby aisle.
Tesco’s website will show that the supermarket’s own brand of Cosmetic Cotton Buds retail at £1.25 for 80 buds – which seems reasonable.
But a quick peak at the Tesco Loves Baby Cotton WoolBuds (300) shows they are priced at just 55p.
The easy way to ensure you are getting the best price, is to check the unit price on the sticker (price per 100ml) on items before putting them in your trolley.
In most supermarkets, food will be clearly priced by weight or volume across all stores to make it easier for consumers to compare products and spot the best deals.
While you can cut the cost of your food shop by not buying products that are taxable?
More on money
VAT law is supposed to split your supermarket shop between two categories; essential foods, which are zero-rated so that you don't pay any tax, and luxury foods that will be subject to a 20% tax.
But because of the difficulty of deciding what constitutes a luxury item, it's possible to buy very similar products at 20% less than others because they are VAT-free.
For instance, if you buy nuts and raisins from baking aisle rather than health food section, flapjacks instead of cereal bars or tortilla chips instead of potato crisps, you won’t pay tax on your shopping.
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Find Tesco discounts and offer codes with The Sun Vouchers