Tuesday 13 November 2012

Freebies and Treats

 
Yesterday was spent shopping without money, I decided that the time had come to make good use of my points and vouchers gathered over the last few months and give my purse (poor empty thing that it is this month) a well earned rest.
 
I had £15.50 of T*sco vouchers, so on arrival at the dreaded palace of consumerism I traded £10 of them in for Frozen Food Vouchers which instantly gave me double the spending power, and which left me with £5.50 for 'normal' groceries.  I did my old trick of walking round with a running calculator in my head, totalling up everything that I put in my trolley, when my boys were young Simon would follow me round with an actual calculator to keep me on track, it was good for his maths and good for him to learn the value of foods and how to save money. 
 
Every shopping trip was a good family time and no, my children did not beg for sweets and goodies over and over again as we went round the shops.  If I had any money over after the necessary foodstuffs were added to the trolley they would be allowed to choose something and they appreciated it all the more.  No they weren't angels and sometimes they had a little whinge and a moan but the thought of going to bed without a couple of bourbon or custard cream biscuits for their supper was enough to stop any begging for the sweets which would eat up the 77p needed for a pack of each, (T*sco Value Bourbons were 44p for a family pack and Custard Creams 33p for a family pack) that if rationed out lasted us all week, my how that has stuck in my memory, a purchase I tried to make every week!!
 
 
 
Anyway yesterday I manged to get a good mix of needed foodstuffs and some treats as well.  I spent a total of £23.98 on frozen foods and £7.96 on fresh veggies and a pack of part baked baguettes. 
 
So cash spent at T*sco = £6.44
 
 
 
Then it was off to Boots the Chemist to trade in my remaining points on my card, I had £7.25 to spend in store and was not sure what i would be able to buy.  But look what was on special offer these brilliant Shower Gels that Lovely Hubby likes, nay loves.  They are usually £2.30 in Boots and they were on sale at just one pound each so all my points went on seven bottles of shower gel.  So something that would normally have cost me £16.10 from there cost me nothing.  (I don't buy these unless they are on a good offer and recently have only been using supermarkets own versions which are much cheaper.)
 
Cash spent at Boots = 0
 
 
 
When I got home I cut my card up and chucked it in the bin.  I am working my way through everything we have and do, in a bid to really simplify our lives and this is one card that I didn't want anymore.  So one less bit of plastic in my purse.
 
 
 
Next on the list a trip to visit Mr Sainsb*rys to use up my stash of Nectar points.  I had £40 worth of points for spending.  I bought a couple of treats, Maltesers for Christmas was one of them but mostly just things that we needed.
 
 
So actual cash spent at Sainsb*rys - £7.83
 
So this weeks total spend on foodstuffs and some treats for Christmas is just £14.27.
 
 
My cupboards are all looking healthy and we have lots of fresh and frozen things (including a few Christmas treats) in store.  So hopefully this weeks spending is over and done with.
 
I am in the process of organising next years main Challenge, which is all about us being so super careful with our pennies, so this style of shopping will happen whenever I have enough points and vouchers to allow it.
 
Off now to photograph this weeks goodies to go on Ebay, I have six up to now so will have to have a look for four more to keep on target with my 'selling 10 things a week mini challenge'.  Check out my Ebay page later and see what goodies I have decided on.
 
Sue xx

16 comments:

  1. wow...you did well. Original Source is also my husband's favourite....will see if I can pop into Boots tomorrow....thanks for the tip...xx

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  2. you did really well. I need to have a couple of weeks shopping like that!!! I have been collecting points on my credit card so will cash them in closer to Christmas like you.

    Gill in Canada

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  3. Have you tried the T*sco value soft cheese? I buy that in preference to Philly - it's lovely stuff!

    My shop last week was planned out to maximise my T*sco vouchers - not the actual clubcard ones though - we use those on deals instead as they're more value that way. These were "£x off when you spend £Y" type thing. Reduced £40 of shopping to £31 so happy with that!

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    1. I have....it's lovely. I only tend to go for Philly when it's on a really good offer and works out cheaper than the others.

      Any reduction on shopping is good, better in our purses than their bank accounts!

      Sue xx

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  4. I am glad to see that there are other savvy shoppers. We save most off our tesco vouchers to stock the freezer up with meat as they are the most expensive items and then we only need to buy fresh to make the meals of the planner for the next 2 weeks. Doing it that way means we have cut our shopping bill in half :) We save alot by not eating crisps etc...no snacking just good wholesome filling meals and we have 2 boys under 3yrs aswell and they dont ask for sweets or things as they prefer veg :) Next year we are planning on ways to reduce it even further and this christmas we are using our nectar points to pay for decorations that we cant make ourselves!

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  5. What a haul! Just shows how much you can save by knowing how to work the system!

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  6. off to check out your eBay- I been thru my cd and books and stuck loads on Amazon and they've gone really well!

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  7. Wow, you get some really good deals. We don't get any offers like that, and never get any freebies. Even food that is on it's useby date is not discounted at our supermarkets in NZ. Owners would rather throw stuff out than discount it.

    Julie Q

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    1. It makes my blood boil when shops are like that. Better the food be bought for pennies and eaten, than ending up in landfill.

      Sue xx

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  8. I have just used the double up points in Tesco to get myself some new trousers since I have lost some weight and the kids a couple of items too. I also have a £20 voucher from last year that I got with the Daily Mail rewards and I haven't had a clue what to buy with it since I don't shop in most of the shops where it is accepted - but it is valid in Boots, so I will be checking out the shower gel today, and seeing what else I can get in there that we use - I don't want to buy things just for the sake of it, I want things we would normally buy! Thanks for that.

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    1. A pleasure.

      There are a few good offers in Boots at the moment, so you stand to get lots of goodies for £20. Even if you buy enough of something to last you a year(ie 20 shower gels) it's better to get them for just the voucher than it is to spend money.

      Sue xx

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  9. I didn't know about the T*sco frozen food deal - going to look into that - thanks! I also used my Boots points on Source shower gels the other day. Love the lime one and I've tried aldi and boots' versions and to me they smell a bit more like bathroom cleaner than the fruit of the Source ones. I do only get the Source ones on offer though as they are expensive otherwise.

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    1. The girl on the checkout said that a lot of folk don't know about the frozen foods deal. It's well worth it. Spread the word.

      Lovely Hubby loves the Mint and Teatree one best, did you guess from my photo...lol !!

      Sue xx

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  10. Great shopping tactics!
    But I'm confused as to why you would cut up your Boots card. I know you are trying to shop as little as possible and declutter as much as possible, but 'every little helps' and any points that can be collected would be useful in the future.

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    1. I don't tend to shop in Boots very often, so I made the decision to chop up my card.

      I hate the thought of 'big brother' watching our spending habits and that's what these cards are used for, retail monitoring. Next to go is my Superdrug Beauty card, I have £2 on that which will be used before that too meets the scissors.

      Sue xx

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    2. Fair enough; I can understand why you don't want 'Big brother' watching your every move! It's a scary thought if you put your mind to it, just how much our lives are monitored in one form or another.

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