My purse was full of bits of paper the other day, I hate this!!
I usually carry minimal change, tipping all the bits and bobs of money into my Sealed Pot after every outing that I might have acquired some change from, and keeping credit, debit and loyalty cards to the minimum, although I do seem to have quite a few of these now. Some of them Pets at Home and Holland and Barrett luckily hang from my car key quite neatly.
Well anyway looking through them there were quite a few bits of paper that actually meant money, including a reciept from Boots the Chemist that told me I had £13.65 in loyalty points to spend.
So I went out with the intention of seeing what I could get from my bits of paper.
I spent £13.64 in Boots ... phew how close was that then!! You can only pay for your shopping with your points if the total is within the amount of your points. So all the items in the above picture cost me nothing at all, and I still have 1p on my card :-)
Next I called to Asda with my new voucher (see yesterdays post) ...
... and got four tins of tuna for free :-)
I had a £2.50 loyalty voucher to use up in Holland and Barrett, at first I couldn't see anything I needed, but then I spotted the EasiYo selection of yogurt mixes, this one was £2.79, so in hard cash it only cost me 29p ... result :-)
One voucher I decided not to use was this one, I simply didn't need £15 worth of anything and I wasn't just spending for spending's sake!!
So it went in the bin before I got tempted.
When I got home the postman had been, in amongst the bills and circular on the mat were my latest M&S loyalty vouchers. I've got so many this time because we paid a rather large building supplies bill on the credit card (before paying it off immediately with the company debit card) which meant I got all these lovely vouchers, £71 worth in fact :-)
And along with these various 'double points' and 20% off vouchers it means that once again I have a purse full of paper, it's a good job I made some space in there. But this sort of paper is well worth having. So while I am flushed with success at my freebies I have decided on a mini Challenge!!
Can I last for the whole of June using only these vouchers for our food shopping and continuing to whittle away at the contents of the kitchen cupboards and the freezers. Of course now we also have lots of lovely nibbles available in the polytunnel so I can spend less on salady stuff and things for the Nutribullet.
I think I can do it .... do you?
Sue xx
I love shopping with vouchers which effectively give me 'free' stuff, although my M & S vouchers were only £3 this quarter. I am absolutely sure you can complete your challenge, Sue :) with your polytunnel crops and your hens to supplement your supplies. I await your posts with interest! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks PP, you have so much faith in me :-)
DeleteI should think s Sue, those vouchers would cover my shopping for several months, Now you are harvesting from the poly tunnel, Martin gets Waitrose vouchers through our company but I hate waitrose like M/S could never find anything in there worth the prices they charge so he uses them for beer, I dont have a credit card if I cant pay for it I dont have it :-)
ReplyDeleteThe drawback to M&S vouchers is that you don't get change from them, so I will have to spend one of the larger amount vouchers each week just to top up with things like bread and milk. No hardship really, I will just buy things that can be popped into the freezer with any excess, to get to the full value each time .
DeleteYou are a very resourceful woman, we all KNOW you can do it! xxx
ReplyDeleteHaha .... No pressure then ;-)
DeleteI love vouchers I am going to do a voucher post sometime, I think I am going to save them all up and have a totally free shop.
ReplyDeleteI'll watch out for your post, I might pick up some ideas. :-)
DeleteI've just realised that I've also got over £20 of Sainsburys Nectar points to use up so that could make my little challenge last even longer.
great use of those money off coupons. I think you can do it, you're a good shopper!
ReplyDeleteI did seem to get a variety of stuff with my vouchers :-)
DeleteI love these sort of challenges, I set them for myself all the time. I'm sure you'll do it, I know Marks can be a little more expensive then your regular supermarket but that resourceful character of yours will shine forth . That's the sort of figure I'm looking to spend during the summers months when the fruit and vegetables are in full swing, pocketing the spare cash for our retirement fund.
ReplyDeleteA challenge stops me from getting into a rut and makes me delve into the depths of the freezer instead of just adding to the top and then eating those latest additions first.
DeleteSue, so happy for you that you are getting nibbles from your pollytunnel adventure. Great job with the coupons. I'm a coupon clipper and usually only clip those that apply. But this week, I clipped all of the coupons and took the ones I don't use to the Needs Council waiting room for folks to look through.
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant idea, I bet a lot of folk benefited from them.
DeleteWhat a fun challenge.
ReplyDeleteI can but try :-)
Deleteno you wont be able to do it because you never can...you never stick at anything
ReplyDeleteHaha ... you are probably right!!
DeleteWhat is the use of a challenge if you are not challenging yourself. You don't always have to succeed at everything in life but it is good to try, and I do like to give it my best shot.
But more importantly when I write something I put my name to it, never hiding behind an 'Anonymous', if you don't like my challenges please don't feel you have to continue reading about them :-)
Even if you don't manage it 100%, simply by aiming to do it you will use up your stores and thus save money this month. Good luck x
ReplyDeleteThat's the plan. I need to see the bottom of the big freezer so I can switch it off ready to move it into the workshop, so if we can eat most of the stuff it will be a big help.
DeleteI'm a big coupon fan! you got so many, amazing :D
ReplyDeleteAs for all the Loyalty cards, I got an App called Stocard, so you can keep all the cards on you phone (if you have a smartphone that is) The scanner won't always read them, the cashier will have to type the number then. still works :)
Even I was shocked at how much I got, I'll have to see what else of the building work we can pay for this way ... and maybe get some more in a few months.
DeleteI'm sure an experienced money saver like your good self won't struggle to use the coupons to their full value x
ReplyDeleteI'm going to do my best, I've noticed that there are usually quite a lot of bargains to be had in M&S food hall on a Monday morning so you might find me loitering in there then ;-)
DeleteClever use of vouchers, it's something I don't use, maybe I should.
ReplyDeleteI've only been doing it this past few years, it's proving very worthwhile.
DeleteHi sue,I always admire your inspiring way of living.All the very best for the challenge you are going to take up.Lucky you.we don't have anything like coupons in India - JP from India
ReplyDeleteI love using vouchers! I've just 'boosted' £5 of Tesco vouchers to £10 so I can get a free pair of f&f jeans for my son :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to boost mine to put towards a duvet set for our bed.
DeleteI'm way behind on the vouchers thing. I only get them from Tesco, and then not many. I don't spend much elsewhere either. I don't think discount stores give them.
ReplyDeleteThe benefit of setting personal challenges is to change your focus and think about new possibilities. Whether or not we succeed 100% is not the be all and end all, it's learning new ways of thinking "outside the square", which is important. I love the way you challenge yourself and I know if anyone can do it you can!
ReplyDeleteThat's a cracking price on that tuna Sue - it is something we always used to have in the cupboard but Sainsbury's Basics priced itself out of reach a while ago and Tesco (in spite of all their promises) have STILL not gone across to Pole & Line (last time I looked, anyway) so I won't buy theirs! Looks like Asda might be worth a visit.
ReplyDeleteYes! Storecupboard and freezer challenge! Really looking forward to reading about your progress.
ReplyDeleteI've done my Morrisons voucher shop and picked up some missing items at the Co-op, so am now trying to batten down the hatches and not spend more until I've used up loads more stuff already in the house.