This week saw my return to the Nick Coffer show on BBC Three Counties radio and this time round I was talking about money saving vouchers and coupons and getting things for free. If you'd like to listen then the show is available on iPlayer here until next Wednesday, 28th August. Today's Thrifty Friday is going to look at coupons and vouchers, in particular for supermarket shopping.
The first thing to point out is that "couponing" as it's known is a completely different ball game in the UK to what it is in the USA. Over in America there is even a TV programme devoted to the subject. Extreme Couponing is addictive viewing. Each episode features two coupon addicts who manage to get massive savings whenever they go to the supermarket.
The world of vouchers in the US is very very different though. There whole brochures of vouchers are produced meaning that people end up cutting out literally hundreds of vouchers for their shopping. Supermarkets also work with the voucher hunters by running promotions where they actually double the value of coupons that customers have. Customers are also allowed to double up on coupons on a single product, yet in the UK this is not normally allowed.
Extreme couponers themselves take their job very very seriously. They have whole binders full of coupons, organised into categories and also write incredibly detailed lists about what they want to buy, how many they want to buy and what the savings on each item are. Shopping trips in the programme could last for hours – with one pair on contestants in the supermarket for over 15 hours! But all that hard work does bring results with some people paying less than $10 for nearly $1,000 of shopping, with many items ending up free. Many of them also have stockpiles in their houses of all the free or cheap items that they've got with coupons.
Over here in the UK things are a bit slower. As I've mentioned, it's usually the case that supermarkets do not allow coupons or vouchers to be used in conjunction with other promotions meaning that getting things totally for free is a bit more unusual. Supermarkets themselves will run promotions and also give out vouchers, either for money off your total bill, or for money off specific products. These might be in store magazines or sent out to members of their loyalty card schemes. It's also possible that you will be given more vouchers as part of your till receipt when you go through the check out.
It's worth remembering that if you're on a supermarket's loyalty scheme they have a huge amount of information about you. They know all your shopping habits from how often you shop there, which brands you prefer and how often you buy every specific item. They will often therefore send you vouchers that fit in with your spending pattern. If you're someone that's never bought pet food it's therefore unlikely that you'll be sent a voucher for cat food, but if you've got young children you may get vouchers for their favourite brands of breakfast cereal, or brands similar to the ones you usually buy.
The supermarkets themselves aren't the only way to get hold of vouchers though. You'll sometimes see vouchers from brands themselves in magazines or newspapers. It's also worth following your favourite brands on social media, as sometimes they'll use these channels as a way of telling customers about promotions or giving them vouchers.
Another way that appears to be successful in getting hold of brand vouchers is to get in contact with them. Vouchers are often sent out to customers who get in touch either with a complaint or to tell the brand how much they like them. It's not a guaranteed route, but many do report success with doing this.
The other route for getting things either cheap or for free is to make the most of your loyalty points. These after turned into money off vouchers (or equivalent) and this will simply take money off your bill at the end of your shop. Each supermarket does this in different ways. In some cases you get sent vouchers in the post every quarter, whilst others keep the points on your card and it's up to you as to when you choose to spend them. With this latter method it can be easy to forget how many points you have, so try to remember to check regularly so that you can spend them when you want to.
If you're going to place online supermarket orders then it's also work shopping around for discount vouchers, especially if you're a new customer. All online supermarkets want you as their customer, so there are always offers for new customers. Simple search for the supermarket's name and the term "discount code" and you're bound to find something. If you have a loyalty card for a bricks and mortar supermarket then it's also likely that they will have tried to encourage you to shop online by offering a discount, or free delivery charges and vouchers for this often appear eitehr with regular voucher mailings or with your till receipt.
Hopefully these money saving tips will help you with your shopping, but I'd love to hear where you find vouchers or coupons to help with your supermarket shopping and also what your biggest savings have been.
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