April update

It’s the start of another month so it’s time to take a look at how much I have saved for Christmas 2016 so far.
Again, I have been far too lazy when it comes to completing surveys. The plan is to do at least 5 a week this month to try and increase my vouchers.
Saved for Christmas 2016 so far:

£110 Love2Shop vouchers

£30 compliments vouchers (I marked these as Love2Shop vouchers last month. Oops!)

£20 Morrisons vouchers

£100 Asda gift card

£20 Nectar points

£12 Boots Advantage points

I’m really happy with these totals but I need to step it up this month!

Hopefully an update at the beginning of May will be awesome!

Follow me on Twitter: @moneysavemum

Walking for shopping vouchers

I have an addiction.
I am addicted to counting the number of steps I do. I have a Jawbone UP24 (see my blog post about that bargain here) and also use the Moves App and the Heathkit App on my iPhone.

When I go for a walk, I track it using Map My Run and if I go for a run or cycle I use Strava! 

Apart from feeding my addiction for exercise data to track, analyse and improve it also allows me earn points from Bounts that I can then swap for shopping vouchers (generally Morrisons ones at the moment to save for Christmas.)

The premise is simple. Sign up and use referral code hill119 sync your exercise or walking app and start earning points. Using the code above will get you an extra 100 points. 

Some of the apps Bounts sync with are:

• Moves
• Strava
• Mapmyfitness
• Run keeper
• Fitbit
• Jawbone

You can also earn points by ‘checking in’ at a location such as your local gym or leisure centre. There is a huge number of check in places on their location map. 

  
And, if you connect your social media accounts you get extra points for your first activity each day. 

Each activity not only earns you points but also spins on a reward wheel where you can win further points. 

If you are raising money for Cancer Research you can link your fundraising page to Bounts and earn even more!!

A £5 Morrisons voucher costs 1389 points that’s realistic over a couple of months. You can exchange points for a wide variety of vouchers including supermarkets, clothes, hardware stores etc. 

  
It’s a really easy way to get vouchers for minimal effort – other than the exercising of course!! 

Another plus side – it’s made me walk a lot more!!

Register with Bounts and use referral code hill119 to get an extra 100 points!

Follow me on Twitter @moneysavemum

This is not a paid post. All views are my own. 

Free lottery sites I love

I quite like the idea of winning money without really having to do anything or pay anything. I have found three sites that I now check every day in the hope that I am the winner.

My favourite are below, if any take your interest just click on the title and you will be taken there.
 
Lucky Day Lottery

This is where you pick a lucky date and check every few days to see if you date has come up. I had been using it for about a week when my lucky date was picked and I won a £10 Amazon voucher. I normally save these but I thought for a change I would treat myself to a set of books that I really wanted. I especially like this site as they use the money they receive from adverts to donate to a different charity every month.

What I bought with my Amazon voucher
 
Birthdate Lottery

This is very similar to the Lucky Day Lottery but your birthdate is used instead. There is a birthdate draw where you can win £5 (£10 on Monday and Friday) as well as a survey draw of £5. The more you use the site, the more ‘penguin points’ you accrue and these can be transferred for goes on their scratchcards where you can win anything between £1 – £10

Postcode Lottery

This site gives you multiple chances to win if your postcode is picked. There is the main draw, a survey draw, a stackpot that increases until it has been won and a bonus draw. If a prize isn’t won, the money is rolled over. The more people with the same postcode registered on the site, the more chance you have of winning but then there is also more chance of having to split the winnings. (Make sure you scroll down at the bottom of the website after 6pm as there is another draw there that I have only just recently found!)

Obviously there is no guarantee that you will win, but for the sake of a two minute check everyday, what have you got to lose?

Let me know if you use any other similar sites.

Follow me on Twitter @moneysavemum

Top tips for saving online

We all shop online. Most of mine (except groceries because I love food shopping) is done on the Internet. 

Here are my top tips to saving money when you shop online. 

1. Know what you are looking for? Google it and click the shopping tab. This will bring up loads of sites and prices where you can buy. 
2. Check eBay and Amazon. These don’t always show up in a search. 
3. Found the perfect site with the perfect price? Sign up to their newsletter – chances are you will receive an email with a code for money off your first order. 
4. Check cashback websites. Might as well earn some cashback on that purchase. I use TopCashBack and love it!
5. Search for voucher/discount codes that you can use. There are loads of sites that can help you with this such as VoucherCodes and PromotionalCodes. 
6. No discount from the newsletter? Add the item to your basket and leave it there. Some sites will then email you offering an incentive to complete the purchase. 
7. Don’t forget to earn any points – check to see if they offer Nectar points on purchases. eBay does!
8. Take advantage of free delivery. If your item isn’t urgent then take the free or cheaper shipping that takes a few days rather than the expensive next day delivery. 

Just a few ways to save when you shop online! Let me know how you save money online!

Follow me on Twitter: @moneysavemum

March 1st Update

It’s the start of another month so it’s time to take a look at how much I have saved for Christmas 2016 so far.

It’s actually been a quiet month for things like surveys – mainly because I have been a bit lazy! I must get back on them! Points for exercising has been good though as I have done a lot of walking.

Saved for Christmas 2016 so far:

• £125 Love2Shop vouchers
• £15 Morrisons vouchers
• £80 Asda gift card
• £20 Nectar points
• £12 Boots Advantage points

I’m really happy with these totals especially the Love2Shop which have come from surveys, cashback and I also save via Park Christmas Savings.

Hopefully an update at the beginning of April will be just as good!

Follow me on Twitter: @moneysavemum

Boots No7 Free Gift Offer

I don’t wear make up very often so when I went to my mascara last week I was gutted to find it was all gone. So mascara, along with tinted moisturiser was on my list of buy when it’s worth it. 

This week Boots had an offer on their No7 range. Buy two items get a free gift. 

I ordered my tinted moisturiser and mascara online (£12 each). I have a discount card for Boots which lowered the cost to £9.30 each. Good start. I gained advantage points too (72) and of course I went through TopCashBack which gave me 47p. 

I also used the free delivery to store as I pass it most days anyway. 

So I ended up paying £18.60 for tinted moisturiser, mascara and a free No7 gift. 

 

The free gift is lovely. It contains:

Beautiful dry skin rescue 25ml

Lovely lashes mascara

Nail care strength and growth treatment 10ml

Stay perfect eye shadow in middle shade

 
Money Saving Expert estimate that this gift is worth £21. 

I’m putting it away for a gift. Not sure who for yet!

So my £24 order cost £18.60, I made 47p cashback and 72p worth of points – this makes my order £17.41 but if you take off another £21 for the free gift I’m actually up £3.59 

Win!!!

Follow me on Twitter! @moneysavemum

I just love a bargain!

I know it is already nearly the end of February but I thought I would put down on my blog how a January sales bargain ended up as moneysavemum.

I am slightly addicted to counting the number of steps I do in a day. As I have an iPhone I was using an app called Moves as well as the HealthKit app already installed. The biggest problem was I kept forgetting to have my phone with me, especially in the office, and would miss out on loads of steps per day. This also meant that I was losing out on Bounts points! (An app & website that gives you points for exercising to exchange for shopping vouchers. Interested? Use referral code hill119 to get an extra 100 points.)

So I decided to treat myself in the January sales to a Jawbone. I originally wanted a FitBit but couldn’t justify the cost.

After researching online I found that Boots had a JawboneUP24 in red reduced from £99 down to £29.99. I have a discount card for Boots so that brought the cost down to £26.25. As I have been saving my Advantage Card points for a ‘rainy day’ I used those too which brought the cost down to £0.00.

But this is where it gets really fun! I went through the website TopCashBack (Click to go to the site) to order this product and they gave me £2.12 in cashback!

So my JawboneUP24 which originally cost £99 actually paid me to buy it. One step tracker and £2.12 extra in the bank. Result!

Not to mention all of the extra points from Bounts that I would have missed out on now that my Jawbone is always on my wrist!

Realising I can do this more than once, it inspired me to set up moneysavemum and even if I only help one person save money then it was worth it!

Follow me on Twitter @moneysavemum

How to make receipts work for you

Every time we go shopping we end up with a wallet or bag full of receipts. So here are a few ways to make those receipts work for you and earn you extra money.

Simply click on the names to be taken to the site to register.

Receipt Hog

Receipt Hog is a free app to download where you simply take photos of your receipts and let the app do the rest. Receipts from places such as Asda, Boots, Poundland, Wilko, Toys R Us, earn you ‘coins’. The amount depends on the value of your receipt. You also get a sweepstakes entry.

Other stores such as Currys, Ikea, Primark, Waterstones, earn you spins on the Hog Slots where you can win more coins.

There are also extra incentives such as taking photos of receipts every week for a month for extra coins and the longer you use the app the more incentives you can earn.

You can redeem the coins for Amazon vouchers or have a deposit into your PayPal account. 1000 coins is a £3 Amazon voucher.

Use code sass6354 when you sign up for five free spins!

Shopitize

There are a few apps that will gove you cashback on purchases but I find this one is the best on as you can get 25p for buying milk and you only have to earn £4 to be able to ‘cashout’.

CheckoutSmart

This is very similar to Shopitize however you can scan any receipt to be in with a chance of winning £100. You can generally enter 20 times a month. There are also cashback offers on groceries.

TopCashBack

I also use TopCashBack not only for my online purchases but you can also get cashback on some of your groceries.

Everyone has there own preferences on which cashback sites and apps to use, I have just found these to be pretty good for me.

*This is not a paid post, all opinions are my own.

 

Apps and Websites I use

I’m all for earning money for free or minimal input. The more interesting the better too! Below is a list of some of the websites/apps that I am currently using to help me save/make money for Christmas 2016.

My Survey UK

This is a survey site where you complete surveys for points that can be redeemed for shopping vouchers or even actual products. I generally get invited to anywhere between 5 and 30 surveys a week, each earning me around 50-80 points. You are screened out of some early on in the process but I find I have a higher rate of completing surveys than other sites. 690 points can be redeemed for a £5 Compliments voucher. This is very easily achievable within a month.

Toluna

Another survey site who also has a pretty good app that you can download for free. Surveys generally earn you anything between 1000 and 3500 points and 10700 points is £20 in Love2Shop vouchers. I managed this in under three months.

IPOLL

This is predominantly an app that is free to download and you take on quick surveys whilst shopping to earn money. This can be redeemed for vouchers or a pre-paid Mastercard. You can even donate your earnings to charity. There are also survey invites direct to your inbox. I only complete the shopping challenges and I have already made £45 since October.

Bounts

Bounts is a brilliant way of earning points that can be redeemed for shopping vouchers by just walking or exercising. Their website and app are very easy to use and you simply connect your exercise apps such as Map My Walk, FitBit, Moves app, HealthKit, Jawbone and more. You can also earn points by attending a location within their directory such as gyms and leisure centres. If you use the referral code hill119 when you join, you will get an extra 100 points after your first logged activity.

PactApp

This is a free to download app where you make a ‘pact’ to exercise and/or eat healthy. I am currently set up for three sessions of exercise per week and 4 days logging my food. You can also log vegetable and fruit eaten to earn more. Every Wednesday you get paid for what you have achieved. Beware though, if you don’t complete your ‘pact’ you will be charged a minimum of $5 per missed session.

To join any of these sites, please click on their names and it will take you there. Dont forget the referral code for Bounts! Hill119

Next time will be how to make money from your shopping receipts!

This is not a sponsored post – all views are my own

 

Christmas Savings – Why I use Park

I find saving really hard. REALLY hard. I always seem to find something urgent that needs paying for, whether its a school trip, holey shoe, gym competition that I haven’t budgeted for and so of course the savings get raided.

Last year I decided to try something that I remember my mum doing years ago. I signed up to Park Christmas Savings and ordered £100 of Love2Shop vouchers. This was going to cost be £2.22 a week for 45 weeks. And they would be delivered before Christmas. What sold it to me was even if I didn’t pay the full £100 I would still get back the equivalent to the nearest £10 in vouchers that I have paid in.

I made sure I paid every month – on pay day – so that I didn’t forget. You can set up a Direct Debit but I preferred to be able to change the payment if I needed too. I actually paid more that necessary each month so that the full £100 was in 35 weeks. Then less that a month later, the vouchers were on my doorstep.

They proved invaluable last year, I just wish I had more.

Which is what I have done this year. I have ordered £150 worth of Love2Shop vouchers and I have already paid £65 towards them so as long as I carry on this way, I may amend my order to £200.

Park Christmas Savings don’t only do Love2Shop vouchers – I just have these as they are accepted in so many places that I shop (full list is here). They also do various supermarket vouchers, Amazon, Argos, Debenhams, Thomas Cook as well as Christmas gifts and hampers.

PRO’s

• Easy to set up
• Regular weekly/monthly payments
• You don’t lose any money if you stop paying in
• Lots of choice

CON’s

• You don’t earn any interest like you would if you put the money into a savings account
• The hampers are quite expensive – shopping around for the same products would be cheaper

You could even become a Park agent and earn commission on orders from friends and family.

Give it a go. You can order anything from £10 upwards in vouchers and they make great emergency gifts too!

Do you have any experiences of Park Christmas Savings? Or do you use another company? I would love to hear your views.

 

**This is not a sponsored post, all views are my own