Vegan, Bipolar and in Debt.

Hi there, I can help with the coupons.

Don't ask for coupons directly, (i think it's human nature to be a bit put out if someone directly asks for something) instead what is more effective is saying something true and directly from the heart about why you love the product and how it helps you.

I have written to the following companies with success (admittedly not very vegan friendly)

Kelloggs
Johnson and Johnson
Walkers
Clippers Tea
Kingsmill
Activia/Danone
Muller Yogurts

Although I generally buy own brand/value products anyway, the above brands I do regularly buy or save up for. With each I may have stretched the truth a little but generally what I said I liked was true-for instance with Kelloggs my OH will only eat Kelloggs Rice Krispies, so we never buy anything cheaper. With Clipper Teas I love that they do unbleached tea bags. And Activia yogurts are good for IBS Sufferers and Muller Light Yoghurts are pretty good for people who follow Slimming World plans, which I used to.

If you visit the supermarket coupons page on this site you will pick up some good ones, you will also find a link to the extreme couponing article which is very useful.

Johnson and Johnson generally do most of their coupons through the website everyday caring, but they kindly sent me a voucher, also there is another brand website called something like supersavvyme which is worth a look.

It helps to be creative with it. The article on here recommends writing poems, or i know some people get their children to draw pictures. I usually cover my envelopes in lots of 'well done' or 'good work' stickers, and I send thank you cards (£1.49 for 10 in Card Factory) rather than a standard letter.

I know this is obvious advice which would have occurred to you, but only write to companies you genuinely like or buy regularly. The logic behind this is you can't predict what the companies will send you, some have sent me £3-£5 in Vouchers, some have sent £1. If you write to a company that is expensive to buy, or you only half like, and you get a small value voucher, you might not feel inspired to use it, which would be a waste of time and stamp costs.

When you get your vouchers and live fairly locally to many supermarkets so going to one or the other wouldn't be a bother, make sure you use the mysupermarket website to check for the best deal. If you get a voucher which is for one free product of whatever the product is (lets say teabags), then it would be worth to look to see if any supermarkets are doing buy one get one free on those teabags, so you get two products on one voucher. If you get a £1 off voucher, use mysupermarket to see if that product is £1 anywhere, so you get it for free.

The article about extreme couponing on here is well worth a look as it shows you tips on working out how much the voucher will actually give by the barcode alone.

Final tips! Get a pretty ringbinder and plastic wallets to keep them in, and also create a spreadsheet or put in a notebook the details about the vouchers, e.g. if it can only be used in certain stores, if it's BOGOF, the value of it and also most importantly when it expires.

I wish you the best of luck.

Hi Evy

I am a fellow vegan so that caught my eye immediately!

I am in debt too (you'll find my diary link in my signature below) and am aiming for Aug 2017 to be my DF (debt Free) date.

YOu sounds like you are doing really well already! I only just started last week and hope i do as well!

evkizzy wrote: »

Yesterday was my first spend day. After work, I bought 3 tins of cheap toms for £1 and found tins of pineapple for 17p each (BB 6/7/18) in the clearance section of Tesco (so I bought 6 for my stockpile). I paid my partner back for the movie, paid my half (£5) towards our monthly (budgeted for) takeaway -Aubergine and veg in black bean with boiled rice (naught but nice). I put half of it in to a Chinese tub and put it in the freezer for later in the month. We watched 1 hour of tv with food then he did the pots and read while I had a much needed soak in the bath with a face mask (Amiee brand from Waitrose-bought on a BOGOHP), followed by a really early night (asleep by 9 and I'm an insomniac).Today I have a (planned) v-meet-up at 12 in a town just outside of my city, however my lift cancelled on me so I'll have to catch the bus (£4+ one way).!!I will have to take the money out of my M10AD cash (currently sitting in a holding jar ready add to my SPC at the end of the month).
Still no alcohol.

Thanks W2BSE!

I'm hoping that by adding some of my sfv finds it will help others out while debt-busting and penny pinching!

A Vegan Meetup sounds great. We used to have these in a town near me, but they stopped doing them.

Your early night sounds lovely. I think i might have a few of those soon!