Using up discount vouchers

chookie1

I seem to have a real tendency for getting money off vouchers from supermarkets when I don't really need any groceries. Case in point is that I did my weekly shop at Sainsburys and then got a £5 off if you spend £40 voucher with my receipt. Voucher has to be used within a week...

So any suggestions on things to buy which can be stored for the long term? Don't want to spend for the sake of it (so no clothes and such) but equally breaks my heart to give up free money!

Cheers all!

grintricha

here in lies the rub, companies know you can't pass up free money, and i think a lot of people will find their use of the buy it now forums actually increases their spending, and they are getting better and better at targeting these "offers".

e.g. we have two small children and so it is amazing how many vouchers we get from tescos on the reciept for brands of nappies which we don't buy

and the short term mechanism is another tool to keep you anxious and feeling you need to spend.

can you try and see not using that voucher as £40 saved, rather than £5 saved if you do use it?

i hate the claims companies make e.g. topps tiles (we are redoing our bathroom) currently have 30% discount everywhere in big letters. In small print it says if you buy more than 4m2. It makes me so angry they should be forced to say Pay 30% over the odds if you buy under their minimum.

Just stop spending, don't buy it now, don't buy it later, the only way we will save the limited resources of the planet is if we stop consuming.

Grrrr
Angry from Byfleet

xstitchcrazee

Thing is with Sainsbury's hubby has noticed that whatever he spends he always gets a money off voucher with his receipt for his next time and it's usually for a spend of £10 more than he spent this time. i.e if he spends £30-£40 he gets £5 off if he spends £40, if he spends £40-£50 it's money off for £50......so it really isn't worth it, they are just trying to encourage you to spend more than you need to.

afm_2

I buy my weekly groceries at Sainsburys and find these vouchers very good. When I get this, I try to use it at the last day that it is valid to make my weekly shopping but, if my spent isn't enough, I buy things like cans, oil, pasta, toilet roll, uht milk,... things that last for a long time. So I'll get £5 off that and won't have to buy them next time.

Coopdivi

Your best bet is to go through all their half price offers and multibuys then work at what's got a decent shelf life and, obviously, what you like and order them in. For instance they've got Bertolli Delicato olive oil half price to £1.94 for 500ml so you could stock up with a few of those.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/sol/food_and_drink/food_and_drink_home.jsp?GLOBAL_DATA._searchType=0&pageRef=food_and_drink_landing_page.page

Enterprise_1701C

Of course you can always use it in Tesco's too.

zenseeker

You're getting something for nothing, if you can use it, great, if not don't and quit complaining.

chalkysoil

chookie1 wrote: »

I seem to have a real tendency for getting money off vouchers from supermarkets when I don't really need any groceries. Case in point is that I did my weekly shop at Sainsburys and then got a £5 off if you spend £40 voucher with my receipt. Voucher has to be used within a week...

So any suggestions on things to buy which can be stored for the long term? Don't want to spend for the sake of it (so no clothes and such) but equally breaks my heart to give up free money!

Cheers all!

coffee, loo rolls, tea bags, shampoo, tinned food... probably cheaper to use your coupon at Tesco!

Ben84

I agree with some of the earlier comments that these vouchers can encourage extra spending (I'm sure it's their purpose), but then I also think when I get these, how can I make them work for me.

If I have the money to spare and there is a good offer on something very long lasting so I know I won't waste it, like loo paper, washing powder or pasta, I'll add extra to my shopping of these items that week to get the voucher discount. I'm not consuming more, I'm just buying it early. However, at one point in time I was receiving so many vouchers I gave up trying to use them all and just used a few when the offers were very good.

Another option which I often do is go shopping with a friend. You can split the multibuys and bogofs, and much more easily spend the amounts that net good voucher discounts.

To xstitchcrazee, if you think the supermarket are calculating your average spend each trip and trying to boost it, you could always split your shopping. Literally, just stick a divider in the middle and buy it separately. You'll probably cause the computer to produce a voucher for a sensible amount.

chookie1

Hi all - thanks for the replies. Don't get me wrong - I'm well aware of what they're trying to do and I'm not wanting to buy stuff that I don't/won't need - just trying to make use of them by "time-shifting" what I buy. I normally only get one of these vouchers in a blue moon, but in the last couple of weeks I've had till and post vouchers for Tesco, Sainsbury and Waitrose so trying to stretch the money as far as it'll go without of course wasting it :-)

And I'm not complaining - just curious what other people would buy for putting away!

Clowance

For the last four or five weeks I have been using tesco clubcard £5 off £40 or £50 vouchers (1); a till spit for £5 off £60 or £70 and a Sainsburys nectar £4 off £40 all together in Tesco. I am buying mostly store cupboard stuff to make up the spend on the largest spend coupon and a few treats. Also got to take in to account that Tescos are dearer for some things (like pasta shapes) which I would normally shop around for. But overall getting between £9-13 off the shop is worth it. Last week next week though and I must admit I'll be glad not to be tied to Tesco anymore.