Is there a free way to pre-pay for food shopping?

VfM4meplse

If your budget is a concern, you should stop buying fruit & veg from the big 4 as these are totally overpriced. Source a market / grocers, they often have big bowls for £1. Or start growing your own this summer, it's not as hard as you may think.

tempobus

A pre-paid debit card could really be a way forward for you OP.

I have two that I use on a regular basis for online shopping for both food (Tesco & Sainsburys) & non food purchases

You can use them anywhere that accepts debit/credit cards - both online and instore.

The two I use (and would happily recommend) are;

Orange Cash (Mastercard) - costs £5 to get the card, its free to top up at Orange/EE stores or £1.50 to top up at a PayPoint/Post Office.

O2 Money (Visa) - free to apply for O2 Wallet app (virtual Visa) only or £3 to upgrade to a physical card, free to top up with a debit card or at an O2 store or £1 to top up at a PayPoint/Post Office.

Both make no % charge for spending in the UK but do charge for cash machine withdrawals or spending abroad.

You don't need to be a mobile customer of either networks to get these either.

MrsWassire

Thank you all. I appreciate all your suggestions. Sadly there are no markets or grocers near here, I live in rural Scotland. I do have separate bank accounts but I just find it's too easy to dip into if it's there. That's why the gift card thing has worked so well. It's just such a pain that you can't use them online!

terra_ferma

Personally I think gifts cards are not a good idea, in general, even more in this case.
If they are lost you are not normally going to get your money back, they have and expiry date, and in all effects you are giving that company a free loan. If the company goes bust you could end up losing your money.

in_my_bumble_opinion

you can get an Orange prepaid card for free (via the £15 starter pack in Orange shops) and operate it for free.....free to top up via debit card or in cash at an Orange shop.....free to use at point of sale online or instore.

There are charges (such as for taking cash from a bank machine) but if you do only the above it is entirely free to obtain, top-up, and use.

neilwoods

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-cards

cheltenhamgal

Tesco DO let you pay online with a giftcard but I bought a printer so possibly different for Groceries.

bexxie90

I'm the same!! Until this month and its worked well.

I have £600 so what I do is put n a separate acc just for this and use £150 a week and that's it. As I have a savings part attached i take £150 per week from original £600 and seems good but when there's a 5 week month I will divide by 5

Hth Bex