On the 7th March 2015 i uploaded my first receipt to the cashback app checkoutsmart for some free Easter eggs, and the receipt was rejected for being folded AHAAH

what a first time nightmare, i uploaded it again and got the cashback and since then it has literally changed my life! Amassing between all the sites I use £1,700 plus of free , discounted and coupon items.

Of course  if you were to take up more of the offers then you could amass more than £1700 in the same time. Coupons with unlimited prints for instance or using multiple emails, friends emails, family etc  and many I heard about setting up fake emails from sites. I really don’t agree with that.

Also I you were to set up multiple family members with the cash back apps then can double triple what you can get.

Knowing i could get free products albeit specific ones was a real changing point. i had always looked out for reduced bargains in the supermarket but never had the mindset to sign up to forums and my supermarket monitoring price changes and deals. At first it was exciting and other  cashback apps followed like Clicksnap, topcashback and shopitise

  • Checkout smart -download on Google app store or desktop
  • Topcashback – app store store for the grocery app  and sign up online for cash back
  • Quidco, clicksnap – sign up on quidco
  • shopitise – download app store
  • Shopmium – app store
  • Green jinn – app store
  • These are all free to use and give you freebies, discounts and money off.

I found out about the cash back sites from the couponing Facebook pages, also learning of where to find printable coupons for money off and free items. Many items i picked up where free with coupons but they go with a territory of some places not accepting them and not so happy tills staff arguing with you about them.

Best of all was learning of review web sites where you get free products in exchange for opinion and feedback.

Tesco orchard- a great way of trying specific tailored products from new and existing  ranges. I have done about 7 programmes sign up online

Bzzagent – try food and beauty products in exchange for opinion feedback  have done around 3 or 4 sign up online.

i would buy most of the deals at first, now i filter it down to the really cheap bargains and free stuff. And what a variety  of stuff it has been from Cider to baby snacks, sugar to syrups, frozen meals to crisps and biscuits. I signed up my mum to them so double on the offers. Sometimes it has been mad with multiple claims and free stuff.

It isn’t always free but many new products coming out were offered free, and the trick is to watch the price of the other items on my supermarket until it drops then the offers can make them free. The offers can suddenly end and be restricted on time or a limited quantity so need to act quick. Like the time i had to rush out to grab 6 free tubs of Aunt bessies icecream before it ended then they extended the deadline !

It has been great trying new things for nothing and sometimes making a little profit from them. I got over 30 boxes of fruit teas for free and sold them on Ebay and also Atkins bars i sold. Best one was all the free syrups and sugars around Pancake day 2016  ending up with multiple stuff.

Changing my mindset on grocery shopping and stockpiling i now have containers of spices, herbs, sugar, syrups, baby snacks, pasta,chocolates, fizzy drinks, energy drinks  and many other things. I went from just shopping in just Tesco Asda and sainsburys time to time to shopping all over the place. Now i pop into Morrisons, co-op, superdrug, boots, m&s, waitrose, and Nisa to get app freebies. In a week i could go out just once or twice and sometimes could go several times a week. But they do not always have the items in stock or even stock them. Competing with other users who also play the same game  and grab the products they can quickly deplete especially if there are only a few on the shelf to start with.

Some of the stuff has been great and some so so but i developed a like for stella cidre and cider from trying them on the apps, kettle chips and also inspired many recipes using the things i got for dinners and desserts.

I have the apps to thank for a lot of the extra things  i found whilst in the supermarket. If i had not been there to pursue a freebie i may not have got some items. I would pop into  other shops and check them out whilst out so lucky really.

Xmas time especially  pop in for a free yogurt and spy  75% off Christmas sale items at the same time, then grab a discount jumper at the same time. It is very much luck  right place right time.

I find myself thinking about groceries more than ever now hahaha. It is sometimes a issue where to put them when they come up in bulk and ideally need a storeroom or cupboard like a little supermarket of your own  to store them all. Not all the other products on offer are what you want so tailor it to your needs, i don’t get things i really wont use or cant give to someone else.

I have never used the self checkout so much in my life !  seeing you have to buy things on seperate receipts sometimes means multiple transactions. One time I had like 20 seperate transactions to do to get free yogurts and crisps etc, won’t forget that time for sure.

I am used to it now and doesn’t seem strange but sometimes can be time consuming  scan pack pay then repeat. But does also have an advantage to gain reward points with tesco, sainsburys, morrisons, SUPERDRUG, m&s,boots and so on with your shopping that you can use on whatever you like when you redeem them.

  • Bread loafs
  • Sugar
  • Nutella
  • Baby snacks
  • Kettle chips
  • Biscuits
  • Pasta
  • Yogurts , lot of yogurts!
  • Chocolate
  • Cider
  • Booze
  • fizzy drinks
  • Energy drinks
  • Water flavoured
  • Syrups
  • Gravy granules
  • Applesauce
  • Peperami
  • Protein bars
  • Gluten free products
  • spices
  • herbs
  • Milk
  • Frozen meals
  • Fish fillets
  • Sweets
  • Yogurt raisins
  • Soup
  • Breakfast drinks
  • cereal
  • Pizza
  • Beer
  • Lager
  • Ale
  • Porridge
  • Milkshakes
  • Shampoo
  • Bath products
  • Cheese
  • Snacks
  • Cleaning products

Here’s a look at what some of the last 2 years have brought. Including free items, coupon items, sales and review programmes.