Saving on prescriptions, food and school uniform – Money Saving Amy shares her latest hints and tips as the cost-of-living crisis rumbles on

Food

The following apps are brilliant for free and discounted food, drink, toiletries and more.

•Shopmium

•Greenjinn

•Checkout Smart

All three of these apps work in similar ways, you can filter to the shop you are in and then see what goodies are available. You buy your item as you usually would, and then make sure you get your receipt. Once you’re home you scan both the receipt and the item into the app and you will then be reimbursed for the item. There’s lots of freebies available on these apps such as free chocolate, free drinks, free dog and cat treats and much more. There are also lots of discounted items, recent handy ones have been a loaf of Hovis bread for 70p, a bottle of 7up for 50p and £2 off toilet roll.

The great thing with these apps too, is that you can pay for the items using a gift card that can be purchased from Jam Doughnut, Airtime rewards or Top Cashback, to gain you even more cash back. Plus you can still scan your supermarket reward card such as nectar cards or Tesco Clubcard.

Some of the supermarkets will offer Christmas bonuses, which is another handy way to gain more money in time for Christmas. Asda have a “Christmas saver pot” that’s offering the following bonuses:

•£10-£19 = £1 bonus

•£20-£24 = £2 bonus

•£25-£39 = £3 bonus

•£40 or more = £5 bonus

Iceland is also offering a Christmas bonus, they are offering a £15 bonus if you load £100 onto your savings card by 3rd November, which is on top of the usual bonus which is £1 added for every £20 saved. This means if you load £100 on you’ll get a £20 bonus!

Prescriptions

Did you know that you can save money on prescriptions by getting a PPC (prescription prepayment certificate)? If you require regular prescriptions this could really help with the costs.

The current prices for a PPC are:

•3 months = £31.25

•12 months = £111.60

The price of a prescription is currently £9.65 so if you require more than 3 prescriptions in 3 months, or more than 11 prescriptions in a year, the PPC will benefit you. You can also pay via monthly direct debit, so you don’t have to worry about paying it upfront.

School uniform

The cost of school uniform can soon add up, but there are a few ways to help with these costs.

Vinted is a great app to look for second hand, affordable uniform, with people selling a variety of second hand uniform, shoes, pencil cases, back packs and more at very affordable prices. Charity shops can also be brilliant for school uniform.

Check with your school if they do a “swap shop” or if they would be willing to start one. Many schools now offer a service where parents can drop off or pick up second hand uniform for free. They may have this open in the office all the time or may put it out in the playground a couple of times a year.

I have recently spotted people giving away school uniform, some even with a logo on, on the “Olio” app, so this is always worth checking as people give items away for free on this app.

Uniform without a logo is significantly cheaper than uniform with a logo, and most schools will now allow this. A two pack of cardigans from Asda is around £8 whereas a cardigan with a logo could set you back £10+ per cardigan.

Clarks sell foot gauges, which is a great way to accurately measure your child’s feet and then you can search for second hand shoes on Vinted, eBay or Facebook marketplace, you may even find the foot gauge second hand on these apps too.

Holidays

Although the cost of holidays has recently soared, there are still some ways to beat the prices.

Premier Inn and travel lodge are affordable hotels, with many dotted around the country. They often offer great packages too on both breakfast and evening meals.

Premier Inn has a handy section on their website that you can search “beach destinations” or “city breaks”.

Travelodge also has a handy “best price finder” section, to find you great prices.

Butlins is a fantastic family holiday, at a fraction of the price of many holidays. When you pay for accommodation at Butlins, of which there is a wide variety to choose from, you also get swimming, fair ground rides, shows and character meet and greets included in the price. Many of the accommodation types include self catering facilities, where you could cook to save money on eating out. Alternatively many of the on site restaurants offer lunch times deals, or you can book the on site buffet dining deals when booking your holiday.

When booking any holiday, ensure you check cashback sites such as Top Cashback or Quidco, to see if you could be gaining money back on your booking.

I hope these tips and tricks are helpful. You can find me sharing daily freebies, discounts, and lots more on my Instagram _moneysavingamy.

You can find me sharing daily tips and tricks on my Instagram _moneysavingamy and Facebook moneysavingamy.