Saving money with vouchers, discount codes and freebies

By Jill Papworth

We're all looking for ways to make savings. Jill Papworth offers a guide to getting started with discount vouchers

 Tuck in: voucher codes can get you discounts at many high street chains. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

Britain's "freeconomy" is thriving, with adults now saving an average of nearly £1,200 a year by using money-off vouchers, special deals and freebies, according to research issued this week.
The Halifax Home Insurance study shows how the economic downturn has turned us into a nation of bargain-hunters, with a fifth of those quizzed saying they rarely buy anything at full price. Deals on meals are the top target for a discount, as more than half (53%) save on restaurants, takeaways and fast food, with holidays and flights close behind.
Contrary to the national stereotype, 12% of adults admit to haggling to make sure the price is right, with only 1% saying they are too embarrassed to use discounts. The survey claims that getting a good deal has now become a "social activity," with 44% of us sharing discounts with friends.
As a result, more than one in four say they can now do things they otherwise never would, thanks to money-off codes and vouchers, such as buying better presents for family and friends.
If you have yet to join the bargain-hunting bandwagon, here are some tips to get you started:
Dozens of websites, including myvouchercodes.co.uk, vouchercodes.co.uk, everydaysale.co.uk, vouchercodes.com, moneysavingexpert.com and voucherseeker.co.uk, as well as our own Voucher codes site, offer discounts on products and services at a variety of online UK retailers including fashion, financial services, gifts, gadgets, books, CDs, DVDs, hotels, travel and eating out.
The offers range from a specific price, to scaled percentage reductions, to free delivery. Each website explains how to redeem the codes. In general, you click through to your chosen retailer's site, select your goods or services, and when you get to the checkout, enter the relevant promotional code and click "update". Most sites also feature printable vouchers that you can use to get discounts in high-street outlets such as two-for-one meals. Some sites acknowledge that codes may quickly fall out of date, and most encourage you to register free to receive the latest offers via email. Serious discount seekers register with more than one site because each negotiates its own discounts.
If you are shopping online, and are presented with the opportunity to input a code when paying for items, simply open up a new tab and search to see if it is listed on one of the discount code websites. If not, the chances are it is a code offered by the retailer only to an specific group of customers. Such codes do sometimes find their way into the public domain via websites such as hotukdeals.com.
Probably the most famous of the recycling sites, where you can pick up unwanted items for free or give away your own, is the Freecycle Network, which matches people who have things they want to get rid of, with people who can use them.
The laudable goal is to save landfill, and the result for bargain-hunters is a great way to pick up freebies. Run by local volunteer moderators, the first UK Freecycle group was set up in London in 2003, and there are now 540 across the country, with 2,490,981 members. You simply sign up with a group in your local area and then can post free "wanted" and "offer" messages and respond to other members' postings by email.The person giving away an item decides who gets it from the responses and sets up a collection time, posting a "taken" message on the item once collected.
From experiences in the Guardian Money office, we reckon the system works well. Items offered by my local group this week included working fridge freezers, TVs, a dog cage, two sofas, a brand new sink and toilet, and a bag of paperback thrillers.
Newer rival, Freegle, operates in a similar way and has 313 groups and 1,224,919 members. Though primarily a community classified advertising site with listings of items for sale, gumtree.com, which is available in most UK locations, has a useful "stuff for free" section. This week free offers in the London area included a large trampoline, free haircuts, a piano and house plants.
There are many websites offering free product samples or links to websites offering freebies, competitions and tips on saving and making money. The drawback with most of these, however, is that to get your freebie, you normally have to sign up with the site for regular emailed newsletters which can clog up your inbox. The way round this is to set up a secondary email account to register with sample sites and receive their newsletters.
Among the plethora of freebie sites worth a look are magicfreebiesuk.co.uk, freebielist.com, frugallerforum.co.uk, freesamplesuk.org, freebieuk.org.uk, freeinuk.co.uk and freestuffjunction.co.uk.
Source http://www.guardian.co.uk/