ALDI OFFERS £1,000 WORTH OF VOUCHERS TO THE SCARIEST HOUSE IN BRITAIN

Get ready for a frightfully fun Halloween, because Aldi is on the hunt for Britain’s Scariest House – and the winner will bag a spook-tacular £1,000 in Aldi vouchers!

If you think your haunted home has what it takes, you’ve got until 22nd October to enter. Just snap a photo of your eerie exterior (even from last year’s display) and send it in with your full name and proof of age to aldiscariesthouse@clarioncomms.co.uk. The competition is open to anyone over 18, so why not give it a go?

Aldi’s teamed up with Darren Butler, the brains behind the House of Halloween in Warwickshire, to judge this ghoulish contest. Darren will be on the lookout for homes that are not just creepy, but also creative and unique. So whether your house sends shivers down spines or simply delights the neighbours, you could be in with a chance!

Julie Ashfield, Aldi’s Managing Director of Buying, said: “Halloween is always a huge hit with our customers, and we love seeing the effort they put into their displays. We’re thrilled to offer this fantastic £1,000 prize for the best decorated house this year!”

And Darren Butler? He can’t wait to see the spooky setups: “I’ve been transforming my home into a haunted masterpiece for the last three years, so I’m excited to see how others bring the scare factor to their houses!”

So, what are you waiting for? Get decorating and you could be Aldi’s next Halloween champion!

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These Free Courses Could Change Your Life

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Recyle Week 2024: Things you didn’t know you could recycle for money

Now in its 21st year, Recycle Week is Recycle Now’s flagship annual event. A celebration of recycling across the nation, galvanising the public into recycling more of the right things, more often.

So here we are to help you realise that recycling is not only great for the planet, but also a way to help you make some money.

Sometimes you find yourself in a financial pickle with no quick fix on the horizon. Don’t worry, it happens to all of us at some point. The good news is the answer you’re looking for could be lurking in your trash can. Or the back of your wardrobe. Or maybe in your bathroom cabinet.

Here are 10 items you might not know that you can recycle for money:

• Clothes
• Ink cartridges
• Wine Corks
• Hair
• Cell phones
• Beauty product containers
• Broken crockery
• Loo roll
• Lego
• Underwear

 

Clothes

One of the reasons you may find yourself in said financial pickle is the fact you can’t resist a good old fashion sale. Once again – we’re not judging you!

But how many of the items in your wardrobe do you actually love to wear, if at all?

Instead of just hoarding a whole bunch of perfectly good clothes, you can recycle them and even make a quick little buck.

There are two main ways to do this:

Set up a second-hand online shop

There’s a huge market on eBay, Instagram and Etsy for second-hand clothes. Spend some time browsing through other online stores to see what other people ask for items then set up your own!

Read this article for a few tips on how to get started.

Cash in on in-store recycling plans

In an effort to up their sustainability ante, many large clothing retailers have launched recycling schemes.

H&M, Monki and Marks & Spencer allow customers to drop off bags old clothes – any brand is acceptable – in store. In return, they offer discount vouchers you can put toward your next purchase. Okay, so you’re not making money, but this is a great way to build up some credit for an occasion that absolutely calls for a new dress.

 

Ink Cartridges

Every year an estimated 57 million ink cartridges find their way into UK landfills, rubbish dumps and incinerators. Considering it can take just one cartridge up to 1,000 years to decompose, these figures are very alarming. It’s easy to recycle cartridges so don’t contribute to the problem – sell them to a recycling company and you’ll also make yourself some money.

There are a whole host of companies that will pay up to £4.50 per empty cartridge! Here are a few you can check out:

• Printer Cartridge Recycling
• Cash for Cartridges
• Ink2Cash
• The Recycling Factory
• Recycle Ink

 

Wine Corks

Unless you’re fond of arts and crafts, you’ve probably never given a second thought to throwing the cork away after polishing off a bottle of chardonnay.

Well, best stop doing that and recycle them for cash instead.

Believe it or not, wine corks are a super hot commodity among crafty folks. In fact, there is a whole section dedicated to used wine corks on eBay where bundles of between 50 and 100 go for up to £8.00.

 

Hair

We know this may sound slightly creepy, but recycling your hair is – in fact – a thing. But, it’s also mostly for a good cause.

Hair Harvest is one of the companies that buys human hair and then turns it into wigs for vulnerable patients who have lost their own hair for one reason or another.

The amount they pay depends on the length of hair you are able to part with. Here’s a rough guide:

14-15 inches – £25 – £60
16-18 inches – £50 – £150
19 inches and above- £60 – £200

You can visit the Hair Harvest website for the rules and regulations around the process of recycling your hair.

Read our article to find out more about selling your hair.

 

Mobile phones

Make anything from £5-£600 for your old, battered phone.

Did you know there are over 80 million mobiles in the UK just lying around doing nothing?

So if you’ve got a few languishing in a drawer or under your bed, now is the time to opt for recycling and get some cash in return!

Visit the Compare and Recycle website for comparisons on how much you can make selling your phone on different platforms.

While you can get around £600 for an iPhone XS with 64g memory, you will probably be more willing to sell an older model. According to the site, you can get up to £194 for an iPhone 6 and up to £350 for an iPhone 7 Plus.

 

Beauty product containers

Still have mascara from two years ago tucked away in the bottom of your make-up bag? Or that lipstick you thought you’d rock on nights out, but were never brave enough to wear? Perhaps it’s time you let go.

Fortunately, John Lewis & Partners recently launched a beauty recycling trial, called BeautyCycle, which offers members of its loyalty programme the chance to recycle empty makeup and skincare beauty products from any brand.

The programme offers members £5 off a beauty purchase when they bring empty beauty products and packaging from any brand into a shop. While it’s not cold, hard cash, it will definitely help you save!

 

Broken crockery

Like wine bottle corks, broken plates, saucers, cups, tiles and even mirrors are popular items amongst crafters. Especially those who like making mosaics.

If you have a pile of defunct crockery or building materials, make up ‘surprise’ hampers of between 20 and 150 pieces and sell them on eBay or Etsy.

Boxes of 20 pieces can go for about £8, while boxes of 150 can get you up to £15.

 

Loo roll

Oh, and another thing popular with crafters is old toilet rolls.

They often need more toilet rolls than they can produce, so are willing to pay for them on sites such as eBay and Gumtree.

Okay, you won’t make a fortune, but £7 for 50 rolls is better than just throwing them away!

Find out more about making money selling your loo roll here. 

 

Lego

If your child has outgrown their love of Lego, don’t even think about letting those colourful little blocks gather dust on some nursery room shelf. Instead, you can make a decent bit of pocket money by selling them on eBay!

Currently, 1kg bundles of average blocks can go for up to £20. Of course, if you have limited release figurines, you can make quite a bit more.

Read more about making money with Lego!

 

Underwear

Yes, there are people out there (well, mostly men) who are willing to pay for your used knickers!

It’s weird, you might find it a bit distasteful, but it can be quite lucrative.

There are whole sites set up to help you offer this service, such as:

Sites such as

• PantyDeal
• The Kinky Boutique
• Sofia Gray

You can sell your knickers from about £12 to a couple of hundred quid. One of our readers actually made over £4,500 doing this, so there is real money to be made.

Find out more about selling your knickers here. 

 

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Could your 50p coin make you £50?

Coins are a huge collectors’ item, with the Royal Mint often producing limited edition coins for people to buy and keep. The rarer the coin, the higher the value is likely to be. Recently, the Royal Mint revealed the top ten rarest 50 pence pieces in circulation. 

That got us thinking – could some of our readers have a small fortune stashed away in an old bag or purse? Since the move to ‘new money’ over 51 years ago, there have been a whopping 70 variations of the 50p coin. There have also been plenty of rare and unique designs, with collectors desperate to get their hands on them. 

What is so special about the 50p coin? Well, it has become the most values and collected coin in the UK. Because it is the largest British coin in circulation, it has the most space for special designs and artwork, with many pieces being used to celebrate historical moments over the years. 

50p coins are commonly used to commemorate important events. These include designs for events such as the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the 50th anniversary of the National Health Service and the 2012 Olympic Games. 

• What makes a coin valuable?
• The rarest 50p coins in the UK
• Other valuable 50p coins
• Are new coins worth anything?
• How to value your coin

 

What makes a coin valuable?

As mentioned, the rarer the coin, the higher the value is likely to be. This is the case with many collectibles. The mintage is the number of coins made in each design. The lower the mintage, the higher the value. A low mintage is hugely attractive to collectors and is often the greatest selling point. 

As with collectibles such as watches, gemstones and even handbags, the condition is fundamental when wanting to sell a coin. Misprints or errors in design can also make a coin more desirable to buyers. 

Of course, the design on the coin contributes greatly to how sought after a coin is.  

Interestingly, the value also depends on who you ask. If you get a valuation from a coin dealer and sell through them, you may get a more robust, fixed fee for your coin. However, selling at an auction house or on an online marketplace such as eBay could reduce the limits on the amount people will pay for a particular coin. Thus, you could get more money, as many coin collectors will bid highly during auctions. 

 

The rarest 50p coins in the UK

The Atlantic Salmon (2023)

As of 7^th October 2024: His Majesty King Charles III’s 50p coin has been officially crowned as the rarest 50p in active circulation, following the latest mintage figures published by The Royal Mint.

The coin depicting the Atlantic Salmon has knocked the highly collectable 2009 Kew Gardens 50p off the top spot for the first time, with just 200,000 released to UK banks and post offices at the end of last year. A total of 210,000 2009 Kew Gardens coins were released into circulation 15 years ago.

As the nation’s most collectable coin, the 50p has seen over 100 different designs appear on its reverse (tails) since its introduction. These include special designs for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games and milestone Royal occasions such as His Majesty King Charles III coronation.

Kew Gardens (2009)

The Kew Gardens 50p was originally released in 2009, and is the most sought-after 50 pence piece. Just 210,000 were put into circulation, with most of them falling into private hands. Kew Gardens is the most famous royal botanical garden in the nation, with the design featuring the famous Chinese Pagoda at Kew. 

The chances of getting your hands on one of these is slim. This is due to the low mintage due to the lack of demand for the 50p denomination in the UK at time of its release. 

Another version of the Kew Gardens 50p was released in 2019 to celebrate 50 years of the 50 pence piece. Released 10 years after the original design, the 2019 bears a slightly different effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and of course, a different date. 

This is the 50p piece that often sparks the interest of novice coin collectors. In the past, this coin has sold for as much as £895 on eBay previously. There are currently listings on eBay such as this ‘2009 Royal Mint Kew Gardens 50p Coin Presentation Pack’ for £375.  

Football (2011)

The Olympic Football coin was yet another coin designed in order to celebrate the prestigious 2012 Olympic Games. Just 1,125,500 of these coins were minted. This is the first of many Olympic Games 50 pence pieces to grace this list. 

Not only were the 2012 London games a huge event, with the country coming together for the historical occasion to celebrate sport. But football itself is an extremely popular sport in general, standing the test of time. Because of this, a coin collector, who is also a keen football fan, may be even more eager to get their hands on this piece. 

This coin was originally available to purchase from the Royal Mint in July 2010 for £2.99. According to Coin Hunter, over 12 years later, a circulated version of this coin could currently get you £13. A brand new, uncirculated coin in the original packaging could earn you a nice £26. This is nothing to be sniffed at – this is a price increase of 770%!  

Wrestling (2011)

The Olympic Wrestling 50p was made to commemorate the London 2012 Olympic games. This often attracts a lot of interest from collectors due to its rarity and subsequent value. Although this is just one of the 29 designs minted for the games, it is one of the rarest in circulation.  

Created over a decade ago, this coin has had plenty of time to filter through various hands and wallets through the years. Just 1,129,500 were put into circulation, with many spenders not realising this significance and worth of this coin. To put this number in context, there are approximately 200 million regular 50p coins in circulation, making this design highly valuable. 

This coin previously sold for £52.88 online, meaning your 50p could be worth over 100 times more than the face value. 

Judo (2011)

Judo may be a sport involving holding down your opponent, but these 50p pieces aren’t so easy to get your hands on. The coin was designed by a David Cornell, who won a competition which saw his design printed on just over one million 50p coins. 

There were 1,161,500 of these coins put into general circulation. These coins are selling from £11 on average, a value increase of 2,100% in the 11 years since they were first minted. If you have one of these coins in packaging with a cover, you could get £37. A nice bit of pocket money! 

Triathlon (2011)

In total, 1,163,500 of these coins were made in 2011. The triathlon is a popular part of the Olympic games. A coin seems the perfect way to celebrate the sport.  

Bids on online marketplace on eBay have reached £34 previously. However, Coin Hunter suggests uncirculated Triathlon 50p pieces in their original packaging could fetch approximately £79. 

 

Other valuable 50p coins

There are other 50p coins which could fetch you some cash. You may not even realise you have them lying around! Here are five more valuable and rare 50p pieces, including the year they were minted and their mintage – the number of them in circulation. 

• Peter Rabbit (2018) – 1,400,000 
• Flopsy Bunny (2018) – 1,400,000 
• Tennis (2011) – 1,454,000 
• Goalball (2011) – 1,615,000 
• Shooting (2011) – 1,656,500 

 

Are new coins worth anything?

It isn’t just old coins which catch the eye of collectors. New coins can collect a nice sum of cash too. In fact, just a few years ago in 2019, the Royal Mint re-released some of the rarest 50p coins. Five of the most popular coins were released to celebrate half a decade of the 50p coin, all surrounding British Culture. 

These new coins were made with old designs. However some of them featured a slightly different effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth than the original releases. One of these re-releases was the Kew Gardens piece, as discussed earlier. The other four re-releases in the set include 100 years of Girl Guiding, 100 years of Scouting for boys, the first sub-four-minute mile and a newly minted version of the old ‘New Pence’, featuring Britannia. 

In 2021, a new 50p piece came out to celebrate the achievements of Team GB. Bought new, they ranged from £11 to £102.50, depending on whether they came in a set, their colour and the rarity of them. The gold proof version was extremely rare, with only 250 minted, sold by the Royal Mint for £1,095 a piece. 

 

How to value your coin

Do you have a few coins lying around which you think could be worth a little something? If you are lucky enough to have picked up a rare coin or have had one in a penny pot for a few years, why not see if you could get more than face value for the piece?  

There are a few ways in which you can find out the value of your coin. Firstly, of course, you could check out online marketplaces such as eBay. Searching the full name of the coin and filtering the results to show ‘sold’ items will give you an idea of how much they have sold for previously. Similarly, you could refine your search to show the results from highest to lowest, so you can see the higher end of the price you could pocket. 

There are also useful online tools which can help you estimate the value of your 50p. Coin Hunter is a brilliant site which gives you estimations for your coin. This is based on the average of the most recent sales. It also gives you an estimate of the different prices circulated and uncirculated versions can sell for. Plus, how much the price has increased since it was first minted. 

Some websites, such as Change Checker have a scale which shows you just how rare a coin could be. The Scarcity Index gives you an idea of where your coin ranks. 

If you believe your coin is worth a decent sum of money, you could always visit an independent coin dealer. A pawn shop could also give a rough estimate. You may even wish to sell any very rare coins at auction.  

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No More eBay Fees!

If you like to sell your old clutter online, eBay fees used to eat into your profit. Not anymore! Now, you can sell fee-free across all categories except motor vehicles. This could save sellers a huge chunk of cash over time. eBay also announced further steps to make selling online for private sellers easier – here’s the lowdown.

What’s Changed at eBay

How Much Could You Make with Your Clutter?

Remember HMRC Rules

 

What’s Changed at eBay

eBay first introduced fee-free selling for private sellers on their fashion categories earlier this year. The success of this trial means private sellers can now sell anything they want without fees (except cars, motorbikes, and vehicles). They have also taken several steps to improve the selling experience and safety for those who use the online auction site.

Simplified Selling

The selling process is now much easier than before, with AI-tools aiding sellers not only to find similar items for accurate pricing, but also to write descriptions and enhance photos with ease.

Simplified Delivery

How many times have you wanted to sell something on eBay but been put off by the postage process and costs? Now, sellers can use a tracked and fully insured delivery service at competitive rates – prepaid by the buyer, to make it easy to send. The buyer provides the information on their prepaid label for you, helping reduce the risk of seller error.

For local listings, eBay has improved its user experience to find listings only local to you available for collection, skipping the delivery costs altogether. The listings are still covered by eBay’s Money Back Guarantee, too.

eBay Balance

From mid-October, sellers will be able to use their eBay balance for their own purchases on the site. This simplifies the use of the site as a private seller and a buyer, especially as you can also use your eBay Balance for enhanced listings or to buy delivery labels, too.

How Much Could You Make with Your Clutter?

How long is a piece of string?! There are so many things you can sell on eBay that it’s easy to raise hundreds or even thousands of pounds from your unwanted stuff.

Things that sell particularly well are:

• Fashion, especially vintage clothes
• Vinyl LPs
• Vintage Toys
• Collectibles
• Furniture for local collection

According to eBay, half of the UK’s households estimate they hold between £50 to £300 of unwanted items, with a quarter sitting on more than £500 of unused items that could make easy money on online auction. People who use eBay to clear their clutter say they do so to be more sustainable and reduce waste, make extra money, and clear extra space in their home.

Remember HMRC Rules

Remember that if you regularly sell items online, you will need to register for Self Assessment and declare your earnings each year to HMRC if you make more than £1000 a year.

This usually doesn’t apply if you are selling unwanted items from your own home, irregularly. However, if you decide to make a side business flipping thrifted items on eBay – which will require a business account on the auction site, too – you’ll need to register with HMRC.

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The Energy Grants Edition: All the support available to help you pay your energy bills 2024

Updated 1st October 2024

As the warm weather becomes a distant memory and the nights draw in, thoughts inevitably turn to those dreaded energy bills and how to pay for them. 

The energy price cap- the amount suppliers can charge for each unit of energy used – will rise from £1568 to £1717 on October 1st 2024, and could go up again in January 2025.  

If fear you’ll struggle to keep your home warm this winter, here are some ways to get financial assistance across the UK. 

Household Support Fund 

The Household Support Fund is still going, extended indefinitely at time of writing. It is for vulnerable people on a low income who cannot afford basic essentials, including energy costs. If you’re on benefits and receive a grant from the fund, it does not count as income for benefit purposes.

Local Authorities have discretion on exactly how the funding is used by drawing from local knowledge and there is no set criteria for who is eligible but the grant is for those in the community most in need of financial help. 

You should contact your local council or take a look at their website to see what they offer and how to apply.  

Council Tax Discounts 

You might not realise it but you could be eligible to get money off your council tax bill.  If there is only one adult in the household you could get 25% off under the single person discount.  This includes if you are single and have a live in carer, only eligible adult with students in your home. 

Any adult diagnosed with a severe mental impairment who has a live-in carer is eligible for a 50% discount.  If they are living alone or only with students they will be eligible for a 100% discount. 

If you are on a low income or claim benefits then your household could qualify for a reduction up to 100%. 

If your home has been adapted for someone disabled this could potentially enable you to drop a tax band. The same applies if you live in a larger house than you might need (such as a three-bedroom house for a couple) if you need additional space due to a disability. You can check if you’re eligible for a discount on the Gov site.

Go to the www.gov.uk site and it explains how to apply for a council tax discount.  Sometimes payments can even be backdated, so check it out. 

You never know!  

Warm Home Discount Scheme 

If you get benefits, including Universal Credit, the guarantee part of Pension Credit, housing benefit or income based Jobseekers Allowance, you could get £150 off your electricity bill or £150 added to your prepayment meter with the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

You don’t need to apply for the scheme – payments are automatic if you meet the criteria and you are with one of the following suppliers who are in the scheme. 

• Affect Energy   
• Boost  
• British Gas  
• Bulb Energy  
• Co-op Energy  (now part of Octopus) 
• E (Gas and Electricity)  
• E.ON Next  
• Ecotricity   
• EDF Energy  
• Good Energy 
• Octopus Energy  
• Outfox the Market   
• OVO  
• Rebel Energy   
• Sainsbury’s Energy   
• ScottishPower  
• Shell Energy Retail  
• So Energy  
• SSE (now Ovo) 
• Utilita  
• Utility Warehouse  
• 100Green (previously Green Energy UK) 
• Housing Benefit  
• income based Jobseeker’s Allowance  
• income related Employment and Support Allowance  
• Child Tax Credits and Working Tax Credits  
• Income Support
  

However, many providers will allow you to register for the scheme to ensure you get the payment if you’re eligible. Contact your supplier to find out more.

A similar scheme runs in Northern Ireland, called the Affordable Warmth Scheme.

Fuel Vouchers 

If you can’t afford to top up your prepayment meter or you don’t use gas or electricity to heat your home, you could get a fuel voucher.  You will receive a code in a letter, text or email and this will allow you to credit your gas card or electricity key.  If you don’t have one of those contact your supplier to get one. 

Vouchers can be used at shops signed up to PayPoint or Payzone or a Post Office.  You’ll need to take your code and instructions with you as well as a form of ID like a passport or bill with your name and address. 

Check the expiry date on the voucher as some have to be used within 15 days.  Contact your local Citizens Advice office if you need help.   

Winter Fuel Allowance 

This is an annual one-off payment which previously went to people of State Pension age regardless of their financial situation. Many people can still claim the Winter Fuel Allowance, but there are new limitations as part of the Labour Government’s recent cuts.

The payment will be either £200 or £300 per household (not per person) depending on when the oldest person in the household was born. People born before 23rd September 1944 will receive £300.

You don’t need to apply for this allowance, and should be sent a letter by the end of November 2024. If you think you’re eligible and haven’t received a letter, you can apply for a claim.

Cold Weather Payments 

Cold Weather Payments are one-off payments to help you pay for extra heating costs when it’s very cold.  It is usually available to people on certain benefits, such as Universal Credit (if they are not employed or gainfully self-employed), Pension Credit, or Jobseeker’s Allowance (if you also have a disabled child, a disability premium or live with a disabled person). 

You’ll get a £25 payment each time the temperature drops to 0 degrees or below for seven consecutive days between November 1 and March 31.  To be eligible you need to be receiving pension credit, income support, income based jobseekers allowance, income related employment and support allowance, universal credit or support for mortgage interest. 

If you’re eligible, you’ll get paid automatically. Go to the www.gov.uk website for further guidance. 

Energy Debt Grants 

If you find yourself getting behind with your energy bills, you could get a grant to help pay it off from your supplier.  Find your supplier below to see what they offer.  

British Gas Energy Trust  

Scottish Power Hardship Fund 

Ovo Energy Fund 

E.ON Energy Fund 

E.ON Next Energy Fund 

EDF Energy Customer Support Fund 

Octopus Octo Assist Fund 

If your supplier isn’t listed then charisgrants.com have partnered with UK energy companies to support household through the Let’s Talk Energy Fund, and you may find some additional help there.  

If you are a pensioner, registered disabled, have a hearing or visual impairment or suffer from long term ill health, then sign up to the Priority Services Register (PSR), it’s a free service which provides extra advice and support to vulnerable households including things like if there is a power cut. 

And Don’t Forget 

If you’re struggling with money, there are things you can do to save on your regular living costs. Check what to do if you need help with living costs.  

If you’re finding it hard to pay your bills, you can get help. Find out more about getting help with your bills.  

You can also get help with debts.  

If you’re struggling to pay for food, find out how to get help from a food bank. 

Disclaimer: Information is true at the time of publication. MoneyMagpie is not a licensed financial advisor and therefore information found here including opinions, commentary, suggestions or strategies are for informational, entertainment or educational purposes only. This should not be considered as financial advice. Anyone thinking of investing should conduct their own due diligence.

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The best cashback sites that pay YOU to shop

The best cashback sites that pay YOU to shop 

Did you know you can make money shopping? Well, technically you get money back on your purchases. But in a time when we are all pinching the pennies, any cash we can get back when we shop feels great. 

There are plenty of cashback apps and websites around now to help you get back a bit of your money back every time you buy something. Using these platforms, you get cash rewards when you buy goods and services. 

Cashback sites make their money through the retailers tracking where traffic is coming from, then paying them for the lead. You, the consumer, then get a small chunk of this. This payment initiative increases traffic, and cashback sites can make even more money from the retailers. 

HyperJar

You can make money on everyday shopping when you buy Cashback Vouchers via the free HyperJar app. It’s like buying digital gift cards for yourself – except with a nice bonus of up to 20% instant cashback with big name brands like Asda, Amazon, M&S, Primark, Boots, Just Eat and lots more.  If you were going to spend with these shops anyway, then you’re quids-in.  

Quidco and TopCashback

Two of the biggest cashback sites are Quidco.com and TopCashback.co.uk. They have deals with thousands of retailers. Typical cashback payments include 16.8% on ProteinWorks, up to £1300 (yes, £1300) on LV Life Insurance, and up to £100 at Carphone Warehouse. Not too shabby. 

Cheddar

We recently discovered a new cashback app called Cheddar. It is really easy to use, and connects to your bank account safely and securely, to give you cashback whenever you spend with your card. You spend on your bank card as normal and if Cheddar has the retailer as a client, you automatically get cashback. Cheddar claims you can earn up to £1,250 per year just by spending through them – a great way to earn some passive income whenever you shop. 

Kidstart

Kidstart.co.uk helps you save for your children by shopping via the website. The cashback you earn when you shop is sent to your child’s bank account or Junior ISA – a great way to save for them with little effort. You can withdraw money to your child’s account when you’ve earned at least £10 cashback. 

Jam Doughnut

JamDoughnut is an app that allows for instant cashback. Yes, you read that correctly – instant! You buy a gift card through the JamDoughnut app and get the cashback directly into your ‘Jar’. The points you can earn are different for each brand or shop. It can range from 3% to 20%. On average it’s around 7-8% of your total purchase. You can see exactly what percentage you can earn underneath the icon for each brand. Once you get to £10 or over, you can withdraw the money from your wallet and into your bank account. 

Checkout Smart

Other cashback picks include Checkout Smart. This is a supermarket cashback app where you can get cashback on your food shop – and sometimes even free groceries! Keep your receipt when you shop and upload a picture of it on the app. You’ll then receive cash into your bank or PayPal account. The app is available free to download on iPhone and Android and is partnered with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda, Aldi, Lidl and more. 

Airtime Rewards

Another popular choice is Airtime Rewards. When you buy groceries at Morrisons and Waitrose or spend money at an array of other high street retailers and restaurants, you can get money off your phone bill, or free credits for pay-as-you-go customers. Simply link the app to your Mastercard or Visa credit or debit card and shop as normal. The cashback works on most major networks, and lets you earn between 1% and 10% cashback. Plus, there is no limit to how much you can earn! 

Referral codes

Another good way to make money from your shopping habit is to collect up referral codes as you buy goods and services. Send these out to friends and family for them to use when they shop at, or sign up to, those retailers – and gain passive income! Referral codes are a win-win for consumers, because they often give money or freebies to the person who sends them out, and they make money for the new person who uses them.  

Over 5,000 companies and apps offer referral codes and you can make money over and over if more friends and family use your code when they sign up. A clever way to get more people to use your code, outside of friends and family, is to set up a page for free on Referralcodes.com. Once you’ve created your page and added any referral codes you have, others will be able to find them, use them for their own shopping, and you’ll reap the rewards. 

More reading

• Save money shopping tips
• 7 ways to save on your food shopping
• Make money sitting on your butt!

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