Consumers in the UK are doing everything they can to save money and apps and loyalty schemes are becoming popular methods. With the rising cost of living, individuals are seeking innovative ways to save money while still enjoying their favorite products and services. The Emma app is turning heads with its stellar budgeting capabilities. Meanwhile, traditional loyalty programs are evolving to provide even greater rewards to their constituents.
The free standard Emma form lets you easily keep tabs on your finances. For users seeking more advanced functionality, the paid Emma Plus upgrade, costing £4.99 per month, is on offer. This powerful combination of budgeting tools and loyalty benefits arms users with the tools to keep their spending in check while getting more value for their money.
The Power of Loyalty Schemes
We know that loyalty schemes have become a powerful normal force, an essential part of many consumers’ shopping habit. Leading grocery chains such as Tesco and pharmacy giant Boots have since rebranded their schemes as clubs with promises of personalized discounts and cashback deals. Clubcard members can pick up a 1l bottle of Innocent smoothie for only £3. In contrast for non-members it costs £4.70, so the savings for members are huge if they join!
Boots Advantage Card holders can pick-up Nivea day and night creams for £10 a pot. In the meantime, non-members will need to pay £19.99. These price differentials showcase the ability of loyalty programs to provide $ million in savings per year on items consumers buy every day.
Retailers are always pushing customers to join their loyalty programs by improving app experience and providing personalized, one-time discounts. Just as many consumers find that these programs provide very deep discounts. They’re just very good at creating a strong sense of belonging in an extremely engaged and loyal customer community.
Cashback Websites: A Smart Way to Save
Cashback websites such as Quidco and TopCashback are now a huge hit with savvy consumers. They work with thousands of other brands too – think Amazon & Argos. This partnership makes it easy for users to earn cashback on every day purchases at thousands of national and local online retailers. Retailers often advertise special cashback deals. For travel, you are credited either a set amount or a percent of your purchase price, which ranges from under 1% to over 20%.
Taking full advantage of these platforms can translate into major savings, particularly during peak spending times like the holidays or back-to-school season. Consumers need to be diligent and proactive by using the cashback site’s link each time they complete a purchase. This is important to make sure that their cashback rewards can be appropriately counted towards our goals.
“Be aware that you’ll need to use the cashback site’s link for your purchase to be counted.” – Which?
The Morrisons More scheme is one such fantastic example. Customers will be able to convert every 5,000 points they collect into a £5 voucher! We’re sure customers will be impressed and delighted with this new simple but powerful loyalty builder that gives practical rewards that really enhance each shopping experience.
Budgeting Tools and Gift Cards
As well as loyalty schemes and cashback websites, budgeting apps such as Plum are becoming popular because they’re easy to use. Plum provides a free basic service, then multiple paid tiers that allow users to get more from their savings and budgeting. These apps have really revolutionized the way people can budget and learn to track their spending so that they actually can save money over time.
Gift cards are another major player in budgeting tactics. Retailer gift cards can be a great tool to help consumers budget in advance for purchases and receive discounts on things they would buy anyway. You can create a designated shopping budget for use with the card, too. On top of that, loyalty rewards and special promotions await you!
And for anyone trying to budget for healthcare, getting the complete picture on prescription affordability is key. In England, the charge for a prescription is £9.65 per item and a 12-month Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) is £111.60. You can purchase this certificate on a monthly payment plan or one-time payment plan. That’s particularly beneficial to those of us who need more than 11 prescriptions a year.