Today I have another money saving tip, you know as it’s been a while since my last one

At the checkout on many shopping websites you may notice a box which says voucher code / promotion code or something similar, if you enter a code into this box you’ll get some kind of discount. This discount could be 5% off, 10% off or more. It could also come with a condition like 5% off when you spend more than £20.

So, how do you go about getting these codes? Well you could go buying up newspapers and magazines in the hope of finding one – but that’s not really practical.

How about if there were websites which acted as directories of codes? That’s the great thing about voucher code sites – they are huge websites which list most online retailers with codes that you can use to get discounts.

Why are these codes issued to voucher code websites? Basically, online retailers want to get you onto their website and when you’re there they want you to spend more money. Voucher code websites are an easy way of getting the codes distributed.

The biggest directory of voucher codes that I know of is MyVoucherCodes but there are others like Shop Codes and you could always use the voucher code directory of TopCashback!

If you use a cashback site like my last tip recommended – you can (in some cases) combine the savings, just watch out for any conditions which say ‘cashback not paid when a voucher code is used.’

Do you use voucher codes when you shop online?

One of the things I love to talk about is saving money and if I ever find out about a way to save money there is no way I’m not going to talk about it here

If you regularly shop online (like me) a great way to save money is to use a cashback websites, these are website that essentially pay you a small amount of money when you buy from selected retailers, use certain services, book holidays etc. I use the word selected because not all of these online businesses are listed on cashback sites but having said that almost all of the major ones are.

They work through something called affiliate marketing where a business pays a website a small commission whenever you and me buy something from them after clicking on a special link. The cashback website then pays you a share of that commission in cashback.

I use Top Cashback because:

1. They pay out in Amazon vouchers, great for a book lover like me (they also pay out in cash via BACS and to charity)
2. Unlike many cashback sites they have no minimum payout value – you could cash out for 1p if you wanted to!
3. They pay a bonus if you cash out through Amazon vouchers
4. Unlike many cashback websites they pay out 100% of the commission they receive (they are funded by the adverts around the website)
5. They often pay out more than 100% on certain retailers (I’m sure this is down to bonuses they may receive – but I’m not 100% positive)
6. They’re easy to use

The only downside I can see is that you do have to wait around two months for them to be paid before they pay you.

What do you think? Do you use cashback websites?