When I gave up my job to work from home, I always knew it would be tough. I had been a teacher for the whole of my working life and I was giving up a career which – although it was never going to make me a millionaire – ensured a stable income. With two small children, earnings varying each month, and lots of winter birthdays, the build-up to Christmas is always a financially challenging time for us. That is why I was excited to be invited to try Quidco for two weeks. With Quidco, you can earn cashback on all sorts of purchases with the click of a button.
From October until January we have three of the family’s birthdays, Christmas and New Year, all of which means we will be buying a lot more online. In fact, I have a confession to make – I hate shopping in the high street. I always have. It is too busy, too noisy. There is always the frustration of not finding what you want and it is usually incredibly stressful. Biggest, who has autism, really struggles at this time of the year when the shops are so busy too. This means if there is any way for me to buy something online, I invariably will. There really was nothing to lose. Right now you can get a £10 welcome bonus when you sign up too, so it is a great time to try Quidco for yourself.
How Quidco Works
Quidco could not be easier to use. You simply search for the retailers you would usually buy from and click through to them from your Quidco account. You then just make your purchases as you usually would; it is as easy as that. One of the only tricky things with the process is remembering to do this before you purchase something. However, I found that if I left Quidco open in my browser, it made it much easier. In addition, once I had been doing this for a few purchases, I got into the habit and remembered easily. Some retailers are not offering cashback through Quidco yet. However the range of brands is growing all the time. I found there were still lots of opportunities to earn cashback for our family.
Our Quidco Two Week Trial
The first thing I purchased through Quidco was some supplies to make Biggest’s birthday cake. I was thrilled to see that I could get cashback on cake decorating and craft supplies, as they are something I buy frequently. I always go all out on the children’s birthday cakes as I love the creativity and their faces when they see the results. This means I regularly need supplies like piping bags, nozzles, and edible glitter. I am also always using craft supplies for the regular craft posts on Someone’s Mum. It was great to know I could buy all these supplies in the usual way – just with the added bonus of extra cashback.
For Biggest’s Moana 5th Birthday cake extravaganza, I bought a cake decorating turnstile, piping bag, nozzles, gel food colouring and modelling fondant to make sugar flowers. I was really proud of the results –
And, as a reward for my efforts, as well as getting to see the mesmerised look on his face, I also earned £1 in cashback. Now, that may not sound like much, but the items were ones I would have bought anyway, from the retailer I would usually have bought them from, in exactly the way I would usually have bought them. That £1 was essentially money for nothing. And, as I am frequently buying similar items, that money will easily add up very quickly.
Finding Better Deals with Quidco
The second thing I needed to purchase online was food for our puppy. As the nearby shops do not sell our chosen brand of dog food, we have been buying it online. When I went in to check if I could purchase in the usual way, I found that our pet supplies retailer was not yet offering cashback at Quidco. However, I had a quick look for some alternatives who were. I found some offering the same food for several pounds cheaper than we had been buying. This means not only did I get cashback on our usually pet supplies, (£1.63 this time) I actually saved money through finding a better deal too.
Saving Every Day with Quidco
The other purchases we made through Quidco were all things that many people regularly buy. For example, a takeaway after a long open evening when no one could be bothered to cook, clothes, and groceries. It was entirely hassle free and easy to use and, at the end of the two weeks, we had earned….
£6.26
This sounds like a fairly small amount but, over a year, that would add up to £162.76. When you consider that we have not yet bought any birthday or Christmas presents, I think we could easily make £200 in cashback from Quidco in a year. That could pay for next year’s Christmas presents. Since the effort involved in acquiring this cash amounts to a click or two extra, it really would be silly not to use Quidco.
I am excited to see how our cashback pot grows over the next few busy purchasing weeks.
If you would like to try Quidco to see if you could be earning on your everyday purchases, you can sign up here. If you sign up now you can even get an extra £10 as a welcome bonus.
Please note, this is a paid collaboration with The Blogger Programme and Quidco.
Where do you get all your cake supplies from?
Hobbycraft! 😊
Anything that helps us save gets a big thumbs up from me – off to check this out now!
I’ve looked at QuidCo and a few others over time, not yet actually tried one of the apps. I may just have to try it out now
Great idea must look into this in more detail
wow and cute dog.
I love Quidco!
I am registered with quidco but I use topcashback, so far I’ve earned over £200 with them, they are fantastic sites when you do the same as you usually do except to be directed from their site, I love the moana cake it looks amazing, my five year old daughter would absolutely love it too xx
I agree i find shopping on the high street stressful too so will look into this as i do most of my gift shopping online.
I’ve signed up, thanks.
I’m with Quidco, TopCashBack and ePoints, and check all three before making a purchase!
I’ve only cone across quidco today! I’ve got a couple of payments pending. I’m going yo love it I think as there is some online shopping that I like to do so I may as well make a few pennies out of it!
I always try and shop though Quidco – I just wish it paid out a bit quicker!!!!
Remember to check direct some insurance can be more than double the cash back cheaper going direct.