A member's CSSC savings journey
"As a cautious individual, saving money was one of the main reasons I joined CSSC. So, once I discovered how easy it was to use and how many of the 'normal' retailers I use every week are on CSSC savings, I was 'all-in'."
“As with all things new I started off with what I knew best. Grocery shopping, sad I know. On a normal week I spend about £100 at Tesco and perhaps another £40 at M&S for a top-up shop. So, I tried my hand with CSSC savings and ordered an instant voucher. I’m a skeptic by nature, so I was expecting ‘instant’ to mean sometime that day. But sure enough, after a few minutes to navigate the unfamiliar platform, typing in ‘Tesco’ into the search field and following the simple payment instructions, I had a shiny new £10 voucher in my yahoo inbox. I wasn’t going to commit to £100 straight away, I may have already said, I’m a cautious individual. But I needn’t have worried, so emboldened by my new-found optimism I downloaded a further £90.
Checking the website for a third time in as many minutes, I could see my cashback balance sitting at £3. Enjoying that warm fuzzy feeling you get when things ‘just work’ as they’re supposed to, I was feeling rather pleased with myself on a decision well-made.
I trotted off to Tesco on Sunday morning, half expecting to hit the brakes caused by the barrier I’d been anticipating, but not a bit of it. I loaded up the trolley, went to the self-service checkout as usual, scanned the voucher’s barcode instead of paying ‘by card’ as I might usually, got my receipt and was back in the car driving home before you could say cashback! So that evening I was back on the website, downloading £40 worth of M&S vouchers, this time accruing £2 cashback to add to the existing £3, thanks to the 5% you get for M&S vouchers. I maintained this routine for about six weeks, managing to accumulate £30 in a little over a month. It was then I got a little curious about other retailers, so I explored the site a little further. Many of the usual high street retailers, seemed to offer some kind of cashback.
And some online retailers I wouldn’t have thought you could save with also offered interesting rates. I then investigated a little more and started looking for specific products. Trainers, sofas, garden chairs, shirts, holidays, games. They all came up with something either very specific, or a slightly related retailer. The most cashback I’ve seen is 10% at Adidas, but I’ve also spotted other offers like 20% off certain electricals and loads of other instant money off codes.
I’ve been a CSSC member for about five years now, so consider myself a bit of a ‘savings pro’. Unlike fellow CSSC members of mine, who like to regularly claim their cashback into their bank accounts to treat themselves each month, I prefer to accrue as much cashback as I can in 11 months and cash in at Christmas to help pay for the ‘big shop’. Typically, I save between £200 and £250 a year, which more than covers the cost of my Christmas food shop, plus a little left over for gifts and trimmings. This year, as at time of writing (mid-July) I’m up to £158.93, so on track for £200+ by December.
Now, I’d be lying if I said this was all plain sailing. Sometimes it involves a little disappointment on the rare occasions when I can’t find a retailer I need, but with new shops being added all the time, it’s constantly changing. There’re also a few times when I’ve had no WIFI in a garden centre in the middle of nowhere and I’ve been unable to download a voucher. But I’ve learned to anticipate how much I’ll need before going shopping and download before I leave home.
Long story short, I love CSSC savings. It’s quick, simple, intuitive and genuinely a great way to save money and turn it into real money, just when I need it most. Because I’m saving with my everyday purchases, I don’t even notice the odd pound here and there as my balance grows. If I had any advice for someone looking to use CSSC savings for the first time, it would be to give it a try. Explore the platform when you have some spare time. Find a retailer that you know and like to use regularly and start off with a small voucher. Or, if you’re about to make a larger purchase like a sofa or holiday, type in a few retailers you know the names of, or type in ‘holiday’ or ‘furniture’ and see what comes up. You may be pleasantly surprised by how simple it is to save more than you think. Good luck and enjoy the fruits of your labour.” – Richard Hemley
“I typically save over £200 cashback, every year with CSSC savings. That’s free money”
“The money I save through CSSC savings more than covers the cost of my membership.”
“My cashback pays for our Christmas shop, plus a bit left over for a few gifts.”