Top Tips For Festive Bliss
Added: (Mon Nov 22 2010)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Online shopping sales are forecast to hit £11.5 billion this year, an increase of 29% on 2009* and while UK shoppers are getting used to internet shopping, the discerning ones have been quick to exploit the money saving opportunities of cashback websites.
With almost 700,000 members and more than a million pounds worth of transactions every month, the UK's No 1 free to use cashback website has put together some top tips for saving money and enjoying the festive break.
The Food Bill
Forward planning, some careful budgeting and keeping an eye on available cashback offers will reap rewards. For example, Tesco and ASDA offer at least £5.00 to anyone placing their first online order and Sainsbury's offer cashback for repeat online orders.
Communication
The cost of communicating can be cut with cashback offers on landlines (BT are offering up to £120 cashback and £50 worth of John Lewis vouchers on some packages) and mobile phone deals from Orange, Vodafone and others where over £100 cashback can be earned on some contracts.
Decorations
Every year as Christmas approaches the faithful old baubles are resurrected from the loft and inevitably some are simply no longer up to the job. It can be stressful trying to make do and mend but with some of the online offers available from popular High Street names like Debenhams (5%), House of Fraser (6%), Selfridges (8%) and Laura Ashley (6%), there's never been a better time to splash out, buy some new decorations and get some cashback.
Drink and Alcohol
Substantial savings on the drinks bill can be made with some clever online shopping and through Top Cashback, members can buy online and get money back that they would otherwise never have seen again. Currently there's 3% cashback off wine from Tesco and a one-off £10 rebate off an order for wine or champagne that exceeds £50. Majestic wines who also supply beers and spirits are currently offering 4% cashback with free delivery.
Diet and Exercise
Recommendations for eating on Christmas Day start with a high fibre breakfast like porridge or muesli, this will be digested throughout the morning, putting off the urge to nibble and also slowing the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
While the essentials of the classic Christmas lunch are full of healthy nutrients, it's all those tasty extras (bread sauce, stuffing etc) that do the damage. It's all tempting grub but filling half the plate with colour; red cabbage, sprouts, parsnips and carrots will boost the intake of vitamins and minerals.
For those unable to resist the tempting food and drink on offer, there's an offer with Weight Watchers that effectively gives 3 months free membership to help fight the effects of the 6,000 calorie Christmas lunch.
Entertainment
For many, Christmas may be one of the few times the whole family gets together to have fun and it's no surprise that sales of big TVs, home cinema systems and games consoles boom in the run up. Their high cost can be offset with cashback offers from Currys, PCWorld, Play, GAME and Dixons and for those wanting a Sky HD package there's £85 cashback plus £50 worth of Marks & Spencer vouchers plus a free HD set-top box.
Pets
Pets are part of the family and need to be included in any plans. Some will love the excitement and all the people, presents and food, while others will find the whole thing very stressful. Dogs are usually better than cats at adapting the change in routine but they will still expect to be fed on time and taken for a walk. Pets at Home and Pet Supermarket are both offering 5% cashback for all those animal essentials including the ever popular flashing antlers!
Duncan Robb of Top Cashback added “We all spend too much at Christmas but the offers available through Top Cashback mean our members can save money on virtually every aspect of the festive season and help their spending stretch further.”
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Date: 22 November 2010
Issued by Duncan Robb
For further information call 0207 1939 029 or email duncan@topcashback.co.uk
Notes for Editors:
* Research by Kelkoo, 27 October 2010
TopCashBack is the UK’s most generous and biggest free to use cashback website. Retailers pay a referral commission for any purchase made on their website via topcashback.co.uk but rather than keep this commission, Top CashBack passes 100% straight back to the customer as ‘cashback’. TopCashBack is funded by sponsored adverts across the site. The basic aim is to help each and every UK resident to save as much money as possible on their online shopping. Established in 2005 TopCashBack has an ethos of ‘fair play’ and has gone from strength-to-strength with a member base now approaching 700,000.