Cost of living: our Top 5 inflation busters!

Households are feeling the squeeze – with the energy price cap rising by 54%, or £693, from April, and prices rising across the board, many of us are looking into discount codes and cashback schemes to bridge the gap.

We’ve asked our team which codes, tips and cashback schemes they recommend, here are our favourites!  

Discount Sites – A-Plan Insurance

1. Cashback sites

Many of the A-Plan team suggested Quidco, with some earning from £52 cashback, to over £2,300!

Quidco offers deals such as 52% cashback on RAC breakdown cover, 10% cashback if you spend with Very, £35 cashback if you switch gas and electricity with USwitch, plus big cashback deals on broadband and mobile phone contracts.

If you’re hoping to get away this year, they offer up to £133 cashback for holidays to Disneyland Paris, while EasyJet offers 2.5% cashback and Expedia offers 10%. Most of the big names are catered for, whether vacation or staycation, so take a look at Quidco before you book.

2. Prescription glasses for £20

Buying your prescription glasses online can save you a fortune, and they offer a money back guarantee if you’re not happy with your order. It’s easy to upload your prescription, choose your frames and lenses and your glasses will be posted directly to you – all for a hugely discounted price.

One team member regularly purchases prescription glasses from Goggles4U, the latest discount reduced the total from £82 to £21! Use the code ‘SAVE73’ to save 73% on your frames and lenses. Delivery is an additional £3.99. Frames start at just £6.99 even without a discount. Go to Goggles4U here.

If you prefer to use Glasses Direct, trying using the code ‘HALFOFF’ to get 50% off your frames, and you’ll get a second pair for free plus free delivery! Alternatively, new customers can currently buy two pairs of designer glasses for just £35. Go to Glasses Direct here.

Top Tip: Once you sign up for their newsletters, they will send you promotion codes so it can be worth holding out until the biggest discount hits your inbox.

3. Mobile phone deals

There are a number of schemes available to reduce your contract price or phone bill:

Airtime Rewards

Airtime Rewards works in a similar way to other cashback sites but rewards you by paying your phone bill as you spend.

It works with most of the major networks including EE, O2, Giff Gaff and Vodafone but do check if you are with a smaller provider. The average user saves £10 per month, however depending on your spend, your rewards could pay your mobile phone bill entirely.

Download the app to your mobile device, link your payment cards to it, and automatically earn when you shop at Asda, Wilko, New Look, Greggs, Boots and many more!

Blue Light Card

If you have friends or family working in the social care sector, services or NHS, Blue Light offers big discounts ranging from Service Days at theme parks, to regular 10% savings at Starbucks and 30% savings at Levi’s.

O2 is currently offering a 25% discount on their O2 ‘Refresh’ airtime plan while Vodafone offers a discount of 15%, and £25 off with Affordable Mobiles.

It’s worth noting that anyone who works in the qualifying sectors is eligible, not only frontline workers (it takes a team, after all). Take a look at Blue Light Card here. The best way to manage it is via the app, where your digital card is also stored (as you will need to present this in shops). 

O2 Open

O2 don’t advertise the ‘O2 Open’ scheme, which offers employees of certain businesses up to 25% discount. Pop into any O2 branch to ask whether your employer is on the scheme, or alternatively you can text ‘OPEN’ with your company name to 61202 and they will text you back to let you know.

If your company is registered with the scheme, you can claim back your discount once you’ve bought your new phone or tablet (within 28 days of purchase). Find out about O2 Open here.

4. Share your online subscriptions

You don’t need a code to save money by splitting the cost of your streaming services with friends and family, you just need their permission.

How many profiles can I have on Netflix?

Create up to five profiles on one Netflix account! For just £9.99 a month, you can split the bill with your family or support those struggling financially, which could save nearly £600 if each person paid for their own account!

Each person controls their own profile (which you can set up in advance), you just need to share the login. From Hollywood blockbusters to Peaky Blinders and The Crown, there is something for everyone, of any age.

Top Tip: Make sure you use a different login to those you use for other logins and choose something that you will all remember. Take a look at our blog on password security before setting it up, here.

What is Amazon Prime Household?

It’s rarely advertised, however you can share your Amazon Prime account with someone else in your household and save £79 per year. The person who already owns a Prime account can add a non-Prime member by clicking here, entering their name and email, and Amazon will link the accounts. Be aware that the joint account will be able to access the main account holder’s payment methods.

Share all the benefits of Prime, from Fast and Free Prime Delivery, to the digital sharing of eBooks and audiobooks – a great option for book lovers.

Can I share Spotify?

While the free version of Spotify is pretty good, many don’t realise that you can share the Premium version (no ads!) with up to 6 others.

If you are already paying for Spotify, it could be worth sharing one subscription with someone you live with. There are two option: Premium Duo or Premium Family.

Spotify Duo provides two Premium accounts for two individuals in one household for £13.99 per month, or £7 per person, which saves around £70 per year versus two individual accounts not sharing.Spotify Premium Family is designed to share one paid subscription with your household of up to 6 people for £16.99 per month, which equates to £2.83 per month per person for uninterrupted streaming.

If you are a fan of podcasts, this could be great option for you – take a look at the Spotify Podcast Chart here. You can cancel at any time, so it could be ideal for those ‘summer in the garden’ months, or ‘winter on the sofa’ months.

5. Cheap cinema tickets

Here are some of our suggested routes to get cheaper cinema tickets:

Tastecard – 30% off cinema tickets at over 350 cinemas, plus 2-4-1 on meals out plus many other perks. Tastecard is currently offering new subscribers 90 days for free and you can cancel when it expires, ideal for the half term holidays!O2 Odeon Tickets – if you are with O2, download the Priority app to get one free Odeon cinema ticket every week. 10,000 tickets are released each Tuesday from midday and they are only valid on a Monday.Tesco Clubcard – use your vouchers to purchase Cineworld or Picturehouse cinema tickets with £1 of vouchers worth £3 towards your ticket. You can also buy Cineworld Unlimited Pass with vouchers!Go on a Monday – many don’t realise it, but your local cinema usually costs less on a Monday – our local Cineworld charges just £6.99 on a Monday!

Of course, when it comes to A-Plan savings, those who switch their home and car insurance to A-Plan save £245 on average when moving both policies to us. If you, or someone you know, would more information, simply contact your local branch.

If you have any suggestions, why not share them in our feed!