RaspberryLimeMango — UK cancer tips and freebies
All of the things I wish I’d known about when I was diagnosed with cancer, plus the occasional rant. This blog isn’t just aimed at cancer patients, there are tips for friends and family too!
What with the current cost of living crisis, and possibly with added expenses during cancer treatment, I thought I’d share a few ways to earn a bit of pocket money.
Every single app/website I’ve listed below I’ve personally used. I can vouch that they won’t spam you and that they’re all legitimate apps/websites. Some of them I’ve used for over ten years!
If you have any questions before joining them, give me a shout and I’ll be happy to help. 🙂
Last updated/checked: April 2023.
This isn’t quite the same as getting money in your pocket, or freebies because you’re a cancer patient, but they are still freebies and/or vouchers to save you money, so I figured they still count. 🙂
It was my birthday a week ago, and some of my favourite shops offered me freebies to enjoy on my birthday. My first batch is below…
Costa offered me a free “sweet treat”, and Krispy Kreme offered a doughnut of my choice, with no requirement to purchase anything else at the same time from either company. Hotel Chocolat gave me a £5 voucher, but to use it you have to spend £5.01 or more, and sale items are excluded, so you almost always need to actually buy something to use the £5.
With all three companies I’m signed up to their marketing emails in order to get the birthday offers, and have told them when my birthday is, obviously! Costa and Krispy Kreme require use of their apps in order to redeem their birthday offers as well. This is common for most birthday freebies — you need to receive marketing emails and install that company’s app.
In my second batch of freebies… Subway offered me a free cookie of my choice, and Greggs offered a free “sweet treat”. Both companies required me to install and use their apps in order to claim my birthday freebies. Neither required me to purchase anything else at the same time as claiming the freebies though.
All four companies requiring me to use their apps to claim birthday freebies have a loyalty/reward system, where you earn beans/points/stamps/smiles for buying their products, which can then be used for a free item once you’ve earned enough. Just download their apps and remember to scan them every time you visit their shops.
If you choose to use the Costa app like me, you can get 1 bean to start with, and then 5 more with your first purchase of a Costa handcrafted drink. That’s halfway towards a free one! Download here: https://swf3j.app.goo.gl/UDbo
This is exactly as the title says above… you can win your dinner. Or tea, if you use the English language properly. (Fight me. :P)
Check every day from 4pm to see if you’ve won. You can choose from a selection of food gift cards, cash via PayPal, or you can donate directly to charity instead.
The link you need is: https://winadinner.com/?r=182547
This website is run by the excellent people behind Pocket money… Pick My Postcode so you know they won’t spam you or do anything dodgy. I haven’t won this one yet, but I only discovered it earlier this year. I’ll keep trying!
If you’re tired of buying lottery tickets and never actually winning anything, have you tried Pick My Postcode? Whilst you still might not win anything, it’s free to enter. Seriously, it is totally free. No catches. All you need to do is visit the website daily to see if you’ve won.
Go to https://pickmypostcode.com/?ref=90563 and create an account — it’s just your email address and postcode (which can be any postcode you like). That’s it. Just check back every day to see if your postcode has won. You have to claim your winnings on the website, on the day your postcode was picked.
I promise they won’t spam you. They do have a variety of emails they can send you, including a daily reminder email if you want it, but it’s totally up to you which emails you receive.
This website was formerly known as Free Postcode Lottery, but changed names a few years ago… that shows how long I’ve been trying to win! I’ve actually been checking almost daily since early 2014 and still haven’t won anything, but then it hasn’t cost me anything except a minute every day. I’d call that a better return than the paid lotteries I’ve bought tickets for!
If you live in or regularly visit Nottingham(shire) and/or Leicester(shire), and you frequent small local businesses whilst there, you could earn some cashback by using the Tuck app.
Tuck is available for both iOS and Android smartphones, and is free to download.
If you decide to download the app enter the code Meli6817 when it asks if you have a referral code to get an extra £2. It takes less than five minutes to download and set up.
I’ve only earned £2 so far, but then I only just found out about the app today and haven’t had time to go shopping yet!
Whenever you buy anything online you should always check to see if you can get any cashback via either Quidco or TopCashback first. You don’t pay anything extra, and you could get a decent chunk of money back over time.
Their apps are free to download for smartphones, or if you prefer you can use their websites instead.
Both companies work in the same way, and generally offer similar amounts of cashback on purchases, but occasionally one will have a special temporary rate which beats the other by a significant % or flat cash amount.
If you don’t already have accounts you can join them both for free — if they’re still offering premium accounts you don’t need to use them, just pick the free option.
Join Quidco here: https://www.quidco.com
Join Topcashback here: https://www.topcashback.co.uk
Do you want to reduce your mobile phone bill?
Download Airtime Rewards for free using my code TYKWH86R and save money off your phone bill every time you shop with brands like Boots, Greggs, Wilko, Argos and loads more: https://airtimerewards.app.link/friend
Once you have the app installed, if it didn’t ask you for a referral code during the sign up/installation process you can add my code by opening the app, going to “More” on the bottom right, and then scroll down to the “Promo Code” section to add TYKWH86R. Using my promo code gets you a little bonus. 🙂
I’ve made over £30 so far. Once the app is installed and linked to your credit/debit card, you just shop as you usually would and the app picks up when you shop at eligible stores for cashback in the background. Some shops work both in person and online, and some are only one or the other. The cashback rates vary between shops. I just set mine up and then forget about it, to let the money build up.
Every so often you need to log in to the app and transfer the money you’ve earned to your mobile phone account to pay your bill/stash for future use. It works for both contract and PAYG. Easy money!
Added bonus: if you use the 3 network and have an iPhone or iPad you can use the credit on your phone account to buy music and videos from the iTunes Store. I haven’t tried using my credit on the App Store, but I think it would work there as well. You need to alter your payment settings in the Settings app to enable this, it’s not something you choose when you check out. If anyone knows anywhere else this trick works, please let me know.
This is possibly the “gold standard”easy-money app. It lets you earn £5/month just by uploading 10 (non-Amazon) receipts per month. Any regular receipts from your supermarket etc will do. You get occasional surveys to complete for a bit extra too.
Full information and download links here: https://panel.amazon.co.uk — note that you’ll have to check the app periodically to see when you’ve been accepted if you’re placed on the waitlist, as you won’t get a notification. I had to do the waitlist and I think I had to wait two or three months.
£5 a month for less than 5 minutes of effort each month isn’t bad in my book. I’ve made £16 so far. If you prefer, you can donate your earnings directly to charity instead of claiming them too.
Update: the app has a new “Ads” section at the bottom now, and if you choose to enable ads/tracking you can get another £2 per month, on top of the £5 and any survey money you’ve earned. I don’t use this as it lets Amazon analyse all the internet stuff I do, and that’s too invasive for my liking. If you don’t mind, or only have the app on an old device, then it’s a little extra each month.
RaspberryLimeMango — UK cancer tips and freebies 
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