Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Smart
CheckoutSmart App
4
3 years
As my regular readers will know, I’m always looking for new ways to save money (I am saving up for a house after all!), and I recently came across a brilliant app that lets me do just that, whilst still enjoying good food. CheckoutSmart makes ‘your supermarket shop more rewarding’, but rather than giving you coupons, it gives you money back on branded and own brand products that you’ve already bought.
The app basically consists of a list of offers on featured items which, if you buy them, you can then get a certain amount of money refunded to you via the app. To get the refund, all you have to do is select the supermarket you shopped at (Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Aldi or Lidl) and the date you were there, choose the offers you want to use, and then photograph your receipt. Once the photos have uploaded, you then submit your claim and wait for your account to be credited! In my experience, this can take everything from a few hours to a few days. Then, once you have at least £5 in your CheckoutSmart account, the money can then be transferred to you via PayPal or into your bank account.
I know what you’re thinking, sounds a bit dodgy… But no! I’ve used this app myself several times, and it is completely safe. I chose to have my balance transferred into my bank account, and all the app asks for is your sort code and account number, and the payment was made the following Thursday (payments are always made on Thursdays). Each transfer does incur a fee of 5%, but that’s only 25p off of every £5, which isn’t much really.
The variety of offers is really impressive too. They seem to be updated almost daily, and there’s a wide range of items to choose from, with everything from fruit and veg, bread and milk, and alcohol, to chocolate and ice cream, cleaning products, and even baby items. Admittedly, you only get a little bit back on most items – 10p here and 20p there – but trust me, it soon adds up, especially as a lot of the featured items are weekly basics. For instance, this week you can get 20p back on 4 pints of milk, 20p back on a bag of potatoes, and 30p back on yoghurt, amongst other things!
My favourite offers though are the freebies. Every now and then an offer will pop up that gives you the full amount back on certain items, so once you’ve made your claim you’re essentially getting them for free! Last week I got a big bottle of Volvic flavoured water and a little box of Cadbury chocolates, and today I got a free box of McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes. Such a great way to treat yourself, and everyone knows free food tastes better!
Now that I’ve started to use CheckoutSmart, I’m even going to use it to plan my weekly meals around, as a lot of the items featured could be put together to make a meal. This week, for example, you can get 20p back on Uncle Ben’s chilli sauce, 15p on Napolina kidney beans, 20p on supermarket own brand basmati rice, and 20p back on both onions and peppers. Veggie chilli anyone?
To grab this app for yourself and get saving, you can download it from the App Store or Google Play for free.
What do you think of CheckoutSmart? Will you be using it?
Naomi x
David Emanuel Spot Peplum Dress
1
3 years
by Naomi in Fashion
Up until recently I would never have even considered shopping in Bonmarché. I’d been in there a few times with my mum and grandma, but everything was just a bit too… ‘mature’ for my style. But then I was offered the chance to choose an item from the Bonmarché website to review, and suddenly my opinion was changed. The item I chose is this gorgeous black and white polka dot dress from the new David Emanuel collection. David Emanuel was the designer who created Princess Diana’s internationally loved wedding dress, and since then he has dressed countless female celebrities, and has sold collections in the likes of Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
I absolutely love polka dots so it seemed only natural to go for this dress, and I’m glad I did. The print is bold, but the cut of the dress is very sophisticated, so you can make a statement whilst still looking chic. The front of the dress has a mock wrap effect, and a pretty peplum detail that sits just over the hip; both of which are extremely flattering, and the fabric is soft and stretchy for ultimate comfort.
In terms of sizing, the dress is pretty generous. I’m usually a size 10-12 and opted for a 12 in this style, but it is slightly roomy at the back so I should probably have gone for a 10. This particular dress is available in sizes 10 to 24, and retails for £28 in all sizes.
I perhaps wouldn’t wear this dress casually as it’s a bit too smart for kicking around town in, but it would be absolutely perfect for the office or, as Bonmarché state, an ‘elegant occasion’. It definitely looks the business teamed with a pair of elegant black heels!
Though the majority of Bonmarché’s stock is perhaps not very ‘me’, I’ve definitely learnt that you shouldn’t dismiss a shop based on prejudgments. Even the most unlikely of places can have some hidden gems lurking on the rails, so it’s always worth having a browse to see what you can find!
If you like the look of this dress, or want to see the rest of David Emanuel’s Bonmarché collection, click here.
Naomi x
*This David Emanuel Spot Peplum Dress was sent to me by Bonmarché for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
