(Yes, I know, I’m about to use that word, but…) Christmas can be a really expensive time of year for many people – especially if you have multiple children to buy for. Add to that, buying gifts for other family members can all add up to a costly amount, so I like to save money where I can. I know some people only buy gifts for children, but I’m a self-confessed giver as I love to see the reactions when somebody opens a present I’ve spent the time researching and wrapping – possibly even making!

During the last few years, I’ve become accustomed to a few really easy ways to save money throughout the year to use for Christmas presents (and sometimes food). I could say that you’ll be earning free money though it’s technically not, as you need to spend to earn with some methods. But you don’t need to spend more than you normally would, and you’ll see why.

Receipt snapping

This method to save money involves taking pictures of your receipts for market research purposes – from the money you spend anyway. You earn tokens for each receipt you snap, which you can convert into shopping vouchers or cash (paid out via PayPal). I use two mobile apps to snap mine, each offering a different number of points.

Shoppix

With Shoppix, you need to snap your receipts within seven days of purchase, and you receive 25 tokens for each receipt (up to 30 per week). Shoppix also accepts e-receipts and awards 30 points per receipt. So this one is good for those who do a lot of online shopping! You may be offered surveys that award even more tokens from your receipts. Electronic scratchcards are also awarded for different things on Shoppix, which can also give you more tokens!

Storewards

Storewards (Android / Apple) is similar to Shoppix in that you can add physical and e-receipts, but this one is simpler overall. It awards coins – 600 per receipt – and you can upload up to 35 weekly. You can also receive a daily coin bonus every day you log into the app. If you use Amazon often, you can connect your account to automatically read your receipts, but I haven’t done this. Valid receipts can be within a 14-day window with this one, so you have a bit longer than with Shoppix.

TopCashBack

TopCashBack may be a website many people already use, but I’ve only started using it regularly during the last couple of years. Like receipt snapping, you’re earning from what you’re already spending anyway, so it makes sense to use it to save money. It did take me a few weeks of remembering to check if I could earn cashback depending on the retailer I was purchasing from (and facepalming myself when I realised after that I could have used it), but now it’s a bit like muscle memory for me!

The amount of cashback you can earn from here depends on the retailer, and it changes often. The cashback offers on the app home screen change regularly, too, so it’s worth checking every few days, especially if you’re planning to make an online purchase. It’s a simple click-through to the retailer from the app, make your purchase, and your cashback amount will show in the app within a few days.

You can receive cash back in two ways with TopCashBack; cash payout via PayPal or bank transfer or your Reward Wallet. Reward Wallet is a place where you convert your cash back into gift cards, and some retailers offer up to a 25% bonus on top.

I mainly use this for my insurance, holiday bookings, and eBay and Etsy purchases. (As I mentioned earlier, it’s also worth checking if a retailer you’re planning to buy from offers cash back).

Surveys

The third way to save money is self-explanatory and takes a bit more effort and time; even if you take 20 minutes out of your day while you’re having a cuppa, the points soon add up. The main websites I use for this are Toluna and Power of Opinions.

Toluna

I personally find Toluna a lot more rewarding as they offer more surveys, and currently, each survey is worth double points. Once you’ve signed up and completed your profile surveys, you will receive survey invites via email. The points earned per survey can range from 15 to 50,000, depending on the length. Once you have earned at least 14,000 points, you can exchange points for gift cards or cash. Retailer gift cards here include Waterstones, Argos, Amazon and Primark, or you can cash out via PayPal.

Power of Opinions

I don’t receive as many survey invitations from here, and the ones I do, I tend to qualify for less than half, but every little helps, and if I don’t qualify, then I’ve only lost a couple of minutes from my day. Power of Opinions also offers fewer points per survey. Each point on here is equivalent to 1p, so you can earn anything from 15p to £500 per survey; again, dependant on the length of the survey. Once you’ve earned 1,000 Power Points, you can redeem them. They currently only offer three ways to cash out points – via Amazon, PayPal, or Love2Shop gift cards.

Tesco Clubcard

The final money-saving method I have used throughout the year is saving up all my Tesco Clubcard points. Of course, this won’t be an option for everybody, but my main shop is done at Tesco, so it makes sense for me to save them all up to use at Christmas for my food shop. Or if you redeem them with a Reward Partner, you can get up to 3x the value to use, for example, on subscriptions or experiences as Christmas gifts.

Do you already use any of these four ways to save money, or are there any I haven’t mentioned? Whichever you choose to adopt, happy money-saving!

Disclosure – I may earn rewards if you click via some of the links in this post.