I only paid £8 for my £190 Tesco food shop with little-known hack – I got all my Christmas trimmings and booze too
MEMBERS of an online bargain-hunting group have been blown away by one person’s incredible savings on their ‘big Christmas shop’.
It’s that time of year when people across the nation have started making a list and checking it twice.
Then they’ve headed to their closest supermarket, list in-hand, to battle the crowds and get their Christmas food shop done.
And the cost of feeding the family on Christmas day can get very high, very quickly.
Which is why supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda run money-saving schemes throughout the year to help ease the burden.
Posting on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group, Tesco shopper Nicola Faint showed off a whopping £181.71 saving on her Christmas food.
Money-minded Nicola had saved her Clubcard vouchers up all year to cash them in on her Christmas dinner – even managing to cover her trimmings and booze.
And she managed to walk out of the shop with her entire trolley for under a tenner.
Nicola advised other members to always check the use-by dates on the back of their vouchers as, incredibly, some can be saved for years.
Shoppers in the comments piled on praise for Tesco’s Clubcard Christmas Savers scheme.
The scheme enables customers to save their vouchers throughout the year to spend on their big Christmas shop.
How does the Clubcard Christmas Savers scheme work?
When you sign up to the Clubcard Christmas Savers scheme, Tesco will ‘look after’ all the Clubcard vouchers you earn.
You’ll accumulate these when you shop and collect Clubcard points throughout the year (up to 16 October 2025, when next year’s scheme closes).
Members who have signed up for the scheme will then receive all their vouchers in their November Clubcard statement – just in time to redeem against their big Christmas shop.
You can sign up via the Tesco website or app, with further details on how to opt-in, here.
Nicola’s big shop clocked in at a massive £189.87, dropping to just £8.16 after her vouchers were applied.
The post was flooded with comments, with one person writing: “That must have felt so good. Almost stealing! Next stop, extreme couponers.”
A like-minded bargain hunter wrote: “Same for us today, £250 and after vouchers and club card deals we paid nothing, in fact they owed us £3!!”
Another user chimed in with: “It’s a great feeling.”
And Tesco isn’t the only supermarket helping customers out, with one person replying to Nicola’s comment with: “I’ll be doing that on Monday when I get all my food with Sainsburys. It tastes better when it’s virtually free too.”
And another saying: “I have done the same with Asda!”
How to save money on Christmas shopping
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.